Symphony No. 3 'rembrandt' / Symphony No. 6 'Amsterdam'

Matthias Bamert conducts the Residentie Orchestra The Hague in a second volume of works by Dopper as part of Chandos' ongoing series of Dutch music.

This is the first time that both works on this disc have been recorded.

This is the latest release in the Residentie Orchestra's recording project launched in preparation for the Orchestra's centenary in 2004. The project focuses on unfairly neglected Dutch repertoire of the last two centuries.

Cornelis Dopper's Symphony No. 3 was not entitled 'Rembrandt' for programmatic reasons; rather, the name served a practical purpose: in 1906 the third centenary of the birth of Rembrandt van Rijn was celebrated with many special events. The Concertgebouw Orchestra commissioned several renowned Dutch composers to write music for this commemoration, including Dopper. The work made a great impression at its premiere and was considered a major work of art, symbolising the character of the Dutch people, their art and their country's natural geography. In this respect, one reviewer wrote, it resembled the music of Grieg in Norway and Charpentier in France.

The score of Symphony No. 6 'Amsterdam' was completed in 1912. The title was, in fact, given much later, probably inspired by the Finale, which depicts a fair in Amsterdam on Queen Wilhelmina's birthday. Although the Scherzo ('a feast of rhythms' as Dopper himself described it) is based on sketches made in 1906 after he had visited the Chinatown of Vancouver, B.C., the turbulence of that city - it might as well be any other great city: Amsterdam, for example - invades all three fast movements. The Adagio, by contrast, depicts 'someone, walking through a noisy city, entering a church to rest'.

Like Dopper's other symphonies, the 'Amsterdam' Symphony contains many fine tunes, some of them hymn tunes, often supported by modal harmonies, with colourful chromaticism here and there and a brilliant orchestral palette. In the Finale, Dopper mixes several popular tunes with hints of the national anthem, Wilhelmus van Nassouwe, the sound of bells of tramway carriages, and the bawdy songs of drunkards. This music is not meant to elevate but to depict. In that sense all Dopper's music has a programme: the portrayal of the many-faceted country that is The Netherlands.

PREVIOUS RELEASES
Dopper - Second Symphony etc. - CHAN 9884
Hol - Symphonies Nos 2 & 4 - CHAN 9952
Hol - Symphonies Nos 1 & 3 - CHAN 9796
Voormolen - Baron Hop Suites Nos 1 & 2 etc. - CHAN 9815