An entertaining book and CD, beautifully produced [DC]

Scenes of a Folk Life
Julius Röntgen (1855-1932)
Oud-Hollandsche Boerenliedjes en Contradansen
Scènes uit het Hollandsche Volksleven, Op.81 (1929)
Amanda Maier (1853-1894)
Swedish Melodies and Dances, Op.6 (1882)
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Bridal March, Op.19 No.2
Four Norwegian Folk Dances, Op.35 (1880)
Agathe Ensemble
rec. 2026, Westvest90, Schiedam, The Netherlands
Agathe Ensemble AE202601 [58]

This release is the Agathe Ensemble’s second, following on from another book-plus-album called Intimate Sketches from 2023. Nicely laid out and beautifully produced with linocut illustrations by Roland Toth, the 70-page book Scenes of a Folk Life is very informative about folk and national musical identity as well as opening a window into a moment of history in which the lives of these three composers were intertwined in ways I hadn’t previously considered.

German-Dutch pianist and composer Julius Röntgen married Amanda Maier in her home town of Landskrona Sweden in 1880. Maier had been a student of Reinecke and others in Leipzig and studied violin with Julius’ father Engelbert Röntgen. Her successful career as a touring performer ended after the marriage and the couple’s move to Amsterdam, but they were active in arranging musical salons and performances, with audience members including Nina and Edvard Grieg – thus is the circle for this programme completed with an admirable narrative neatness. 

As the title suggests, the CD programme for this publication has an emphasis on folk music, which is largely based around various kinds of dances. Julius Röntgen’s music has been recorded on the CPO label and elsewhere, but you will be unlikely to find his Old Dutch Farmer Songs and Contra Dances anywhere other than here. This collection is surprisingly refined, with attractive melodies and sympathetic harmonic arrangements that avoid making these pieces too sophisticated. The Agathe Ensemble strings play with a remarkably imaginative use of colour and contrast, using their early-music pedigree to bring out traditional stylistic traits in the music while creating plenty of dance-rhythm energy, delivering rustic charm that includes some stamping and clapping in the final Passepied – Pieternelle alongside impeccable intonation. Scenes from Dutch Folk Life Op. 81 is a late work originally written for piano, consisting of fifteen miniatures that are evocative of Dutch folk culture. Röntgen played piano at screenings of silent films at the Tuschinski Theatre in Amsterdam, in particular those of Dutch filmmaker Dirk van der Ven. This portfolio of improvisations clearly fed this and other collections by Röntgen, which in this case are inspired by folk idioms rather than being transcriptions of pre-existing music. These are all good fun, with fascinating pieces that include singing such as the Easter Bells – The Carillon of Sneek,and the sensitive and slower Cramigon contrasting with lively numbers such as The May Whistle that briefly records a joyously communal spring tradition. 

Amanda Maier’s music is beginning to gain recognition today, though the social expectations of her time and her early death meant that her composed legacy is relatively limited. The Swedish Tunes and Dances, Op. 6 were originally written for violin and piano and would have fitted perfectly into those domestic salons in Amsterdam. This is a set of six pieces mostly based on polska dances in triple time, but as with her husband’s music in this genre managing to combine classical craftsmanship with folk-music idioms with elegance and natural authenticity. The third Andante movement is striking for its lamenting poignancy and open harmonies, following as it does an Allegro non troppo that manages to introduce a fugue into its animated character. The penultimate Andante is a small masterpiece that sets Romantic drama against the surprise insertion of a virtuoso Hungarian verbunkos or recruiting dance, all framed with quiet opening and closing passages of deliciously eloquent restraint.

Edvard Grieg is of course renowned as a leading voice when it comes to folk music style, introducing the language of Norwegian dances and melodies from the Hardanger fiddle into famous works that helped consolidate a national cultural identity for his homeland. We are treated to a bouncy rendition of the Bridal Procession, and the Four Norwegian Dances, Op. 35 bring the programme to a rousing conclusion. These piano originals are given excellent string octet arrangements by cellist Iván Nogueira, and I would certainly hope that these versions are taken on by other string ensembles as they are highly effective. This of course also goes for all of the arrangements elsewhere on the programme.

This is an innovative and attractive publication that combines an excellent recording with an equally fine and well researched book. All of the music is annotated with well-written texts alongside just the right amount of biographical information about the composers and the historical context for them and their music. This is the kind of thing that will have a limited print run, so if you are looking for an excellent gift for yourself and someone you really like, get a couple of copies now.

Dominy Clements                 

Performers
Aleksandra Kwiatkowska, Leonid Nikishin, Ella van der Mespel, Raquel Marin, Fiona Robertson (violin), Almudena González-Regueral, Fernando Pérez (viola), Ivan Nogueira, Jorge Municio (cello)