Louis Andriessen - Rosa: The death of a composer (1998)

Lyndon Terracini (baritone) Juan Manuel de Rosa;
Miranda van Kralingen (soprano) First Singer, Madame de Vries, Texan Whore, Investigatrix;
Marie Angel (soprano) Second Singer, Blond Woman, Esmeralda;
Christopher Gillett (tenor) Alcan, Cowboy;
Roger Smeets (baritone) Lully, Cowboy;
Phyllis Blanford (speaker) Index Singer;
Schönberg Ensemble;
Asko Ensemble/Reinbert de Leeuw.

Tracklist:
CD1
1. Overture
2. Scene 1
3. Scene 2
4. Scene 3
5. Scene 4
6. Scene 5
CD2
1. Scene 6
2. Scene 7
3. Scene 8
4. Scene 9
5. Scene 10
6. Scene 11
7. Scene 12
8. "The Index Singer (fragment)"

It has been six years since Rosa was premiered by Netherlands Opera, during which time Louis Andriessen's musical language has continued to evolve and provoke, not least in his third stage work, Vermeer. Yet this recording is much more significant than merely by way of catching up, as the impact of the piece, and its significance in the composer's output, should not be underestimated.

Conceptually, Rosa starts from the opposite pole of Andriessen's earlier, full-length stage work, De Materie. That involved taking what are essentially metaphysical ideas and giving them dramatic tangibility. The present work derives from a scenario which would closely resemble a Hollywood 'B' movie, were it not for Peter Greenaway's expansion of narrative implications and blurring the conventions of cause and effect. As the chorus remarks at the beginning of scene 9, 'Was Orpheus really slaughtered?'; followed by what is perhaps the summatory line of the whole piece, 'Who would ever want to kill a composer?'

Actually, several other murdered composers feature, or are referred to, in the course of Rosa, or rather Greenaway's film version, including Webern and the ubiquitous John Lennon. We meet the double act of Alcan (sic) and Lully in two later scenes, who shadow the Investigatrix looking into Rosa's murder, sifting out the coincidental and circumstantial clues from those most likely to confirm a conspiracy. And the nature of this conspiracy? That isn't the work's business to answer.

Andriessen's immersion in (good old-fashioned?) socialist theatre is frequently apparent. The employment of just five singers to take on 11 roles, plus a chorus to add that timeless 'Greek' formality, has Brechtian alienation written all over it; as does the growing sense that we're not supposed to empathize with, let alone feel pity for Esmeralda, Rosa's much-abused (in all senses) mistress, whose envy of the love he shows for his encased horse will be countered by her being stuffed into the carcass and burnt, with his corpse astride the animal. But then, those familiar with Greenaway's films will already have anticipated a properly cathartic denouement.

Musically, Rosa is much more dramatically integrated than De Materie. The Overture, with unison sax and electronic keyboard lines snaking across a string and synthesizer backdrop, is pure Andriessen, though the harmonic dimension expands as the theatrical drama intensifies. The final three scenes (tracks 5-7 on the second disc), while eschewing outward emotion, have a dramatic potency new to Andriessen's work, the dynamic terracing and rhythmic grooves creating a physical impact that the scenario seems intent on denying. This massive accumulated energy is then dispersed by the rap of the Index Singer's pay-off, funkily realized by Phyllis Blandford, and confirmation that Andriessen's response to contemporary urban pop is much more acute than his American contemporaries.

A strong cast is fully attuned to Andriessen's requirements, notably Lyndon Terracini's mock-heroic Rosa, and Marie Angel's supplicatory Esmeralda, with Miranda van Kralingen properly grating as the Investigatrix. Reinbert de Leeuw gets formidable precision and velocity from the Schönberg and Asko ensembles, with a recording that similarly pulls no punches. Rosa is no more a source of easy answers than it is of enjoyable listening, but its combination of impact and intelligence make it a compelling experience.

Graham Simpson

CD 1


CD 2


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