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| BIS 2070 |
The works on this disc are the Scherzo concreto, Op. 58, the Quintet, Op. 50 the Variazioni pastorale, Op. 8 in a version for string quartet and Erfiljod (Elegies), Op. 35, three songs for male choir, mezzo soprano and violin.
Jón Leifs was born in North Iceland but left in 1916 to
study at the Leipzig Conservatory, Germany later studying composition with
Ferruccio Busoni. Although he studied piano with Robert Teichmüller he decided
not to pursue a career as a pianist but to devote his time to conducting and
composing.
Before the Second World War Leifs became a successful
conductor, directing orchestras in Germany, Czechoslovakia, Norway and Denmark.
It was during a tour of Norway, the Faroe Islands and Iceland with the
Hamburger Philharmoniker that he gave the very first symphonic concerts in
Iceland. In the 1920s he travelled to Iceland on three occasions to record folk
songs among the population in his home county Húnavatnssýsla in North Iceland.
It was piano arrangements of Icelandic folk songs that
started Leifs compositional career. From the 1930s he concentrated his efforts
on large orchestral works, some of which were not performed until after his
death. Most of his output is inspired by Icelandic natural phenomena. In the
piece Hekla he depicts the eruption
of the volcano Hekla which he witnessed. Dettifoss
was inspired by Europe’s most powerful waterfall and the Saga Symphony he musically portrays five
characters from the classic Icelandic sagas.
In 1935 Jón Leifs was appointed Musical Director of the
Icelandic National Broadcasting Service but resigned in 1937, returning to
Germany. During the Second World War Leifs and his family lived under constant
threat of Nazi persecution due to his wife being Jewish. In 1944, the couple
managed to obtain permission to leave Germany and moved to Sweden with their
daughters.
In 1945 Leifs moved back to Iceland where he took a keen
interest in music education and artists’ rights. This included working for the
ratification by Iceland of the Berne Convention, which happened in 1947, and
setting up the Performing Rights Society of Iceland (STEF) in 1948. His Requiem is dedicated to the memory of
his younger daughter who drowned whilst swimming off the coast of Sweden.
Jón Leifs composed his last work, Consolation, Intermezzo for string orchestra, just weeks before his
death in Reykjavík.
The Scherzo concreto,
Op. 58 (1964), written for ten
instruments, is performed here by the Kammersveit Reykjavíkur (Reykjavík
Chamber Orchestra) www.kammersveit.is conducted
by Bernharđur Wilkinson. The Moderato
opens with a shrill motif for the piccolo thrown around among the players
before a melody begins to appear that is also shared around. The music is
rather tentative, never totally developing a theme and very much serial in
style. Eventually the music gains in momentum before slowing to a sudden end.
Leifs’ Quintet, Op.
50 is played here by members of the Kammersveit Reykjavíkur, Martial
Nardeau (flute and piccolo), Þórunn Ósk Marinósdóttir (viola), Einar Jóhannesson
(clarinet), Inga Rós Ingólfsdóttir (cello) and Runar H. Vilbergsson (bassoon).
The Introduzione. Moderato – espressivo e sempre marcato opens quietly with a little theme shared around the players and having much in common with the Scherzo, Op.58. However the music soon settles to a more flowing theme, a gentle melody, slightly rising and falling and with Leifs’ recognisable sound world very much more present, making this a more approachable work.
Funebre: Adagio brings
a particularly atmospheric theme that slowly winds its way forward, so
distinctively Leifs, beautifully written for this combination of instruments and
full of fine little details well brought out by these players. This is a lovely
movement full of sensitive writing. The Scherzo:
Allegro energico e moderato has an attractive, buoyant theme that moves rhythmically
ahead full of joy.
BIS have already recorded the orchestral version of Leifs’ Variazioni pastorale, Op. 8 (BIS-CD-930)
but here it is performed in Leifs’ own version for string quartet by Rut
Ingólfsdóttir and Sigurlaug Eđvaldsdóttir (violins), Þórunn Ósk Marinósdóttir (viola)
and Sigurđur Bjarki Gunnarsson (cello).
In Thema: Adagio e
molto cantabile the quartet state the theme from Beethoven’s Serenade Op.8
slowly put through a fine series of variations, Variation 1: L'istesso tempo weaving a richer version and Variation 2: L'istesso tempo, quasi grave
shifting the feel of the music harmonically further from its Germanic origins. Variation 3: Allegro brings wilder
string chords as Leifs imposes more of his own musical personality on the
theme, whilst Variation 4: Allegro
scherzando has a rather cheeky rhythmic stance reflecting Icelandic folk
tunes style. Variation 5: Moderato
brings a mellow chordal section that contrasts well with Variation 6: Moderato alla Marcia with its rhythmic staccato phrases.
Variation 7: Allegro molto ma energico
continues the feel of Variation but with more bounce and forward drive before Variation 8: Allegro vivace e brillante
brings freely flowing string flourishes full of harmonies Beethoven would never
have imagined. Variation 9: Quasi grave
has a wistful variant, tonally free and flowing with Leifs having thoroughly
taken over the original theme before he leads to Variation 10: Finale: Adagio cantabile ma animato returning us more or less back to the original
theme, though here it gains a brilliance it never had before by a change to the
major key.
This attractive work is very finely played by this quartet.
The three songs that make up Erfiljod (Elegies), Op. 35 are performed here by a male choir
whose members are individually named in the booklet notes but do not appear to
have an overall name. They are joined in the last song by Þórunn Guðmundsdóttir
(mezzo soprano) and Rut Ingólfsdóttir (violin) and are conducted by Bernharđur
Wilkinson)
The choir bring a wonderful dark, smoky atmosphere to Söknuđur (Grief), a reworking of Leifs
earlier Requiem. This is a wonderful song, a setting of texts
by Jónas Hallgrímsson (1807-1845). Sorgardans
(Dance of Sorrow) has some fine part writing as the texts are overlaid with
the rhythm of a chant pervading much of this setting taken from a mixture of
sources including Icelandic folk tales. The song builds slowly and rhythmically
with some very fine singing from this choir, full of atmosphere, increasing in
tempo before a slower coda.
Sjávarljóđ (Sea Poem)
also takes its text from Icelandic folk tales as well as other Icelanic
writers. The choir opens slowly but with little surges as the violin can be
heard. Mezzo-soprano Þórunn Guðmundsdóttir then enters with her lovely direct,
pure voice before the choir and violin slowly move the music forward. Þórunn
Guðmundsdóttir then comes in over choir and violin which maintains a folk style
drone. There are some lovely harmonies and inflections before the music gains
in tempo and passion a couple of times before slowing with lovely violin
harmonies. The solo violin brings a lovely moment to which the choir, then
mezzo-soprano Þórunn Guðmundsdóttir quietly join before leading to another solo
violin passage which brings the hushed end to this quite lovely song.
This is a most welcome addition to the Leifs catalogue that
shows a different side to Leifs composition. Of all the works here it is the Quintet and Sjávarljóđ that I will most often return to. BIS’ re-mastering of
the recordings from 2002, 2004 and 2005 is very fine and there are excellent
booklet notes as well as full texts and English translations.
As I publish my last review before
the Seasonal Festivities I would like to take the opportunity to wish Seasons’
Greetings to all of my followers and to all the Record Companies and Publishers
that have supported me during 2014 and enabled the Classical Reviewer to go
from strength to strength.
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