Innovation Chamber Ensemble 210209

PROGRAMME

Saturday 21 February 2009, 7.30 pm
Concord College, Acton Burnell

INNOVATION CHAMBER ENSEMBLE

Marcus Barcham-Stevens - Violin
Judith Templeman - Violin
Mike Jenkinson - Viola
Angela Swanson - Viola
Richard Jenkinson - Cello
Kate Setterfield - Cello
John Tattersdill - Double Bass

String Sonata No. l in G -- Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868)
Moderate; Andante; Allegro

Rossini's six string quartets were written in Ravenna during the summer of 1804. The composer was just twelve years old and staying at the home of amateur double bass enthusiast Agostini Triossi - hence the prominent role that instrument assumes. At first these youthful works were scored for two violins, violoncello and double bass only. They were most likely categorized as 'sonate a quattro', for Rossini's score clearly labels each instrument in the singular. Today's performances are most commonly presented by ensemble groups. Each violin line is typically carried by three performers, the cello 'voice' is duplicated and a single bass completes the ensemble. For this recording we finally return to Rossini's original, neglected, four-instrument configuration.

The existence of these early sonatas was well documented from the outset, though for many years their whereabouts remained a mystery. Most scholars assumed they had long since been destroyed. But in 1954 Rossini's original version turned up at the Library of Congress, Washington. It was prefaced by A Bonaccorsi and corresponded with an earlier 1942 discovery of five of the works (No 3 was absent) scored as standard string quartets and first published in Milan in 1826 by Ricordi. Alfredo Casella edited this wartime discovery for publication in 1951. Today, however, the conventional quartet scoring and a further transposition for winds (flute, clarinet, bassoon and horn) dated 1828/1829 are together widely regarded as less than wholly authentic. Both adaptations seem likely to be the work of long-forgotten transcribers. Together these six works demonstrate the astonishing speed-with which Rossini was developing. At this tender age he clearly chose to depart from prevailing musical expectations. He shrewdly separates the roles of cello and bass, allowing both instruments their share of the limelight. Equally, neither of the two violin lines is subservient and each treble 'voice' has been permitted its own ascendancy as the works unfold. Already there is evidence of the bel canto design that Rossini advanced and developed beyond its earlier formalism. He relied heavily on the device of cavatina and cabaletta; the former required singers to sustain a line with beauty of tone, nuance and colour, while the cabaletta called for a high degree of virtuosity.

Verklarte Nacht is a rare experiment in the field of the 'chamber symphonic poem'. Doubtless influenced conceptually by Smetana's quartets, this one-movement tour-de-force of intensely chromatic post-Tristanesque harmony, with its quasi-symphonic textures, created a furore when it first appeared. The public were shocked by the (then) modern harmony - especially an inverted chord of the ninth 'which does not exist'. Schoenberg remarked tartly, 'and thus cannot be performed, as one cannot perform that which does not exist'. It was composed in just three weeks in September 1899, and took as its inspiration a poem by German poet, Richard Dehmel (1863-1920) from his collection Zwei Menschen. All of this is conveyed by the music in a sustained outpouring of rich, polyphonal, densely scored string-writing, maintaining an unremitting tension.

1. The work falls into five sections which roughly correspond to the five stanzas of the poem. The slow introduction in D minor sets the mood as in the first stanza of the poem. The 'Moonlight' theme, a descending chromatic figure, is reminiscent of the opening of Liszt's B minor Sonata which in its one-movement form may have provided Schoenberg with a blueprint for this work.

2. After only twenty bars the harmony takes on a decidedly Wagnerian character - note the ambiguous chordal progressions which recall the opening of the famous Tristan Prelude. An agitated and extremely tense accelerando leads to the woman's speech 'I carry in my womb a child, but he's not yours ...', heard in the first viola. The music is dominated by a mood of guilt and self reproach, centred firmly in minor keys. The music changes, to prepare for the sudden introduction of a new, ardent theme in E major at ('Now I have met you, ah you').

3. The third section of the music is a spectral, grotesque scherzo ('She stumbles on'), and graphically depicts the uncertainty of the woman as she wonders how her companion will respond to her confession. To reflect this sense of 'walking blindly', the harmony becomes eyen more ambiguous, almost tenuous, while the metre swings to 3/4 with the marking 'Drangend etwas unruhiger' ('Hurrying on somewhat restlessly').

4. This marvelous, almost symphonic passage leads to the fourth section which introduces the male character. His first words - after the intensity which has gone before - are dramatically stated in a radiant D major ('Let the child you have conceived be no burden on your soul'). Schoenberg's wonderful colouristic writing to reflect the lines 'You are floating with me on a cold sea, yet between our two hearts there flickers some special warmth, from you to me, from me to you, that will bear that child to me, by me' brings a glittering, transcendent quality to the music which alters the entire mood. The modulation to the rarely used, highly chromatic and brilliant key of F sharp major at this point 'uplifts' exactly, as in the manner of the poem.

5. The final section, in the tonic major, presents the 'moonlight' theme, now 'transfigured' and accompanied by a colouristic bass, ever more yearning, 'Their breaths were joined in the air as they kissed') and the delicate final coda is exquisite, as the earlier ethereal arpeggiatura (from the fourth section) is reprised. The work ends molto pianissimo, in D major. Although scored deliberately for string sextet, the music palpably cries out for greater forces. Schoenberg recognized this and later re-scored it for string orchestra in 1917 (revising it in 1941); it is by this version which the work is best known.

1 .Zwei Menschen gehn durch kahlen, kalten Hain; Der Mond lauft mit, sie Schaun hinein. Der Mond Lauft iiber hohe Fichen, Kein Wolkchen triibt das Himmelslicht, In das die schwarzen Zacken reichen. Die Stimme eines Welbes spricht:

2. Ich trag ein Kind, und nit von Dir Ich geh in Siinde neben Dir. Ich habe mich schwer an mir vergangen. Ich glaubte nicht mehr an ein Gluck Und hatte doch ein schwer Verlangen Nach Lebensinhalt, nach Muttergluck Und Pflicht; da hab ich mich erfrecht, Da Hess ich schaudernd mein Geslecht Von einem fremden Mann umfangen, Und hab mich noch daffir gesegnet, Nun hat das Leben sich geracht; Nun bin ich Dir, o Dir begegnet.

3. Sie geht, mil ungelenkem Schritt Sie schaut empor; der Mond lauft mit Ihr dunkter Blick ertrinkl in Licht. Die Stimme eines Mannes spricht:

4. Das Kind, das Du empfangen hast, Sei deiner Seele keine Last, O sich, wie klar das Wellall schimmert Es ist ein Glanz um Alles her, Du ireibst mit mir auf kaltem Meer, Doch eine eigne Warme flimmert von Dir in mich von mir in Dich. Die wird das fremde Kind verklaren, Du wirst es mir, von mir gebaren; Du hast den Glanz in mich gebracht, Du hast mich selbst zum Kind gernacht.

5. Er lasst sie um die starken Hufien Ihr Atem kiisst sich in dem Luften Zwei Menschen gehn durch hohe, helle Nachi.

1. Two figures walk through the bare, cold grove. The moon glides with them, they look into her face The moon glides over high oak trees. No wisp of cloud veils the light from the heavens, into which the black branches reach. The voice of a woman speaks:

2. 1 carry a child, but he is not yours. I walk in sin beside you; I went astray; no longer believed in happiness, and yet the longing for meaning to my life, for the cares and joys of motherhood, lay heavy upon me. I grew shameless as my shuddering body yielded to the embrace of an unknown man, and so I am now with child. Now life has taken revenge; Now I have met you - ah, you.

3. She stumbles on. She looks up, the moon glides on. Her dark face is drowned in light. The voice of a man speaks:

4. Let the child you have conceived be no burden on your soul. Just see how all the Universe glistens. Everything around us gleams. You are floating with me on a cold sea, yet between our two hearts there flickers some special warmth, from you to me, from me to you, that will bear that child to me, by me. You kindled that flame in me. You have turned even me into a child.

5.He caught her around her strong hips. Their breath kisses in the air. Two figures walk through the high, bright night

Quintet in C, Op28 No.4 (G310) -- Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805)
Allegro con moto; Minuetto con moto - Trio - Minuetto da capo; Grave Rondeau; Allegro con moto

Before Boccherini settled into the life of a composer he was a virtuoso cellist, and it was during his employment in the court of King Carlos III that he started writing cello quintets for himself to perform with the quartet already in residence. The combination of quintet with two cellos freed one of them from the obligation to provide the bass line, so Boccherini was able to exploit the instrument's full range and write for an ensemble of five soloists. He was able to further develop this sound when later employed by the cello-playing Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, where his quintets with two cellos were especially welcomed. And so were written a magnificent series of works combining lively, robust passages with elegant, suave melodic writing, and passionate driving rhythm with sweet seductive passages, all underpinned by rich five-part harmony.

In the spring of 1945, with the Second World War approaching its conclusion, the devastation of Germany's cities was almost complete. For the 80-year-old Strauss it was almost too much to bear. The bombing in 1943 of the Munich National Theatre, where several of his operas had been premiered, had hit him as 'the greatest catastrophe which has ever been brought into my life', and since then the destruction of the opera houses in Weimar, Dresden and Vienna had reduced him to even greater depths of depression and despair. To him, it seemed as if German civilization itself was coming to an end.

Not that this gloomy mood stopped him from composing. The previous summer he had begun work on a setting for male voice choir of a poem by Goethe, Niemand wird sich selber kennen: 'No one can know himself ; yet daily he must put to the test what he can see clearly and objectively ... what he is and what he was, what he can do and what he may. What goes on in the world, no-one really understands correctly, and until today no-one gladly wishes to understand it.' A commission from the Swiss conductor and patron Paul Sacher, however, caused him to redivert the material of this setting into a 'study for 23 solo strings' which he completed on 12 April 1945. By this time it had a new title as well: Metamorphosen (Metamorphoses).

The use of the word tells us two things. First, this single movement adagio, lasting nearly 30 minutes, is one in which the melodic material is subjected to constantly unfolding and intricate development. There are four main themes, of which the drooping, grief-stricken second, heard on a pair of violas immediately after the cellos and basses have given out the chordal first, is the most naggingly obstinate. Its origins lay in a theme Strauss had noted down after the loss of the Munich Opera House, and just before the end of the piece we hear it in its final metamorphosis, transformed by cellos and basses into the theme from the Funeral March of Beethoven's 'Eroica' Symphony. Strauss maintained that the allusion had not been planned , but he nevertheless wrote the words 'In Menior-iam!' underneath it in the score, and the implication seems clear - that Metamorphosen is a threnody for German musical life.

But there is another resonance in the work's title, this time to do with the Goethe connection. Strauss had recently embarked on a project to read Goethe's complete works, and would have been fully aware that towards the end of his own life the great poet had used the word 'Metamorphosen' to describe his own mental development, especially when applied to works which had taken form over a number of years. Seen in this light, and bearing in mind both its genesis and the text originally associated with it, Strauss's work clearly embodies a much more personal message about self-knowledge and the passing of time. The result is one of his most searching and emotionally intense utterances.

The Innovation Chamber Ensemble was formed in 2002 by the principal string players of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra to make a unique ensemble who strive for performances of the highest calibre. This 'conductor less' group ranges in size to a maximum of sixteen string players and incorporates both enthusiasm and many years of experience from working with 'worldclass' musicians such as Sir Simon Rattle, Sakari Oramo and indeed the CBSO's exciting new music director Andris Nelsons. Due to its versatility I.C.E. is able to perform in venues that would be impossible for the ensemble's bigger cousin.

I.C.E. was launched to the world in September 2002 with concerts firstly in its orchestral home of the West Midlands and then at the Wigmore Hall in London. The Independent newspaper commented at the time that this was one of the top events to happen nationally in the U.K (second only to a new production of Siegfried). The concert in Birmingham also created major press and radio coverage and prompted Blue Rhythm Records to approach the group about recording the event live. This recording, titled 'ICE ON FIRE' is available with distribution to all major outlets and shops through Nova via Pinnacle, through the Britannia Music magazine and at www.bluerhythm.co.uk and innovationchamberensemble.co.uk.

The profile of the Ensemble has also been subsequently raised by significant coverage by both of the nation's classical radio channels. Classic P.M. featured 'ICE on Fire' as CD of the week and also previewed many of the group's concerts with interviews and features.

The Innovation Chamber Ensemble has played 'Live' on B.B.C. Radio 3 and ICE on Fire' has also received air time on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 2, Saga and many regional radio stations. The group has also appeared on BBC 4 and the Creative Channel Network television. Articles about I.C.E. have appeared in the Strad, Musical Opinion and Classical Music magazines and The Independent, Daily Mirror, Birmingham Post, Evening Mail and many local newspapers.

The group's repertoire is hugely diverse and includes standards by Bach and Vivaldi and encapsulates the great Romantic masters as well as the 20th Century giants of Bartok, Britten, Stravinsky and Schonberg. I.C.E. is also firmly committed to the works of living composers. The two launch concerts featured works by Paul da Vinci alongside that giant of the light music field Robert Farnon (who after hearing the ICE recording of Song of Scandia penned Richard a lovely arrangement of Pictures in the Fire). Further premieres have included Colin Twig's Echoes of Eternity (for cello & strings premiered in Birmingham and subsequently performed in Suffolk and 2007 Deal Festival) and Ivor McGregor's Septet.

The group's concerts have included several performances at Wigmore Hall and performances at the CBSO Centre, Birmingham, St Davids, Fishguard and Deal festivals (both 2007 and 2008), concerts in various parts of the country and a special relationship with the county of Shropshire.