Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809 –
1847), born, and generally known in English-speaking
countries, as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer,
pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic
period.
Mendelssohn was a true Renaissance man. A talented
visual artist, he was a refined connoisseur of
literature and philosophy. While Mendelssohn's name
rarely arises in discussions of the nineteenth century
vanguard, the intrinsic importance of his music is
undeniable. A...(+)
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809 –
1847), born, and generally known in English-speaking
countries, as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer,
pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic
period.
Mendelssohn was a true Renaissance man. A talented
visual artist, he was a refined connoisseur of
literature and philosophy. While Mendelssohn's name
rarely arises in discussions of the nineteenth century
vanguard, the intrinsic importance of his music is
undeniable. A distinct personality emerges at once in
its exceptional formal sophistication, its singular
melodic sense, and its colorful, masterful deployment
of the instrumental forces at hand. A true apotheosis
of life, Mendelssohn's music absolutely overflows with
energy, ebullience, drama, and invention, as evidenced
in his most enduring works: the incidental music to A
Midsummer Night's Dream (1826-1842); the Hebrides
Overture (1830); the Songs Without Words (1830-1845);
the Symphonies No. 3 (1841-1842) and No. 4 (1833); and
the Violin Concerto in E minor (1844). While the sunny
disposition of so many of Mendelssohn's works has led
some to view the composer as possessing great talent
but little depth, his religious compositions --
particularly the great oratorios Paulus (1836) and
Elijah (1846) -- reflect the complexity and deeply
spiritual basis of his personality.
In December 1832 and January 1833, Mendelssohn wrote a
pair of works for a trio of clarinet, piano, and the
now nearly arcane basset horn: the Concert Piece No. 1
in F major, Op. 113, and the Concert Piece No. 2 in D
minor, Op. 114. Mendelssohn dispatched these two works
immediately upon completion to clarinetist Heinrich
Baermann and his son Carl, a basset horn player, who
were touring Germany and Russia at the time. As tokens
of the composer's personal friendship with the
Baermanns (and his desire to help young Carl establish
his career as a professional composer), the two Concert
Pieces stand as the only compositions for basset horn
in Mendelssohn's oeuvre.
The piece under consideration here, the first in Op.
113, is cast in three brief movements. The first,
marked Allegro con fuoco, begins and ends with dramatic
recitative-like exchanges between the clarinet and
basset horn, establishing a vocally oriented approach
to melody. The alternately turbulent and triumphant
middle section demonstrates Mendelssohn's
characteristic knack for creating textural interplay
between monodic instrumental lines and piano
accompaniment. The Andante middle movement finds the
two woodwinds more closely allied, following tranquil
melodies in lush, parallel thirds and sixths above a
gentle pitter-patter of piano arpeggios. The pensive
minor-mode stirrings that open the final movement cast
a temporary shadow over the tranquil glow of the slow
movement's final strains, but after a few uneasy
recitative exchanges and a chromatic buildup, the
clouds part for a playful Presto. The woodwinds assume
a more extrovert, sometimes even playfully competitive
character here, tossing rapid figurations and scales
back and forth, facing off with breakneck runs in
contrary motion -- one imagines the seasoned performer
Heinrich Baermann and the young up-and-comer Carl
bringing this piece to a rousing close.
Although originally created for Bb Clarinet, Basset
Horn and Piano, I created this arrangement for Bb
Clarinets (2) and Piano.
PARTITION