Leo Smit (1900-43) was one of a small group of Dutch Jewish composers who met their fate at the hands of the Nazis. Smit died, along with thousands of newly detained Jews from Amsterdam, almost immediately on arrival at the Sobibor death camp in 1943. Before that, he was one of the reigning writers of chamber music in the Netherlands. Smit’s music has a strong French character–Roussel, Milhaud, and Debussy are the most prominent influences. This shows best in Smit’s charming Sextet (1928), a blithe, flirtatious work for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, and piano that just doesn’t wear out its welcome even after several listenings. (The Ensemble Villa Musica really puts its heart in this music.) The Quintet (1928) also takes its cue from French modes but has a more dour temperament than the Sextet. The Duo (1938) is, curiously, more British than anything else, with the oboe prancing in circles around the grounding cello, sounding more of Bridge and Bax. Smit’s Trio (1938) is for clarinet, viola, and piano and is notable for its dark mood and hypnotic effect. This isn’t terribly complicated music, nor is it particularly ambitious, but there is nothing wrong in that. Smit clearly wrote for the audience, not the academy, and his music is given its due on this luscious MDG recording.
