Michał BERGSON (1820-1898)
Concerto Symphonique pour piano avec orchestra, Op 62 [23:19]
Mazurkas Nos 1 & 4, Op 1 [7:54]
Grande polonaise héroique [9:43]
Polonia Mazurka pour piano [2:18]
Introduction to the opera Luisa di Montfort, Op 82 [3:59]
Luisa di Montfort – Scene and Aria for Clarinet and Orchestra, Op 82 [8:33]
Il Ritorno for Soprano and Orchestra [4:47]
Jonathan Plowright (piano)
Jakub Drygas (clarinet)
Aleksandra Kubas-Kruk (soprano)
Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra/Łukasz Borowicz.
rec. August & September 2020, The Adam Mickiewicz University Auditorium and the Concert Hall of the Poznań Philharmonic, Poland
DUX 1704 [60:35]
The principal work on this CD was forgotten, its manuscript languishing in a London antiquarian book shop. It was passed to Jonathan Plowright for an opinion, and there could be no better judge than he, given his exceptional work in proselytizing Polish music. Consequently, it was purchased by the Poznan Philharmonic, and subsequently recorded.
First performed (and hence composed?) in 1868, it harks back stylistically to the concertos of Mendelssohn of some thirty years earlier, and, as might be expected, Chopin’s influence can be discerned. Unlike many concertos produced in the early-to-mid 19th Century, Bergson’s Op 62 is not merely devoted to frothy display (Czerny, Herz, Thalberg etc). In fact, it is a rather memorable work, in which virtuosity combines with an occasionally stormy orchestral tapestry. There is a short rising and falling phrase that appears repeatedly and is developed in the first two movements (towards the end of the orchestral introduction to the first movement some 2’03” in, and at the opening of the second movement), which I immediately recognised. Because of my instant response to it, I feel sure that I have heard it before, but I cannot think in which work. How infuriating!
The piece has its darker moments; in the five-minute slow movement, the piano ripples whilst a rather sad orchestral accompaniment provides a quite lush Romantic sound. Even when the orchestra briefly speeds up, it is only for a few seconds.
The last movement is a Hungarian dance, a vivacious whirl of a thing, which brings this surprisingly enjoyable, unknown work to a close.
The selection of works on the disc continues with some solo piano pieces that Plowright has personally selected. They show the composer successfully continuing the Chopinesque tradition, but with his own fingerprints such as unusual harmony and changes of metre.
The latter part of the disc contains examples of Bergson’s operatic music, even though one of them is for clarinet and orchestra. His best-known work in the operatic field is Luisa di Montfort, and there is a prominent soprano aria in the first act, which the composer himself transcribed for clarinet and orchestra, and which now forms a part of the educational clarinet literature, his Scene and Aria for Clarinet and Orchestra. It splendidly provides for clarinet virtuosity, and has become popular in the USA in an arrangement for clarinet and brass ensemble. The performance here sounds to be very good.
The other operatic work is from the same opera, being the orchestral introduction to Act One. It opens with the anthem of the Kingdom of France, and as it develops, the style -counterpoint and harmony employed by Bergson
- make it natural to compare it with the corresponding work by Meyerbeer, Les Huguenots.
Finally, the CD closes with the Rondo-Valse Il Ritorno for soprano and orchestra. It is a light, frothy piece in the style of Donizetti, and is well sung here by soprano Aleksandra Kubas-Kruk.
The recording is very good, as are the orchestral and solo playing. The CDs presented in a gatefold sleeve with a detailed booklet in English and Polish. A portion of the notes relating to Bergson’s music are written by the conductor Łukasz Borowicz. He does the same for his CPO recording of Nowowiejski’s Quo Vadis (reviewed here) and the same composer’s second and third symphonies on Dux (reviewed here and here).
Jim Westhead
Previous review: Rob Barnett
