5 stars
SOLO ALONE AND MORE • Jonas Frølund (cl1, basset cl2, bs cl3, perc4) • OUR 6.220681 (73:40)
NIELSEN 1Clarinet Concerto: Cadenza. STRAVINSKY 13 Pieces for Clarinet Solo. SØRENSEN 1Lontanamente. METTE NIELSEN 2Alone. MESSIAEN 1Quatuor pour la fin du temps: Abîme des oiseaux. GUNNAR BERG 1Pour Clarinette seule I. RUDERS 1Tattoo for One. WAGNER 3Tristan und Isolde: Act III clarinet solo. STEEN-ANDERSEN 3, 4De profundis (version for bass clarinet)
The tone of the solo clarinet is one of the most beautiful sounds in the orchestra, probably because, like the cello, it closely resembles the range of the human voice, and can be manipulated (by a skilled musician) to produce a wide variety of textural effects within that range. The twenty-something Danish clarinetist Jonas Frølund has assembled a fascinating collection of clarinet solos from an assortment of works, including chamber music, orchestra works, and one opera, that exploits this very concept. A number of the pieces were written as stand-alone works, such as the pithy Stravinsky pieces from 1919, and a gaggle of works by Danish composers, including the solo for basset clarinet that Mette Nielsen (no relation to Carl Nielsen, by the way) wrote for Frølund, one of several world premiere recordings on the disc. I continue to be fascinated by the work of Bent Sørensen, who wrote the haunting Lontanamente: Fragments of a Waltz. His stunning new setting of the St. Matthew Passion was one of my favorite releases of the past year. Carl Nielsen’s cadenza from his Clarinet Concerto seduced me into hearing the entire, wonderful work. At the heart of Frølund’s program is the solo clarinet music from Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, perhaps the most eloquent and idiomatic music written for the instrument since Mozart. This release is probably not intended for a general audience, but any imaginative and inquisitive music lover should find much esthetic stimulation here. Frølund is an unusually thoughtful and expressive artist. Peter Burwasser