German based label
MDG Gold have repackaged and released
a desirable double CD set of four Louis
Spohr chamber works. These were previously
available on two separate CDs, recorded
in 1992 and 1993 and issued to considerable
critical acclaim. In fact, the release
of the Piano Quintet Op. 130 and the
String Sextet Op. 140 was nominated
for a Cannes Classical Award.
North-German born Louis
(Ludwig) Spohr won a substantial reputation
during the first half of the nineteenth
century as a violin virtuoso, conductor,
author, teacher and the prolific composer
of over one hundred works. Renowned
for his principled and dignified personality
Spohr’s contemporaries were able to
see his ‘upright character’ translated
into physical terms as he was six foot
seven inches tall.
Spohr studied the scores
of the great-master composers proclaiming
himself a disciple of Mozart; although
they have little in common musically.
He was well travelled and also had the
good fortune to meet numerous fellow
composers including, Clementi and Field
in St. Petersburg, Meyerbeer in Berlin,
Beethoven in Vienna, Viotti and Cherubini
in Paris, Weber in Stuttgart and Mendelssohn
in Berlin.
The content of Spohr’s
works made him one of the pioneers of
early German Romanticism. However he
generally adhered to classical proportions
when it came to form. Spohr was also
an innovative as his four ‘programme’
symphonies The Consecration of Sound,
The Historical, The Earthly and Divine
in Human Life and The Seasons
demonstrate. Spohr was also fond
of experimental compositions using often
original and novel formats and instrumental
combinations in works that included
three-single movement integrated Violin
concertos (or Concertinos as he called
them), a Concerto for string quartet
and orchestra, a Symphony for two orchestras,
two Double violin concertos and two
Double quartets.
Later in the nineteenth
century this Classical side of Spohr’s
compositional personality appeared old-fashioned
to those brought up on the heady sounds
of Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Richard Strauss
et al, which led to his relatively
swift demotion from his former high
status. At this time Spohr’s successful
opera Jessonda Op. 63 (1823),
feted by Brahms and Richard Strauss,
remained popular and was often staged
in Germany. The Nazis however eventually
banned the work as its libretto was
considered inappropriate to their National
Socialist ideology. In Great Britain
Spohr’s oratorio The Last Judgment
(1826) remained a favourite of provincial
choral societies until the advent of
the First World War when a reaction
against things German and Victorian
prevailed. Spohr’s biographer Paul David
in an early edition of Grove’s Dictionary
of Music and Musicians from the
early 1900s wrote: "…the present
lack of interest in Spohr’s music is
probably only the natural reaction from
an unbounded and undiscriminating enthusiasm,
which, in England at one time, used
to place Spohr on the same level with
Handel and Beethoven. These temporary
fluctuations will, however, sooner or
later subside, and then his true position
as a great master, second in rank only
to the very great giants of art, will
be again established." Unfortunately
Paul David’s confidence of a century
ago has not proved accurate. Today,
despite frequent and significant pleas
for his rehabilitation, Spohr’s music
remains rarely heard.
It is widely held that
Spohr’s music has not gained hold in
the repertoire owing to a deficiency
of emotional depth and his inability
to compose memorable themes. Biographer
Paul David considers Spohr’s music to
be powerfully concentrated but displaying
the inability to look outside his given
circle of ideas and sentiments together
with considerable sameness and even
monotony.
Only the enjoyable
Nonet, in F major, op. 31 for violin,
viola, cello, double bass, flute, oboe,
clarinet, horn and bassoon has remained
in the repertoire and to a lesser extent
the Octet in E major, op. 32 for violin,
2 violas, cello, double bass, clarinet
and 2 horns. These two chamber scores
are performed by ensembles wishing to
programme items alongside the celebrated
Beethoven Septet, in E flat major Op.
20 or the Schubert Octet, in F major
D.803; which require comparable instrumentation.
The first work on this
double CD set from MDG Gold is the Quintet,
in C minor, for piano, flute, clarinet,
horn and bassoon, Op.52 which Spohr
composed in 1820. Spohr’s wife Dorette
was an eminent harpist who had previously
enjoyed considerable success as a concert
pianist. Spohr intended that this four
movement quintet might encourage her
to return to the piano. During composition
of the Quintet for piano and winds there
were two renowned models of the form:
namely the Quintets both in three movements
and in E flat-major from Mozart K.452
and from Beethoven Op. 16. In the score
Spohr pays considerable attention to
the relationship of the five chamber
instruments whilst giving the piano
the opportunity for significant display.
The Ensemble Villa Musica offer real
empathy with this score and provide
an alert and sensitive interpretation.
The second movement Larghetto which
has been rightly described as a ‘masterpiece’
is particularly well played with a sense
of restrained intimacy. The performance
of pianist Kalle Randalu is of the highest
quality and deserves to be singled out
for special praise.
Spohr composed his
four movement Sextet, in C major, for
2 violins, 2 violas and 2 cellos, Op.
140 in 1848 during time of major political
struggle owing to the popular liberal
uprisings that had spread through the
German States when German people took
to the streets to demand freedom and
unity. This revolutionary contagion
affected Spohr considerably as he was
a noted champion of democracy and Republican
causes. Boccherini had previously composed
a String Sextet some decades earlier
which had been largely forgotten. Therefore
it was Spohr’s String Sextet Op. 140
that was to become the foundation stone
for subsequent works in this genre from
composers such as Dvorak, Tchaikovsky,
Glière, Reger et al. Spohr’s
String Sextet Op.140 is widely regarded
as one of the most bountiful and successful
compositions of its type and is given
a sterling performance by Ensemble Villa
Musica. The emotional tension of the
first movement Allegro is performed
with innate feeling by the players and
shows real perception which is a true
highlight of the score.
The first work on CD
2 is the Septet, for flute, clarinet,
horn, bassoon, violin, cello and piano,
Op. 147 which was Spohr’s final chamber
work composed in 1854. In four movements
Spohr’s final farewell to chamber music
contains rich autumnal colours and not
surprisingly a predominately elegiac
mood pervades the score which the talented
performers of the Villa Musica never
allow to degenerate into the lachrymose.
This is most assured playing and the
spirited final movement Allegro is particularly
well done with Spohr’s near orchestral
sound given a forceful and dynamic reading.
I must single out the stunning and mellow
playing from clarinettist Ulf Rodenhauser
in the third movement Scherzo.
The set concludes with
the excellent four movement Quintet,
for 2 violins, viola, cello and piano,
Op. 130 that Spohr completed in 1845.
A particularly successful feature of
the Piano Quintet is the tendency for
the first violin to constantly engage
in duets with the piano which is so
expertly played by Kalle Randalu. The
second movement Scherzo which has been
described as, "a masterpiece of
instrumental counterpoint, without the
effect of brittleness" is given
a really thrilling interpretation by
Villa Musica that is high on technical
proficiency and artistic devotion. The
third and penultimate movement Adagio
provides a peaceful and dreamy refuge
from the demanding surrounding activity
and is beautifully played with real
intimacy and intensely felt emotion.
MDG Gold are releasing
some wonderful recordings and should
be given the appropriate accolades.
This is an exceptional double CD set
of previously released material that
will give Spohr’s chamber music a significant
boost and gain him many new supporters.
Superbly performed and recorded this
is a release worthy of inclusion in
any serious collection.
Michael Cookson
Ensemble Villa Musica