Works by Weinberg, Raminta Šerkšnytė, Giedrius Kuprevičius, Jēkabs Jančevskis
Vida Miknevičiūtė (soprano); Gidon Kremer (violin); Kremerata Baltica
ECM ECM 2745 55:64 mins
Songs of Fate presents a fascinating and expertly performed programme of unfamiliar repertoire that mirrors, as well as celebrates Gidon Kremer’s Jewish and Baltic heritage.
Central to the programme is a sequence of relatively early but immensely attractive works by Mieczysław Weinberg, the Polish-Jewish composer who has been championed by Kremer in recent years. The lyrical side of his output is featured here in the reflective Aria for string quartet and the Nocturne arranged for violin and string orchestra by Andrei Pushkarov.
In contrast, the Kujawiak for violin and orchestra, following a similar line of expression to the better-known Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes, is more upbeat in character. Yet it’s the Three Jewish Songs, played in stunningly effective arrangements for voice and string orchestra by Veniamin Basner, that make the greatest impact, particularly when the singing of soprano Vida Miknevičiūtė is so hypnotically affecting.
Miknevičiūtė also delivers deeply felt performances of two movements (‘David’s Lamentation’ and ‘Postlude’) from the Chamber Symphony Star of David and the Penultimate Kaddish by contemporary Lithuanian composer Giedrius Kuprevičius. Especially mesmerising is the ‘Postlude’, in which soprano and unaccompanied violin engage in intimate yet anguished conversation.
Framing these contributions are two remarkable recent works. This too shall pass by Lithuanian Raminta Šerkšnyté is atmospheric and ethereal. But I was even more impressed by Jēkabs Jančevskis’s Lignum which, according to its young Latvian composer, seeks to ‘represent a kind of dialogue with trees’. Scored for string orchestra, chimes, wind chimes and svilpaunieki (a Latvian folk-instrument that sounds like an ocarina), Jančevskis’s work utilises a distinctive yet accessible range of sonorities, and certainly makes an immediate impact on first hearing. Erik Levi