While the cello or its related variants had a long history in Germany and
other places in Europe, it was apparently not until the turn of the
18
th and 19
th centuries that the instrument really
made its mark in Poland. Anna Wróbel points to Antoni Stolpe's
Dramatic
Scene as the only piece from that period in this programme actually
scored for cello and string quartet. The other 'early' works have been given
very elegant and effective arrangements, and there are also two new works
especially written for Anna Wróbel.
Mieczysław Karłowicz's
Serenade was written for his cellist
friend Zygmunt Burkiewicz as a piece with piano accompaniment, and the
booklet notes tell us more about the work's genesis and the way it survived
as a copy of the original manuscript. Wróbel describes it as "a kind of
appetizer" and in its charmingly light and mildly melodramatic salon
character it works very well. Witold Maliszewski's
Suite Op. 20 is
also garlanded with historical detail, and at one point it won the Adam de
Smit Competition in Paris in 1923. This is another work in a distinctly
Romantic style, beautifully crafted but full of a popular schmalz that has
nothing to do with the better known avant-garde streams of the time. The
four movements all have a rather introverted, gentle atmosphere, and Wróbel
wonders how it might have been made more satisfying with some kind of
virtuoso finale. As it is the melodic delights of each of the four movements
are very entertaining indeed. The piece is rounded off with a playful
Valse and we can take our leave dancing away into the night.
(Editor's Note: Maliszewski is promising. I had never heard anything
by him until BBC Radio 3's
Through the Night programme -
well worth checking - presented his catchy late-romantic Slav-accented First
Symphony (1903). Fittingly enough Glazunov is the dedicatee. There are five
Maliszewski symphonies (1903-35?). I hope we will hear more of them).
Antoni Stolpe's
Dramatic Scene is in a different order of
expressive content. This is a piece in which our imaginations are allowed to
roam free over whatever programmatic tale we might conjure for ourselves. To
paraphrase a contemporary report of the work's premiere, after a dark
introduction the cello has an extended solo recitative that develops into a
cantilena accompanied by the strings. A strong narrative style is expected
from the title and is delivered in this fine piece, which remained forgotten
until brought to light by Andrzej Wróbel in 2003. Its romantic idiom
presents no problems for today's listeners, but it would have been
fascinating to know what the composer actually had in mind as a story behind
his richly expressive drama.
The remaining two works are by contemporary composers writing for Anna
Wróbel. Krzysztof Herdzin's
Choralis Passeris is in its title a pun
on the cellist's name in its original Polish title,
Wróblowy
Choral. The piece is no joke however, as it explores "the contemplative
character of sacred music". The music is largely slow and introspective,
with some beautiful sonorities and rich harmonic touches and plenty of
'added notes' creating colour in the chorale of the string quintet. Melodic
lines have their origins in liturgical vocal style, though this can creep
into evangelical effusiveness as easily as it explores Medieval monody.
Piotr Wróbel, Anna's brother, has a background in jazz, but his
Moliendo
café takes on Venezuelan melodies "which are subjected to
harmonic-timbral development", the popular melody of the title being worked
into the finale. After an intense opening there are some more rhythmic
movements, with the double bass 'walking' beneath skipping strings and the
at times surprising effects from the soloist. Guitar-like strumming
introduces a section in which the rest of the ensemble clap a rhythmic
accompaniment. It's filled with fun-filled moments and witty
inflections as well as characterful sections rich in emotional
expression.
Very nicely recorded and fulsomely documented, this is a recording that
offers plenty for cello fans, connoisseurs of unusual and obscure late
19
th and early 20
th century repertoire and some
approachable and attractively portable new pieces for strings and
soloist.
Dominy Clements
