György Ligeti: Complete Works for A Cappella Choir

For listeners who know some of György Ligeti’s orchestral music or his chamber works, this two-disc CD may come as a surprise. Apart from Lux Aeterna, the Hungarian Etudes and the Three Fantasies after Friedrich Hölderlin all these pieces may at first hearing seem traditional and uncomplicated. Certainly, there is a well-defined lyricism in the folksong inspired numbers, which may well be absent from the composer’s exploitation of complex polyphony, massive cluster chords and an emphasis on timbre, rather than harmony, melody, and rhythm. To be sure, now, and again something in these “folksongs” seems to push outwards towards Ligeti’s more mature style. 

Throughout his career, Ligeti composed a cappella music for amateurs, church, workers, and professional choirs. These were often organised by the Béla Bartók Association, and featured music from the Renaissance to the 20^th century. There were also large choral works such as the Requiem for soprano and mezzo-soprano solo, mixed chorus, and orchestra (1963–65), the Adventures (1962) and the Nouvelles Adventures (1962-65) for voices and instrumental ensemble.

A few general remarks may be of interest. Firstly, most of these pieces are settings of Hungarian texts. Ligeti’s preferred poets were Bálint Balassa (1554-1594) and Sándor Weöres (1913-1989). Several use “found” folksongs and others use elements of this style such as pentatonic scales, frequent changes of rhythm and unusual time signatures. The liner notes help us approach these pieces with useful advice. It states that Ligeti wanted to “realise the respective contents to music programmatically but focussed especially on particular phonetic sound sequences, rhythms, intonations and accentuations of the Hungarian language.” Furthermore, it is felt that “translations of this speech music are nigh on impossible” and in some cases “even dispensable as you do not have to understand the words in order to experience the choral works as music that is rich in tone colours, rhythmically concise and extremely expressive.”  That said, I would recommend a quick scan of the English translations just to get a clue as to the flavour of the piece.

Secondly, the listener will detect the influence of Béla Bartók in the earlier numbers in this collection. This is hardly surprising as the elder composer was a forerunner in the (re)discovery of folk music from the Austro-Hungarian empire, which at that time included Romania and much of the Balkans. Other influences include Zoltán Kodály and possibly Mátyás Seiber.

And thirdly, it is important that the listener recognize the political ramifications of Ligeti’s art. He began composing in the dark days of Nazism, then he suffered the censorship of his work by the Soviets and was affected by the impact of Socialist Realism. After the crushing of the Hungarian uprising in 1956 he fled with his wife to Austria and then on to Cologne. And then there was his meeting with Karlheinz Stockhausen in that German city…

There are fifty-two pieces included in this album. I do not intend to comment on each. As can be seen from the track listing, there are several sets or groups. I do not know what logic was used to devise the order of the tracks. I wish it could have been chronological, and that is how I approached my review. That said, most of the numbers on this CD were composed in the 1940s and 1950s. Only the haunting Lux Aeterna (1966), the Hungarian Etudes (1983) and the Three Fantasies after Friedrich Hölderlin (1982) were written many years later. These three works, which promulgate an avant-garde aesthetic, are placed last on CD2. Enthusiasts of the composer will claim that these present the “real” Ligeti.

The liner notes, devised by contemporary music specialist, Rainer Nonnenmann, provide a detailed study of this repertoire. All the works are set in their cultural and political milieu. The texts of all the songs are given, along with an English translation. The only exception to this is the Drei Phantasien, which are printed in German only.

The radio choir of Südwestrundfunk (Southwest Broadcasting) was established 75 years ago. Their chief conductor, Yuval Weinberg, has been in post since 2020. They give immaculate performances of these widely diverse pieces. They are clearly sympathetic to Ligeti’s music in all its manifestations.

Before reviewing this 2 CD set, I knew little about the sheer variety of Ligeti’s a cappella works. These range from the avant-garde to music that could almost have been heard in cathedrals during the 1500s and even earlier with plainsong. Take these songs two or three at a time. Through-listening will deprive the listener of the magic and wonder that these often-beautiful pieces stimulate. There is much loveliness here. Despite some arguing that this album will only be of interest to Ligeti enthusiasts and completists, there really is something for everyone here. It adds a great deal to our appreciation of one of the most important 20^th century composers.

Track Listing:
György Ligeti (1926-2006)
Disc 1
Haj, ifjusag! (Hey, Youth!) (1952)
Pápainé (Mrs. Pápai) (1953)
Kállai kettős (Couple Dances from Kálló): No. 1. Felülről fúj az őszi szél (The autumn wind blows from above); No. 2. Eb fél, kutya fél (Only a dog is afraid) (1950)
Mátraszentimrei dalok (Songs from Mátraszentimre): No. 1. Három hordó (Three Barrels); No. 2. Igaz szerelem (True Love); No. 3. Gomb, gomb (Button, Button); No. 4. Erdöbe, erdöbe (In the Woods) (1955)
Magány (Solitude) (1946)
Éjszaka, Reggel (Night, Morning): No.1 Éjszaka (Night); No.2 Reggel (Morning) (1955)
Húsvét (Easter) (1946)
Betlehemi királyok (Kings of Bethlehem) (1945-46)
Chorlied nach Goethe (Choir Song after Goethe) (1942)
A varró lányok (The Seamstresses) (1942)
Idegen földön (In a Strange Land); No. 1. Siralmas nékem (Woeful for Me); No. 2. Egy fekete holló (A Black Raven); No. 3. Vissza ne nézz (Don't Look Back); No. 4. Fujdogál a nyári szél (The Summer Wind Is Blowing) (1945-46)
Bujdosó (The Fugitive) (1946)
Magos kősziklának (On the Side of a High Cliff) (1946)
Négy lakodalmi tánc (Four Wedding Dances): No. 1. A menyasszony szép virág (A bride is a splendid flower); No. 2. A kapuban a szekér (A Surrey at the gate); No. 3. Hopp ide tisztán, szép pallútt dëszkán (Jump over here, on a nice duckboard); No. 4. Mikor kedves Laci bátyám szépen hegedülne (When my dear Uncle Laci plays his beautiful fiddle) (1950)
Lakodalmas (Wedding Song) (1950)
Inaktelki nóták (Songs from Inaktelke): No. 1. Sej, hideg sincsen (It's not even cold); No. 2. Úri bicsok, nincsen nyele (The master's pocket-knife has no handle); No. 3. Én az uccán már végig se mehetek (I can't even go out on the street anymore) (1953)

Disc 2
Hortobágy (1952)
Temetés a tengeren (Burial at Sea) (1943)
Hajnal (Dawn): Hajnal I (Dawn I); Hajnal II (Dawn II); Hajnal III (Dawn III) (1949-50)
Burját aratódal (Buryat Harvest Song) (1945)
Nagy idök (Great Times) (1946/48)
Dereng már a hajnal (Dawn is Breaking) (1945)
Tél (Winter) (1950)
Két Balassa Bálint-kórus (Two Choirs on Poems by Bálint Balassa): No. 1. Csillagok palotája (Palace of Stars); No. 2. Mezök illatoznak… (Fragrant Meadows…) (1946)
Orbán (1942)
Az asszony és a katona (The Woman and the Soldier) (1951)
Két kánon (2 Canons): No.1. Ha folyóvíz volnék (If I were a River); No. 2. Pletykázó asszonyok (Gossiping Women) (1947/52)
Lux aeterna (1966)
Magyar etüdök (Hungarian Studies): I. Etude No. 9; II. Etudes Nos. 49 and 40; III. Etude No. 90 (1983)
Phantasien (3 Fantasies): No. 1. Hälfte des Lebens (Halfway through Life); No. 2. Wenn aus der Ferne (If from a Distance; No. 3. Abendphantasie (Evening Reverie) (1982)
SWR Vokalensemble/Yuval Weinberg
rec. 2019-2022, SWR Funkstudio, Stuttgart, Germany
SWR Classic SWR19128CD 

With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.