Béla Bartók

4 Nenies op.9A

This music, moving even in its bleakness, is characterised by the complete absence of ornamentation. The arc of all four pieces [1. Adagio, 2. Andante, 3. Poco lento, 4. Assai andante] is similar: after beginning softly they reach a fortissimo climax, then sink back into numbing grief. Only the decidedly important melodic and harmonic elements are heard, pared down, occasionally reinforced with octave doubling. In the Adagio of the Second Piano Concerto Bartók was to return to this peculiar piano instrumentation. The lyricism and Hungarian turns of phrase of the second movement differ a little from the series: he orchestrated it with the title 'Melody' in 1931 as the central piece of the five-movement 'Hungarian Sketches'.

(HCD 32525 Bartók New Series Vol. 25, Somfai László)