Review

L'Homme Armé: Works for Solo Cello

Jed Distler

Cellists seeking substantial solo contemporary repertoire are faced with an abundance of excellent options, including the works on this disc devoted to Danish composers. It opens with a 17-minute tour-de-force by Poul Ruders, where the composer subjects the ancient hit tune L'Homme Armé to a vigorous, imaginative set of etudes that feel more like variations. At times Ruder requires the cellist to sing, whistle, and make percussive noises, anticipating some of the techniques Frederic Rzewski uses in his 1990 L'Homme Armé variations for solo piano. Morten Zeuthen's fearless technique and energetic momentum easily set reference standards for a piece that deserves far more attention than it's had outside of Denmark.

The Rasmussen, Pape, Rosing-Schow, and Nielsen selections resulted from Zeuthen commissioning pieces rooted in the lilting Siciliana rhythm. Ironically, a stronger, more immediately palpable dance element abounds throughout Per Nørgård's three-movement sonata. But you have to listen carefully to grasp the slow, underlying Siciliana rhythm in the Abrahamsen Sonata's quiet third movement, whose sparse high-register whispers and gentle plucks would not be out of place in Morton Feldman's universe. Vagn Holmboe's three-movement sonata opens with a declamatory prelude full of subtle interval choices and melodic twists that avert all declamatory prelude clichés. Cellists have their work cut out for them regarding the central Fugue, where the music's inherent wit and slippery rhythmic displacements draw attention away from the sheer virtuosic demands. Again, Zeuthen embraces the score from head to toe in an impassioned, communicative performance. There's great music awaiting your discovery here, as well as a fabulous cellist.