Stéphan Elmas - Complete Piano Works, Vol. 2 (Mikael Ayrapetyan)

Information

Composer: Stéphan Elmas

• 27 Mazurkas (Ed. M. Ayrapetyan)

Mikael Ayrapetyan, piano

Date: 2023

Label: Grand Piano

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Review

The word ‘mazurka’ (‘mazurek’, also ‘mazur’) was derived from the name of residents of Mazovia, in Mazury, where the dance originated. A Polish folk dance, it is characterised by a fast-paced rhythm in triple metre, with irregular accents often shifting to the second and third beats of a bar, and sometimes placed on two or all three of the beats. The emotional richness of the mazurka, with its combination of boldness, impetuosity and sincerity, has long attracted the attention of composers, both Polish (in particular Elsner and his students), as well as foreign, especially J.S. Bach, Telemann and Kirnberger.

In the process of establishing the identity of Poland, folk dance culture, in particular mazurkas, has played an important role. Having firmly established itself in the peasant life of Mazovia in the 16th century, and propagated beyond its borders by the 17th, the mazurka became part of the cycle of Polish peasant dances known as the ‘rural ball’. In a format that had been established by the 16th century, slow, formal dances, starting with a two-part ‘walking dance’ (‘Taniec Chodzony’), were alternated with a fast ‘chasing dance’ (‘Taniec Goniony’), with the same musical theme sometimes used and developed for dances of both tempos. The mazurka, including its instrumental, vocal and choreographic elements, evolved alongside other traditional dances in these settings, and also later adopted the musical features of mazurkas written by professional composers.

Elmas’s mazurkas are musical poems and paintings, in which depictions of everyday scenes are combined with soulful lyricism. He, like Chopin, combined three affiliated dances under the name ‘mazurka’: ‘mazur’, ‘kujawiak’ and ‘oberek’. Each in triple time, these dances are characterised by the absence of the upbeat typical of Polish folk music and the division of the first rhythmic phrase, and the schematic repetition of four- and eight-bar fragments. At the same time, each dance has its own characteristic features.

The mazur, a dance of the Mazovian region, is characterised by a restrained tempo, and a sweeping, free melody with a dotted rhythm. The kujawiak is denoted by a slow, smooth melody with softly pronounced accents. There are two types of kujawiak – the first, of rural Polish origin, is heard in a major key, and the second, with its roots in Jewish music, in a minor key. The oberek is recognisable for its spontaneous character, cheerful melody and very fast tempo, featuring strong, regular accents, circular dance movements and abrupt stops. Its characteristics can be heard it in Elmas’s mazurkas No. 1 in F sharp major, No. 2 in E flat major and No. 8 in D major.

In Elmas’s early mazurkas, Chopin’s influence is felt both in textural solutions and rhythmic features. No. 9 in D minor, No. 10 in C sharp minor and No. 15 in G minor introduces us to a new stage in Elmas’s approach to the mazurka genre, in which the individual style of the composer can be more clearly heard.

The late mazurkas, No. 24 In B flat major and No. 26 in F major, do not differ much from the early ones that Elmas wrote, indicating that the composer followed the idiosyncrasies of the genre quite closely when composing these works. No. 27 in B major is distinctive for its textured use of doubled notes, which add an air of sophistication.

Undoubtedly, Elmas’s mazurkas offer great value to the musical heritage of both Armenia and the wider world.

— Mikael Ayrapetyan

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Stéphan Elmas (1862 – August 11, 1937) was an Armenian composer, pianist and teacher. A prodigy, he studied piano and composition in Vienna following encouragement from Franz Liszt, to whom he later dedicated several works. Elmas enjoyed a successful international concert career across Europe, performing both his own compositions and works by major Romantic composers. He settled permanently in Geneva in 1912, where he taught and composed despite declining health and increasing isolation. His music, particularly refined salon pieces, reflects a Romantic style rooted in earlier traditions.

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Mikael Ayrapetyan (born 1984) is an Armenian pianist, composer and researcher. Following his debut at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium, he has championed the works of numerous Armenian composers through performances, recordings and his Secrets of Armenia project, initiated during his studies at the Moscow Conservatory. Trained in the Russian piano tradition, Ayrapetyan performs a broad repertoire from Baroque to contemporary music, with a particular focus on rarely heard Armenian works. He is a recipient of Armenia's State Prize and has received critical acclaim for his many award-winning recordings.

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