Henriëtte Bosmans (1895-1952)
Poème for cello and orchestra (1922)
Concerto for cello and orchestra No.1 (1922)
Concerto for cello and orchestra No.2 (1923)
Raphael Wallfisch (cello)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Ed Spanjaard
rec. 2024, Glasgow City Halls, UK
cpo 5556942 [79]
Henriette Bosmans was born to musician parents. Her father Henri was principal cellist with the Concertgebouw orchestra and her mother a concert pianist and Henriette’s first tutor. Cello music would have filled the family home though her father died before she was a year old. Her mother Sara discontinued her own solo career but still played chamber music and introduced her daughter to a great range of music through association with local musicians and concerts at the nearby Concertgebouw. Her study with Jan Willem Kersbergen paid early dividends and by 1920 she had composed several piano works and sonatas for violin and cello. The cello sonata of 1919 was written at the request of Marix Loevensohn, principal cellist of the Concertgebouw and spurred by the success of this she began work on a poème for cello and piano which appeared in 1920 and a second poème in 1922, her poème ibérique. Bosmans orchestrated this in 1923, erasing ibérique from the title but keeping some of the Iberian mood; Loevensohn premiered this version with Pierre Monteux in 1927. The orchestral opening is starkly dramatic while the short cello solo that follows leads to a tranquil melody accompanied by syncopated strings. A dance section in quintuple time begins to transport us to the Iberian peninsula, though the lyrical melody requires a little more attention before we settle into the dance proper. Drama and dance combine for a while but the work ends wistfully.
The association with Loevensohn continued with the first cello concerto, which was actually premiered by him four years before the poème, in February 1923. The brief martial orchestral opening introduces a similar element of the fantastic as in the poème with the voice of the harp clearly heard and it is the harp that accompanies the cello’s first yearning melody. Much of the first movement is restrained though an unexpected alpine brass fanfare crying out the cello’s first thematic motif leads to slightly more animated music though the mood remains low key. Indeed the louder dramatic music is generally short lived and seems to signal a change of mood. The movement ends quietly after a return of the harp and shimmering strings. The sense of the otherworldly that this conjures continues into the presto in which celeste, castanets and tambourine are all part of a wonderfully scored scherzo; hints of sorcerer’s apprentice. The finale opens with a lengthy lyrical section, a third of its 18 minutes, that reflects some of the music of the opening movement. The faster section is led by a jaunty dance from the soloist but we can still hear elements that suggest that Bosmans still had the idea of adding some Spanish colour to the mix, the lilting orchestral introduction to a return of the dance at the ten minute mark being just example. The booklet writer Carine Alders points to inspiration possibly being from Bosman’s favourite opera Carmen and the juxtaposition of bright coloured writing and darker hued drama makes that seem likely whether conscious or not.
The second concerto also has a connection to Loevensohn though this time it is through his pupil Frieda Belinfante. She formed a firm friendship with Bosmans after Loevensohn introduced them in 1922 and the second concerto was completed in May of the following year with a dedication to Belinfante who premiered ‘her’ concerto in January 1924. The solo cello opens the first movement in meditative style and even when the orchestra enters it is really just a light accompaniment to the soloist’s music. The central section gives the orchestra more scope to shine with fast music in martial mood and allowing the soloist more extrovert, flamboyant figuration. It is the meditative mood that ultimately holds sway however. The scherzo contrasts a lilting, playful with woodwind arabesques and a rumbling string bass with more driven, rhythmic music; if the latter points more to folk dances of eastern Europe the former is once again redolent of the sunnier climes of Iberia, evidently a sonic picture that Bosmans had running through her thoughts at this time. There is a quasi-slow movement opening to the finale with perhaps the most beautiful music on the disc that features a high duet for cello and solo violin before the bass grows in intensity and a rollicking and vigorous dance melody announces the allegro molto. A harp accompanies the cello’s second theme, more lyrical and with colourful orchestration throughout this would make an attractive addition to the cello concertante repertoire.
Both of these concertos are world premiere recordings, at least on CD. The notes suggest that the second concerto was played for the final time in 1933, by Loevensohn on this occasion and the first possibly not performed after March 1923 despite enthusiastic applause and critical acclaim. I am assuming the scores remain in manuscript. I found that these works take repeated listening but that pays off even if they are never going to usurp the current concert favourites. They are written in a richly late romantic style and Bosmans certainly knows how to use orchestral timbre to good effect. Conductor Ed Spanjaard evidently loves this music – this is his second recording of the Poème – and orchestra and soloist match that passion. The tautness of their playing in the dramatic sections is gripping, the scherzos playful and impish, especially that of the first concerto and the many moments of tranquillity and reflection are beautiful as the serene opening of the second concerto’s finale bears testament.
Rob Challinor
Buying this recording via the link below generates revenue for MWI, which helps the site remain free
