Margaret Brouwer: Rhapsodies (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring

The Art of Sailing at Dawn; Rhapsody, Concerto for Orchestra; Symphony No. 1 “Lake Voices;” Path at Sunrise, Masses of Flowers; Pluto (version for orchestra). ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra; Marin Alsop, conductor. NAXOS 8.559933

Once again we find ourselves auditioning music by a composer we are encountering for the first time. Before beginning this review, I did a quick search of Classical Candor’s past postings to see whether John Puccio had ever reviewed any of her music, but he had not. Therefore, this is the premier review of music by the American composer Maragaret Brouwer (b. 1940) to appear on this website. But after listening extensively to this release, spending more time with it than any CD in recent memory – to the point that it was beginning to drive my poor wife bonkers – I still don’t feel as though I really have anything all that insightful to say about it. A statement Brouwer makes in her liner notes offers a clue as to why: “When composing, I generally work with a musical motif and let it evolve and transform in various ways. Later, I realize how the music reflects my own thoughts and experiences.” 

Hmmm… Perhaps I am guilty of some variation of the intentional fallacy when I report finding her statement somewhat on the odd side. On the other hand, I can understand how some could have a musical inspiration, which after all is abstract, and only later realize how the end result might have reflected – at least in some deeply personal respects – thoughts, experiences, or emotional reactions to those thoughts and experiences. In any event, Brouwer provides brief notes about each of the five compositions on the program, in which she reveals more about her intentions and whatever emotional connections may or may not be associated with each.

 

The opening piece, The Art of Sailing at Dawn, is as its title implies a fairly straightforward tone poem that evokes the feeling of sailing at dawn. From the bird cry that opens the piece to the gentle sense of motion on the waves, it is a peaceful evocation of a smooth sail on a calm lake. The next composition, Rhapsody, Concerto for Orchestra, begins in much the same mood as the sailing piece, but the after the tranquil opening section (“Regrets”), the energy level picks up for the final two sections (“Airs and Rhapsodies” and “Dance”). 

 

In his recent review of Paavo Järvi’s traversal of Mendelssohn’s complete symphonies which you can find here), our resident musicologist Ryan Ross noted that symphonies should not be regarded as having necessarily to fit into the classical Haydn-Mozart-Beethoven structure. We can certainly think of wonderful symphonies by Mahler, Sibelius, and other composers who demonstrate that point. Brouwer’s Symphony No. 1 “Lake Voices” certainly does not strike the ears as a traditional symphony might, with its three movements joined together without a pause and its relatively brief duration (17:19). “Listening to Symphony No. 1 “Lake Voices” now, I can see that I was replaying my young life. The sounds reflect those I knew growing up in the Dutch/American community of the Holland, Michigan area… The recurring melody in this work is reminiscent of the modal, somber, moody but beautiful church hymns we sang with great gusto, conviction and powerful voices. Overlaying the recurring Dutch hymn-like melody in Symphony No. 1 “Lake Voices” is the ever-present sound of the lake.” It is a dramatic, expressive work, somewhat dark in tone, with – to these ears at least – an undercurrent of anger. YMMV.

 

Of her symphony and the final piece on the album, Brouwer offers the following reflection: “Symphony No. 1 and Plutowere composed between 1996 and 1999 during an emotional period for me. Within four years, my husband, then my mother, then my father passed away. Returning to Pluto now, I hear my anger and grief suffered during that time. Those feelings fit equally well with the musical description of Pluto, the god of death and the underworld.” The work was commissioned by the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra as a sequel to Holst’s The Planets, with Brouwer’s original version including a part for a women’s chorus that this orchestral version replaces with some writing for flutes and oboes. As you might infer from Brouwer’s description, it is a dramatic-sounding piece, expressive of tumult and with an ending most abrupt. Hard to imagine as a fitting addition to The Planets, but entertaining enough on its own.

 

Wholly different in tone is the piece that precedes Pluto on the program, Path at Sunrise, Masses of Flowers.Conductor Marin Alsop (left)  has chosen to vary the emotional tone with some soothing music after the more intense music that has come just before. As you might readily surmise from the title, Path at Sunrise, Masses of Flowers is a tone poem, meant to evoke a stroll along a beautiful garden path at first light. Not all is dreamlike and misty, however; the colors of the flowers are bold and striking as the morning sun shines down upon them. 

 

Although I cannot honestly report that the music of Margaret Brouwer has struck me as startlingly unique or original, it is undeniably pleasant and listenable. Kudos to Maestra Alsop and the folks at Naxos for presenting her orchestral music in such a well-performed, well-recorded production. Having liner notes from Ms. Brouwer giving context to the music makes this release even more attractive to those music lovers seeking to widen their musical horizon.