I've just uploaded the wonderful Last Confession of Job by Artur Kapp (1878-1952), from his oratorio "Job" (or "Hiiob" in Estonian). While the whole oratorio is for chorus, soloists and orchestra, this 6 minute section in the middle was written for violin and organ. However, the version I have uploaded here is for violin and orchestra. I don't know if the arrangement is by Kapp or someone else.
It is one of the most wonderful late-romantic little gems that I have come across in years, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I (repeatedly) do!
There is a recording of the whole oratorio available, and very good it is too. Neeme Järvi conducts the Estonian State Symphony Orchestra. Recorded 1997. See for example http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kapp-Job-Neeme-Jarvi/dp/B00003G9T4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433436302&sr=8-1&keywords=kapp+job (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kapp-Job-Neeme-Jarvi/dp/B00003G9T4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433436302&sr=8-1&keywords=kapp+job)
It's also on youtube in its entirety if you can find it....
according to emic.ee (publisher site), the Last Confession was originally for violin and organ or somesuch (1905), arranged by Vardo Rumessen for violin and orchestra more recently (another arrangement exists for violin and strings).
What a remarkable composer! Died 26 years before he was born, making his Symphony No. 4 "Youth Symphony" (1948) youthful indeed.
He seems to have lived his life in reverse. Quite amazing!
I'm interested to hear this Confession.
Does anyone know his relation (if any) to Villem and Hans Kapp?
QuoteDoes anyone know his relation (if any) to Villem and Hans Kapp?
See the Home Museum of the Kapp Family http://kappidemuuseum.suure-jaani.ee/ingl.html (http://kappidemuuseum.suure-jaani.ee/ingl.html)
C.T.
QuoteWhat a remarkable composer! Died 26 years before he was born, making his Symphony No. 4 "Youth Symphony" (1948) youthful indeed.
Thanks for that humorous nudge to get his dates right. Duly amended.
This Chandos CD http://www.amazon.co.uk/Family-Orchestral-Works-Eugen-Villem/dp/B000WZ7HY0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433700993&sr=8-1&keywords=Artur+Kapp (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Family-Orchestral-Works-Eugen-Villem/dp/B000WZ7HY0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433700993&sr=8-1&keywords=Artur+Kapp) is a nice family portrait by the ever-dependable Jarvi, though it strays outisde UC territory.
Further on Hiiob (the Estonian name for this oratorio): published in 1997 by Eres-Edition, Lilienthal, in vocal score, edited by Vardo Rumessen (and a separate score of the excerpt "Die letzte Beichte für Violine und Orgel" was published by them in 2001.)
(I also see this interesting-looking article in German -- http://www.kappiyhing.ee/muu_artiklid/frankenpost_hiob.html (http://www.kappiyhing.ee/muu_artiklid/frankenpost_hiob.html).)
Hrm. Odd- interesting, anyway... It seems that the Last Confession dates from 1905, but the oratorio as a whole from 1929...
There's a very positive review of the whole oratorio here - http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2003/July03/Kapp_Hiob.htm (http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2003/July03/Kapp_Hiob.htm)
I would only disagree with the statement "This is not as original or as loveably impressive a work as Tobias's Jonah Sendung" - Tobias's oratorio is also stunning (esp the Sanctus (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_C3tSVZQ_I (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_C3tSVZQ_I) - but hold on to your hats!)) - but Kapp's Job in my view is so overflowing with melody that it surpasses the grandeur of his fellow Estonian Tobias's work.
There's more on the piece, and on Kapp generally, on the website of the Artur Kapp International Society - http://www.kappiyhing.ee/artur_kapp_en.html (http://www.kappiyhing.ee/artur_kapp_en.html)
QuoteIt's also on youtube in its entirety if you can find it....
I can't. Can anyone provide the relevant link, please?
I don't either, just an excerpt or two (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLyWK0ygrUw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLyWK0ygrUw) (Suur oled Sa! - which seems to be the same excerpt given in English as Lord, You are Great! on a site called Nicoviewer.))
Thank you, Eric. A most enjoyable chorus.
(just because I can't find it on YouTube means nothing, of course; some items are deliberately private, some so badly indexed as to be unsearchable- imagine if the only identifying data were "Job"! Puns secular and sacred and sacral representations (grazie, Dallapiccola) avoided- by me, at any rate and here. Interesting- to me- to learn the Estonian title of the work, though.) Not positive I've yet listened to his Don Carlos or that 4th symphony as earlier presented here- intending to do that- but yes, I get the impression this is another composer I will be glad to know (the music of); thanks again.
QuoteInteresting- to me- to learn the Estonian title of the work, though
Maybe you should search "Artur Kapp Hiob"
erm, Mr. Torres, I'm not sure your point. I already said I knew (or rather, found out while looking for this stuff, in the last few days) what Job was in Estonian (Hiob or Hiiob); and I already tried that. _And_ Kapp Hiiob. In neither case did I find a complete recording of the oratorio. My settings may be off. It's possible that the description of the oratorio just says "Hiob" or "Hiiob", but in that case it will be hidden amongst 1,000s of non-musical, non-Kapp-related evangelical videos, and I regret to say I have work today that does not involve looking for a Kapp-oratorio-sized needle in a haystack...
(And we're not looking for Witting's "Hiob "Rockoratorium""...)
Just 2 points.
I have just tested Artur Kapp Hiob search and the video
"Artur Kapp - Suur oled Sa! oratooriumist Hiiob" appears in position 8.
The complete oratorio is not available on Youtube
The word Hiob or Hiiob is not really an estonian name but the trancription of the hebrew pronunciation of the prophet name.
There is also an oratorio by Erich Zeisl called and written "Hiob" (1939)
See wiki page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_(biblical_figure) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_(biblical_figure))
C.T.
QuoteI have just tested Artur Kapp Hiob search and the video
"Artur Kapp - Suur oled Sa! oratooriumist Hiiob" appears in position 8.
This is the youtube file that Eric located for me. As I said, thoroughly enjoyable - impressive, even. A pity the complete oratorio is not available on youtube, and the recording is now vastly expensive!
Yes. And I was writing in response to the claim "The complete oratorio is available on YouTube", and assumed Mr. Torres was as well (I'll have to make myself clearer in future- though I imagined I had...)
It may have been removed from youtube - it was some years ago that I saw it there.
Another work of Artur Kapp's that I greatly enjoy is his Concerto for clarinet, horn and orchestra in C minor. I don't know if it's on amazon, etc, but you can buy it here - http://muusika24.ee/Muusika/album/Kontsert-klarnetile-metsasarvele-ja-orkestrile-c-moll (http://muusika24.ee/Muusika/album/Kontsert-klarnetile-metsasarvele-ja-orkestrile-c-moll) - the third and final movement is particularly joyful. You can listen to a bit of it by clicking Play.
The website is a good resource for a lot of Estonian music - though it seems not to have the complete oratorio on it. It does have the Last Confession section ("Viimne Piht" in Estonian) for solo organ -2 different recordings - http://muusika24.ee/Muusika/artist/Artur-Kapp/soundAuthor (http://muusika24.ee/Muusika/artist/Artur-Kapp/soundAuthor) .
Each track on the website can be purchased for €0.85 each, not too bad!
In Estonia he's perhaps most famous for a song, 3 minutes long, called Metsateel ("On A Road Through The Woods"). Many versions on youtube.
Kapp's First Symphony is pretty wonderful (including the finale with its theme et variations, that particular form Kapp excelled at). His other three are pretty good in their own rights.
The oratorio is still available in a complete recording conducted by Järvi from 2009 on Dutch Radio Concertzender.
Please don't write in complaining that I left off the umlaut .
You didn't ;)
There seems to be some confusion in previous posts about Viimne piht/The Last Confession and I hope I can clarify the matter. It was originally written in 1905 for violin and organ and appears in same form in the oratorio Hiiob/Job. There are two orchestral versions of the piece from the late '90s made after the oratorio was revived in 1997, one by Charles Coleman (http://www.charlescoleman.com/) (who has arranged other Estonian music [Eller, Tubin] for Järvi clan) for violin and string orchestra, the other by Vardo Rumessen for violin and symphony orchestra.
The performance of Coleman's arrangement posted by Christopher dates from 2000 Pärnu Oistrakh Festival (July 15, 2000, St. Elizabeth's Church, Pärnu, to be exact (http://www.oistfest.ee/index.php?id=73#841) :p).
Thank you for this extra information rmnmds. So, the one I posted was the arrangement by Coleman for violin and string orchestra?
Do you know if recordings have been made of the other arrangement which you mention (Vardo Rumessen's for violin and symphony orchestra)?
Quote from: Christopher on Tuesday 21 July 2015, 14:37
So, the one I posted was the arrangement by Coleman for violin and string orchestra?
Yes.
Quote
Do you know if recordings have been made of the other arrangement which you mention (Vardo Rumessen's for violin and symphony orchestra)?
I would have guessed no, but decided to check and was surprised to find Rumessen's arrangement has been recorded. It says here (http://www.sirp.ee/archive/2002/09.08.02/Uudis/uudis1-1.html) that in August 2002 edition of International Record Review there's a review by Martin Anderson for Job which mentions an upcoming CD of orchestral works by A. Kapp, conducted by Paavo Järvi and including the Rumessen orchestration.
The recording was made (together with Fantasy on the Theme B-A-C-H for violin and orchestra and Prelude for cello and orchestra) after a 2001 performance (confirmed here (http://www.temuki.ee/arhiiv/arhiiv_vana/Muusika/01augsept_m3.html)), but the release never happened.
How infuriating. I wonder if a few pilot copies of the CD were made....
Is this the CD?>>>
http://www.emic.ee/artur-kapp-symphonische-werke-3 (http://www.emic.ee/artur-kapp-symphonische-werke-3)
I don't think so because the conductor is Arvo Volmer, not Paavo jarvi, and it doesn't mention a recording of The Last Confession. I have been looking to see if it's listed on www.ester.ee (http://www.ester.ee) - a catalogue that, as far as I can tell, lists all recordings held by Estonian state institutions (National Library, national radio stations, universities, etc). No luck so far...
I guess another route would be to try and contact Paavo Jarvi and/or Vardo Rumessen - I have emailed an address given on www.paavojarvi.com but it remains to see if there will be any reply!
I've just found there's a 2-minute fragment of the Rumessen version on EMIC. (The whole piece is about 7 minutes long.)
The page is http://www.emic.ee/?sisu=heliloojad&mid=58&id=27&lang=eng&action=view&method=teosed (http://www.emic.ee/?sisu=heliloojad&mid=58&id=27&lang=eng&action=view&method=teosed) - and the fragment is http://www.emic.ee/failid/mp3/1394548672.mp3 (http://www.emic.ee/failid/mp3/1394548672.mp3)
The page source suggests the artists are: Sigrid Kuulmann (violin), Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, conductor Neeme Järvi.
I have written to EMIC asking if they have the whole recording.
Oh, well done. Do keep us informed.
EMIC is currently on summer vacation (http://emic.ee/estonian-music-information-centre-is-on-summer-vacation), but until their answer...
The fragment of Sigrid Kuulmann-ERSO-Neeme Järvi performance on EMIC is labeled as the Rumessen version but actually it appears to be the Coleman arrangement as well as the orchestra is all strings. It dates from this (http://www.erso.ee/?concert=season-opening-2&lang=en) 2013 concert celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Estonian National Opera house, and the entire performance can be heard and seen here (http://etv.err.ee/v/kultuurisaated/estonia_maja_100/videod/bbefcd72-3be9-480f-9981-285bad245499) (hope it's available outside Estonia).
The Paavo Järvi conducted CD of Artur Kapp definitely didn't happen, but the other two works I mentioned are indeed available on the Eres CD conducted by Arvo Volmer (and there also is a newer 2013 performance of one of them but the composition is well after 1918). But I find the unissued disc a bit intriguing and if somebody else cares, it would be somewhat interesting to get to the bottom of this. If anyone has the August 2002 edition of International Record Review, could they check the review I mentioned and see if it mentions any additional details about the upcoming release (label?). Or if Martin Anderson happens to read this, maybe he (you?) could add some information himself...
I think rmnmds is right that it's another Coleman version for string orchestra, not the Rumessen version for full orchestra. Anyway, EMIC have very kindly emailed me the full version which I have put here in the downloads section.
Sigrid Kuulmann (violin), Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, conductor Neeme Järvi.
So the hunt for a recording of the Rumessen version (Paavo Järvi?) goes on....
Is this a commercial recording? In which case we can't allow it...
They told me it's from their archive. It's not commercially available. It's the same recording as from the video clip of the concert recording which rmnmds posted here a few days ago.
Fair enough...
I notice by the way that Vardo Rumessen died a few days ago (aged 73). Did a lot for music, from what I gather.