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Bridge Records

The Music Of Ursula Mamlok, Vol. 3

$18.99

Details

Composer
MAMLOK, URSULA
Artist
Heinz Holliger
Format
CD
Label
Bridge Records
Released
Aug 09, 2011
Catalog #
BCD9360
UPC
090404936029

About



MAMLOK 5 Capriccios 3,6. Stray Birds. 1,2,11 Fantasy-Variations. 12 Panta Rhei. 7,9,10 5 Bagatelles. 4,8,10 String Quartet No. 2 13. Confluences. 4,7,8,10 Kontraste 3,5 • 1 Phyllis Bryn-Julson (sop); 2 Harvey Sollberger (fl); 3 Heinz Holliger (ob); 4 Helge Harding (cl); 5 Urusla Holliger (hp); 6 Anton Kernjak, 7 Heather O’Donnell (pn); 8 Kirsten Harms, 9 Susanne Zapf (vn); 10 Cosima Gerhardt, 11 Fred Sherry, 12 Jakob Spahn (vc); 13 Sonar Qrt • BRIDGE 9360 (72:45 Text and Translation)


This is the third disc from Bridge devoted to the music of Ursula Mamlok; I reviewed the second in Fanfare 34:6. Like its predecessor, it offers an attractive and varied conspectus of the music of this impressive composer. Again the works cover a wide span of time, here from Stray Birds (1963, written when the composer was 40) to Kontraste (2010). It is gratifying to hear no falling-off of quality; indeed, the consistently high level of inspiration and technique is a hallmark of this disc (if I may be so presumptuous). Also again, we have many multimovement works, here totalling 33 tracks. Most of the movements are short (less than two minutes) and this concision can be hard to take in at first.


It is interesting that seven of the eight works here contain one movement that is far longer than any of the others in the work. In the case of the Five Capriccios for oboe and piano (1968) that open the disc, the final movement, even though it is barely four minutes, is still longer than the other four combined. Curiously, there is no sense in which the structure of any of the works on this disc feels unbalanced, nor does one feel that the shorter movements are breathless, or cut short. Mamlok judges the structures perfectly. In the first of the capriccios, one may think the trick is going to be a limited amount of thematic material in each movement, but the second and fourth capriccios are impassioned and intense with diving and swooping melodic lines. All four create powerful little statements (really, with Mamlok’s music every note has an active, individual purpose) that are then elegantly and coolly meditated upon in the relatively extended finale. In this work each movement is merely given a metronome marking; in later works Mamlok was given to somewhat poetic names for these longer movements. They are typically marked “Still, with utmost simplicity,” “Still, as if suspended,” though there are also a Larghetto , a Molto tranquillo , and so on. It is as if the brisk movements collect the necessary ingredients to enable the slow movement, usually at or toward the end of the work, to happen.


The Five Bagatelles for clarinet, violin, and cello (1988) shows Mamlok’s style becoming somewhat more diatonic. At the same time, every note seems carefully chosen and weighed; the music is written with care and precision, so that even as simple an idea as the insistent oscillating minor third that runs through and characterizes the second movement appears fresh yet inevitable. The odd-numbered pieces are especially good at capturing gaiety and humor while the long penultimate bagatelle, poignant and drawn out, is a satisfying contrast. In the Second String Quartet, from 1998, one can hear Mamlok’s style has subtly shifted again. If in the earlier works discussed the instruments were sharply characterized individuals, always playing against each other—against in the sense of differentiated from, not in an antagonistic way—in the quartet there is, in addition, more concerted music (in the first movement, for example) and even (in the second) momentary deference of an instrument to the others by adopting an accompanying role (I’m thinking of the slow pizzicatos). And, in the third and last movement, real drama and tension, with some sharp shifts of tempo and mood, all in an event-packed four minutes. I think “concision” is probably an unhelpful word for a lot of Mamlok’s music; “compression” would be better. And if I pass over the remaining works on the disc, it is only through lack of space.


The string quartet receives a fine, committed performance from the Sonar Quartet, three of whose members—Kirsten Harms, Susanne Zapf, and Cosima Gerhardt—play in three other works on the discs. Apart from the two Holliger pieces and Stray Birds , the recordings here are a coproduction with German Radio Köln, and they are as fine and meticulous as are the performances and the music itself. The Holliger performances, which open and close the disc, and which are a little cooler in presentation, come from Zürich. Stray Birds is a reissue of a recording previously on CRI. Bridge has done the composer proud. I found it a long disc to review—not, I hasten to add, because I disliked the music, but because it demands and deserves the same attention from the listener that the composer evidently gave it. One didn’t really want to listen to this CD all the way through, preferring to savor a couple of pieces at a time. And, it’s true, I found I needed time to get into the music. But it richly repays the effort and I certainly feel my somewhat neutral response to the earlier disc must be reviewed. This is clearly music that should be heard, which will appeal to the heart as much as the head, and which will enrich as well as entertain.


FANFARE: Jeremy Marchant

Tracklist 33 tracks

  1. 1 No. 1. eighth note = 100 00:52
    Track
    1
    Title
    No. 1. eighth note = 100
    Duration
    00:52
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Heinz Holliger, Anton Kernjak
  2. 2 No. 2. eighth note = 112 00:45
    Track
    2
    Title
    No. 2. eighth note = 112
    Duration
    00:45
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Heinz Holliger, Anton Kernjak
  3. 3 No. 3. eighth note = 92 00:43
    Track
    3
    Title
    No. 3. eighth note = 92
    Duration
    00:43
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Heinz Holliger, Anton Kernjak
  4. 4 No. 4. quarter note = 104 00:41
    Track
    4
    Title
    No. 4. quarter note = 104
    Duration
    00:41
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Heinz Holliger, Anton Kernjak
  5. 5 No. 5. eighth note = 54 04:05
    Track
    5
    Title
    No. 5. eighth note = 54
    Duration
    04:05
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Heinz Holliger, Anton Kernjak
  6. 6 No. 1. In a Sustained Mood 03:31
    Track
    6
    Title
    No. 1. In a Sustained Mood
    Duration
    03:31
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Phyllis Bryn-Julson, Harvey Sollberger, Fred Sherry
  7. 7 No. 2. Majestic 02:37
    Track
    7
    Title
    No. 2. Majestic
    Duration
    02:37
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Phyllis Bryn-Julson, Harvey Sollberger, Fred Sherry
  8. 8 No. 3. Very Airy 00:53
    Track
    8
    Title
    No. 3. Very Airy
    Duration
    00:53
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Phyllis Bryn-Julson, Harvey Sollberger, Fred Sherry
  9. 9 No. 4. In a Melancholy Mood 02:27
    Track
    9
    Title
    No. 4. In a Melancholy Mood
    Duration
    02:27
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Phyllis Bryn-Julson, Harvey Sollberger, Fred Sherry
  10. 10 No. 5. Still, with Utmost Simplicity 05:02
    Track
    10
    Title
    No. 5. Still, with Utmost Simplicity
    Duration
    05:02
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Phyllis Bryn-Julson, Harvey Sollberger, Fred Sherry
  11. 11 I. Pensive 03:09
    Track
    11
    Title
    I. Pensive
    Duration
    03:09
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Jakob Spahn
  12. 12 II. eighth note = 60 - quarter note = 132 01:10
    Track
    12
    Title
    II. eighth note = 60 - quarter note = 132
    Duration
    01:10
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Jakob Spahn
  13. 13 III. Always but with Increasing Excitement (quarter note = 30) 00:47
    Track
    13
    Title
    III. Always but with Increasing Excitement (quarter note = 30)
    Duration
    00:47
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Jakob Spahn
  14. 14 IV. Dreamy 03:11
    Track
    14
    Title
    IV. Dreamy
    Duration
    03:11
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Jakob Spahn
  15. 15 I. Agitato 00:35
    Track
    15
    Title
    I. Agitato
    Duration
    00:35
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Susanne Zapf, Cosima Gerhardt, Heather O'Donnell
  16. 16 II. Vivace misterioso 01:02
    Track
    16
    Title
    II. Vivace misterioso
    Duration
    01:02
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Susanne Zapf, Cosima Gerhardt, Heather O'Donnell
  17. 17 III. Molto tranquillo 04:00
    Track
    17
    Title
    III. Molto tranquillo
    Duration
    04:00
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Susanne Zapf, Cosima Gerhardt, Heather O'Donnell
  18. 18 IV. Allegro energico 02:43
    Track
    18
    Title
    IV. Allegro energico
    Duration
    02:43
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Susanne Zapf, Cosima Gerhardt, Heather O'Donnell
  19. 19 V. Distant 00:46
    Track
    19
    Title
    V. Distant
    Duration
    00:46
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Susanne Zapf, Cosima Gerhardt, Heather O'Donnell
  20. 20 No. 1. Grazioso 00:48
    Track
    20
    Title
    No. 1. Grazioso
    Duration
    00:48
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Helge Harding, Kirsten Harms, Cosima Gerhardt
  21. 21 No. 2. Very Calm 01:36
    Track
    21
    Title
    No. 2. Very Calm
    Duration
    01:36
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Helge Harding, Kirsten Harms, Cosima Gerhardt
  22. 22 No. 3. Playful 01:34
    Track
    22
    Title
    No. 3. Playful
    Duration
    01:34
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Helge Harding, Kirsten Harms, Cosima Gerhardt
  23. 23 No. 4. Still, as if Suspended 03:24
    Track
    23
    Title
    No. 4. Still, as if Suspended
    Duration
    03:24
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Helge Harding, Kirsten Harms, Cosima Gerhardt
  24. 24 No. 5. Sprightly 01:17
    Track
    24
    Title
    No. 5. Sprightly
    Duration
    01:17
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Helge Harding, Kirsten Harms, Cosima Gerhardt
  25. 25 I. With Fluctuating Tension 03:44
    Track
    25
    Title
    I. With Fluctuating Tension
    Duration
    03:44
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Ensemble
    Sonar String Quartet
  26. 26 II. Larghetto 05:02
    Track
    26
    Title
    II. Larghetto
    Duration
    05:02
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Ensemble
    Sonar String Quartet
  27. 27 III. Joyful 03:59
    Track
    27
    Title
    III. Joyful
    Duration
    03:59
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Ensemble
    Sonar String Quartet
  28. 28 Introduction: Presto 00:11
    Track
    28
    Title
    Introduction: Presto
    Duration
    00:11
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Helge Harding, Kirsten Harms, Cosima Gerhardt, Heather O'Donnell
  29. 29 I. Grazioso - Transition 02:28
    Track
    29
    Title
    I. Grazioso - Transition
    Duration
    02:28
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Helge Harding, Kirsten Harms, Cosima Gerhardt, Heather O'Donnell
  30. 30 II. Vivo 01:20
    Track
    30
    Title
    II. Vivo
    Duration
    01:20
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Helge Harding, Kirsten Harms, Cosima Gerhardt, Heather O'Donnell
  31. 31 III. Still, as if Suspended 04:40
    Track
    31
    Title
    III. Still, as if Suspended
    Duration
    04:40
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Helge Harding, Kirsten Harms, Cosima Gerhardt, Heather O'Donnell
  32. 32 I. Humoresque 00:41
    Track
    32
    Title
    I. Humoresque
    Duration
    00:41
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Heinz Holliger, Ursula Holliger
  33. 33 II. Largo e mesto 02:46
    Track
    33
    Title
    II. Largo e mesto
    Duration
    02:46
    Composer
    Ursula Mamlok
    Performer
    Heinz Holliger, Ursula Holliger