Heinrich Molbe 1835-1915

[Glazier]

Does any have any bio info about this composer?

All I could find about him is that it's a pseudonym of  Heinrich, Freiherr von Bach.

As for works he seems to have wanted to set two records: one for "poetic" titles, and the other for the number of different combinations of instruments.

In the first category are Fete des Dryades for Horn bassoon and Piano, or Air arabe for oboe horn and piano, also solo works such as Reverie for viola and piano, or Berceuse for vc and p.

In the second category are his larger works. Among his mixed wind and string works are three octets, two (Op 45, and Seranata Op 46) for oboe, horn, basset-horn, string quartet and double bass, and one (Op 47) for clarinet eng hn bsn oboe horn with the same string parts, and finally a decet (Op21) for 3vl va vc db cl eng h hn bsn. bassethn. As for strings only, we find a septet with db (Op 43), two quartets Op 1 and 5, a 2 cello quintet (Op 44) and a sextet (Op 64) for 2 vl 2 va, vc, db. He was a particular friend of basset horn and mandolin players.

He also wrote many songs. His works (186 opus numbers) were published in Vienna by Rorich, and Wiener Musik-Verlagshaus.  Several of his  works are on IMSLP, though few have been recorded. `Perhaps he's an amateurs-only composer. 

[Flora]

Thomas F. Dunhill, in his book "Chamber Music" (1913):

"Concerning septets for stringed instruments alone, the
useful and very exhaustive bibliography of Kammermusik-
Literatur, by Professor Altmann of Berlin, records the
publication of only one, this solitary specimen being the
work of H. Molbe, a modern composer quite unknown at
present in England. So it is scarcely necessary to dwell upon a form of writing
practically non-existent, though the increased
possibilities afforded by the addition of a double-bass to
the ordinary sextet combination might well tempt a composer
in search of some to venture into unexplored territory."

[Mark Thomas]

Welcome, Flora.

[eschiss1]

I don't know- having heard and liked (though not loved) the solitary string nonet by Wilm I find such reasoning somewhat specious Hopefully will hear some works of his at some point, anyway. And some biographical material on von Bach, which has been difficult to come by, would be welcome too. I can understand his taking up the pseudonym - what composer wants to go by "von Bach" with all that competition? - but quite a few dictionaries and research sources have nothing on him under either name, and MusicSack lists only one source of information about him.

[Flora]

My theory on his pseudonym is that when you say it in German, "H. Molbe" it sounds almost exactly like the German title of Bach's B minor mass, i.e. "Messe in H-moll" or "H-Moll-Messe", so as soon as you say his name – the important thing here is that he only ever used the initial "H." – the German speaker's mind turns to "Bach" – his own real name, as soon as they hear "H. Mol . . .".

My reason for feeling that he insisted on only his initial being used is the picture of the family grave in Vienna, where his name – third from the bottom – is followed by his pseudonym in brackets. Have a look:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wpt67/5581257747/in/photostream/lightbox/

[eschiss1]

That sounds like the best explanation yet to my ears, emphasis on - H. Mol. B., B. short-for- von-Bach ... I like it...

[Flora]

Programme Note (based on my research), from 'Music for Oboe, Horn & Piano' with Jeremy Polmear, Stephen Stirling and Richard Saxel, Oboe Classics (including H. Molbe's Air Arabe)

'H Molbe' was the pseudonym for Dr Heinrich Freiherr von Bach (1835–1915). He practised as a barrister in Vienna (probably after Herzogenberg had left the city) while also composing some 200 songs and 140 chamber works. His brothers were perhaps better-known than him; Otto Bach was Director of the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and Alexander von Bach was a prominent Austrian politician.

Alexander also ran a series of 'Thursday Evenings' at his home where music would have been played. He had trained as a diplomat, was fascinated with the Orient, and studied several languages, including Arabic. It therefore seems likely that the Air arabe was composed for one such evening. The title has nothing to do with actual Arabian music, it is an example of the exoticism that was part of nineteenth-century Romanticism. As the European upper-middle class became more comfortable, they also became fascinated with the world outside – a place seen as more relaxed, more colourful, more sensual.

No matter that these are simple and wishful stereotypes, they gave Bach an opportunity to indulge in soulful melodies, chromaticism, unusual harmonic changes, and a sensual mood  – a mood that he sustains brilliantly throughout the piece. His writing for the instruments, and the balance between them, is also consistently effective. He may have been a part-time composer, but this is a thoroughly professional piece of work.

Reviewed in the Independent by Andy Gill on Friday, 20 May 2011

"Oboe, horn and piano is a rare but oddly beguiling blend of timbres, albeit a combination mostly avoided by composers, perhaps due to the difficulty resolving the contrasts of instrumental colour and character.

But it can be richly rewarding, as demonstrated here by Polmear, Stirling and Saxel with a programme ranging from a piece transposed from Mozart's Horn Quintet to 20th-century works by Paul Basler and Jean-Michel Damase. Most engaging of all is 'Air Arabe' by H Molbe (pseudonym of a Bach presumably seeking his own identity), a slow, Romantic waltz."

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/reviews/album-jeremy-polmear-stephen-stirling-richard-saxel-music-for-oboe-horn-and-piano-oboe-classics-2286413.html

MOLBE CENTENARY COMING UP IN 2015!!!