Reviews
GMCD 7316 Music for flute and harp – Songs
Without Words – Andrea Kollé flute – Jasmine Vollmer harp – 58:28
American Record Guide September / October 2008
Songs Without Words
MENDELSSOHN: 9 Songs Without
Words; MOZART: 2 Songs; TCHAIKOVSKY: Romances MASCAGNI: Siciliana & Intermezzo;
MASSENET: Romanesca Anticar FAURE: Love Song; After a Dream; POULENC: A sa
Guitare; FALLA: Cradle Song; Sonnet to Cordoba; RIMSKY-KORSAKOFF: Arab Song from
Scheherazade; ANON: 3 Romanfan Folk Songs
Andrea kolle, fl; Jasmine
Vollmer, hp
Guild 7316 - 59 ` minutes
This is delightful.
I recently reviewed a fluteand-harp release that was so boring it made me want
to stick a sharp stick into my brain thru my ear, so I was hoping this would
restore my appreciation for the combination. I was not disappointed. The
musicians are quite capable. The flutist has a beautiful, singing tone with a
wide range of dynamics just what this music deserves. I admire harpists who play
with not only technical skill but also a clear sense of phrase and line, and
that is certainly the case here. Their program, all transcriptions, is well
conceived and ordered in such a way that you can listen from Start to Finish
Without losing interest. If you enjoy elegant, well-crafted music played with
skill and grace, this is for you. CHAFFEE
Musik & Theater 10.08
Ohne Worte
Flöte und Harfe - die
Kombination hat etwas Sphärisches, Himmlisches. So hat sie denn nicht wenige
Komponisten, vorab Franzosen, inspiriert; tatsächlich eignet dieser
Zusammenstellung durchaus französischer Esprit. Selbst Mozart schrieb sein
berühmtes Harfen - Flöten-Konzert für einen französischen Herzog und dessen
Tochter. Andrea Kolle, Soloflötistin am Zürcher Opernhaus, und Jasmine
Vollmer, ebenfalls am Operhaus tätig, haben sozusagen von Berufes wegen eine
Affinität zur gesungenen Musik. Das brachte die beiden dazu, sich für einmal
des Repertoires des Musiktheaters zu bemächtigen. Neben Intermezzi aus Opern -
etwa von Mascagni, Massenet und Tschaikowsky - finden sich in der aparten
Zusammenstellung ebenfalls die Transkriptionen von zwei Mozart-Liedern.
Vokalkompositionen von Faure, Poulenc und de Falla stehen rumänischen
Volksweisen gegenüber. Dazwischen eingestreut erklingt eine Anzahl von
Mendelssohns Liedern ohne Worte, welche die Idee dieses «wortlosen» Genres
bereits vorwegnahmen. Andrea Kolles delikater, biegsamer Ton holt aus den
Miniaturen atmosphärisches Kolorit und sorgt, wo nötig, für brillante
Virtuosität. Jasmine Vollmer flechtet um die eingängigen Mclodien ein
perlendes, funkelndes Geschmeide. Resultat: eine gekonnt gemachte Wohlfühl-CD
von erstaunlicher Vielfalt - was durch das fulminante rumänischeTrinklied am
Schluss nochmals effektvoll unterstrichen wird.
Bruno Rauch
Musik für Flöte und Harfe.
Andrea Kolle (Flöte), Jasmine Vollmer (Harfe). Guild GMCD 7316
Tibia 04-08
Songs without Words. Music for
Flute and Harp
Andrea Kolle (Flöte), Jasmin
Vollmer (Harfe), Guild GmbH, Ramsen (Schweiz) 2007, 1 CD, Best.-Nr. GMCD 7316
Im kammermusikalischen Bereich
hat sich zwar längst das Klavier als Begleitinstrument eingebürgert, doch
aufgrund seiner Klangfülle muss man sich immer mit dem leicht entstehenden
akustischen Ungleichgewicht zu Lasten eines Melodieinstruments
auseinandersetzen. Zupfinstrumente wie Gitarre, Mandoline oder Harfe sind in
dieser Hinsicht wesentlich unproblematischer und eignen sich als „Partner"
gerade für Instrumente mit geringerem Klangvolumen viel besser, was auch die
vorliegende CD mit Bearbeitungen für Flöte und Harfe einmal mehr beweist. Der
Titel ist aus inhaltlichen Gründen gewählt worden, weil neun der insgesamt
vierundzwanzig Nummern Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdys im Original für Klavier
komponierten Lieder ohne Worte entlehnt sind; hinzu kommen Liedarrangements von
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gabriel Faure, Manuel de Falla und Francis Poulenc
sowie Ausschnitte aus Opern (Pique Dame von Peter Tschaikowsky, Don Quixote von
Jules Massenet und Cavalleria rusticana von Pietro Mascagni). Meistens handelt
es sich um eher getragene und damit melodiebetonte Stücke, bei denen die
Aufgabenverteilung der beiden Instrumente klar geregelt ist. Umso mehr entzückt
deshalb der rhythmisch mit Synkopen abwechslungsreich gestaltete Arabische
Gesang aus der Sinfonischen Dichtung Scheherazade von Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakow.
Die Bearbeitungen sind sehr geschickt angefertigt, wenn sie auch das Original
nie ersetzen und diesem allenfalls einen neuen Aspekt abgewinnen können. Die
beiden Musikerinnen erweisen sich als ein hervorragend eingespieltes Team, das
bestens harmoniert und die meist kurzen Stücke sehr lebendig
interpretiert. Georg Günther
MusicWeb Friday May 23 2008
Sensitivity,
intelligence and excellent communication …...
Carla Rees
Songs
Without Words:
Music for Flute and Harp
Felix MENDELSSOHN
(1809-1847)
Songs Without Words (1825-1845): Andante Espressivo Op. 85 No. 1 [1.55] Andante,
un poco agitato Op. 102 No. 4 [1:51] Wiegenlied Op. 67 No. 6 [2:01] Andante Op.
67 No. 1 [2:10] Con Moto Op. 38 No. 1 [2:06]
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART
(1756-1791)
Two Songs: Abendempfindung KV523 (1787) [3:36]
Komm, liebe Zither KV367b (1781) [1:52]
Peter Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY
(1840-1893)
Romance from Pique Dame, Act 1 (1890) [2:21]
Pietro MASCAGNI
(1863-1945)
Cavalleria Rusticana (1890): Siciliana [2:32] Intermezzo [2:35]
Jules MASSENET
(1942-1912)
Romanesca Antica from Don Quixote (1910) [1:59]
Felix MENDELSSOHN
(1809-1847)
Songs Without Words (1825-1845): Andante Espressivo Op. 62 No. 1 [1:50]
Adagio Op. 102 No. 2 [1:47] Andante sostenuto Op. 85 No. 4 [2:12] Venetianisches
Gondellied Op. 30 No. 6 [2:23]
Gabriel FAURE
(1945-1924)
Mélodies: Chanson d’Amour Op. 27 No. 1 (1882) [2:03] En Prière (1898) [2:10]
Après un Rêve Op. 7 No. 1 (1878) [2:26] Ici-bas Op. 8 No. 3 (c1874) [1:39]
Francis POULENC
(1899-1963)
A sa guitar (1935) [2:42]
Manuel DE FALLA
(1976-1946)
Nana (Berceuse) from Seven Popular Spanish Songs (1914-15) [2:19]
Soneta a Córdoba (1927) [2:16]
Nikolai RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
(1844-1908)
Arab Song from Scheherazade Op. 35 (1888) [4:42]
Romanian
Folk Songs
Cradle Song-Drinking Song: Who’s put the pub in my way?
[3:39]
 Andrea
Kollé (flute); Jasmine Vollmer (harp)
rec. 28-30 Sept 2007, Alte Kirche Boswil, Switzerland. DDD
GUILD
GMCD7316 [58:28] 
This CD comprises twenty-four short transcribed works for flute and harp, the
majority of which was composed in the late 1800s.
The disc begins with a selection from Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words,
which give their name to this CD. Originally intended for solo piano, these
transcriptions work well for flute and harp. They are performed with a
lightness of touch which captures the style well. Mendelssohn composed 48 of
these short pieces in total, and this disc contains arrangements of nine in two
sets.
The Mozart songs which follow have perhaps a little more harmonic substance and
variety, but share the same lightness. In contrast, the opening of
Tchaikovsky’s Romance from Pique Dame is gloriously dark and veers
away from the stereotype of a pretty and angelic flute and harp sound. I also
very much enjoyed the Siciliana from Cavalleria Rusticana,
although the Intermezzo wasn’t quite as convincing as a transcription –
somehow it just didn’t have the same strength and passion as a string orchestra,
and some of the phrasing was not as stylized as I would have liked.
Following the enjoyable Romanesca Antica by Massenet, the music returns
to Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words, with a second selection of four of
the songs. I particularly enjoyed the last of these, the Venetian Gondola
Song [15], which communicated a strong sense of musical involvement from
both the players.
We are then taken to French salon music, with songs by Fauré. These suit the
combination very well, with the harp providing gentle accompaniment under
emotive flute melodies. There is some beautiful playing here and a much greater
musical depth is apparent.
The opening of Poulenc’s A sa Gitare is instantly demanding of attention,
due to the change of harp sound, mimicking a guitar. This is highly effective
and a very welcome change of timbre. This piece takes on the style of a medieval
lute song, with the words from the original version for voice and harp coming
from a 16th century text. Poulenc is expert at combining elements
from the old and the new, and his twentieth century voice is unmistakable.
The performance of Manuel De Falla’s Nana is haunting, simple and lovely.
The Soneta a Córdoba is refreshingly modern and entirely convincing.
Although I was initially a little unsure about the Scheherezade
transcription, it was so well performed that in the end I was almost convinced.
There are some strange cuts from the orchestral version, which are at times
jarring, but in essence parts of this work extremely well, not least the
rhapsodic sections, which are performed here with sensitivity and understanding.
Perhaps curiously, the disc ends with a Romanian Folk Tune, entitled ‘who’s
put the pub in my way?’ Finishing the CD with this was a stroke of genius.
It shows humour, humility, a completely different style of playing, and gives a
sense of the personality of these performers. Thoroughly enjoyable.
One of the big problems with flute and harp as a combination, I believe, and
speaking also as someone who has played in this combination for many years, is
variety of sound. The two instruments together produce a wonderful sonority,
which has been exploited in many ways by a wide combination of composers. But
programming is difficult, because after a while the sound can become
sickly-sweet, and can fall into the trap of stereotyped, pretty music. When I
first received this CD it seemed like another disc of nice-sounding, undemanding
repertoire. To an extent, of course, it is, but it goes beyond that. The
performers treat each of the works differently, and perform with sensitivity,
intelligence and excellent communication. The programming is interesting and
imaginative, and put together with much thought. This duo has only been working
together since 2005; I very much look forward to more from them in the future.
Carla
Rees
Page created Friday December 18 2009
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