Hexensabbat (Hamelin) - from CDA68457 - Hyperion Records

Reviews

‘Imagine the Berlioz Symphonie fantastique’s stark raving mad finale and Liszt’s Scherzo und Marsch first paired together, then chopped to bits, and then radically reharmonised to 21st-century specifications, with more than a few hints of Carl Stalling’s Warner Brothers cartoon soundtracks tossed into the mix. That’s more or less what Hamelin’s own Hexensabbat sounds like. So who had more fun putting this delightful romp together, the composer or the pianist? Perhaps both. In short, Found Objects / Sound Objects may be Hamelin’s most uncompromising, most personal and most interesting release to date’ (Gramophone)

‘Just as I thought I could no longer be surprised by Marc-André Hamelin’s choice of repertoire, along comes this thrilling collage, mixing the apparently unmixable, from Frank Zappa and John Cage to Hamelin’s own terrifyingly virtuosic Hexensabbat. The upshot is a musical mosaic as colourful, exciting and witty as it is moving’ (Gramophone)

‘In less talented hands, this collection of sometimes-difficult atonal works—including John Cage's percussive, other-worldly The perilous night for prepared piano—might be a difficult listen. But Marc-André Hamelin's rounded yet articulated pianism is a joy—and his sense of rhythmic energy propels forward a beautifully balanced programme that unfurls like the chapters of an addictive story. His own Hexensabbat provides a swirlingly bravura conclusion’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘The playing is uniformly so dazzling … a fine collection of some interesting contemporary pieces that repay attention, beautifully performed and recorded’ (American Record Guide)

‘Among the speeding plinks and plonks a spell was being cast. For that you can partly credit the hidden charms of Zappa's filigree concoction [Ruth is sleeping]. But the most obvious lure was the enormous skill of the pianist, the magisterially wonderful Marc-André Hamelin, famous for tackling the piano repertoire's most formidable creations and making them seem what is technically known as a piece of cake … every object on this refreshing album is well worth finding and listening to’ (The Times)

‘Marc-André Hamelin has been such a fixture in the concert hall and recording studio that it’s easy to forget that his is a technique so complete that it becomes invisible. The combination of technical firepower and his boundless intellectual curiosity make this collection utterly compelling and there aren’t many pianists who could do that so effortlessly in this repertory. The engineering and piano sound are excellent and the informative notes are by Hamelin himself’ (International Piano)

‘Trust pianist Marc-André Hamelin to transform a program of demanding atonal pieces into an exciting, energetic, and beautiful journey … a pianistic tour de force that only Marc-André Hamelin knows how to achieve’ (PAN M 360, Canada)

‘There aren’t many pianists out there who could handle these seven works, let alone with such aplomb. Marc-André Hamelin is surely the only one who could conceive of such a set in the first place’ (Avant Music News, USA)

The less said about my own Hexensabbat the better, I think, since I want to invite listeners to form their own picture of what is happening therein. I will say that although some of the piece—the opening, especially—is a re-thinking of a sketch from my student days, I very much had in mind the ‘Ronde du sabbat’, the hair-raising conclusion of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, while I was writing it. My original title for that youthful beginning had been Devil’s trill toccata, though I never progressed beyond a couple of pages. A commission from the Le Piano Symphonique festival in Lucerne gave me the impetus to revisit what I really hadn’t had the ability to carry through those many years ago.

In Lucerne the piece was premiered by the young Israeli pianist Yoav Levanon, who gave it an extremely committed and very energetic performance. What I’ve written doesn’t allude to Berlioz at all, unless you take into account his use of the Dies irae. Here though, the long passage towards the end (at 7'54) superimposes three Dies iraes at different speeds—really the most demanding passage altogether. (While practising it, I sometimes wished I could avail myself of some potion from a bubbling cauldron to help me play it better!) And for the very ending, the horror of it, I make no apologies. For better or worse, it seemed to me to be the only possible denouement.

Moins j’en dirai sur mon propre Hexensabbat mieux ce sera, car je veux inviter les auditeurs à se faire leur propre idée de ce qui s’y passe. Je dirai que même si une partie de cette pièce—en particulier le début—est une reconsidération d’une esquisse datant de mes années d’études, en l’écrivant j’avais alors à l’esprit la «Ronde de sabbat», la conclusion à vous faire dresser les cheveux sur la tête de la Symphonie fantastique de Berlioz. À l’origine, mon titre pour cet essai de jeunesse était Toccata du Trille du Diable, mais je n’avais jamais été au-delà de quelques pages. Une commande pour le festival Le Piano Symphonique à Lucerne m’a donné l’impulsion de revisiter ce que je n’avais vraiment pas pu mener à bien il y a tant d’années.

À Lucerne, cette pièce fut créée par le jeune pianiste israélien Yoav Levanon, qui en donna une exécution très engagée et énergique. Ce que j’ai écrit ne fait pas du tout allusion à Berlioz, sauf si vous tenez compte de son utilisation du Dies irae. Mais ici, le long passage vers la fin (à 7'54) superpose trois Dies irae à différentes vitesses—vraiment le passage le plus ardu, tout compte fait. (En le travaillant, il m’est arrivé de vouloir profiter d’une potion magique sortant d’un chaudron bouillonnant pour m’aider à mieux le jouer!) Et pour la conclusion même, l’horreur qu’elle représente, je ne m’en excuse pas. Pour le meilleur ou pour le pire, ça me semblait être le seul dénouement possible.

Je weniger über meinen eigenen Hexensabbat gesagt wird, desto besser, denke ich, denn ich möchte die Zuhörer einladen, sich selbst ein Bild von dem zu machen, was darin geschieht. Zwar geht ein Teil des Stücks—vor allem der Anfang—auf eine Skizze aus meiner Studienzeit zurück, doch habe ich beim Komponieren sehr an den haarsträubenden Schluss von Berlioz’ Symphonie fantastique, „Ronde du sabbat“, gedacht. Mein ursprünglicher Titel für den jugendlichen Anfang war Devil’s trill toccata (Teufelstriller-Toccata), obwohl ich damals nie über ein paar Seiten hinausgekommen bin. Ein Auftrag des Festivals Le Piano Symphonique in Luzern gab mir den Anstoß, das Stück wieder aufzugreifen, das ich vor so vielen Jahren nicht wirklich zu Ende bringen konnte.

In Luzern wurde das Stück von dem jungen israelischen Pianisten Yoav Levanon uraufgeführt, der es äußerst engagiert und sehr energisch spielte. Was ich geschrieben habe, bezieht sich überhaupt nicht auf Berlioz, es sei denn, man berücksichtigt seinen Einsatz des Dies irae. Hier jedoch überlagert die lange Passage gegen Ende (bei 7'54) drei Dies irae-Vertonungen in unterschiedlichen Tempi—dies ist die anspruchsvollste Passage überhaupt. (Beim Üben wünschte ich mir manchmal, ich könnte mir einen Zaubertrank aus einem brodelnden Kessel holen, um ihn besser spielen zu können!) Und für das grausige Ende des Stücks entschuldige ich mich nicht—es schien mir die einzig mögliche Auflösung, auf Gedeih und Verderb.

Recording details: February 2024
St Silas the Martyr, Kentish Town, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Keener
Engineered by Oscar Torres
Release date: November 2025
Total duration: 9 minutes 44 seconds

Hexensabbat

Marc-André Hamelin (piano)

Reviews

Introduction