Frank Martin - Concerto for 7 Wind Instruments; Studies for String Orchestra; Erasmi momentum (Matthias Bamert)

Information

Composer: Frank Martin

• Concerto for 7 Wind Instruments, Percussion and String Orchestra
• Studies for String Orchestra
• Erasmi monumentum

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Matthias Bamert, conductor

Date: 1994

Label: Chandos

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Review

As a glance at the comparisons listed above shows, we are well served at present for the Concerto for seven wind instruments and the Etudes for strings. Indeed I welcomed Thierry Fischer's DG version as playing of ''exceptional excellence'' with recording to match. So the main interest of the present issue centres on Erasmi Monumentum, which is, as far as I know, a first recording. (Chandos may be wise not to claim it as such as there are always correspondents eager to correct such claims!) Erasmi Monumentum is a 25-minute piece for organ and orchestra, dating from the late 1960s and composed in response to the Rotterdam Foundation for the Arts. Each of its three movements bears a title; the first ''Homo pro se'' (''The independent man'') refers to the name given to Erasmus by his contemporaries. The organ opens the movement with a typical Martin ostinato, a sequence of 16 notes gradually transposed upwards. The second ''Stulticiae Laus'' (''In praise of folly'') refers to the work of that name by Erasmus, and the finale is subtitled ''Querela Pacis'' (''A plea for peace''). The outer movements find Martin's muse at its most characteristic; the 1960s were vintage years with the Quatre elements and the eloquent Cello Concerto and the music, and in particular the first movement, casts a powerful spell. The finale has a strong atmosphere and some haunting sonorities. The middle movement is somewhat less successful. Both the organist, Leslie Pearson, and orchestra give a good account of themselves.

In the concerto, Bamert and the LPO are more measured and relaxed than any of the rivals listed above, but good though they are, they certainly do not match the wind of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe in the lightness and keenness of their responses. Similarly the Etudes are very well played but less keenly characterized than on the DG. Bamert makes considerably heavier weather of some of them than Thierry Fischer. All the same this CD is well worth having for the sake of Erasmi Monumentum and the recording is first-class, very truthfully balanced and natural.

— Robert Layton

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Frank Martin (15 September 1890 – 21 November 1974) was a Swiss composer. Born in Geneva, he studied under Joseph Lauber and Émile Jaques-Dalcroze. He served as president of the Swiss Musicians' Union (1943–1946) before moving to the Netherlands. A performer as well as a composer, Martin toured widely as a pianist and harpsichordist. His compositions blended German influences, especially Bach, with French harmonic innovations. Notable works include the oratorios Le Vin herbé and Golgotha, the opera Der Sturm, and a Requiem, along with numerous concertos, orchestral and chamber works.

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Matthias Bamert (born July 5, 1942) is a Swiss conductor and composer. He studied music in his native Switzerland, as well as in Darmstadt and Paris, with Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Bamert's conducting career began in North America as an apprentice to George Szell and later as assistant conductor to Leopold Stokowski. He has served as music director of the Swiss Radio Orchestra from (1977–83), London Mozart Players (1993–2000), Western Australian Symphony (2003–07), Malaysian Philharmonic (2005–08), and the Sapporo Symphony (2018–2024). Bamert has made over 60 recordings.

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