Hans Gál: Music for Voices, Volume 1

This new CD from Toccata Classics is a most welcome exploration of Hans Gál’s a cappella choral music. It promises to be the first of a series. 

For detailed information about the composer, see Margaret Moncrieff Kelly’s ‘tribute and memoir’ on these pages. However, a few pointers may help here. Hans Gál was born near Vienna on 5 August 1890. For ten years (1919-29) he lectured in Musical Theory at the city’s University. He was later to be appointed Director of the Mainz Musikhochschule. When the Nazis took over Mainz in 1933, he was expelled from this position, because he was Jewish. He returned to Vienna where he worked as conductor of the Vienna Concert Orchestra and the Bach Society. After the Anschluss (annexation of Austria by Germany) he moved to Edinburgh. There he was appointed Professor of Music at the University. Whilst in Edinburgh, he composed a large amount of music in a wide variety of genes. This included a wealth off choral music, often written with amateur choirs in mind. Hans Gál died in his adopted city on 3 October 1987. 

Stylistically, Gál’s musical aesthetic is largely conservative, Brahms being a key reference, but in some of his music, the influence of Mahler can be heard. Grove’s Dictionary describes his style as ‘[uniting] many elements: the clarity, playful humour and formal mastery of early Classicism; the chromatic harmony and extended tonality of early 20th-century, pre-serial music; a Schubertian love of melody; the lyricism and emotional restraint of Brahms and the contrapuntal textures that remained fundamental to his style.’

First off, I listened to the delightful Four British Folksongs written in 1969. These settings include two or three of my favourite tunes, first heard in music class at primary school and loved ever since. The liner notes imply that some of these pieces may be older, having first been heard in Dunfermline in 1942. Gál may have discovered these songs whilst he was working in the Reid Music Library just before the outbreak of the Second World War. The overall impact of the four motets is that the composer has not attempted to introduce any ‘national’ characteristics, for example, ‘Scotch Snaps’ into the Scottish numbers. There is no obvious ‘tartanry.’ He has created a light touch, flowing counterpoint, and relatively straight forward harmonies throughout. These Four British Folksongs could be successfully taken up by any well-trained choir. They deserve to be in the repertoire of choral societies.  

The opening track, ‘Motette’ was written in 1924 when Gál was comfortably employed at Vienna University. It is long and complex setting of the text ‘Der Säemann säet den Samen’ (‘The sower soweth the seed’) by the poet Matthias Claudius (1740–1815). It is scored for 8-part mixed choir. This is a heartachingly beautiful work, that exploits the composer’s skill at part-writing. Stylistically, it is hard to pin down. Brahms certainly seems to be an exemplar, and possibly Mahler. Yet it is Gál’s unique skill that emerges. It is hard to understand why this ‘motet’ is not in every choir’s repertoire: it is quite wonderful.

The Four Madrigals to Elizabethan Poems, op. 51 were written in Edinburgh, a few years after Gál had arrived in the United Kingdom and before he was arrested and interred at Huyton, near Liverpool and then in Douglas, Isle of Man. The four are ‘Youth and Cupid' (Queen Elizabeth I), 'True Love' (Sir Philip Sidney), 'A Cradle Song' (Thomas Dekker), 'Foolish Love' (Robert Greene). These are delightful settings, that are utterly timeless in their impact.  Interestingly, Gál wrote two additional madrigals, presumably for this set: 'Carpe Diem' and 'Her Rambling' both to texts by Thomas Lodge. Let us hope that they turn up on a future Toccata CD.

The Epigramme: Fünf Madrigale nach Gedichten von Lessing, op. 27 (1926) are genuinely witty. Irrespective of whether the listener understands German or not, these pieces present a mordant view of human nature. The story behind the first number ‘Stilleben’ gives the general drift - nagging wife, argument, husband goes ‘down to the pub’, neighbour comes into house to ‘console’ wife...  I loved these complex, involved, and effective pieces of musical satire.

I am guessing that what is titled here Four Part-Songs (1966) is the unpublished work listed in the Hans Gál Website, as ‘Part-Songs’ for mixed voices (SATB) a capella. These were premiered in St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh in 1967. The settings are ‘To spring' (William Blake), 'Madrigal' (William Shakespeare), 'Hymn to Diana' (Ben Jonson), 'Invocation' (Percy Bysshe Shelley). It is interesting that the liner notes posit that these perfectly crafted motets were not published: probably because they stem from a time when such music was deeply unfashionable!

Satirikon: Four aphorisms for 4 male voices (TTBB) op. 72 was completed in 1937, shortly before Gál fled Austria. At least that is what the Hans Gál Website states. It was published by Kistner & Siegel in 1957. The liner notes give the date of composition as 1956.  I reminded myself that the word ‘aphorism’ means ‘a short clever saying that is intended to express a general truth’. The title Satirikon suggests an affinity with Roman author Petronius’s bawdy novel written during the reign of Nero. The texts that Gál has chosen are hardly brief but each tell a tiny story.  There is little that is coarse in these delightful miniatures. The four aphorisms as ‘Weisheit des Schöpfers’ (Wisdom of the Creator) (Heinrich  Heine), 'Gute Vorsätze' (Good Intentions) (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe), 'Von der Schicklichkeit' (On Propriety) (Christian August Fehre), and 'Von der Wahrheitsliebe' (On the Love of Truth) (Wilhelm Busch).

The liner notes are up to Toccata Classic’s usual high standard and make valuable and learned reading. After a brief biographical note about Hans Gál, Eva Fox-Gál provides an interesting context to the composer’s vocal music. Fox-Gál is joined by Bridget Budge and Stephen Muir in the following dissertation-length descriptive analysis of the works on this CD. It may be a bit more detail than the average listener requires, but it sets down much helpful information for future researchers, performers, and critics. It is masterclass of its kind. There are the usual bios of the choir, Borealis and their musical directors. Finally, the texts of all the settings are given, along with translation where appropriate.

Borealis, based in the North of England, was formed in 2016. They comprise a single choir of sixteen to twenty singers, directed by Bridget Budge and Stephen Muir. Their ‘sound’ is an interesting blend of strength and intimacy, power, and reflection. I cannot be certain, but looking at their website, this is their début recording.

As noted above, there are many choral works listed on the Hans Gál Website. These include pieces for male and female voices as well as mixed choirs. Some of these have varying instrumental accompaniments, so I guess that these may well be excluded from this ongoing survey. The advertising blurb for this CD states this is the first volume in a long-term project (my italics) to record [Gál’s] choral music. I always worry at this point. I fear that it may be so ‘long-term’ that it never gets completed. Readers will be able to think of many part-completed cycles and series. Let us hope that Toccata Classics keeps these excellent surveys of Hans Gál coming. It is so good to discover an ‘Aladdin’s Cave’ of singable, enjoyable, approachable, and well-written choral music.

Track Listing:
Hans Gál (1890–1987)
Motette, op. 19 (1924)
Four Madrigals to Elizabethan Poems, op. 51: No. 1, Youth and Cupid; No. 2, True Love; No. 3, A Cradle Song; No. 4, Foolish Love (1939)
Epigramme: Fünf Madrigale nach Gedichten von Lessing, op. 27: No. 1, Stillleben; No. 2, Hymnus; No. 3, Vita brevis; No. 4, Irrtum; No. 5, Grabschrift (1926)
Four Part-Songs: No. 1, To Spring; No. 2, Madrigal; No. 3, Hymn to Diana; No. 4, Invocation (1966)
Satirikon: Four Aphorisms, op. 72: No. 1, Weisheit des Schöpfers; No. 2, Gute Vorsätze; No. 3, Von der Schicklichkeit; No. 4, Von der Wahrheitsliebe (1956)
Four British Folksongs: No. 1, Early one morning; No. 2, An Eriskay Love Lilt; No. 3, O can ye sew cushions? No. 4, Ye Banks and Braes (1969)
Borealis/Bridget Budge and Stephen Muir (Satirikon)
Rec. 4-7 January 2019 (Motette, Four Madrigals to Elizabethan Poems, Epigramme, Four Part-Songs and Satirikon); 5-6 January 2020 (Four British Folksongs) at Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall, University of Leeds, England.
TOCCATA TOCC 0509
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.