Merel Vercammen & Dina Ivanova: The Boulanger Legacy
TRPTK

Merel Vercammen is nothing if not intrepid. After the Dutch violinist paired with Russian pianist Dina Ivanova for their Symbiosis release in early 2019, she followed it later that year with a collection of improvisations issued under the title The Zoo. Improv, of course, is more fundamental to the jazz musician's practice than the classical artist's, yet she showed no trepidation about engaging with the form. If The Boulanger Legacy returns her to safer ground, it's no less original in concept. Smartly curated and terrifically performed, the release pairs pieces by both Lili and Nadia Boulanger with works by students of the latter, Grazyna Bacewicz, Leonard Bernstein, and Astor Piazzolla. The diversity of material does much to make this thematically oriented release as satisfying as it is. Adding to its appeal, Vercammen and Ivanova are enthusiastic and dynamic players, and the close bond they share is reflected in the performances.

As one of the twentieth century's foremost musical educators, the Paris-born Nadia (1887-1979) is well-known, of course, but less so is her younger sister Lily (1893-1918), whose promise—she played violin, piano, and harp and won the Prix de Rome in 1913 for the cantata Faust et Hélène—was cut short by death to Crohn's disease. Certainly her three works for violin and piano merit inclusion. The haunting Nocturne (1911) initiates the recording with sensitive playing by the duo and a heartfelt rendering of the piece's vocal-like melodies by Vercammen (don't miss the subtle allusion to Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune in the closing moments). Though Cortège (1914) is a French word sometimes used to refer to a funeral procession, there's nothing morose about Lili's regal, high-spirited setting and its singing melodies, and D'un matin de printemps (1917) is as endearing. Nadia didn't write anything for the violin-and-piano combination, so the musicians created their own arrangement of the first of her Three Pieces for Cello and Piano (1914), with “Modéré” a lovely lullaby-like closer for the release. How wonderful that Vercammen and Ivanova elected to honour both sisters with this project.

Bacewicz (1909-69)—in Vercammen's opinion the most underrated composer of the twentieth century—wrote five violin sonatas (among other works), of which the expressive third, written in 1948, is included here. Its four movements cut an encompassing swath, with passages of dramatic sweep appearing alongside playful and lyrical episodes. Sonata for Violin & Piano (1939), an early work by Bernstein (1918-90), follows its opening statement with six concise variations, and similar to those in the Bacewicz work all range widely in mood and style. The duo's passionate rendering of Le Grand Tango (1982) by Piazzolla (1921-92) shows that they're more than up to the challenge of playing material by the nuevo tango master. The pair celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth with an authoritative, nine-minute performance that features many of the signature gestures associated with his music. The essence of Piazzolla is captured, be it in the form of dagger-thrusting rhythms or sweetly romantic expressions.

June 2021