Inaki Alberdi, Asier Polo, Jose Ramon Encinar - Sofia Gubaidulina: Seven Words, In croce, Kadenza & Et exspecto (2011)

×

Inaki Alberdi, Asier Polo, Jose Ramon Encinar - Sofia Gubaidulina: Seven Words, In croce, Kadenza & Et exspecto (2011)

Close

×

Inaki Alberdi, Asier Polo, Jose Ramon Encinar - Sofia Gubaidulina: Seven Words, In croce, Kadenza & Et exspecto (2011)

Close

Sofia Gubaidulina’s religious nature, specifically Russian Orthodox, finds expression in each of these pieces. Each also makes use of her much-loved bayan, the Russian button accordion played here with great virtuosity by Iñaki Alberdi. Kadenza is a solo tour de force; Et exspecto, based on the closing words of the Creed (‘I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come’) is an impressive five-movement sonata in which, the booklet-note tells us, the performer’s interpretation goes, with her encouragement, well beyond the composer’s notation.

In the other works, much is made of the combination of the accordion sounds and Asier Polo’s cello. With In croce, a number of cross-like ideas derive from the title – crossing of registers, crossing of lines and textures and so on – which are essentially private creative stimuli for the composer. But in the major work on the record, the half-hour Seven Words, the sentences spoken by Jesus on the cross are graphically, even fervently implied. Gubaidulina’s love of short motifs, here often using very close intervals, produces in her hands music of strong and even painful intensity, seizing and gripping the attention, sometimes with fiercely punched chords on the accordion or with soaring harmonics on the cello that vanish into silence after the final Word. The longest movement is the central No 4, Jesus’s cry, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’, a powerful and deeply affecting invention. This is a remarkable, compelling work.

Review by John Warrack, Gramophone

Sofia Gubaidulina creates her own musical universe, which resists easy categorization, labeling, or description. It is highly evocative of moods, symbols, and feelings. Gubaidulina's unique heritage (she hails from Chistopol in the Tatar Republic and then studied in Moscow) imbues her compositions with a sense of having one foot outside the Western European tradition. The combination of instruments is unusual; the classical accordion is the highlight of the compositions, frequently accompanied by a lush, lyrical cello, and also by the Basque National Orchestra in Seven Words. Seven Words draws on biblical stories, though the music is not programmatic. "Father, forgive them" features a unison through a few minutes of the beginning, the same note played with different rhythms by different instruments that lead to a hymn-like section with what might loosely be called a melody. The cello solo in "Verily I say unto thee" is haunting, deep, and lovely, with a foreboding sense of doom. This is in contrast with the last movement of the piece, "Father into thy hands," which is swirling, frenetic, and cacophonous. Gubaidulina makes use of texture, repetition, and orchestral color to conjure up the eerie atmosphere. "In croce" features melodic riffs under the cello's dark strokes that sound rather like the lowing of an animal. Several minutes into the piece, there is a melody played in the high register of the cello, which is performed so smoothly at that register that it sounds like a violin. Cellist Asier Polo is to be commended for his musicianship. Kadenza, a solo piece for the accordion (played by Iñaki Alberdi), creates an almost organ-like sound, whereas in "Et exspecto," the accordion plays what sounds like a tango gone awry in the middle of the piece. Gubaidulina is able to elicit the most unexpected sounds from the instruments, playing with the listener's expectations. Though deceptively simple at times, this music cannot be easy to play, and the musicians as well as conductor José Ramón Encinar are courageous to undertake this project. The album may not have broad popular appeal, but it could be exciting for fans of Gubaidulina and/or experimental music.

Review by V. Vasan, Allmusic.com

×

Inaki Alberdi, Asier Polo, Jose Ramon Encinar - Sofia Gubaidulina: Seven Words, In croce, Kadenza & Et exspecto (2011)

Close

×

Inaki Alberdi, Asier Polo, Jose Ramon Encinar - Sofia Gubaidulina: Seven Words, In croce, Kadenza & Et exspecto (2011)

Close