Album: Hans Werner, Henze In Lieblicher Bläue (Wergo)

 

Andy Gill
Thursday 04 October 2012 09:49 EDT
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In Lieblicher Bläue (In Lovely Blueness) takes its title from the Hölderlin poem used as the text for Hans Werner Henze's "Kammermusik 1958", a lengthy suite for solo tenor, guitar and small ensemble.

 It's a strange, uneven piece whose dozen sections – solo guitar passages called "Tentos", austere vocal and guitar settings, and ensemble passages – are just about resolved in the closing "Adagio". But it's a rocky ride: the occasional strident discordancies suggest the poet's descent into mental illness, while the darting strings and winds act like a web ensnaring the hapless vocal. The suite is accompanied here by the ensemble piece "Apollo et Hyazinthus", in which the prominent flute and harpsichord create a quizzical, mysterious mood.

Download: Kammermusik 1958; Apollo et Hyazinthus

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