The violinist Marie
Hall was, so it’s said, discovered playing
in the street with her harpist father.
It’s not too far away from the flute
and harp combination, though its incarnation
in this disc is altogether more elegant
and gratifying than a street corner.
Eppel and Topp have constructed a pleasing
programme that moves with a certain
effortless élan from C.P.E. Bach
to the recently deceased Willy Hess
(obviously not the Willy Hess, violinist,
that Marie Hall would have known). There’s
little here that is intellectually taxing
but a lot that is dextrous and ear titillating.
Bochsa’s contribution
for instance is in effect a mini operatic
scena with its rippling harp arpeggios,
a slow introduction and a faster recitative
section. It makes a suitably bold opener
and is followed by Tournier’s 1909 pieces
originally written for – yes – violin
and harp. The transposition works well
and the music is suffused with late
Romanticism and generous lyricism. Into
this milieu Hess’ 1972 Elfenreigen,
the work that gives the disc its title,
fits very nicely. Hess, though he died
in 1997 at the age of ninety-one, was
perfectly happy writing tuneful, unpretentious
music. Which is fine by me – this piece
reminded me a tiny bit of the music
for the television series The Secret
Garden (Ronald Binge’s The Watermill)
and that’s also fine by me.
Back to 1780 for the
Bohemian suicide Krumpholtz whose sonata
is rather generic, though not unpleasant,
until some perky and melodically captivating
writing in the finale. Believing in
spanning the centuries and criss-crossing
them with abandon we get Pierné’s
gorgeous Impromptu-Caprice for solo
harp. If you disregard the rather academic
title, and it would be better to do
so, you’ll hear delicious curlicues,
arpeggios – and a bag full of lyrical
writing. Only a Frenchman, writing for
solo harp, could pack so many changeable
moods into so short a space of time.
Next to it Spohr sounds rather dutiful,
though this was a work he wrote for
himself (violin) to play with his wife
(harp). It’s very classical but sports
a lovely air in the second andante of
the second movement. The C.P.E. Bach
sonata is melodically attractive and
the Hilse Suite is unusual. A sliver
of an introduction opens out nicely;
this is an appealing work, dating possibly
from the earlier part of the twentieth
century – not much is known about it
or the composer – though one can assume
that he didn’t get to too many orgies
if his sedate Bacchanale is anything
to go by. An appealing work however
and a pleasurable rediscovery.
The recorded sound
in the House of Studios in Karlsdorf
is just – the balance between the instruments
is a good one, the acoustic is certainly
neither cold nor distant. Eppel contributes
the entertaining notes.
Jonathan Woolf
Henner Eppel (flute) 
