If music could bring back the departed…

JOSEF SUK: ASRAEL SYMPHONY

JBavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (cond Jakub Hrůša) BR Klassik osef Suk’s Asrael Symphony is one of those enigmatic pieces that occasionally gets revived by an enterprising orchestra, is hailed by everyone as a lost masterpiece, and then vanishes again for a decade.

It is vast, puzzling in form and narrative, and seems to be in a state of permanent emotional paroxysm.

It’s easy to see why. This may be the only symphony inspired by the death of two loved ones: first Suk’s father-in-law, the composer Antonín Dvořák, in 1904; and then in 1905, after Suk had completed three movements, his wife.

“The fearsome Angel of

Death struck with his scythe a second time,” wrote Suk. “Such a misfortune either destroys a man or brings to the surface all the powers dormant in him. Music saved me and after a year I began the second part of the symphony, beginning with an adagio, a tender portrait of Otilka.”

The symphony is named after Asrael, the archangel of Islamic faith who carries away the souls of the dead, and in the desperate third movement it feels as if we’re following the angel through a dark space. Sometimes the composer seems to be imagining a blissful afterlife, as in the exquisite second movement, but the dominant feeling is anguish mingled with a desperate yearning, as if the departed soul could actually be brought back by music, if only it were beautiful enough.

It’s a strange emotional world, like nothing else in music, and this recording reveals it with heart-stopping intensity. Suk’s score is hugely difficult to play, especially for the violins, but the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra makes its rich, sombre palette glow magnificently.

The conductor Jakub Hrůša observes Suk’s numerous tempo changes, and even adds some of his own, but he keeps the sense of mourning and resignation at the core of this beautiful, inconsolable piece.