X
Q
|CiweHafl, Gnildford
'vomon
H..ndh‘ ' and
:
~example), 1l
"Octaves The I
neglwtcd
t,h g big coda, sever
mv
20th-century,
which
5 are
e
tersely
CCAmens”
against the same word
not likely to be washed ‘U by spunsung
out by other voices on long
efidies of fashion.
Music for the
lines of triplets, Orchestral sup-
most part not extragavant or
ol ~port
AL
jandish - but just
good,
knowing vet (as often happens)
temporarily = forgotten.
They
thaus and firsr
:
4
_t’elv emguous :
Philharinonie
Choir ‘hadd
- elesrly worked hard,
long and devotediy at the score.
"To saythat they had mastered all
the pt'nblenm wouid be an exag.
geration. Blacher's writiy\%does
G 58 by Boris Rlacher,
missioned
by
1959 under
of the Sing
for voi
not“present the
sheer difficulty
of placing the notes that daunts
:
~gingers of mveh’ of the musie of
B]achtfl’,- W
- died five years the period, and his intervals' are
ago,
Berlin. composerof mainly small, bu “the
Baltic origin. Though musically
speaking he went his. gwn way that everything ma
“r'hn.
he was not a recluse or an eceen- remain for Jong periods, hang on. tric but a friendly, sociable man. There were sigos of flagging | emg
very much part of Berfln musical and there but the splm w&s snon.
life, respected as a teacher. He reneweéd.
kept his head and lis indepen- choirs in Germany or A;mrla.
‘dence through the period of what wonder, would tackle this work
somebody recently.described as anddo it as well as this?
i “sevial terrorism."TM ‘His music is
¢ soloists, Vivien Townley
dry. carefully calculated, econo- and lan Caddy, wers excelient.
mical, not enld or heartless.
1 Their singinz
of the qguletly
has something of the bracing rocking Domine Jesu suggested
;.Berlm climate and something of that there maybe more lvricism
i the eity’'s humour, His orchestral
Lenneerfante Music and Paganini
‘V'sriahnm wan a ceriain pohularity in the 505 ana 60s. as did
ft}w sativical
opera: Prmnsc&c)e
in the score lhan appears at first
hearing.
The orchestra has
a.
comnaratively easy time. - Their"
good quality. had been ghown: m»
the
preeceding work, Mahle
Lieder eines fahrenden G‘evenmz
melodie wealth,
made
;
The - Requiom, wmch
lasts whose
{about 45 minutes, is written for Blacher's austerity seem pesi‘full cherus, normal orchestra tively self-denying. 1o the songs,
| Mdirchen,
l
;wnh
four
percussion
i soprano and
baritone
plavers, Gwyn: Griffiths dinplayed 4 consoloists,
*The languagg ntakes much use
iof the interval of a semitonee
inot only for flavouring the har‘mony but for themes moving
*stepwise'*ln semitones
and
fnr
tralto_voice full of promise. She
must however learn to keep still
on the platform and to move both
words and tone farward: feeling
by itsell isp't enough.
:
RONALD CRICHTON