Hendrik Andriessen - Miroir de Peine, Orchestral Music & Concertos (Various Artists)

Information

Composer: Hendrik Andriessen

CD1

• Miroir de peine
• Magna res est Amor
• Fiat Domine
• Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Kuhnau
• Variations on a Theme by Couperin
• Chromatic Variations

CD2

• Cello Concertino
• Oboe Concertino
• Canzona for Cello and Orchestra
• Violin Concerto

Roberta Alexander, soprano

Michael Müller, cello

Henk Swinnen, oboe

Tinta Schmidt von Altenstadt, violin

Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra

David Porcelijn, conductor (CD1)

Thierry Fischer, conductor (CD2)

Date: 2021

Label: Brilliant

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Review

This Brilliant Classics twofer draws together two separate series of Dutch studio recordings made during the 1990s by David Porcelijn and Thierry Fischer with the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra, which originally appeared on NM Classics CDs. The two discs covered both the orchestral-vocal and the concertante elements of Andriessen’s compositional life and make for a good team in this reissue. It also helps, perhaps, that both cover different time periods, the orchestral and vocal works very largely being earlier – with the sole exception of the Chromatic Variations, which dates from 1970 - and the concertinos, Violin Concerto and Canzona all being written between 1965 and 1970.

Roberta Alexander is the soprano in three of the works, most extensively the evocative lieder cycle Miroir de Peine, set to sonnets by ‘Henri Gheon’ (in reality Henri Vangeon) which reflects Mary’s grief over the loss of Jesus. It was composed in 1923 but this orchestration was made a decade later and its five brief sections trace a course from purity to darkness, its orchestral writing exploring gauzy impressionism, strong hints of Gregorian chant, and darker string tone as the music moves toward the Crucifixion. There are no texts in the booklet for this or any of the vocal works. The two earlier vocal pieces are examples of Andriessen’s immersion in church music - Magna res est amor and Fiat Domine - and both date from the aftermath of the First World War. Originally cast for soprano and organ, they were later orchestrated and that’s the form in which they’re heard here. They’re both brief but one can still detect the influence of Diepenbrock and Pierné and, perhaps a little more surprisingly, Strauss. Roberta Alexander sings all three works with considerable eloquence.

Andriessen’s best-known work is still his Variations and Fugue on a theme by Kuhnau, written in 1935 when he was in his early 40s. It’s essentially a free fantasia, whether serioso or fanciful, and receives a strongly committed and expertly judged performance, as indeed is the case with the Variations on a theme by Couperin, written a decade later, toward the end of the Second War. Here there are two instrumentalists, a flautist and a harpist, and both are expertly balanced in this studio recording. There’s much elysian lightness and aerial grace in this work before the strongly voiced fugue and a restatement of theme. It’s a very similar process as the Kuhnau variations and its brightness and refinement should be better known. The Chromatic Variations, on an original theme, sports four soloists, flute, oboe, violin and cello. It’s much the most complex music, harmonically, in this first disc though stylistically consonant with his works of decades before, with its witty conversational figures and strong themes.

In the case of the Cello Concertino there is a process of Bachian contrapuntalism at work that transfers into late-Romanticism with surprising ease. It’s a beautifully voiced if very brief work. The Canzona for cello and orchestra, again played finely by Michael Müller, is in fact somewhat larger-scaled than the Concertino. The writing is noble and expressive and honours Baroque procedure. The Concertino for Oboe and String Orchestra is in three movements and explores the oboe’s singing qualities to trace lines of expressive lyricism as well as more giocoso elements, not least in the fugato – very typical of the composer – in the finale. The final work is the Violin Concerto. It’s modestly scored, with clean, clear, clarified lines, and there are delicious moments for horn melodies and, in the slow movement, for the flute and harp – an Andriessen speciality. But there is also, in contrast, some stentorian brass calls and a vivacious frolicking finale, excellently negotiated by Tinta Schmidt von Altenstadt.

All the performances are both well recorded and athletically and sympathetically played. They give full rein to the composer’s modest generosity, his thematic interest, and his lyric warmth.

— Jonathan Woolf

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Hendrik Andriessen (17 September 1892 – 12 April 1981) was a Dutch composer and organist. Born in Haarlem, he studied at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and became organist at Utrecht Cathedral in 1934. He taught also composition in Amsterdam and Utrecht and served as director of the Utrecht Conservatory (1937–1949). During World War II, he resisted cooperating with the Nazis and was held hostage in 1942. After the war, he led the Royal Conservatory in The Hague (1949–1957) and taught at the Catholic University in Nijmegen. His compositions include symphonies, masses, chamber music, and organ works.

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