CHAN 10029 Front.qxd 3/5/07 1:19 pm Page 1 CHAN 10029(2) CHANDOS CHAN 10029 BOOK.qxd 3/5/07 1:21 pm Page 2 Alphons Diepenbrock (1862–1921) COMPACT DISC ONE 1 De Vogels 10:14 Overture Lebrecht Collection Lebrecht Marsyas 33:55 Concert Suite 2 I Prelude. Marsyas’ awakening in spring 7:19 3 II Entr’acte. Wandering through the forest 12:31 4 III Marsyas and the nymphs 6:04 5 IV Prelude to Act III. A summer’s night 4:49 6 V Finale. Dance of the nymphs and Apollo’s epilogue 2:55 7 Hymne 12:37 for violin and orchestra Elektra 19:52 Symphonic Suite arranged by Eduard Reeser 8 I Andante agitato – Adagio 6:40 9 II Presto – Andantino moderato – Presto 4:57 10 III Lento – Sostenuto e agitato – Largamente 4:29 Alphons Diepenbrock 11 IV Allegro agitato – Maestoso 3:35 TT 77:07 3 CHAN 10029 BOOK.qxd 3/5/07 1:21 pm Page 4 COMPACT DISC TWO Im großen Schweigen 22:56 Hymne an die Nacht No. 2 ‘Muß immer der for bass solo and orchestra 10 Morgen wiederkommen?’ 17:24 ‘Hier ist das Meer’ – 6:53 11 for mezzo-soprano solo and orchestra ‘Das Meer liegt bleich und glänzend da’ – 5:06 12 1 ‘Muß immer der Morgen wiederkommen?’ – 7:57 ‘Sei es drum!’ – 3:37 13 2 ‘Ewig ist die Dauer des Schlafs’ – 3:25 ‘Ach, es wird noch stiller’ – 2:49 14 3 ‘Sie wissen nicht, daß du es bist’ 6:01 ‘Oh Meer! Oh Abend!’ 4:31 TT 64:51 Die Nacht 15:25 for mezzo-soprano solo and orchestra 4 ‘Rings um ruhet die Stadt’ – 7:25 Linda Finnie mezzo-soprano 5 ‘Aber ein Saitenspiel tönt fern aus Gärten’ – 3:15 Christoph Homberger tenor 6 ‘Jetzt auch kommet ein Wehn’ 4:45 Robert Holl bass-baritone Emmy Verhey violin Hymne ‘Wenige wissen das Geheimniß der Liebe’ 8:40 for tenor solo and orchestra Residentie Orchestra The Hague 7 ‘Wenige wissen das Geheimniß der Liebe’ – 3:07 Hans Vonk 8 ‘Wer hat des irdischen Leibes hohen Sinn errathen?’ – 3:14 9 ‘Hätten die Nüchternen einmal gekostet’ 2:20 4 5 CHAN 10029 BOOK.qxd 3/5/07 1:21 pm Page 6 passionately involved with literature and onwards was added the colouristic refinement Diepenbrock: Orchestral Works and Symphonic Songs painting, cultural history and politics, that he encountered in Debussy’s music. All philosophy and religion, and he published these features are illuminated in the present important polemical writings on these series of recordings which offer a Orchestral Works conviction that his real calling was to subjects. Because of his literary bent he was representative collection of the music of this Alphons Diepenbrock lived from 1862 to composition, in which he had been held in such high regard by contemporary versatile artist, who was known and respected 1921 – exactly three hundred years later than completely self-taught from an early age; this Dutch poets and writers that his musical by such composers as Gustav Mahler, Richard Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562–1621). conviction became stronger particularly after creativity was almost overlooked in these Strauss and Arnold Schoenberg. Both composers spent the greater part of the completion of his first major work, the circles. However, it was just this creative The collection opens with the overture their lives in Amsterdam, Sweelinck as the monumental Missa in die festo for double power that was nourished by everything he De Vogels (The Birds), the one happy piece last celebrated representative of the male choir, solo tenor and organ (1890–91). absorbed as a literary enthusiast. His of music composed by the melancholic Netherlands school, Diepenbrock as the first In 1895 he returned to Amsterdam where, predominantly vocal output is distinguished Diepenbrock. It was written in the summer north Netherlands composer since then with his wife and two daughters, he by the high quality of the texts used. Apart of 1917, during the First World War. The whose music could be measured by remained till the end of his life, working as a from the ancient Greek dramatists and Latin request from Amsterdam students for international standards. This last fact is all private classics teacher as well as composing church texts, he was inspired by, among incidental music to Aristophanes’ eponymous the more remarkable in that Diepenbrock more than a hundred works, many of them others, Goethe, Novalis, Brentano, Hölderlin, play must for Diepenbrock have felt like a was not a musician by training. Brought up large-scale. The majority of these remained Karoline von Günderode, Heine and release from the deep depression he was in a prosperous and cultured Catholic milieu, unpublished during Diepenbrock’s lifetime, Nietzsche, Baudelaire, Verlaine, van suffering at the time. In his summer house in he was more naturally led to pursue studies thus hindering their wider dissemination. On Lerberghe and Gide, Vondel and Laren, surrounded by the inspiring twitter of at university than in a conservatory, even the other hand, though, the conductor contemporary Dutch poets. Conspicuous in birds, this sparkling music emerged as if in a though he had already shown outstanding Willem Mengelberg and the theatre director this choice is Diepenbrock’s preference on the state of rapture. Apart from the overture, the musical gifts as a child. In 1880 he enrolled Willem Royaards persuaded him to direct his one hand for impassioned hymns and on the score comprises a song for tenor, five small as a classics student at the University of own works. Furthermore, in 1908 and 1910 other for the meditative celebration of the dances with spoken voice and a finale with Amsterdam, gaining his doctorate cum laude he conducted Mahler’s Fourth Symphony in Night. (It might be said that the Novalis title spoken voice and female choir. The overture, in 1888 with a dissertation written in Latin the Concertgebouw – at that time a risky Hymne an die Nacht completely sums up the in free but nevertheless recognisable sonata on the life of Seneca. In the same year he was undertaking in Holland – and, in 1918, essence of Diepenbrock’s art.) In addition he form, is dotted with cleverly imitated bird employed as a teacher at the Gymnasium in compositions by Fauré and Debussy. created a musical idiom which, in a highly calls, with a nightingale’s lament (solo flute) ’s-Hertogenbosch, a job in which he Diepenbrock’s great love of music never personal manner, combined sixteenth-century in the middle section, and has a lyrical remained with steadily increasing reluctance overshadowed his interests in other aspects of vocal polyphony with the chromatic harmony momentum which carries along with it all until 1894. However, he had a growing cultural life. Throughout his life he was of Richard Wagner, to which from 1910 the little motives. 6 7 CHAN 10029 BOOK.qxd 3/5/07 1:21 pm Page 8 The combination of speaking voice and Since the play came off permanently after Diepenbrock created musical symbols for themes alternate over a colourful polyphonic orchestra was first used by Diepenbrock in ten performances, the composer put together each of the three main characters, which are orchestral garb, without a trace of virtuosic his music (1909–10) to the ‘mythical a five-movement orchestral suite from his not only based on a particular melodic- exhibitionism. In the formal structure, comedy’ Marsyas (or The Magic Fountain) by score, dispensing with the speaking voices. rhythmic plan but also possess their own elements of sonata, rondo and variation Balthazar Verhagen. The subject of this The first movement comprises the prelude to individual instrumental colours. Marsyas, of forms flow into one another. comedy is taken from a legend in Greek Act I, and describes the awakening of Marsyas course, is characterised by the flute; Deiopea Finally comes the Symphonic Suite, mythology, in which the goddess Athena is in spring. The second movement, which serves has a ‘Leitmelodie’ played on the solo violin, arranged in 1952 by the present writer, from said to have invented the flute but then as an entr’acte between Acts I and II, depicts and Apollo appears to a chordal theme on the incidental music (1919–20) to discarded it because playing it distorted her the confused wanderings of Marsyas through the horns surrounded by the sound of the Sophocles’ Elektra, the composer’s last work, face. The faun Marsyas found the flute and the forest with its rustling leaves and running harp. In the prelude to Act III all three in which, as a classical philologist, he fulfilled achieved such virtuosity with it that in his streams. In the third movement dancing themes are heard together in artful a long-held dream. As with Marsyas, this arrogance he challenged the cithern-playing nymphs mock Marsyas, who has remained by combination. nine-part score contains no singing parts; the god Apollo to a contest in which the winner the fountain, depressed, after Deiopea has The Hymne for violin and orchestra dates text is treated in an exclusively declamatory would punish the loser in whatever way he chosen not him but Apollo as the victor in the originally from 1898 in a version for violin manner without being rhythmically notated. chose. Apollo won and let Marsyas be hung contest and the god takes her with him as his and piano, which appeared in print in 1905. As Diepenbrock, at the urging of Royaards, from a tree and skinned alive; from his blood bride. Angered by the taunting of the nymphs, In the meantime Diepenbrock orchestrated had to restrict himself to the smallest possible was created the river which bore his name.