Franz Xaver Gebel

[petershott@btinternet.com]

Anyone encountered Gebel? Franz Xaver Gebel (1787-1843), and not to be confused with three other Gebels (1685-1750, 1709-1755, and 1715-1775) all called Georg!

I've come across him via a MDG recording of the two String Quintets Op 20 and 25 performed by the Ensemble Concertant Frankfurt - an 'impulse buy' of some unknown music, but which has turned out a winner. The two works are scored for 2 vn, 1 va, and 2 vc - but performed here with a db instead of 1 vc. They were written in Gebel's last years. Marvellous works - and thoroughly Beethovenian.

Reading up around what little is written (in English) about Gebel, he appears a paradigm case of an unsung composer who deserves to be sung much more. He was taught by Albrechtsberger and Vogler, in 1810 became Kapellmesiter at the Leopoldstadt in Vienna, and was acquainted with Beethoven. In 1817 he moved to Moscow, one of many German musicians who set themselves up as music teachers in Russia before the founding of conservatories in Moscow and St Petersburg in the mid-19th century. And it seems that in Moscow he gained prominence as a teacher, instrumentalist, and composer. Along with a body of work composed in Germany, his output in Russia included 4 symphonies, 8 string quintets, a double string quartet, 2 string quartets, a piano trio, much for piano, a mass and an oratorio. I'd certainly like to hear more, but it seems that this MDG disc is the sole recording of Gebel. (Darwin pointed out that diversification rather than competition ensures biological survival - and record companies could usefully learn from that!)

Gebel surely also has a significant historical significance? For it is through German composers such as Gebel that the Viennese classical tradition becomes absorbed into Russian music, and thus makes possible composers such as Borodin, and later Rubinstein and Glazunov? That is to say, without Gebel there would be slightly fewer threads on the UC site!

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, Peter - I moved this thread here...
But I'm very grateful for the heads-up on Gebel - I'd never come across him. Just what this forum is here for!

[eschiss1]

Thanks to the online archives of Radio Concertzender, I have heard a work or two of his, and they seemed quite good if I remember and am not also confusing him with another Gebel... will check!!  as to the Viennese classical tradition being absorbed so into Russian music, Catherine the Great, if memory serves, imported quite a few "foreign musicians"... and a number of musicians from Russia went outside for training, Tchaikovsky and Rubinstein among them if memory does serve... (Rubinstein for his ill-fated work with Liszt among other things) but I do not for a moment deny you have very much a very good point or 100.

[Alan Howe]

How about these two string quartets:
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/streichquartette/hnum/8205837

[Double-A]

German Wikipedia has a little more detail including this list of works:

Vokalmusik
Messe
Garmonija mirov (Harmonie der Welten), (Nikolai Ogarjow)
Lieder (auf deutsche Texte)
Bearbeitungen russischer Volkslieder

Bühnenwerke

Aschenschlägel (Joachim Perinet), große travestierte Oper 3 Akte (Wien, 1812)
Rinaldo und Camilla oder Die Zauberinsel, große komische Oper 3 Akte (Wien, 1812)
Diamantino, der Ritter im Zauberlande oder Der Schutzgeist (Joachim Perinet), Zauberoper 4 Akte (Wien, 1813)
Die travestirte Palmyra (Joachim Perinet), große Karikaturoper 2 Akte (Wien, 1813)
Almasine Prinzessin von Tibet, heroische Oper 3 Akte (Lemberg, 1816)
Kolumb (Columbus), Oper (um 1843), unvollendet

Instrumentalmusik

Orchesterwerke:

Fantaisie et rondeau, für Klarinette und Orchester (Bonn, ohne Jahr)
Ouvertüren
4 Symphonien (sämtlich verschollen)

Kammermusik:

Grande Sonate, für Violoncello und Klavier (Wien, 1811)
7 Quintette für 2 Violinen, Viola und 2 Violoncello, op.20-26 (Moskau, ohne Jahr)
Doppelquintett für 4 Violinen, 2 Viola und 4 Violoncello, op.28 (Leipzig/New York, ohne Jahr)
2 Suiten für 6 Instrumente
Trio für Violine, Violoncello und Klavier (ohne Ort, ohne Jahr)
Kompositionen für Gitarre Flöte
Streichquartette, mindestens 3

Klaviermusik:

3 Sonatines faciles, op.5 (Mainz, ohne Jahr)
Prélude C-Dur (Leipzig, ohne Jahr)
Fantaisie et variations C-Dur, op.16 (Leipzig, ohne Jahr)
Variations sentimentales für Klavier vierhändig (Leipzig, ohne Jahr)

Schriften

Handreichung zur musikalischen Komposition oder Theoretisch-praktische Generalbaßschule (Rukovodstvo sočineniju muzyki ili Teoretiko-praktičeskaja general-bassovaja škola), geschrieben in deutscher Sprache, russisch von P. Artëmov (Moskau, 1842)



The judgement on his work in the Wikipedia article is attesting him a melodic gift, solid craft, good use of the instruments and a predilection for the cello for which he wrote "effective cantilenas".  It also says that his music is only very partially researched and that the sources are difficult to find ("Quellenlage recht unklar" in somewhat official sounding German).

IMSLP has 4 of the string quintets and "Fantaisie  et Rondo" op 18 for piano & orchestra (may be the same as on the Wikipedia list for clarinet and orch.?  The German words Klarinette vs. Klavier are kind of similar).

The four symphonies are all lost (verschollen).  I find it interesting that he wrote a "Generalbass-schule" to be published in 1842!  He seems to have been a conservative teacher.

[matesic]

The string quartet in Eb on the new release has the same opus number (27) as the eighth quintet in Bb (missed in the Wikipedia article) but the latter was published 20 years posthumously so I guess Schuberth the publishers must have been unaware of quartet. Cobbett describes only quintets 2-8, but MDG appear to have rediscovered No.1 for their recording. Samples of Nos. 1 and 6 can be heard on editionsilvertrust.com. They both sound very well, this time on modern instruments, but I was particularly impressed by the Schubertian finale to No.1. And I'd love to hear the posthumous double quintet Op.28!

[eschiss1]

I'm guessing the Wikipedia list has it wrong. Insofar as the sources of the lists @ Wikipedia & IMSLP are abbreviations in languages poorly understood (eg 19th century German - which I am not claiming to understand well either) by their compilers, examples should take precedence over catalog entries anycase...

[Alan Howe]

Finally got round to buying (second-hand) the MDG CD of String Quintets. Here's an interesting review at Amazon:

• These resemble Beethoven's middle quartets in style and expressive language, and to some extent the string quintets of George Onslow. Borodin himself cherished and performed Gebel's quintets, playing second cello; that should be enough to pique one's interest.
• Themes are first-rate and part-writing is impressive. Instead of a second cello, Gebel incorporates a double bass for richer tone color.
• String Quintet in E flat major op. 25 (ca. 1830s) is a serious work. Highlights include the passionate and noble first movement, a menacing "Scherzo" with a beautiful cantabile trio, and an "Adagio" of dark melancholy and lyricism.
• String Quintet in E minor op. 20 is even better, containing an inspired "Allegro" of striving intensity and original ideas, a nervous Beethovenian scherzo with unison pizzicati effects, a serene "Adagio" fit for Beethoven, and an exhilarating finale.
• Ensemble Concertant Frankfurt breathes life into this music, presenting concentrated readings, and observes the exposition repeats.
• Recorded sound is distinguished with well-caught details and immersive natural ambience; a superb achievement by MDG.

In the lush mosaic of Russian 19th-century music life, Franz Xaver Gebel (1787-1843) was a fascinating, if marginal tile. Born in Germany, Gebel emigrated to Moscow in the 1820s and there taught a generation of students, including Nicolai Rubinstein, while composing on the side. His chief role in Moscow was organizing chamber music concerts with the intention of elevating music taste in Russia. He impressed some pretty big names in the process, such as Borodin and Glinka. Gebel wrote eight quintets and the two selected for this recording are the best examples of his art currently on disc; if you're curious about him, this is the quintessential gateway. (Profil has followed up with recordings of some string quartets and the string quintet op. 27, of which the latter is the better choice.)

Both of these string quintets date from the 1830s and the influence of Beethoven shows in their style, motivic craftsmanship, and expressive depth. Like Onslow, Gebel substitutes a double bass for second cello, generating a richer color and bottom-heavy weight to the ensemble. Gebel's themes are absolutely first-class: imposing, attractive, melodic, and replete with vivid dynamic contrasts. What strikes me about his quintets is how different—even idiosyncratic—his textures and part-writing sound compared to folks like Ries, Spohr, Cherubini, and Kuhlau, and other mid-tier composers dabbling in the genre. Apart from a grounding in Haydn and similarities with Beethoven, his quintets are quirky. He varies his textures in arresting ways, giving each instrument significant material within their own recitatives and solos. His themes are studded with harmonic interest, unusual starts and stops, and fresh rhythms. Although a proponent of Viennese classicism, Gebel isn't demure or conservative: there's unbridled emotion, flirtations with Romanticism, and dramatic bite aplenty in these works.

I read a review of this disc on Fanfare by Martin Anderson, who was so enthusiastic he compared Gebel to Bruckner: "... the real surprise here is how much he foreshadows the style of mature Bruckner: a similar sense of scale, those lolloping basses (underlined here by the double bass), the pregnant pauses between phrases, his tendency to state the melodic material and stand back as if it required digestion. The Bruckner preechoes are especially striking in Gebel's pounding scherzos." This is all manifested in the powerful String Quintet in E-flat major op. 25. An elegant "Allegro con brio" exhibits Gebel's talent, blending gentility, passion, and tension in a magnificent tapestry. Beethoven is the obvious model for the "Scherzo" with its agitated rhythmic profile and jagged dynamic contrasts. Gebel's scherzo theme is quite menacing and colored by tritones, while the trio is a lovely cello cantilena of real worth. Next is a pathos-laden "Adagio" in C minor with a stark semitone motif evincing grief. Long sustains and lyrical phrases are answered and echoed by each instrument in a refined manner. The "Finale" is in some variant of sonata form and comes alive during its dramatic development, abuzz with repeated notes and violin patter.

The String Quintet in E minor op. 20 is so good, it demands an encore. The "Allegro" has a noble and striving exposition, buffeted by rhythmic snap and flourishes from the first violin. Yet again Gebel favors recitatives for each instrument and displays imaginative part-writing. His content is seldom prosaic or lifeless. The "Allegro molto" is a Beethoven scherzo of nervous tension and powerful unison pizzicati; a very striking effect. Gebel's ingenuity with texture is well-advertised in his "Adagio ma non troppo," essentially ten minutes of soothing tranquility punctuated by barbs of suspense. Gebel weaves an intricate lyrical fabric that gives the cello prominence, while facilitating duets, solos, intense tremolos for the bass, and other gradations of interplay between the strings. The grit and minor-key virility of the opening movement is rekindled in the "Finale," a sonata-form essay of dramatic momentum. Its first theme is spurred on by galloping rhythms and ostinatos, while the second is a dizzying rush of triplets and 16ths, culminating in an exciting development.

Ensemble Concertant Frankfurt is always excellent. Their recordings of string quintets by Onslow are treasures and you couldn't ask for a better group to showcase Gebel's magisterial op. 20/25. They breathe life into this music and give concentrated readings, while gratefully observing the exposition repeats. Recorded sound is superb and the natural hall ambience on headphones is immersive.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ensemble-Concertant-Frankfurt-Gebel/dp/B00004UFG0/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1518722957&sr=1-1&keywords=gebel

This is some of the most impressive chamber music by an unsung composer that I have ever come across. I am absolutely astonished at its quality - and its originality. Surely this is great music...

[eschiss1]

reason too? to look for more of his music and hope the quintets there aren't one-offs. (And I'll go see if I can go listen to those pieces, I have access to the parts at least of some of them I think via IMSLP.) Thanks! _Really_ really intriguing...

(NML it seems has quintet no.8, a cello sonata and a couple of string quartets, on 2 CDs, at present...)

[Alan Howe]

As I have said, though, the two Profil CDs feature nasty HIP renderings. Not good.

[Mark Thomas]

That's a shame. I was about to add the digitised versions of those two Profil CDs to the MDG String Quintets already in my basket, when I read that they are HIP. For now, the MDG recordings will suffice...

[eschiss1]

I've listened to two tracks of quintet no.8 so far and while it may be because I am hearing them over a digital stream, I don't hear anything offensive with the sound production (where on the other ear, HIP performances of vocal music, even streamed, have begun to wear on me; maybe in my case it is mostly vocal music and not instrumental music. I hope that "HIP" vocal music is not in-point-of-fact more than minimal relation to what was actually heard in the historical era in question, tangentially.) As to the music, I intend to listen very soon to the rest of the CD and the other CD soon, and to do my very little bit to encourage more performances of his music; this really _is_ very good, on the basis, admittedly, of half of one piece ... (some very real problems and small distractions, both, have gotten in the way of my returning to listening sooner.) 

Thank you, very much.

[jerfilm]

Interesting.  If you look up Gebel in the composer list at NML, he doesn't exist.  But check out Profil label and then the  'G's you find the two cds.

J

[eschiss1]

I'm guessing he's mis-sorted. Happens. (Hrm, or not. Interesting. He does show up if you do a composer search, you don't have to search by performer.)

[eschiss1]

(There have been some other oddnesses here and there.)