VIAF 2024

THE ART OF ARRANGEMENT

This was the third in this 27th edition of this popular festival. Ever since 2018 it has been presented in honour of it founder, Joseph Vella: composer, orchestra director, scholar and researcher.

Arrangement of works by famous composers but other composers has been around for centuries. Bach arranged works by Vivaldi while Busoni arranged works by Bach. Busoni arranged works by Bach and so on, not to mention how many composers rearranged their work when the whim.

This concert, except for one case, consisted of arrangements by relatively low-key musicians of varied personalities. Even some composers re-arranged some of their own works. These often were attempts to what they thought could be better than the original.

First on the programme was Beethoven’s arrangement of a theme from the aria ‘Bei Männern welche Liebe fühlen” from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. This arrangement is in the form of seven variations. Beethoven opted for the cello and piano whereas this evening it was performed by viola (Pierre-Henri Xuereb) and Pascal Mantin. The set was composed in 1801, ten years after Mozart’s death. In this charming exercise the viola’s mellow tone coupled with the piano ensured a very pleasant rendition of the work.

There was more Beethoven in the second work. This was the Allegretto (2nd movement) of the Symphony n.7 in A Major, Op.92 as arranged by Hans Sitt. It was nigh the best arrangement of the evening with a lot of interaction between the two violas and also the violas with the piano. Utterly noble, dignified and soothing it was a wondrous reading down to the conclusion.

Still more Beethoven followed in Scherzo- Étude from Symphony n.9.in D minor, Op. 125 an arrangement by Maurice Vieux for just two violas. Beethoven was swift in banishing the minuet from his symphonies 20 years or so before the Choral Ninth. The original length of the Scherzo is double that of the arrangement in which the violas seemingly are in an earnest dialogue, which in the original leads to those famous galloping sequences rendered (in)famous in the film “The Clockwork Orange”. Their exchanges were like sparring exercise meant as preparing for the upcoming very energetic outburst.

Yet again Beethoven followed in the arrangement by Christian Gottlieb Belckeof the Minuet from the Septet for woodwind and strings in E flat Major, Op. 20. This was from a work in which the Minuet is the fourth of that work’s seven movement. Charming and rather briskly, almost too briskly performed for a minuet. It sounded like a rather early warning that Beethoven was in too much of a hurry. Thus was it arranged and thus was it performed.

The fifth movement of that same Septet Op.20, is a Theme and Variations performed here as in the previous Minuet by Pierre-Henri Xuereb and Pascal Manin but in Friedrich Hermann’s different arrangement. This was another classy rendering colourful music.

Truly colourful was the last arrangement inspired by Beethoven in this programme. It was Hans Sitt’s of the main, glorious theme of An die Freude. It is heard in the last movement of the 9th (Choral) Symphony. It was performed by all three musicians. This time there was a big difference. Ruixin Niu performed on a 3 D-printed almost skeletal 5-string instrument which could be played as violin or viola. The theme which is the official anthem of the European Union was stated several times in a kind of “son et lumière”. That was because the violin/viola was electronically programmed in such a way that every statement caused the underside of the instrument to light up in different fluorescent colours.

Chopin’s music took over via two of his works.

First was an arrangement of the Adagio sostenuto from his only (and long underrated ) Trio in G minor, Op. 8 for piano, violin and cello. The arrangement here was for two violas and piano. Although I have a Polish LP from the late 1960s, this was the only time I heard anything performed live pertaining to this work. Makes it worth hearing all of it, if ever!

The second Chopin work was his the first of his four Ballades, the one in G minor, Op. 23. It was performed as he composed it, for piano. Here Pascal mantin truly came into his own as protagonist with amazing power, passion and clarity, dark drama and melancholy as well as flowing tenderness, melancholy and brilliance. I would not be surprised if were to return to the VIAF as solon recitalist. The audience reaction was almost overwhelming.

The concert concluded with an arrangement for two violas and piano of the third of the four movements from Schumann’s Märchenerzählungenn (Fairy Tales), Op. 132. A late work originally for clarinet, viola and piano also known with violin instead of the clarinet. This movement is marked Ruhiges tempo mit zartem Ausdruck (Calm or quiet tempo with delicate expression). This exactly was the atmosphere created by the three performers who were warmly applauded for it.

Albert George Storace.