Enno Vorhorst and the String Soloists : Roland Dyens- Concerto Metis with string orchestra and selected works : CD

DYENS:  Concerto Metis (Hommage a Ida Presti ); Theme Felin; Concerto en Si – II. Serenade; 20 Lettres (Excerpts) – No2 – Lettre a la Seine; Saudade No1; Saudade No2 – Chorinho; Saudade No3 -1) Rituel 2) Danse 3) Fete & Final ; 20 Lettres (Excerpts) – No20 – Lettre a Monsieur Messiaen ; Tango en Skai (Version for guitar and string orchestra).

Enno Vorhorst and the String Soloists

Cobra Records: Cobra 0066.

Roland Dyens (1955-2016) was a wonderfully unique French guitar composer and arranger improviser who interestingly enough always started his own concerts with an improvisation before getting down to the actual printed programme. I was in fact lucky enough years ago to go to a guitar weekend, where he was playing a concert and witnessed this at first hand. He was a stunning performer, and over the years I have acquired many books of his music, and they are exceedingly original and absolutely like nothing else you will ever have come across. This urge for originality and freedom can be found in all of his music for there is never a dull moment - his entire catalogue of guitar works is both huge and unique.

The three movement Concerto Metis opens this programme. Its subtitle of Hommage a Ida Presti pays significant tribute to that wonderful lady who was a magnificent guitarist but who died far too young. The first movement is an Allegro Rubato with a middle section of Allegretto before returning to the opening speed. The freedom of the rubato is obvious right from the start, and the musical style, very sad and emotional , is like nothing else, namely modern but accessible, with a great dash of 20th century  French composers, but also mixed in with Dyens’ love of music composers like Jacques Brel, whose music he arranged and played often. The second movement Andante continues the sadness and emotional content and is superbly played by all the performers .It makes you wonder why one doesn’t hear this concerto is concert. It does hit you right between the eyes. The final movement is Allegro giocoso with a Quasi Adagio section followed by a final Allegro Vivace and is more optimistic musically. Finally it only goes to say that the playing is superb, and Enno Vorhorst really has to play at the top of his technical level for a great deal of the time, as indeed he really does. This is a superb concerto in every way.

Theme Felin is a new work to me with lots of character and plenty of moments when the cat’s playfulness shows through. It is built on an almost continuous motif that interweaves with the cat’s movements before fading to nothing.

The second movement of the Concerto en Si was originally for guitar orchestra but arranged and re-titled Serenade for guitar and string orchestra by Enno Vorhorst and Roland Dyens, and recorded here for the first time. It is substantial and almost 10 minutes in length.

The two excerpts from his book of 20 Lettres are short but intriguing, as his pieces here, are as if he is writing to inanimate objects or dead composers, and when you get to know the full 20 pieces, many fascinating other things and people as well.

The three Saudades are every bit as unique as his other solo works, with No1 beginning quiet and very lost sounding before speeding up and getting more modern in style as it progresses. No2 begins in a Latin style of rhythm, which is to be expected when it is a Chorinho , a title used by Villa Lobos, and whose musical style Dyens copies extremely cleverly. The final Saudade No3 is in three short sections and again completely different from the foregoing two, beginning with a very strange almost rubato styled Rituel, before commencing into the Danse with a number of Dyens’ ‘wrong note’ style of melodies which is a style he adopts quite a lot .It doesn’t make it too unfriendly though when he does write in this style because it fits so well into his compositional style. The final section Fete & Final is, as you might expect fast and furious but optimistic in its musical writing and perfectly performed by Enno Vorhorst.

The final piece is perhaps his most well – known Tango en Skai, but here adapted for guitar and string orchestra, a version I haven’t come across before, but just as wonderful as you might expect.

This is a stunning album full of music that shows the listener how brilliant Roland Dyens was and how missed he is in the guitar world. Enno Vorhorst and the string players have done Dyens a superb tribute here and you should all grab a copy when you can!

Chris Dumigan