《柯达伊、雷格&巴赫：无伴奏大提琴作品》

专辑介绍：COLIN MASON

it to be the regular part of our experience that it deserves to be.

miracle—but a miracle that too few ’cellists will ever be able to perform for

masterpiece. As a solo ’cello sonata it is more than a masterpiece, it is a

string quartet, or at any rate of a string trio, it would be a popular

distributed among the instruments of a

it belongs beside his Second String Quartet, and if its content were

consisting of a more loosely linked succession of dance-like episodes. In style

movement, all passionate rhapsodic melody, and a strongly rhythmic finale

concentrated and highly original sonata-form first movement, an expansive slow

chamber-music period, a big sonata design, with a lyrical but terse,

the other hand wrote a work completely characteristic of his early

Reger, to the language of it). Kodaly on

the Bachian model of the solo sonata (though not, like

too, a quarter of a century after his slighting comment on Reger, reverted to

instead of the suite-like succession of Bartok’s four movements. For Bartók

greater, since his work is divided into three sustained sonata-type movements

still larger scale, is equally “all right”, and his achievement is perhaps even

afraid it would be too much. But it was all right”. Kodaly’s Sonata too, on a

friend: “Imagine, nearly twenty-five minutes of unaccompanied violin. I was

Bartók is apt. After finishing his Sonata for solo violin, he wrote to a

distract from the pure musical enjoyment of the work. Again a quotation from

and amazing variety of the sound, with never a hint of a tour de force to

demands, we can forget it, out ear delighting in the natural fullness, richness

medium, but here, when the player commands the full technique that the work

completely unaware of the composer’s struggles with the limitations of the

rarely, in listening to an unaccompanied string work, that we can remain

achievement is to do all this without betraying any sense of strain. It is

compass, to a height undreamt of by Bach or Reger. But his greatest technical

string player. He also takes the instrument to the extreme limits of its

glissandos, besides many subtleties of technique that would occur only to a

left-hand pizzicato notes against sustained bowed notes or passages, pizzicato

frequently in the other two. Other devices include a liberal use of .harmonics,

open strings occurs frequently throughout the first movement, and less

minor. The principal key of the work is B minor, and this tonic chord on the

is drawn across the three lower strings, unstopped, they give a chord of B

strings of the instrument from G and C to F sharp and B, so that when the bow

with a rich and varied background. One of them is to tune down the two lower

almost inconceivable ones (“incredible” as Bartók calls them), to provide it

melody unaccompanied, but exploits every conceivable technical device, and some

making full use of the melodic nature of the instrument, rarely leaves the

consistently even than Bach, for a single line of pure melody. Kodaly, while

misleading. It is Reger rather than Kodaly who usesthe ’cello in this way, more

reference to (the simplest possible means, a single melodic instrument', is

slow movement and 50 bars in the last movement). In one sense Bartok’s

scope and in duration (in this performance there are cuts of 23 bars in the

repertory. For unlike the Reger suite it is a serious work, immense both in

when properly played the most effective) serious work in tile entire ’cello

possibilities to the full, in what is almost certainly the most difficult (but

consulted Kerpely, the virtuoso ’cellist to whom the work is dedicated. He uses all these

naturally aware of far greater technical possibilities, and no doubt he also

be recognized as the same instrument. As a ’cellist himself Kodaly was

on the other side of the record is so entirely different that it is hardly to

complete the side.What Kodaly does with the same technical means at his disposal

Suite for unaccompanied ’cello, which

bourrées from Bach’s own Third

figuration. Just how close may be verified by comparing them with the two

pastiche, sticking very closely to Bach’s musical language both in harmony and

direct reference to Bach, they make no pretence of being anything but light

movements (Prelude, Largo and Gigue) are not specifically humorous and make no

the clue to the character of the whole work, and although the other three

dotted about the movement also add to its humorous effect. This movement gives

mode, as of a humorous wrong note. The sudden pizzicato chords and bass notes

movement, with the effect not so much of a modulation, still less of a Lydian

jocularity is confirmed in the persistent sharpening of the fourth throughout this

E major Partita for unaccompanied violin. It is a jocular reference, and the

which makes an unmistakable reference in its first bar to the Gavotte in Bach’s

anything else, as is immediately clear from the second movement, a Gavotte,

imitation that this suite is. The Suite for its part is not intended to be

is the beginning and end of all music”, not all his own music is the pure Bach

revolutionary in his treatment of tonality. Although he once said “For me Bach

according to Kodaly, studied his works carefully), but was also considered a

as it can ever be. But at that time he was not only important (Bartok himself,

reputation declined quickly after his early death, and is now probably as low

unaccompanied ’cello, and (d) Three Suites for unaccompanied viola. Reger’s

for unaccompanied violin, (b) Three Duos for two violins, (c) Three Suites for

is No. 2 of Op. 131c. Opus 131 complete consists of (a) Six Preludes and Fugues

dignified every little song with a separate opus number. This suite, for instance,

taking account of his works without opus numbers. Nor was he a composer who

forty-three, the list of his opus numbers was only a few short of 150—not

prolific composers since Schubert. When Reger died in 1916 at the age of

whereas Reger’s suite is a rather minor work in the output of one of the most

a composer who has produced relatively little in over seventy years of life,

two works. Kodaly’s Sonata is one of the most important works in the output of

any comparison of Reger’s and Kodaly’s relative stature on the basis of these

and rather conservatively represented. But it would be unfair to try to make

such a struggle to free itself, and which Reger’s music completely, faithfully

nineteenth century “Teutonic’ musical ideals from which Hungarian music was having

possible to detect in this a trace of his and Kodaly’s dislike of the

dismissal of Reger’s ‘Bach imitations’ entirely unjustified, although it is

enthusiasm for the Kodaly is fully justified. Nor is his rather slighting

Bartok’s

repertory, otherwise so poor in original works”.

incredible instrumental effects, is a very valuable contribution to the ’cello

This three-movement sonata, abounding in formidable technical difficulties and

is a completely new handling of the instrument, with new and original material.

imitation of Bach’s polyphonic style, like Reger’s Sonata for solo violin, it

particularly want to stress the word (today’. This work is in no sense an

music of today with the simplest possible means, a single melodic instrument. I

Sonata, he says: “The aim of this composition was to fulfil the demands of the

’cello suites, which Bartók evidently did not yet know. Writing of the Kodaly

as well as sixteen preludes and fugues), but it would apply equally to the

he mentions is a sonata for unaccompanied violin (of winch Reger wrote eleven,

that Kodaly’s great friend and compatriot Bartók wrote in 1920. The Reger work

medium was more unusual than it is today. We may quote, for example, a passage

comparisons. It did so even more when these works were new, and their choice of

such a chance similarity as the use of the same medium inevitably invites

Kodaly was attracted to this problem.In spite of these essential differences,

a difficult and fascinating technical problem, it was as a ’cellist himself that

it was probably written partly out of a desire on the composer’s part to tackle

music. The ’Cello Sonata shows no trace of it, and although like Reger’s suites

any medium. Bach’s influence on Kodaly on the other hand went mainly into his choral

recent quintessentially German composer Hindemith, to exercise his invention in

prolific all-round musician-composer, like Bach himself, or that still more

and the viola) was simply an example of his readiness and ability, as an immensely

choosing the ’cello here (as for other unaccompanied works he chose the violin

for unaccompanied ’cello. Reger’s ‘personal’ instrument was the piano, and his

his admiration for Bach that led Reger to try to imitate the example of his suites

of Bach. Even this influenced them in completely different ways. It was solely

set out. Their composers had equally little in common—nothing beyond their love

1915, all that they have in common, apart from their identity of medium, has been

it has been said that the two main works of this record belong to the same year,

When

Zara Nelsova Cello

SUITE No. 3 IN C MAJOR

BACH: Bourrées I and II from

4th Mov. Gigue (Vivace)

3rd Mov. Largo

2nd Mov. Gavotte (Allegretto)

1st Mov. Prelüde (Largo)

’ÇELLO, Op. 131C

REGER: SUITE No. 2 FOR UNACCOMPANIED

Side 2

3rd Mov. Allegro molto vivace

2nd Mov. Adagio (Con gran espressione)

1st Mov. Allegro maestoso ma appassionato

Op. 8

KODÁLY: SONATA FOR UNACCOMPANIED ’CELLO,

Side 1

KODÁLY、REGER&BACH:CELLO LL 1152