Thomas Adès

All compositions

Növények

Seven Hungarian Poems for mezzo-soprano and piano sextet

Year
2020–22
Duration
00:17:00
Category
  • Mezzo‐soprano and Ensemble
Languages
Hungarian

Instrumentation

pno – 2 vln.vla.vlc.db

Text and credits

Attila József; Miklós Radnóti; Sándor Weőres; Otto Orbán; English translations by Thomas Adès

Commission

Commissioned by IMS Prussia Cove with the support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation; with additional support from The Nicholas Berwin Charitable Trust and The Fidelio Charitable Trust; and the generous assistance of The Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust, Jonathan Gaisman, Gilbert and Helen McCabe, The Overli Foundation and The Martin Smith Foundation.

The second song, Gyökér (Root), was originally commissioned by Oliver Zeffman with generous support from the Polonsky Foundation, George Camdonius, The Marchus Trust and Julian Schild. It was first performed by Katalin Károlyi with Ricardo Gallardo (Tambuco Percussion Ensemble).

Programme notes

Növények (2020–22)

Seven Hungarian Poems for mezzo soprano and piano sextet

Kertész leszek (József)

Gyökér (Radnóti)

Százszorszépet ont a rét (Weöres)

Az ág (Weöres)

Galagonya (Weöres)

Hosszú a virágfüzér (Weöres)

Erdő sűrüjében (Orbán)

Növények are settings of seven poems by four great Hungarian poets: Attila József (1905-1937), Miklós Radnóti (1909-1944), Sándor Weöres (1913-1989) and Otto Orbán (1936-2002). The word Növények means plants, but with the sense of ‘things that grow’ rather than ‘things that are stuck in the ground’. All the poems use botanical images as metaphors for aspects of the human condition. The metaphor is particularly direct in the case of Radnóti, who was murdered by Hungarian troops loyal to the Nazis. His last poems, including ‘Gyökér’, were found in a notebook in his coat pocket when his body was exhumed over a year later.

Thomas Adès

Reviews

The poems – four by Sándor Weöres, the others by Attila József, Miklós Radnóti and Ottó Orbán – all use botanical imagery to mirror aspects of human life, and Adès gives them fabulously varied musical frames, full of magical harmonic sleights of hand and glistening textural effects, for Károlyi’s impeccable, compelling delivery.

Guardian (Andrew Clements), 28 November 2022

Availability

Score and parts available on special sale from the hire library

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