Description
Johann Dubez Deux Chansons Sans Paroles (Two Songs without Words) op. 33
The Dubez musical family of Vienna occupies a unique position in the harp world. This family of 4 siblings who made a name for themselves on harp, guitar and zither, the three instruments still used in plucked string folk trios in South Germany and Austria. Johann’s siblings Anna, Joseph and Peter had freelance careers that took them places, locally and further away. Peter was the one who worked with Liszt in Weimar. He transcribed various pieces by him, most notably Two Ave Maria (previously published by Harpiana and available here under Liszt).
In Johann Dubez’s Deux Chansons sans paroles (Two Songs without Words), the questionable use of the word “chanson”, normally meant for folk or childrens’ songs, instead of the customary Romances sans paroles (as in Mendelssohn’s), may reflect the fact that these pieces are rather short and unpretentious. The original edition by Cranz does state “composées dans un style facile et dédiées à son élève Mademoiselle Elsa noble de Margarit”. Perhaps Lady Elsa was a younger girl from the nobility. At first glance, we who are used to the French harp repertoire may find both Chansons stilted in their inspiration. But the moment you sit at the harp and play through them, the music comes to life with beautiful melodies and juicy chords.
Chanson I
Chanson I begins with a majestic sequence of rolled chords, fancied up with multiple modulations calling for a slew of pedal changes, followed by straight two-handed chords in 8th notes that either ring in unison or are accompanied by a simple repetitive pattern. As the music moves toward an expressive climax, the octaves quicken into lively 16th notes that dare the student to find their footing while practicing acrobatics in the upper range. A sequence of chords moving from C Minor to Eb Major then sets the tone for the repeat or for a calmed down ending with ascending and descending arpeggios.
Chanson II
Chanson II also opens rather ceremoniously, with chords and arpeggios introducing tunes in 8th notes intended to first revel in sweetness, then in passionate expression. Suddenly we enter full-fledged arpeggio territory, in a style close to the “three-handed technique” introduced by Parish Alvars on the harp and Sigismund Thalberg on the piano. Here the composer emphasizes the notes of the tune on the downbeat through a right-hand chord paired with a left-hand octave. If this looks obvious, the descents on beat 3 operate more mysteriously, with a dotted rhythm singling out the tune within the arpeggios, as if played by an invisible third hand. In the end, the music builds up a bit of drama with final two-handed arpeggios alternating between Cb Major and Ab Minor, to end triumphantly in the beginning tonality of Cb.
