In a career of 15 years including extensive touring in Europe and
Australia David Härenstam has established himself as one of the leading
guitarists of his generation. When it comes to repertoire I believe he
throws his net wider than most of his colleagues. He is at home in most
genres and besides his solo activities cooperates with other
instrumentalists, singers and reciters. Almost ten years ago I reviewed a
disc where he was partnered by violinist Nils-Erik Sparf
(review) and since then there have followed a number of
other CDs. The present solo disc is a telling example of his wide scope,
spanning baroque (de Murcia) to 2014 (Storm). In the booklet notes he
writes: “I think this disc is structured very much like my solo concerts.
Much to invite, challenge and even in no small part to provoke.”
Roland Dyens is probably best known for
Tango en Skai from 1985,
mixing Latin-American rhythms and jazz.
Libra sonatine from 1986 is
a more extended work in three movements with the fiery
Fuoco as the
finale. It is rhythmically thrilling with some exotic seasoning and – at the
end – some percussive sounds. Very inviting – a winner. Dyens is French,
born in Tunis. Atanas Ourkozounov is Bulgarian but has some French
connections since he studied at the Paris Conservatory. The theme on which
the
Folk Song Variations are based is from a traditional Bulgarian
folk song,
Pozaspa li iagodo? (Are you Sleeping, Strawberry?). He
also uses the guitar as a percussion instrument, “tapping with the left hand
while simultaneously playing harmonics with the right”. In the final
variation he imitates the tambora, a kind of long-necked lute belonging
among the traditional Bulgarian instruments. Heavily rhythmic this is
another winner.
On more traditional ground is Manuel de Falla’s
Romance del
Pescador which is a movement from his 1915 ballet
El amor
brujo (Love, the Magician). De Falla reworked the music several times
and also arranged four pieces for solo piano, including
Romance del
Pescator. Probably Gunnar Spjuth made the guitar transcription from the
piano score. It is very beautiful and David Härenstam plays it with delicate
nuances.
The Italian guitarist, cellist and singer Mauro Giuliani was also a
prolific composer: 150 works with opus numbers and a lot of unnumbered
pieces. The
Grand overture was composed in 1809 and is a marvellous
piece. It needs a fully-fledged virtuoso with real stamina and that’s what
it gets here. It's a piece full of verve and drive.
That Paganini was also a practised guitarist may not be too well-known but
he left behind a considerable amount of music with guitar. The combination
of violin and guitar recurs throughout his oeuvre. He also wrote no fewer
than fifteen quartets for guitar and strings plus some further works for the
same combination. Add to this a large number of examples for solo guitar and
even a little canzonetta for voice and guitar, and we realise that the
guitar was an important instrument for him. The
Romance was
originally written for guitar “with the accompaniment of a violin” as the
second movement of his Grand Sonata. It is one of his most beautiful
pieces.
I have to admit that Santiago de Murcia was a name new to me. After
hearing his D Major suite I regretted that I had never encountered his music
before. The nine short movements are a real delight and in particular the
melody of the
Gavotta sticks at once.
Manuel Ponce wrote a large amount of guitar music, much of it for Andrés
Segovia.
Variations on a Theme of Cabezon was his last work. No one
has hitherto been able to locate the theme in Cabezon’s production. John
Mills, the writer of the notes on Ponce in the booklet, has however found
that the theme is an Easter hymn – and has no connection with Cabezon
whatsoever. The theme begins like
Greensleeves and is developed in
many directions. It's another winner.
I have long been an admirer of Barrios’ music and the three pieces
presented here are definitely from his top drawer. The Christmas related
Villancico de Navidad, composed in 1943, is especially
charming.
Cuban music has always been an important source of inspiration for Leo
Brouwer and his 1996 composition
Paisaje Cubano Con Campanas is no
exception. It is a minimalistic study in rhythm that some listeners may find
somewhat provocative. I have heard a lot of Brouwer’s music through the
years and find his knotty harmonies quite refreshing.
The remaining two works by Swedish composers are world premiere
recordings. Staffan Storm’s
Lost Summers was premiered as recently
as June 2014 by David Härenstam, who recorded it shortly afterwards. I was
in two minds about the work after hearing it the first time. A distinct
blues feeling was my first reaction. It opens with quite simple, clear,
transparent melodic cells, tonal, that grow in intensity and in harmonic
complexity. I hear bells at first. Then it grows into thicker and more
aggressive chords. The middle section is faster in a kind of question-answer
dialogue. Then the opening tempo returns but the mood is more autumnal
(Summer is coming to an end – is lost). There is a sorrowful beauty here
with folksong-like melodic phrases. A sense of farewell can be felt -
softer, thinner - but the question-answer structure remains until the end.
The second time the blues feeling was there but then this feeling was toned
down. It's a fascinating composition that I haven’t yet digested in
full.
The liner-notes have no information on the age of Maria Löfberg’s
Dreaming Dance but the age doesn’t matter. What matters is the
quality of the music and it is hauntingly beautiful. Maria says in her
notes: “Sometimes, when you dream, you can feel that you’re flying and your
body is somehow dancing. It is a very positive feeling, at least for me. So
much so that you don’t want to wake up. This quiet guitar piece perhaps
conveys something of this harmonious dream feeling. Such, at least, was this
composer’s intention.” Let me add that David Härenstam has caught this
feeling to perfection in his sensitive playing.
The whole programme on this disc is a fascinating mix of styles,
nationalities and times but they hang together admirably and so contrasted
are the various pieces that they keep the listener alert from beginning to
end.
The liner-notes are also of particular interest. Three of the composers,
Maria Löfberg, Atanas Ourkozounov and Staffan Storm write about their own
compositions and for the rest of the contents Härenstam has asked guitarist
friends to provide notes.
As always with Daphne recordings the sound is excellent. There are
occasional noises from the fretboard but that seems to be unavoidable when
the microphones are so close. In the recital hall this is less obvious. A
second playing through from beginning to end – after some returns to certain
pieces – enhanced the feeling of a unified recital programme, where the sum
is even higher than the value of the certainly very fine individual
parts.
Guitar lovers: don’t hesitate. Music-lovers in general: don’t hesitate.
This disc will embellish any CD collection.
Göran Forsling
