BUTSKO Diary of a Madman Yakovenko
BUTSKO Diary of a Madman. Lacrimosa for String Orchestra. The Canon to
the Menacing Angel
Arnold Kats, Gennady Cherkasov, Stanislav Kalinin, cond; Sergei Spiridonov
(ten); Sergei Yakovenko (bar); Anton Zarayev (bs); Moscow Conservatory Ch &
C O; Novosibirsk PO
Melodiya 10 02556 (2 CDs: 129:32)
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Yuri Butsko (1938–2015) was a prolific and influential
composer in the last decades of the Soviet Union, but his reputation hasn’t
travelled far beyond his homeland. When the 60s generation of “unofficial”
composers began voicing their dissidence through religious themes, rather than
outright Modernism, in the 1970s, Butsko was one of the pioneers of Orthodox
music rendered as instrumental concert music. His experiments with harmonies
from Orthodox chant, especially tetrachordal modes, were influential to
Schnittke, a school friend of Butsko, and also undoubtedly to Rodion Shchedrin,
whose Polyphonic Notebook is similar
in spirit and technique to many of Butsko’s keyboard cycles. But, as this
release demonstrates, religious works were just one aspect of his diverse
output.
The set opens with a “mono-opera,” Diary of a Madman, based on a short
story by Gogol. Frustratingly, no libretto, or even ploy synopsis, is included,
but Gogol’s story, as its title suggests is written as a personal diary, so
suits this treatment as a one-voice opera. Butsko was still a teenager when he
wrote the work, making its subtle and dynamic dramatic style all the more
impressive. The opera is more often performed with just piano accompaniment,
but this recording presents the full orchestral version. In fact, this too
features a very prominent piano part, and the other orchestral instruments are
always used sparingly. The style is tonal and very Russian. Comparisons with
Shostakovich are tempting, and no doubt the work show some influence. But there
is less angst here, for all the dramatic impetus—Butsko may be working in the
same cultural milieu as Shostakovich, but his personality is completely different.
Baritone Sergei Yakovenko is a convincing madman, sometimes erratic, but always
expressive, and with a leading, narrative quality, ideal for the work. The
recording was made in 1976, but the sound quality is excellent, consonants a
little fuzzy but otherwise close to modern standards.
The second CD begins with Lacrimosa for string orchestra from 1982. The work is dedicated to
a family of Old Believers who were discovered by a geographical expedition in
the foothills of the Altai in the late 70s. It is an excellent example of Butsko’s
liturgically inspired instrumental writing: the music built on complex
polyphony but always clear in texture and harmony. Unfortunately, both the
performance and the sound recording let the work down. The orchestra is a
student ensemble, so concessions can perhaps be made, but not for the audio, which
sounds several decades earlier than its recording date of 1988.
Much better is the final performance, of The Canon to the Menacing Angel, one of
Butsko’s final works, from 2009 and recorded in 2011. The oratorio sets texts
by Ivan the Terrible, again frustratingly omitted from the literature. Given
the late date, Butsko’s style now sounds conservative, though it hasn’t changed
significantly. The work is more closely aligned with the sound of Orthodox
liturgy, employing tenor and bass soloists, choir, and an ensemble of keyboards
and percussion (a typical Butsko combination). The two soloists, tenor Sergei
Spiridonov and bass Anton Zarayev, excel, both clearly conversant with Orthodox
chant customs. The choir (another student group) is also very fine, singing
with that combination of lyricism and unforced power that characterizes the
best Russian vocal ensembles.
Lack of texts aside, the presentation is excellent.
Melodiya include several evocative watercolor portraits of Butsko himself, and
he appears to have styled himself a religious ascetic type, with long white
hair and goatee. The liner notes are translated into a reasonable English (with
German too, and the original Russian), and provide more information about the
composer than any other English-language source to date. The album has been
released to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Butsko’s birth, and serves as a
fitting memorial, even if it only scratches the surface of a hugely diverse
life’s work.
This review appears in Fanfare magazine issue 42:4.
I have read several books of this writer. I like them. Yuri Butsko has a style which is easy and pleasant to read. Moreover, his stories are exciting.
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