Search - Wolfgang Rihm, Dominique My, Ensemble Modern :: Jagden und Formen

An extreme statement on musical motion

Albrecht Moritz | Salem, MA United States | 06/07/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Hunts and forms": The CD booklet compares the motion of the music with that of a high-speed train - yet that comparison does not quite hold. In the main thread of the music there rarely is a "run-away" motion as can only be formed by regular rhythms; rather the irregular rhythms found in the main threads provide a constant game of holding back/jumping forward, with a jerking motion that nonetheless overall pushes the music ahead. This music does not establish a Beethovenian forward momentum, yet a high level of energy of motion is found nonetheless. Regular rhythms - as "run-away" patterns - mostly occur just for a brief moments, only to quickly disappear again. Only in the second half of the work there are a few passages where the music moves in more extended, massive unison motion of fast regular rhythms; the massive circular motion in these few moments pushes the music forward with almost barbaric, primeval vehemence, in great contrast to the refinement and elegance of the musical motion and timbres usually found in the work. All these unison motions in regular rhythm disperse, crumble quite rapidly, however.From the very beginning it is clear that not only the motion is agitated, but also that the music features an excited tone. This tone is at first mainly associated with the predominant playing of smaller ensemble groups; bigger tutti initially feature more massiveness than excitement of tone. Yet on a large-scale, over the course of the entire composition, there is a development of this excited tone into an all-encompassing, massive timbre, gaining sharp brightness along the way: in a statistical manner - not in a gradual continuum - massiveness and excitement of timbre more and more coalesce, the further the work progresses, up to the final climax (which is not the end of the work). This large-scale development, together with the common motivic material throughout the work, lends coherence to the music, even though the individual "hunts" never translate into a long, continuous thread along which the music might chase.The two violins (later joined by other strings) present the motivic material that will be used throughout the work. Later woodwinds play an important role, the final sharpness of timbre is foreshadowed by polyphonic soloist playing of members of the trumpet section at about 1/3 through the work (after the first interruption of the "running" motion, see below), and in the final combination of massiveness and sharpness of excited tone the brass section as a whole plays an important role; percussion accents become more and more weighty as well. Woodwinds continue to play an important role until the end; the dominance of the string section at the beginning does not repeat itself. As coloring device, however, the sound of strings is used often in combination with other instruments, and strings may also contribute to the polyphony in separate strands. The ensemble of about 25 players often sounds like a larger orchestra in terms of weight. The development of the motivic material at first may seem rather repetitive - the material is more oriented towards rhythm and interval than towards melody - yet it is not. Of course, the work is divided into sections that differ enough from each other as to make clear that there is a great level of non-repetition, yet it may take some time to discover how astonishingly little repetitiveness there is (actually none, strictly spoken) within one section, even though a given section may appear to be of rather uniform color. Given the "limited" material, the actual lack of repetitiveness seems the more admirable, the more one listens to the music.Several times, at first about 1/3 through the work, the music comes to a halt, in drawn-out music that, at least partially, appears to represent broad augmentations of the motivic material in very slow motion. Those incisions in the music, full of tension since so much at odds with the main character of agitated motion, add to the complexity of the overall development of the work.The main voice in the music may come from one instrument group, it may be formed by a dialogue between different groups, or there may be several main voices running in parallel and at different apparent speeds, forming diverse time layers. The complexity of the polyphony is extraordinary. Following such polyphonic complexity in agitated motion over the entire length of the work with the concentration necessary to appreciate the musical argument is not easy, also given the relative uniformity of the musical material used throughout.This certainly is one of those works that both challenge and train the listener's capabilites of perception, and in the end, the richness of experience fully rewards the effort. This is an important work: it says new things in music, and it does so with weight."

Not merely entertaining and innovative, but truly exhilirati

Christopher Culver | 08/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This Deutsche Grammaphon disc--part of the "20/21" series of contemporary music recordings--contains Wolfgang Rihm's great piece "Jagden und Formen" performed by the Ensemble Modern conducted by Dominique My. Here the German composer characteristically blends the avant-garde tradition with echoes of German romanticism, especially concerned with the idea of a "hunt" for form, all resulting in an exhilarating work that is among the strongest entries in the "20/21" series yet.



In the 1990s Rihm wrote three pieces which explored the concept of form, "Gejagte Form" (1995-1996), "Gedraengte Form" (1995-1998), and "Verborgenne Formen" (1995-1997). He later collected these together to form "Jagden and Formen" ("Hunts and Forms"), yet this is not a mere hour-long concert of each piece in succession. Instead, Rihm weaves them together so that "Gejagte Form" serves as the skeleton of the work, appearing five times, first on two violins out of phase with each other, strings, flutes, clarinents, and harp, then on woodwinds, then on horns and trumpets, a fourth time on horns and trombones, and a last time for strings and piano. In between these structral elements, the piece abounds with unexpected turns, build-ups that fall when the "quarry" eludes the musicians/hunters, moments of uncertainty, and even the occasionally lyric or engine-like passage. Suspense is constant; rarely does contemporary repertoire, many of whose godfathers (I'm thinking especially of Webern) were compelled to keep their pieces short, offer an hour-long work that never lets the audience's attention wander. Furthermore, Rihm's orchestration, highlighting winds, percussion (especially the marimba), harp, and guitar over the usual strings, results in a use of colour as exotic as anything in Messiaen.



The performance is remarkable. In a work based on the idea of motion, Dominique My never lets up the pace, and the orchestra never takes a wrong step. My only complaint is that the recording, though crystal-clear, doesn't really explore the studio space as it should; having seen "Gedraengte Form" in concert, I think the piece sounds better with room to breathe. The liner notes are good, too, containing a musicological analysis of the piece along with an interview with Rihm where he defends his work with the kind of zany quips that we've come to love. And, though it feels somewhat dirty to praise the graphic design when the music is what matters, DG have come up with some impressive futuristic artwork.



I'm very enthusiastic about "Jagden and Formen", and think it deserves a place in the collection of any fan of contemporary music."

Hunts and Forms, an open-ended chase...

R. Hutchinson | a world ruled by fossil fuels and fossil minds | 09/17/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"One continuous 51-minute composition, "JAGDEN UND FORMEN (Hunts and Forms)" is in ceaseless, lively motion, a headlong rush that pauses, shifts instrumentation -- "multiple superimposed lines in constant flux" as the liner notes put it -- and then continues hunting. Performed with precision by the Ensemble Modern, the piece begins with the graduated entry of several "desks" of instruments -- strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. The strings play a lesser role in the overall scheme, to give a sense of the timbre.



The obvious points of comparison for me are Boulez and Reich. Perhaps more similar technically to Boulez, JAGDEN UND FORMEN is more frantic and bold than REPONS, with its dreamy circularity. JAGDEN UND FORMEN has an overall effect similar to Reich's MUSIC FOR 18 MUSICIANS, at least in contrast to traditional classical orchestration and composition, partly due to the use of "swing-like cross-rhythms" and marimba. This is a fascinating work which, also like REPONS, leaves me somewhat dissatisfied, but looking forward to hearing more by Rihm. (Since hearing this disc I have heard much more by Rihm, who I have decided is one of THE 12 BEST LATE 20TH/21ST CENTURY COMPOSERS -- see my list.)



The DG 20/21 packaging deserves a word of praise -- the cover photo seems to be a cool, sleek city scene of some sort, of steel and glass reflections, but at a skewed angle resulting in abstraction, redolent of Gerhard Richter. It would be nice if this site would redo the photo so the artwork is visible... (Thanks to Jorge of Barcelona for providing an image -- be sure to check it out!)



One of these days this will be reissued by ArkivMusic, but until then I recommend the Hanssler Rihm-Edition disc of three Rihm concertos as the best introduction to Rihm. For something in many respects similar to JAGDEN UND FORMEN, try CHIFFRE-ZYKLUS (Cipher Cycle), on CPO (see my review)."