Willem Mengelberg - Etchings by Rembrandt

[Justin]

Britishcomposer uploaded a German recording of this work about 10 years ago, but I wanted to point to an out-of-print live Dutch recording from 1998.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goh3eGiTcIc

Mengelberg was a great admirer of Rembrandt, as was his role model Gustav Mahler, whose influence is clearly heard in this piece.

The work is programmatic in a sense, where the music covers 19 different sketches by Rembrandt, some of which are famous in their oil painting styles. Mengelberg intended for live performances of this work to include a screen that showed each drawing as it corresponded to a particular point in the orchestration.

A list of the sketches with timestamps:

1. [0:00] Introduction
2. [2:10] Abraham entertaining the angel (and the three holy men ) (1656)
3. [2:38] Abraham's sacrifice (1655)
4. [3:13] The triumph of Mordechai (c. 1641)
5. [3:56] Peter and John at the Gate of the Temple (c. 1629)
6. [4:35] The blindness of Tobit (c. 1629)
7. [5:47] David at prayer (1652)
8. [6:51] Simeon's Hymn of Praise (1630)
9. [7:10] Christ Disputing with the Doctors (1630)
10. [7:50] Christ Preaching (c. 1643)
11. [8:44] Christ and the Woman of Samaria (1658)
12. [9:12] The Agony in the Garden (c.1657)
13. [10:01] The Raising of Lazarus (c. 1632)
14. [10:40] Christ Presented to the People (1655)
15. [11:57] Christ at Emmaus (1654)
16. [12:54] The Three Crosses (1653)
17. [15:09] The Descent from the Cross by Torchlight (1633)
18. [16:15] The Return of the Prodigal Son (1636)
19. [16:58] Christ Healing the Sick (c. 1649)
20. [17:08] The Death of the Virgin (1639)

Also, here is the recording that Britishcomposer shared, with the slideshow of drawings as Mengelberg intended: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF_BerImbkI

[Alan Howe]

Now that's what I call unsung music - thanks!

[Ilja]

A bit of background here. After the split with Belgium in 1830-1, the Netherlands were suddenly without their "national" painter Peter Paul Rubens, since he was Flemish. In the search for a suitable replacement, they ended up with Rembrandt, who wasn't even particularly famous at the time. But he was versatile and "serious" (contrary to better-known 17th-century painters like Hals and Steen), had an oeuvre with a lot of biblical depictions. But most importantly, his use of clair-obscur fitted in very well with the aestehtic sensibilities of the age. And since this was also the time when national canons were formed, he became the Dutch national painter.


The largest Rembrandt manifestation took place in 1906, at the tercentennial of his birth. The Museumplein (the square between the Rijksmuseum and Concertgebouw) in Amsterdam was used for a huge Rembrandt event, and multiple artworks were dedicated to him. These include no fewer than four musical works (perhaps more): Bernard Zweers' Saskia overture (named after Rembrandt's wife and introduction to a projected opera), Alphons Diepenbrock's Hymn to Rembrandt Cantata, Kees Dopper's Third Symphony (originally composed 1892, but revised and retrofitted as the "Rembrandt Symphony") - and of course Mengelberg's Etchings.

[Mark Thomas]

Fascinating. Thanks Ilja.

[Ilja]

By the way, from what I've read there have always been suggestions that Mengelberg was only a minor author of this work. Suggested collaborators include (his second-in-command) Kees Dopper, Alphons Diepenbrock, and even Gustav Mahler! We know that Diepenbrock, Mahler and Mengelberg met in 1906 in Laren (see the photograph here), so it would certainly be possible (and some parts, e.g. the "The Return of the Prodigal Son" section, sound positively Mahlerian) that this was a collective effort between them.

[Justin]

I have read close to the opposite. Mahler requested to see a score of the work, and Mengelberg ceased composing because he couldn't find an original voice. But who knows which is true.

[eschiss1]

btw Mengelberg's other works listed on Donemus' "Webshop", if no one has mentioned, include a Solemn (Feierlich) Mass from 1895, a Sinfonietta for Strings from 1888, and a miscellaneous collection of songs composed between 1888 and 1941 apparently (mostly composed before 1900- all except one, in fact, "Chasa Glockenliedchen" from 1941). A cantata for the Queen's 40th anniversary of her Reign in 1938 is mentioned in Donemus' biography, so he did not -wholly- cease composing. One can download a sample PDF for free of the Etching Improvisations from the webshop and purchase the whole thing therefrom for - less free. (I assume "Improvisationen über eine Original-Melodie zu Radierungen von Rembrandt" is the same work.)

[Ilja]

Eric, yeah, that's the same thing.


I was careful in reproducing this bit of gossip, which I caught years ago when discussing Mengelberg with an older Dutch composer while at Donemus. It's feasible, but so is Justin's version. Still, the suggestion that this materialized in a period where Mengelberg was in close contact with both Mahler and Diepenbrock is certainly plausible. Dopper seems a less likely candidate - the piece doesn't sound Dopperian at all.

[Mark Thomas]

Diepenbrock, Mahler and Mengelberg met in 1906 in Laren

Great photo! I don't know why, and apologies for the digression, but I was surprised to see that Mahler was quite short - as confirmed by this discussion here.

[eschiss1]

Ilja - sorry!

[Justin]

A cantata for the Queen's 40th anniversary of her Reign in 1938 is mentioned in Donemus' biography, so he did not -wholly- cease composing.

Thanks for finding that, Eric. I was finding it a bit difficult to believe that Mengelberg would completely give up because there was influence in his works.

[Ilja]

Hi Eric, no apology necessary!


I have my doubts about the piece for Queen Wilhelmina's 40-year anniversary (not of her reign, which formally started in 1890, but of her reaching maturity in 1898), as I rather suspect this was composed by Mengelberg's nephew Rudolf. They're often confused, and Rudolf churned out cantatas on a somewhat regular basis; there's also his "Hymn to Amsterdam" of 1934, among others, a widely celebrated piece at the time.

[eschiss1]

Good point.

[M. Yaskovsky]

There's a 1998 recording on cd of Mengelberg's opus. Jaap van Zweden conducting the Orkest van het Oosten on the TNS records label (unknown to me): TNSO 198, coupled with Mussorgsky's Pictures orchestrated by Ravel. https://www.muziekweb.nl/Link/AFX4266/Etsen-van-Rembrandt

[Alan Howe]

...probably no longer available, though. I can't locate the CD, or even the label (TNS Records).