Silvestrov By Catherine Weary

 

Silvestrov

By

Catherine Weary

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

There are composers who write music, and there are composers who seem to listen to the silence that exists beyond music. Valentin Silvestrov belongs unmistakably to the latter. In this album, pianist Catherine Weary enters that deeply personal landscape with an evident sensitivity to the composer's distinctive musical language. I haven’t heard such a charming and warm album since the late but great Michael Harrisons gift to the world of Revelation in 2007.

Here on the opening piece the relationship with memory is very apparent, but isn’t that the secret of really well composed music, evoking memories and emotions, there is something almost elegiac about this approach. The music seems to exist in the space between remembrance and disappearance, which makes Bagatelle, Op. 1, No. 2 and excellent place to start, and performed, so well by Weary.

The second opus has a gentle sense about it, and whilst its flowing narrative is tentative, it’s structured beautifully; this is ambience personified and called Lullaby, Op. 2, No. 1. There is a careful uplifting narrative within this piece that makes the skin tingle; Silvestrov's music rarely demands attention through grand gestures or virtuosic display and this very track is a perfect example of that statement.

Waltz, Op. 3, No. 2 is a crafted piece and performance from Weary and the composer, there is a clever symbiosis here that needs to be enjoyed. One that creates the impression of two voices exchanging phrases across a considerable emotional distance, this is one of the deeply profound offerings from the album. Rather than presenting a continuous melody in one register, this arrangement allows musical ideas to migrate between registers, and Weary’s masterful performance brings it into our reality.

This isn’t one of those albums that you can just listen to once, there is always something in here that requires genuine listening, time and dedication, the following track highlights this and is called Postludium, Op. 2, No. 4. For Catherine Weary, this miniature demands considerable delicacy to tonal colour and dynamic proportion. A tenderly played offering and one built on utter sensitivity and care.

From Bagatelle, Op. 1, No. 1 we find a series of miniatures. There is a delicacy here that needs to be recognised, the combination of folk-like melodic repetition, extended tonality, delicate dynamics and an almost improvisational sense of phrasing creates a musical world of unusual intimacy, one that is so attractive and charming, whilst Bagatelle, Op. 2, No. 3 gifts the listener something more spacious and reflective, its character is distinctly pastoral: graceful, luminous and delicately old-fashioned, as though a little fragment of French Baroque keyboard music has drifted into the modern world.

Bagatelle, Op. 1, No. 3 has that melodious sense of phrase that makes it for me the prettiest piece of the album. The tempo changes feel spontaneous, while the shifts between major and minor should be allowed to register without exaggeration, but it is a delicate offering that shits beautifully within its own foundation, this flows beautifully allowing us to swim within the refrains of the gentle Bagatelle, Op. 4, No. 3. Which is an exquisite example of instrumental genius; it is an utterly glorious, lulling masterpiece that I guarantee will move you both emotionally and spiritually. Dive deep into its arrangements; it is a performance that deserves to be savoured over and over again.

The final segment of the aforementioned opus is now upon us and called Bagatelle, Op. 4, No. 2. There is a calming reality here that is so soothing and delicate that it literally charms the listener into listening more deeply. It is utterly mollifying, and will allow the mind to drift free from its restraints.

Waltz, Op. 3, No. 1 is our penultimate offering, it is also as close to film score standard as you could wish for, the smooth style and tender performance manifests a feel good moment for the listener. Whilst our final portal to the works of the composer comes in the guise of the concluding narrative entitled Postludium, Op. 3, No. 4. The texture here is akin to a soft blanket caressing the shoulders in the coldest of winters. And the performance is easily one of the most heartfelt from the album. Catherine Weary captures the very essence of Silvestrov's fragile musical poetry with an astonishing refinement of ear, and a sublime caressing tenderness of the keys in a classic final parting gift.

This is an album for listeners who value atmosphere, nuance and the poetry of understatement. It rewards patience and repeated listening, revealing new emotional shades with each encounter. I cannot emphasise enough that one listen is simply not enough to gain the full pleasure one can reach and obtain from this wondrous release. Silvestrov by Catherine Weary is an album birthed in the textures of ambience, and is a tapestry of sheer soothing genius, and a timeless performance that demands to be a huge hit, and rightly so.