Page 15 - Glasbenopedagoški zbornik Akademije za glasbo v Ljubljani / The Journal of Music Education of the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, leto 10, zvezek 21 / Year 10, Issue 21, 2014
P. 15
ja Koter, SAMO VREMŠAK: ARTIST AND PEDAGOGUE
from traditional restraints; rhapsodic diversity stands out, as does the approximation of an
organ sound.44 Even though Vremšak did not always follow current compositional
vogues, he gradually released himself from traditional restraints and started to reach
toward modern compositional means, but with serious reflection and moderation; yet, he
worked above all independently and with a style that is hard to define. His solo-songs
belong among his most cogent compositions. Many of them were written for baritone;
however, he also wrote some for soprano - in all probability they were composed for his
daughter, Irena Baar (1958–2006). His solo-songs expressed a variety of moods, from the
lyrical to the epic and dramatic. Beside the piano accompaniment to his solo-songs, he
would add organ, chamber or even orchestral accompaniment. Choosing the texts for his
compositions, he would decide on persuasive depositions that he found in various sources
from the Antique period up to modern Slovenian literature. The key to Vremšak’s music
was poetic expression; it often directed him towards expressivity and away from tonality
into a recitative manner, tonal painting and a persuasive symbiosis of context-related and
metric character of the literary material upon which it was based. Among his most
frequently performed works are the cycle Osem pesmi iz ciganske poezije for soprano and
piano, 1982, Šest ljubavnih elegij rimske pesnice Sulpicije for mezzo-soprano, flute, gong
and piano (1981), Tri balade Petrice Kerempuha for baritone and piano (1983) and Štiri
Balantièeve pesmi za glas in klavir.45 Most of these compositions were performed by
Vremšak himself and his daughter Irena; other performers appeared very rarely. It should
also be noted that even though many of the compositions were recorded for the Radio
Slovenia Archive, they are not accessible to a wider public. It is Vremšak’s choir
compositions that truly stand out in his entire oeuvre. He wrote compositions for choirs
throughout his life and created a rich collection of choir pieces for adult and youth vocal
ensembles. Most of the compositions for adult choirs were published in the periodical
Naši zbori and in other editions of ZKOS (Association of Cultural Organizations of
Slovenia), while his youth choir works were issued in the magazines Grlica and Glasba v
šoli. Due to his expert judgment of choral sound and the vocal range of children and adult
voices, his choir compositions still enjoy wide popularity and are frequently performed by
amateur or professional vocal ensembles. For his artistic compositions, he decided on
cogent texts, principally those of Slovenian authors, for example: Alojz Gradnik, Josip
Murn - Aleksandrov, Sreèko Kosovel, as well as of modern authors like France Balantiè,
Kajetan Koviè, Ivan Minatti, Tone Kuntner, Svetlana Makaroviè, Ne a Maurer and many
others. He tended to choose social, epic, and lyrical motifs. Vremšak confirmed his talent
for choral sentence formation, with the emphasis on the natural characteristic of the
individual voices in compositions that he created early in his life and which remain
extremely popular: Vetri v polju (S. Kosovel, 1952), and then in many other pieces, such
as anjica (F. Kozak, 1951), Škrjanèek (M. Golar, 1969), Pesem hrepenenja (1971),
Prihod (A. Gradnik, 1974), Noè brezupna (I. Cankar, 1977), Orel in smreka (A.
Gradnik,1977), Maj ob Soèi (I. Minatti, 1984), Tri Katulove pesmi for mixed choir (1984),
Pelin ena (S. Makaroviè,1992), Zadnji èas pred zimo, Zasuta usta (both based upon the
texts of F. Balantiè, 1992); however, especially prominent in this segment of his work are
six songs based upon the texts of Tone Kuntner for male choir (1994). Even though his
44 A more detailed analysis of the second symphony is included in the article by Ivan Florjanc.
45 Cp. Vremšak’s legacy: the archive of performances of his works.
15
from traditional restraints; rhapsodic diversity stands out, as does the approximation of an
organ sound.44 Even though Vremšak did not always follow current compositional
vogues, he gradually released himself from traditional restraints and started to reach
toward modern compositional means, but with serious reflection and moderation; yet, he
worked above all independently and with a style that is hard to define. His solo-songs
belong among his most cogent compositions. Many of them were written for baritone;
however, he also wrote some for soprano - in all probability they were composed for his
daughter, Irena Baar (1958–2006). His solo-songs expressed a variety of moods, from the
lyrical to the epic and dramatic. Beside the piano accompaniment to his solo-songs, he
would add organ, chamber or even orchestral accompaniment. Choosing the texts for his
compositions, he would decide on persuasive depositions that he found in various sources
from the Antique period up to modern Slovenian literature. The key to Vremšak’s music
was poetic expression; it often directed him towards expressivity and away from tonality
into a recitative manner, tonal painting and a persuasive symbiosis of context-related and
metric character of the literary material upon which it was based. Among his most
frequently performed works are the cycle Osem pesmi iz ciganske poezije for soprano and
piano, 1982, Šest ljubavnih elegij rimske pesnice Sulpicije for mezzo-soprano, flute, gong
and piano (1981), Tri balade Petrice Kerempuha for baritone and piano (1983) and Štiri
Balantièeve pesmi za glas in klavir.45 Most of these compositions were performed by
Vremšak himself and his daughter Irena; other performers appeared very rarely. It should
also be noted that even though many of the compositions were recorded for the Radio
Slovenia Archive, they are not accessible to a wider public. It is Vremšak’s choir
compositions that truly stand out in his entire oeuvre. He wrote compositions for choirs
throughout his life and created a rich collection of choir pieces for adult and youth vocal
ensembles. Most of the compositions for adult choirs were published in the periodical
Naši zbori and in other editions of ZKOS (Association of Cultural Organizations of
Slovenia), while his youth choir works were issued in the magazines Grlica and Glasba v
šoli. Due to his expert judgment of choral sound and the vocal range of children and adult
voices, his choir compositions still enjoy wide popularity and are frequently performed by
amateur or professional vocal ensembles. For his artistic compositions, he decided on
cogent texts, principally those of Slovenian authors, for example: Alojz Gradnik, Josip
Murn - Aleksandrov, Sreèko Kosovel, as well as of modern authors like France Balantiè,
Kajetan Koviè, Ivan Minatti, Tone Kuntner, Svetlana Makaroviè, Ne a Maurer and many
others. He tended to choose social, epic, and lyrical motifs. Vremšak confirmed his talent
for choral sentence formation, with the emphasis on the natural characteristic of the
individual voices in compositions that he created early in his life and which remain
extremely popular: Vetri v polju (S. Kosovel, 1952), and then in many other pieces, such
as anjica (F. Kozak, 1951), Škrjanèek (M. Golar, 1969), Pesem hrepenenja (1971),
Prihod (A. Gradnik, 1974), Noè brezupna (I. Cankar, 1977), Orel in smreka (A.
Gradnik,1977), Maj ob Soèi (I. Minatti, 1984), Tri Katulove pesmi for mixed choir (1984),
Pelin ena (S. Makaroviè,1992), Zadnji èas pred zimo, Zasuta usta (both based upon the
texts of F. Balantiè, 1992); however, especially prominent in this segment of his work are
six songs based upon the texts of Tone Kuntner for male choir (1994). Even though his
44 A more detailed analysis of the second symphony is included in the article by Ivan Florjanc.
45 Cp. Vremšak’s legacy: the archive of performances of his works.
15
