(Cello Part And Piano
Score)
SKU:
HL.48186482
Composed
by Reynaldo Hahn. Leduc.
24 pages. Alphonse Leduc
#AL30749. Published by
Alphonse Leduc
(HL.48186482).
Reynaldo Hahn:
Works for cello and piano
[AL 30 749] For quite
some time, posterity
remembered Reynaldo Hahn
(1874-1947) for just a
handful of songs and the
operetta Ciboulette,
overlooking the
incredible diversity of a
catalogue as eclectic as
it is appealing. Yet his
chamber music contains
many little-known
treasures: thus, cellist
Steven Isserlis, in his
preface, hastens to hail
the first modern edition
of these two scores,
which he regularly plays
in recital, so much does
their beauty enchant the
audience. Published in
1911, the Two
Improvisations on Irish
Airs for cello and piano
turn out to be the
transcription of his
first and third Preludes
for piano four hands
(1894). These folk themes
come from the collection
Songs of Old Ireland,
published 12 years
earlier by Charles
Villiers Stanford:
gracefully and tenderly,
The Little Red Lark
unfurls a melancholic
tune of which the regular
foundation respects the
breadth of phrase typical
of folk songs; in The
Willow-Tree, the lover
begs his beloved in vain
to take him in her arms
one last time before he
lies down, lifeless, in
the shade of the tree.
Beyond this sensitive
exploration of the Irish
soul, Hahn offers us a
journey into the past:
the Variations chantantes
sur un air ancien develop
a theme borrowed from
Cavalli?s opera Xerse. In
this aria (1660 version:
Act IV, sc. 6),
Ambassador Periarco
dreams of moving away
from court intrigues to
be able to taste the
pleasures ?to which the
gods have destined him?.
Reynaldo Hahn?s
variations succeed in
maintaining the sweet
simplicity of this theme,
as noble as it is
refined. Let us wager
that this publication
will delight cellists and
pianists alike: it
contains some nuggets.
Deux improvisations sur
des airs irlandais (The
Little Red Lark, The
Willow-Tree) Variations
chantantes sur un air
ancien.
Steve Shade
