Sextet/Clarinet Quartet

Can you imagine a direct line of descent from Schubert to Mahler to Shostakovich to Penderecki? Yes, at first thought it seems unlikely. But the main piece on this disc--at 32 minutes it takes up almost half of the CD's playing time--the Sextet for Clarinet, Horn, Violin, Viola and Piano traces a trajectory that makes this descent fairly obvious. The first of the Sextet's two movements, the Allegro moderato, begins with a tramping low A-flat ostinato from the piano that suggests a young fellow setting out on a walking journey not unlike that of Schubert's hero in 'Winterreise.' His thoughts and comments are primarily expressed by the two wind soloists in the sextet, the clarinet and the horn. He starts out rather naively and with bumptiously optimistic horn tunes but soon begins to make increasingly sarcastic comments; to accomplish this Penderecki uses the clarinet in its highest register, a technique pioneered for this very purpose by Mahler who often pushed the notion to its limits by using the the wailing of the even higher E-flat clarinet. Of course, this is one of the Mahlerian traits that Shostakovich made such effective use of in his symphonies and operas. The movement winds down a bit, although there are weak attempts along the way to express the young man's high spirits. These attempts become as hysterical as they are hopeless, as if the protagonist knows his efforts are in vain, that the world's woes will beat him down.

The second movement, Larghetto, is twice as long as the first, at 21 minutes. It is generally melancholy, resigned, increasingly at peace with the world. It features extended solos for each of the instruments, mostly in a songful but mournful mode. There is an effort at struggle early on, but increasingly the piece slows down, becomes peaceful, and finally etherealizes to a pianissimo widely-spaced chord. The final minutes of the movement sound for all the world like something from late Shostakovich, say the Michelangelo Songs. There is a wisdom here, an acceptance of the reality of life and its inevitabilities.

I truly believe that the Sextet, written in 2000, is one of the first masterpieces of the 21st century and that it will survive as such. This is its first recording. May it not be its last.

The other pieces on this disc represent the earliest and latest productions of Penderecki, and they give us an insight into the progression of his style, although there is nothing here from his middle period in which he was more interested in textural writing. 'Three Miniatures for Clarinet and Flute'(1956), which last only a total of four minutes, are Webernian in their concision, although the technique is perhaps more like Bartók. We then skip to 1987 for 'Prelude for Solo Clarinet' (1987), written for composer Paul Patterson's fortieth birthday. It is a somber lento sostenuto, played gorgeously by clarinetist Michel Lehtiec.

The 'Clarinet Quartet' (1993) comprises three movements (Notturno, Scherzo, Serenade) followed by a fourth movement (Abschied) that is as long as the first three put together. The 'Abschied' is surely an homage to Mahler's similarly named movement from 'Das Lied von der Erde,' as it has the same mood and wistful fade-out as the Mahler.

'Divertimento for Solo Cello' (1994), written for Mstislav Rostropovich, has echoes of Shostakovich's solo cello works written for Slava. The movements are Sarabande, Serenade, Scherzo, and Notturno. Double stops, contrapuntal writing and harmonics abound. There are some amusing col legno and pizzicato effects in the scherzo. The culmination of the suite is the final Notturno which exchoes (or since it was written earlier, presages) the final movement of the Sextet.

There are some confusing errors in the enclosed booklet. First, there is indication that a recording of 'Three Miniatures for Violin and Piano' is included; it is not. Also, the date of the 'Prelude for Solo Clarinet' is given as 1954; a check of Grove clarifies that it was written in 1987 (when, indeed, dedicatee British composer Paul Patterson was forty, as he was born in 1947).

That said, however, I must say that this is an outstanding release. The three Finnish musicians (Arto Noras, cello; Markus Maskuniitty, horn; Juhani Lagerspretz, piano) and the three French musicians (Régis Pasquier, violin; Bruno Pasquier, viola; and Michel Lethiec, clarinet) are masters of this music. Naxos provides sterling lifelike sound.

For years I ignored the music of Penderecki because I was not fond of his middle period compositions, but for the last twenty years he has been writing some of the most interesting things around, and his devotion recently to chamber music is all the more attractive since he had not concentrated on this genre until recently.

Recommended.

TT=67:48

Scott Morrison

The first time I heard the Sextet was in the US or NY premiere at Allice Tully Hall last year, played by Fred Sherry, and other members of Juillard graduates/teachers. I was not that impressed with this new piece then, but I thought it was mainly because the players were under-rehearsed and it sounded like a run-through busy trying to play in time (in fact I thought they couldn't even do that) so it was overall a slack performance and not Penderecki's own fault. I was right, for after listening to such an engaging performance from this disc, I realise this is a real masterpiece. And today I just listened to a live performance at Columbia (2nd performance in NY, I believe) and it sounded so much more gripping and moving than the Juillard performance, confirming that Penderecki has lost none his expressive nuances, despite his long departure from the new uncanny sound world of his 60's to this late etheral neo-romantic phrase. Yes, romantic music this is, as demonstrated from the opening rhythmic figure from the piano and the 3 note horn motive, which at first sounded rather cliche on first hearing. But then the music developed into something much richer and more imaginative. Throughout the first movement there are the restless twists from the clarinet, the agitated strings and the defiant sounds of the French horn and at times it seem sto plunch into a dance macabre, not unlike the satirical dances of Shostakovich, Then of course the famous Pendereckian chromatic runs are abundant throughout. The solemn second movement, the core of this piece is an extended elegie, interupted throughout with agitated cries and more ironic/cynical episodes. Throughout there is a sense of doom and with it's haunting horn calls (off stage most of the time, especially effective in live performance) gives a great sense of nostalgia, and even of inevitable catastrophy. Towards the coda, the pleaing cries from the cello gives way to a grim and stoic close.
The rest of the items are also very well played, especially the clarinet quartet, played with great intensity throughout. Highly recommended, especially given it's budget price.