Silenced Voices
Cedille CDR90000189

Black Oak Ensemble
9th Aug 2019
66 minutes

 

 

 

Dick Kattenburg : Trio a cordes 4:56

Sandor Kuti : Serenade for string trio 10:22

Hans Krasa : Passacaglia & Fuga for String Trio 8:56

Hans Krasa : Tánec for String Trio 5:15

Gideon Klein : Trio for violin, viola, and cello 13:25

Hermann Pál : Strijktrio 7:53

Geza Frid :  Trio à cordes, Op. 1 16:02

An album of intriguing works by six promising, early 20th century Jewish composers. Silenced Voices includes the world premiere recording of wartime survivor Géza Frids early Trio à cordes, Op. 1, an inventive work infused with Hungarian folk music influences. Composer-cellist Paul Hermanns Strijktrio, a forward-looking, cosmopolitan work from the early 1920s, shares its melodies among all three instruments. Dick Kattenburgs youthful Trio à cordes was praised in a 1938 concert review for its remarkable mastery and a very personal style. Gideon Kleins Trio for violin, viola and cello is notable for its treatment of a Moravian folk song that serves as the theme of its middle movement. Hans Krásas Tánec (Dance) is a five-minute whirl of dancelike episodes framed by the sonic evocation of trains. His Passagalia is more somber, with its own train motifs, while its companion Fuga bears shades of Germanic and Czech influences and occasional grotesque touches. Sándor Kutis Serenade for String Trio brims with Hungarian folk music and piquant chord clusters.