Elisabeth Remy Johnson: Quest
Albany Records

With Quest, harpist Elisabeth Remy Johnson does her part to address, in her own words, “the gender imbalance in ‘standard' repertoire.” Works by female composers are performed on the hour-long release, with the set-list dedicated to both contemporary and earlier composers. To that end, pieces by Niloufar Nourbakhsh, Kati Agócs, Johanna Selleck, and Sally Beamish appear alongside ones by Clara Wieck Schumann, Amy Beach, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Mel Bonis, and Lili Boulanger, with many selections world premiere recordings and Johnson's transcriptions of works originally written for piano.

That the earlier composers' achievements have been underappreciated was brought home to Johnson (not for the first time) upon perusing her three-decades-old volume of The Oxford Companion to Music and discovering that neither Schumann, Hensel, nor Bonis had an entry (though Schumann was described as “a by no means insignificant composer” in her husband Robert Schumann's entry). That they persevered in the absence of public recognition or support speaks to their determination and passion. Quest, then, both serves as a thoroughly rewarding presentation of Johnson's solo harp artistry but also a compelling argument on behalf of female composers then and now.

No harpist is better qualified for such a project than Johnson, who's been the principal harpist of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra since 1995. In addition to Quest, she's released other solo recordings and appears on numerous releases with the ASO. She performs solo and chamber music recitals throughout North America and beyond, and three years ago founded The Merian Ensemble, which is dedicated to performing and commissioning works by women. Her inclusion of the 2013 title work by Iranian-American composer and pianist Nourbakhsh (b. 1992) is wholly consistent with the project, considering that the three-minute opener was Nourbakhsh's musical response to the question, “Do I really want to embark on this quest of being a composer, or not?” Some of the album's pieces are pretty, pastoral settings, the kind generally associated with the harp; Nourbakhsh's incorporation of dissonances, on the other hand, shows the harp can be equally effective at evoking mystery and instilling unease.

That prettier side comes to the fore in Aubade (1911), a melodically enticing evocation of sunrise by French composer Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944). Like Aubade, the lilting Mélodie (1846), by Felix Mendelssohn's sister Fanny (1805-1847), is short yet stirring. Cinq Morceaux (1894-1927) by Bonis (1858-1937) presents an overview of her graceful writing, with “Berceuse” (1895) and “Mélisande” (1898) entrancing examples and the elegiac “Cloches lointaines” (1927) finding the composer in a contemplative mood. Matching it in pensiveness is Romanze (1853), which Schumann (1819-1896) imbues with a lyricism that lingers long after the piece is done. One traditional appears on Quest, Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies, and the affection Johnson has for it clearly comes through in her voicing of its beautifully plaintive melodies.

Written by Boulanger (1893-1918) when she was but twenty-one, D'un vieux jardin (1914) adds both a dreamy dimension to Quest plus a chromatic daring that establishes a through-line from the early composers to the later ones. Much like Messiaen, Beach (1867-1944) drew from actual birdsong for the writing of A Hermit Thrush at Morn (1921), specifically New Hampshire birds whose vocalizing she transcribed into haunting musical form. Originally written as orchestral material for a ballet production of The Tempest, Pavan (2016) by British composer Beamish (b. 1956) flows in a way that makes it easy to visualize a ballet dancer moving gracefully in concert with it. The title of Spindrift (2008) by Australia-based Selleck (b. 1959) references spray generated from cresting waves in the ocean, and here too it's possible to picture waves crashing wildly against the shore when the harp's brilliant strums appear.

Johnson puts her exemplary technique in full service to the composers and their works on this special and even invaluable collection. Her playing dazzles throughout, and her command of the instrument and realization of the pieces are unerring. Ultimately the primary message communicated by Quest has to do with affirmation. Through their inclusion, the earlier artists are honoured for overcoming adversity in their pursuit of artistic creation, while the contemporary ones honour their legacy by building on the foundations they helped establish.

July 2021