RHEINBERGER SUITES

posted by James Reel

RHEINBERGER Suite for Violin and Organ, op. 166. Pieces for Cello and Organ, Op. 150. Suite for Violin, Cello, and Organ, op. 149 • Melina Mandozzi (vn); Orfeo Mandozzi (vc); Hannfried Lucke (org) • CARUS 83.411 (Hybrid multichannel SACD: 73:25)

Rheinberger’s Op. 150 pieces for cello and organ are actually arrangements extracted from a suite for violin and organ. The original version, in its entirety, is coupled with the Op. 149 suite for violin, cello, and organ on Helios and Cantate; it’s coupled with the Op. 166 suite for violin and organ on Naxos. Each of those discs received benign notice in previous issues of Fanfare, as did Op. 166 when coupled with Rheinberger’s organ concertos on Capriccio (that review was by me). My colleagues and I tend to respond to this music fairly positively, while noting that it won’t knock you over in originality or panache.

Apparently in the 1880s there was some demand for music for solo strings backed by the Romantic organ as a full partner, even if it had to be reined in so as not to cover the violin or cello. Rheinberger offered rich, luscious music with a limited emotional range, sounding rather like German Fauré (although, in truth, Fauré was capable of greater passion than this). It’s exceptionally pleasant music, its forward-moving melodies looking forward somewhat to the more understated passages in the works of Franz Schmidt.

I’ll compare the playing and ound here only to the Capriccio disc, which is also a hybrid multichannel SACD. Here, the perspective is more distant than in the Capriccio recording, and Melina Mandozzi is more likely than Capriccio’s Ernö Sebestyen to spin out a long line; Sebestyen is more declamatory, and tied to shorter phrases. Cellist Orfeo Mandozzi, apparently Melina’s brother, follows the family lead, and organist Hannfried Lucke is every bit as satisfactory here as is Andreas Juffinger on Capriccio.

This is worth exploring, especially for string fanciers, if you don’t require music that inspires a strong, visceral response from the listener. James Reel