Havergal Brian: English Suite No.1

I have written in these pages before about the urgent need for a professional recording of the extant English Suites by Havergal Brian. The only version currently available (with a bit of searching) is the 2-CD set from Cameo. Now the playing and the recording quality of this CD do leave a bit to be desired.

The critic in the Gramophone Magazine of April 1980 generously wrote that: “These are by no means easy pieces to play, and occasionally […] one feels that the Hull Youth Symphony […] has bitten off more than they can chew. Nor is their intonation invariably a joy elsewhere. But within the obvious limitations these are good performances and can safely be recommended not only to Brian aficionados but to the general public as well. The recorded sound is if anything slightly superior to the orchestra and previous releases”.

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That this is an important work as is clear from this review in The Musical Times. In a future post I will present the contemporaneous review from the Musical Standard. I do worry that the Marco Polo/Naxos series of Brian appears to have ground to a halt. He is one of the most important composers writing in Britain during much of the Twentieth Century.

The English Suite No.1 can be heard on Cameo RR2CD 1331/1332 and is still much better than no recording at all.

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THE MUSICAL TIMES: OCTOBER 1, 1907 p.672 [with minor edits] Previous to September 12 few Londoners had heard of Mr. Havergal Brian. He is a well nigh self-taught composer, born in North Staffordshire in 1877, and in the North, notably at Hanley, his compositions have won much esteem. They include three Psalm settings for orchestra and soli, Burlesque Variations for orchestra, a symphonic poem, inspired by Lord Leighton's picture Hero, an English suite, and an overture For valour. The Suite, originally produced at one of the Leeds Town Hall Municipal concerts in January last, was performed for the first time in London on September 12. The poetic basis of the suite is an old English country fair. Rustics assemble to a spirited march, whereunto a humorous element is imparted by the prominence given to that most rural of all instruments, “the loud bassoon”. The next number is a waltz, not of modern sentimentality but a rhythmic measure that stirs the pulse; its influence, however, upon the dancers appears to be much the same, since without break the music passes into an amorous episode entitled “Love under the beech tree”. Presumably the village has only one such trysting-place, a state of affairs which must have caused occasional inconvenience. That the beech tree is not far from the dancers is evident from the strains of the waltz that occasionally mingle with tête-à-tête sentences. The fourth movement, entitled “Interlude”, takes one away from the fair, for the composer says it is “an attempt to convey in sound the emotion which arose while gazing from the Hanchurch hills, in Staffordshire, in the direction of the Wrekin, in Shropshire, the whole country suffused in brilliant sunlight”. Still farther from the spirit of the fair is the next section, in which a hymn-like melody plays a prominent part; but with the concluding movement a return is made to rustic revelry, and a series of episodes introduce us to such sundry side-shows as Punch and Judy, a Sleeping Beauty, and The Breathless Lady, the latter represented by a version of the 'dancers' theme played with mock solemnity by trombones and tuba, shortly after which the work ends in a spirit of carnivalism. One is conscious that the composer is somewhat weak in the art of thematic development, but there is a freshness and significance in his music which indicates creative power.

Chopin: An attack by the Musical World Journal

I recently found this excellent quotation on the Frederyk Chopin Institute website. Now I do not normally write about ‘continental’ composers, but anyone that was and is so popular in Great Britain cannot be ignored. Chopin’s music is a vital part of musical life here and furthermore his tour of Britain between 20 April and 23 November was a huge success. He was lionized in London and played before Queen Victoria. So it is fascinating to read a somewhat negative review in the contemporary press. The Musical World was published in London during the nineteenth century.

The attack on Chopin was incidental to a review of some Mazurkas (Op. 41?): ‘Mr Chopin is far from composing anything banal, but – as many may consider considerably worse – is a producer of the most preposterous and hyperbolic oddities. […] Well might such a hot-headed enthusiast as Mr Liszt utter a poetical “rien” in “La France Musicale” with regard to the philosophical tendencies of Mr Chopin’s music; yet, from our point of view we can see no connection whatsoever between philosophy and affectation, between poetry and swagger, and we would allow ourselves to call to witness the ears and the judgement of all impartial people that all the works of Mr Chopin present a gaudy palette of rhetorical overstatement and excruciating cacophony […] At present, there is some justification for the offences of the poor Chopin: he is caught up in the compelling bonds of that arch-witch George Sand, notorious for both the number and the eminence of her romances and lovers; nevertheless, we are surprised at how she […] could allow herself to waste her dreamy existence on such an artistic non-entity as Chopin’.

In a reaction to this no-holds-barred assault on the part of its rival publishing house, the firm of Wessel & Stapleton addressed a letter to the editorship attempting to defend Chopin and his works, referring to ‘their immeasurable popularity abroad and finally the unanimous praise bestowed upon them by a host of the greatest authorities. Suffice it to mention here such names as Hector Berlioz, Ferdinand Hiller, Henri Herz, Robert Schumann, Sigismond Thalberg, Ignace Moscheles, Ferencz Liszt, Edward Schnitz, Henri Bertini, Jules Janin, Jules Maurel, George Sand, Frédéric Soulie, H. Balzac, Jules Benedict, Madame de Belleville-Oury, Theodor Doehler, Frédéric Kalkbrenner, John Cramer, Jacques Rosenheim, Charles Czerny, Aloys Schmitt, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Clara Wieck, Alexander Dreyschock, Adolphe Henselt, Catarina Bott, Robena Laidlaw and countless others’.

Charles Villiers Stanford: Piano Sonata in D minor

I recently reviewed a CD of piano music by Stanford and was impressed by virtually every piece. At that time I recall wondering if he had written a Piano Sonata. I suppose only laziness stopped me checking it out. I was perusing Lisa Hardy’s The British Piano Sonata 1870-1945 the other day and to my delight discovered that Stanford had indeed composed a Sonata for that intrument. However my excitement soon went – it is a work that is lost. Hardy notes that Grove mentions a Piano Sonata in D flat Op. 20 which was unpublished. She explained how she had corresponded with the author of the dictionary entry, Dr. Frederick Hudson, however he had been unable to trace the manuscript after thirty years of searching.

The Sonata was performed by Fuller Maitland at a Cambridge University Music Society Pop concert on 25 February 1885. This seems to have been its last appearance. However it had been previously performed at a concert in the St James’s Hall in London on 4 February 1884 and again at a second recital some five days later. It was given a positive review in the March 1884 edition of The Musical Times. Hardy further notes that the pianist Miss Agnes Zimmerman was “a noted interpreter of British piano sonatas".
Jeremy Dibble explained that Stanford was included in a list of ‘ten original piano sonatas’ which had been advertised by Henry Carte. However the project was never completed. Dibble suggests that Sonata was probably completed in late 1883.
Paul Rodmell adds little to this, but quotes a review in the Cambridge Review 12 March 1884 that suggest the Sonata “would certainly add to his [Stanford’s] reputation.” Yet when it was performed the following year, Rodmell suggests that the reception was ‘lukewarm and the Sonata was referred to a not possessing ‘enough continuity, repose or distinctive style.’

It was perhaps this last review that caused the composer not to allow publication? However, I hope that one day the manuscript will reappear and that an enterprising pianist such as Christopher Howell or Mark Bebbinton will see fit to record it. Meanwhile I have printed the contemporary review from The Musical Times:-
"Amateurs should have mustered in strong force on Monday 4 March for the programme contained a new pianoforte Sonata by Mr. Villiers Stanford, but as a matter of fact they severally stayed away. This indifference on the part of the public to the claims of native art is not only irritating, but it is fast becoming ridiculous. We have three or four young composers whose collective ability is at least equal tot hat of the same number of leading German living musicians, whose utterances always awake interest and expectation. Mr. Villiers Stanford is gaining honour abroad, but he is not without it at home for in his orchestral Serenade in G and his Elegiac Symphony – to a name but two of his works – qualities have been recognized far more valuable that mere musicianship, even of the highest class.
These qualities are also present in his new Sonata, which is in the unusual key of D flat. Some listeners have professed to perceive in the work a deliberate intention to violate the established laws of form, but we confess that to us no such design is apparent. In matters of detail, Mr. Stanford shows himself an independent thinker, but in all essentials his newest work is as classical in outline as could possibly be desired. The opening adagio is exceedingly impressive, and the succeeding allegro moderato is worked out with splendid mastery of the subject matter, the general effect being that of a lofty design carried into execution by a thoroughly experienced hand. The succeeding allegro grazioso, a modified kind of scherzo, is vigorous, and the final allegro commodo with its excellent first subject, seems scarcely less important than the first movement, though for some mysterious reason no analysis was vouchsafed of this portion of the work...
…we have no hesitation in characterising it as one of the most important compositions for piano solo produced within the present generation. It was very finely played by Miss Zimmermann, and composer and executant were called to the platform and loudly cheered…

The Sonata was repeated by Miss Zimmermann on the following Saturday, and again favourably received, its merits more conspicuous on second hearing.
The Musical Times 1 March 1884 [with minor edits]

Sources:-
Dibble, Jeremy, Charles Villiers Stanford: The Man and his Music (Oxford: Oxford University Press 2002)
Hardy, Lisa, The British Piano Sonata 1870-1945 (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press 2001)
Rodmell, Paul, Charles Villiers Stanford (Aldershot: Ashgate 2002)

British Piano Music: Some Tantalising Pieces

Please Click on the Picture to read!

[well I thought it would work!!! Friday 30th October]

I recently found a copy of Walton O'Donnell's When the Sun is Setting in an Oxfam shop. This pieces is interesting, but what is perhaps more fascinating is the advertisement on the back of the cover. To be fair, some of the pieces are by composers who are not British. And there are a few famous names, including Bax, Hurlstone, Bowen, Elgar, Stanford and Bantock.

Yet scattered amongst this ''Selection of Modern Pianoforte Music are some truly desirable gems. Some of this music I have in my collection, yet most of it seems to have disappeared 'without trace.' I guess that many of these pieces will not be in the RCM or the RAM libraries: perhaps the only place to locate them will be the British Library?

I do not for one minute suggest that all these works are masterpieces, however I do feel that many of them probably deserve an occasional airing by professional pianists. Certainly most are probably just beyond the gift the amateur: the pieces I know are typically Grade 7 or 8' -ish.

If I had to mention three of the pieces listed that I would most like to hear, or try to play, they would be Pierrot by Ernest Farrar, F.H Cowen's Cupid's Conspiracy Suite and Edith M. Saunders's Impromptu in F minor.

Lastly I am charmed by the name A. E. Horrocks: I wonder where he lived, what he wrote and what his music sounds like. I will certainly keep my eye open in the second hand bookshops for his Six Pieces Op.14.

Graham LYNCH: Undiscovered Islands

Graham LYNCH (b.1957) White Book 1 (piano) (2001) Mediterranean (flute and piano) (2007/8) Petenera (piano) (2005) Moon Cycle (solo flute) (2002/6) White Book 2 (piano) (2007/8) Three Tangos (flute and piano) (2003/7) Mark Tanner (piano); Gillian Poznansky (flute) PRIORY PRCD1024
I was recently sent this fine CD to review by the composer. It made an immediate appeal to me. I listened to the entire album twice, although even on the first hearing I felt comfortable with most of the works presented. The reason, I guess is that the music passes the two fundamental tests: is the music original and is there an obvious trajectory of tradition that enables the listener to relate the pieces to something that is already familiar? The answers to both these questions is ‘yes’. The first thing to be said on the originality aspect is that this music is both demanding and interesting. The stylistic parameters lead to a sense of variety that is well under control. Lynch’s music is not like, say, Einaudi, whose every piece seems to sound the same.

Before I had a chat with the composer, I had decided that there were certain influences (conscious or apparent) at work in Lynch’s music - these included Debussy, Messiaen and for my money Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji. Perhaps there were even hints of Fred Delius. However the composer told me that the Japanese composer Takemitusu and the Latin-American Astor Piazzolla also had an important contribution to his music. But as I have often said, listening to music is not about ‘hunt the composer’, unless the composer we are considering has been unable to develop and synthesise their own style”.

The presentation of the CD is excellent [...] a good essay introduces the composer and his music. There follows a more detailed analysis of each piece along with further comments from the performers. The middle pages of the booklet have a collection of photographs that reflect the mood and subject matter of a number of the pieces. The playing by both the pianist and the flautist sounds excellent […] this is an impressive CD that is well within the tradition of British (or Western) music. All the works are approachable, but like all good music continues to reveal their secrets with repeated hearings.

Please read the full review of Graham Lynch’s CD at MusicWeb International

Felix Swinstead: March Wind for Piano

I recently found this attractive piece of sheet music in an Oxfam shop. Even although I already have March Wind in another album, I could not resist the drawing on the cover. I know somebody (who shall remain nameless) who studied with Felix Swinstead and does not rate his music. I guess that they felt it lacked character, interest and technical content – which can be pretty damning. I trended to disagree with tem. Whilst not suggesting that Swinstead’s music has a major place in the canon of British piano music, I think it is fair to suggest that many of his teaching pieces have a charm over and above their intent. Perhaps Swinstead can be bracketed with Thomas Dunhill and Walter Carroll, although I do feel the latter had the ability to present very original music for students. I was ‘brought up’ on much of Felix Swinstead’s music – Fancy Free and the Three Sets of Six Pieces for Children were in the piano stool. Alas these latter have been lost.

March Wind was composed, or at least published by Joseph Williams in 1937. It is a miniature toccata really that certainly manages to give a sense of movement and a feeling of nasty weather. It is not an easy piece, in spite of being (and I am guessing) about Grade 6. The left hand part is typically played staccato and ranges over three octaves. The effect id created by at least three note patterns which are repeated and juxtaposed Most of this piece are largely diatonic, yet in the last four bars there is a considerable amount of key change and a little descending chromatic scale in the left hand. Alas The Musical Times does not give the piece a good review – “it is a rather meagre little breeze set up by quick finger work – a useful study no doubt.” Yet all that said, I enjoy playing it and surely one is reminded of the Swinburne poem:-

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Mad March, with the wind in his wings wide-spread,

Leaps from heaven, and the deep dawn's arch

Hails re-risen again from the dead

Mad March.

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Soft small flames on rowan and larch

Break forth as laughter on lips that said

Nought till the pulse in them beat love's march.

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But the heartbeat now in the lips rose-red

Speaks life to the world, and the winds that parch

Bring April forth as a bride to wed

Mad March.

British Piano Sonatas: A Wish List Part 1

I note here a number of Piano Sonatas that have been composed by British composers, but are yet unrecorded (as far as I can tell). It seems unbelievable that there is such a rich vein of untapped Sonatas, some by well known composers and others by names that are barely known even by the ‘experts’. However, based on the pages of the Leo Livens Piano Sonata, that I was perusing the other day, there are certainly some treats in store, should enterprising concert agents and recording companies decide to explore these avenues. I give the composer and work without comments. Most of these works have been published whilst others remain in manuscript.

Ernest Austin: Sonata in B minor Op.31 No.2 [1907] Novello
William Baines: Sonata in F# minor Op.4 [1918] unpublished
Benjamin Burrows: Sonata [1934] F.W. Smith & Lewis
Lawrence Collinwood: Sonata No1 [1915] and Sonata No. 2 [1913] P Jurgensen
Duncan Edmonstoune: Sonata in D minor Op. 100 [1906] Vincent Music Co.
Harry Farjeon: Miniature Sonata in Bb Op.12 [1906] Augener and Sonata in E Op. 43 (1920) Ashdown
Edward German: Sonata [1884] Banks
William Hurlstone: Sonata in F minor [1894] unpublished
H.V. Jervis Read: Sonata [1925] Murdoch
Leo Livens: Sonata [1914 Anglo-French
R.O. Morgan: Prize Sonata [c 1908] Ashdown
Alec Rowley: Sonata No.1 [1939] Durand and Sonata No.2 in D [1949] Chester
William Wolstenholme: Sonata in Eb [c 1908]

A Paris Letter by Sir Lennox Berkeley 1st July 1931

The months of May and June, which roughly constitute the season here, have been particularly brilliant this year from the musical point of view. A regular invasion of virtuosos of all sorts has made it almost impossible to keep pace with the musical events. I cannot do more here than mention those concerts which particularly impressed me.
One concert that remains in my mind was the recital given by Roland Hayes in the Salle Pleyel on May 8. It was one of the most successful of the season. Roland Hayes is an artist of the first rank; one is at a loss to say what one admires most in him-the extraordinary beauty of his voice or the consummate art with which he uses it. His programme ranged from seventeenth-century Italian music to Negro 'spirituals'; and especially striking was the difference between his rendering of the latter and of the rest of his programme. It is, of course, obvious that one cannot sing Schubert and spirituals in the same manner, but Hayes understands the differences, and assumes what seems to be a different voice for the spirituals. His admirable enuncia­tion greatly enhances his singing-one heard every word, whether it was French, English, German, or Italian.
Another recital that aroused great enthusiasm was Segovia's concert at the Opera. I think it is superfluous to praise Segovia's guitar playing-it will suffice to say that he was at the top of his form, and amply justified his choice of the Opera to perform in. His programme included some interesting eighteenth-century lute music-a 'Préambule et Gavotte' by Chilesotti and a Partita by Silvius Weiss. He also played Turina's delightful Fandanguillo, of which there is an excellent recording by 'His Master's Voice.' The fact that one heard perfectly every sound bears witness not only to Segovia's power of tone-production, but also to the acoustic properties of the Opera.

Paderewski announced two concerts, but at the last minute was prevented from giving the second, owing to the illness of his wife. The first concert was a triumph. Though over seventy, he has not lost his amazing powers. Paderewski gave his share of the proceeds to the fund for the erection of a monument in memory of Debussy. Kreisler, Horowitz, Heifetz and other well-known virtuosos have also played here lately.

There have also been numerous outstanding orchestral concerts-Mengelberg, Furtwängler, Weingartner and Bruno Walter have all conducted here within the last two months. Mengelberg, in addition to the Prelude to ‘Tristan' and an electrifying performance of the 'Meistersinger' Overture, gave Mahler's Lied von der Erde, which, in spite of a masterly performance, was not received with great enthusiasm. Mahler has the fashion of the day against him-his ultra-romanticism does not commend itself easily to the modern ear- nevertheless, no musical person could fail to admire the originality and variety of his orchestration.

We have also had some interesting first performances. Two important new works by Honegger, one by Milhaud and one by Conrad Beck were among the most noteworthy. Of these, in my opinion, Beck's work was the finest. It was a Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra, and was very well performed by the Berlin String Quartet and Straram and his orchestra. This Concerto has a richness of material and a depth of thought and feeling of which very few composers of today are capable. The one thing with which one can reproach Beck is his excessive austerity. One feels that he is afraid of pleasure in music ­there is plenty of life, and even of joy, at moments, in his music, but he never makes the slightest concession to the senses. Pleasant sound or charm is perhaps not an essential ingredient of good music, but I feel that its absence prevents Beck from being as complete an artist as he might be.
Milhaud's Concerto for Viola and Orchestra has an original flavour and is characteristic of its composer, but it seemed a little patchy-which is also, I fear, rather a characteristic of its composer. In the first movement one had, instead of an impression of speed, a feeling of fuss and bustle and then it was all over. It was like a lot of people all scrambling to get on a bus or into a train, and when they had got there nothing happened! This, of course, may not be the composer's fault- on the other hand it may be intentional, but if it is, I feel that it is not quite a success aesthetically.

The same must be said of Honegger's Cris du Monde. This is a setting for soli, chorus, and orchestra of a poem by Rene Bizet. The idea expressed in the poem is that the modern man is pursued by the noise of machines, gramophones, loud-speakers and so on to such an extent that he can find no rest, nor any tranquillity in which to commune with his own soul - should he wish to do so. Unfortunately the words are very undistinguished, and one can only suppose that they have infected the composer, for much of the music is frankly banal. I do not mean that there are no beautiful passages, but the general impression is unsatisfactory. Honegger's new Symphony is, in my view, better than the choral work-·it has a fine and vigorous opening, and many moments of considerable beauty, but there is a certain lack of unity of style, which prevents it from being in the first rank.

Transcribed from the The Monthly Musical Record July 1 1931 (with minor edits)

With thanks to the Sir Lennox Berkeley Estate for permission to reprint this article.

Angela Morley: Starlight - an impresison for orchestra

I guess that a lot of light music portrays pictures of romantic locations – Las Vegas, New York, Paris and the Mediterranean. However, for many people there nowhere more romantic than London by night. One need only think of taking a taxi cab along Piccadilly on a cold winter’s evening, or perhaps taking a late-night stroll by the gaslights in Green Park. Or maybe it is late-night shopping at Harrods in Knightsbridge before popping into the Dorchester for a Cosmopolitan or a Bellini. And all of these moments somehow seem better if there are stars in the sky. Certainly it will be a rare night in London when the Milky Way is clearly visible, but surely there a many times when the stars and the moon peep out and manage to compete with the electric lamps and light pollution.

Angela Morley has captured all this magic in her evocative piece Starlight. It was written around 1956 when the composer was better known as Wally Stott. All the appropriate effects are used here, the sweeping violins that sound so like Mantovani or Henry Mancini, rich parallel string chords in thirds and sixths, pizzicato and harp arpeggios. Later in the piece a definite light touch of percussion gives an effective counterpoint to the main progress of the strings. Yet the work approaches the end all too soon with a passionate reprise of the string theme. The works last few bars conclude with a great splash of colour.
This is a classic example of the genre and certainly manages to create the image intended. It is impossible to listen to this music and remain oblivious to its mood. Naturally, it is only my conceit that sets it in the West End – it would be equally effective to someone imagining a trip across the Lagoon to the Lido or anchored in the bay off the town of Cannes.

Angela Morley’s Starlight can be heard on The Golden Age of Light Music The 1950s Volume 5 Sunny Side Up Guild GLCD 5142

King's College Cambridge: England, My England

I recently had the opportunity to review this latest compilation from King’s College Cambridge. Now I am not a big fan of compilations especially when they excerpt movements from larger works or even excise a small purple passage from a movement or piece. However, this present CD is not too bad on that score. After a brief introduction, I suggested a few tips to use in approaching this CD.

I guess that a lot of purchasers of this new release will just bang it into their CD players in the car and let rip. They will allow this music to envelop them as they drive along the West Lancs Road or around the M25. And there is probably nothing wrong with that. Concentration is what is needed for this present CD, in spite of its largely ‘popular’ appeal. It is not a fashion accessory, but a compendium of some of the greatest and most uplifting music written in England and performed by the country’s most the iconic choirs.

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What tips can I give for a logical exploration of England, My England? Well, first of all it can be sliced vertically or horizontally, by which I mean chronologically or by genre. I would prefer the latter. Now I imagine that most purchasers of a double CD of music by the world’s greatest ‘church’ choir (not just my opinion!) will have a certain sympathy with religious and liturgical music even if they do not sit in the choir stalls or the pews twice on a Sunday! So, perhaps the first group of pieces to explore are the Hymns. These are the ones that my late mother would have wanted to listen to. She was always singing them around the house and enjoyed hearing them sung by a good choir. All the big hitters are here. The ultimately tragic Abide with Me written by Henry Francis Lyte as he lay dying from tuberculosis and later to become a favourite of the Military and the F.A. Cup Final. The fine processional Praise my Soul the King of Heaven, the masterpiece of hymnology by Vaughan Williams, Come down of Love Divine and his Coronation arrangement of the massive Old Hundredth- All People that on Earth do Dwell. But King’s College do not forget the more intimate moments associated with the service of Evensong. Favourites include Orlando Gibbons exquisite Drop, drop slow tears and the ever popular The Day that thou gavest Lord is ended is beautifully sung…

I concluded my review by considering the title of the CD and then gave it a strong recommendation:-
The title of the CD is refreshingly ambiguous. Different people will read different things into it. I thought of D.H. Lawrence’s short story, a friend suggested that it was derived from the largely forgotten poet W.H. Henley’s largely forgotten poem “What have I done for you/England, my England”. And then there was a film about the life of Henry Purcell with that name...
…this is great value and is a fine introduction to English Choral music. This is sung with the unmistakable King’s College sound that evokes the atmosphere of the fundamentally Christian religious sensibilities of this country. This is a CD that can be enjoyed by all lovers of choral music, irrespective of their belief. It is a CD that manifests the spirit of Christianity as well as the long tradition of that faith in England and her music.

Please read the full review at MusicWeb International and also listen to short samples from this great album on YouTube.

Adam Pounds: The Martyr of Latimer and other news

A few months ago I mentioned in these pages that Adam Pounds was just putting the finishing touches to a new work – The Martyrdom of Latimer.
The work had its first performance on Saturday 3rd October 2009. Unfortunately I was not able to be present. However I do know that the work was extremely well received by an audience in excess of 800. It gained a standing ovation. Please read the review of this performance on Pounds’s website.
Dr. R J Westwell PhD, MA TESOL, MA Ed, B Mus, BA Hons wrote that:- "This profound work explored the excitement and darkness of death and spiritual revival. After the opening appealing melody was taken up in turn by the different sections of the orchestra, the toll of impending doom heralded the contrasting development of dramatic conflict, building up to an exciting climax with trumpets off-stage broadening the experience until the work's final thunderous drum call brought this fine composition to a memorable close. "

I only hope that he is successful in having the work broadcast, although I do understand that the work was recorded and a future CD release will be undertaken in February with the Academy of Great St. Mary’s (the new name for the Orchestra of Great St. Mary’s, Cambridge). The venue is Great St. Marys (The University Church) Cambridge, Sunday 13th December, 7.30pm

Two last snippets of news: Pounds plans to compose a new carol, presumably for this Christmas and he will be conducting his ‘Northern Picture’ on December 13th – venue to be announced.

Eric Chisholm: A New Biography by John Purser

Erik Chisholm, Scottish Modernist 1904-1965 ‘Chasing a Restless Muse’ by John Purser The Boydell Press, hardback, 283 pages ISBN 978-1-84383-460-1 £50:00
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I cannot quite remember when I first read about the composer and musician Erik Chisholm. I think it was in a spiral-bound catalogue published by the Scottish Music Information Centre: This booklet had a wealth of interesting information about works that I thought I would probably never hear. I seem to recall that this publication had been on sale at one of the Glasgow Promenade Concerts when they were held at the Kelvin Hall. That would be about 1975. However, I did not hear any music by Chisholm until the relatively recent Dutton Epoch recording of his masterly Symphony No.2 - unless one includes the Harris Dance which was released in 1997. Somehow, I missed the two or three other recordings issued between 1998 and 2004. And lastly, few people interested in British piano music can be unaware of Murray McLachlan’s superb, on-going exploration of the Complete Piano Music.

Up until this present volume, information about Chisholm was hard to come by. There were a few scattered references in the various journals, including the British Music Society Newsletters and the Composer magazine: there is an entry in Grove. Recently the excellent Website maintained by Chisholm’s daughter Morag has done much to promote his music: it is a model of its kind. But there was a lack of a standard biography and a detailed discussion of the compositions.

Erik Chisholm, Scottish Modernist 1904-1965 ‘Chasing a Restless Muse’ by John Purser is a comprehensive study of the composer and his music. It explores his contributions to the musical life of Scotland and latterly his work in the Far East and South Africa. Chisholm was much more that a composer: he was, at various times, a conductor of the Glasgow Grand Opera Society and later the Carl Rosa opera company, an organist, a concert pianist and a director of ENSA in South East Asia. His interest in modern music and its performance led him to found the Active Society for the Propagation of Contemporary Music in 1929 and the Barony Opera Society in 1936. At the end of the Second World War, Chisholm was appointed as Director of the South African College of Music at Capetown. Once again he was instrumental in promoting both new music and opera and set up the University Opera Company and the University Opera School. John Purser examines all these activities and presents a detailed discussion of many of Chisholm’s compositions alongside the biographical account his life.

The book is aimed at a serious audience: it is hardly likely to be read on the off-chance by the average music-lover. However, its appeal is far wider than to those wanting a few biographical details or some information about a particular piece of music. Chisholm’s active involvement in such a wide and diverse area of interest means that his story is central to the history of music, opera and ballet in Scotland in the years between the two World Wars. Furthermore his friendship with a wide range of musicians and composers, including the enigmatic Kaikhosru Sorabji, Béla Bartók, Paul Hindemith and William Walton, means that this book will be of interest to students of those particular composers. This is the first book written about Erik Chisholm, and I guess that it may be a long while before another major study is produced by another author. Interestingly, there is a dearth of books about Scottish composers. One looks in vain for biographies of Hamish MacCunn, John Blackwood McEwen, Alexander Mackenzie, William Wordsworth or Iain Hamilton. So, in many ways this book is the first of its kind. Someone pointed out to me that there is a fine biography of Ronald Stevenson - but he was born in Blackburn, although for some reason many people suppose him to be a Scot!

The structure of Purser’s book is a model for future studies. He writes a basically chronological text, but not quite. He intersperses the biographic flow with chapters on various important aspects of Chisholm’s musical activities and influences and friendships. For example, he majors on the Scottish inheritance that was so important for his music. Chisholm was beholden to the folk-music of the past in his task of forging a Scottish vernacular. It is this part of his career that earned him the nickname of MacBartók. It was his largely successful attempt at fusing a modernist style with the music of national music of previous generations that gave the distinctive sound to much of his music. This is expressed most forcibly in the fine series of Piobaireachd and the Sonatine Ecossaise. Another revealing digression is the study of Chisholm’s friendship with Sorabji and his music. A major essay on the Active Society of the Propagation of Contemporary Music is an important contribution to Scottish musical history in general. Later chapters explore the influence of Hindustani music, and the writing of Chisholm’s only book, The Operas of Leos Janacek. [available on-line at MusicWeb]

The apparatus of the book is of supreme interest. I am pleased that John Purser has opted for endnotes rather than footnotes. Two important appendixes present information about the Active Society and the Scottish sources of Chisholm’s Piano works. The first appendix is fascinating: it details the concerts and the office bearers of the Active Music Society between the years 1930 and 1937. The lists of works performed include pieces by Alfredo Casella, Ian Whyte, Arnold Bax and Cyril Scott. The book concludes with the usual offices of Select Bibliography, Discography, Selected Compositions and a comprehensive Index.

I guess that I was a little disappointed that there was not a complete ‘works list’ in this rather expensive book. To be fair, John Purser has provided some mitigation for this less than ideal state of affairs. He explains that Michael Tuffin is currently preparing a full catalogue of Chisholm’s music: this is due to be published in the near future. Furthermore he argues that the Erik Chisholm web pages link to the Scottish Music Information Centre’s Catalogue which is reasonably complete. However if the reader looks at the latest edition of Lewis Foreman’s biography of Arnold Bax, they will find a complete list of works, in spite of the fact that Graham Parlett has produced a fine and indispensable catalogue.

I think that the compromise would have been a complete listing of all the works and their many subdivisions, along with the date of composition, publisher and perhaps the date of the first performance. All other details such as reviews and bibliographical references could have been left to the forth coming volume. I was also a bit disappointed that the discography did not give the dates of the recording and in a few cases the performers are not noted.

These two criticisms apart, this is a superb publication. It is a massive investigation into the life and music of one of Scotland’s great, but massively underrated composers. It will provide the biographical and musical reference material for all interested parties for years to come. I wish that I had this book available when I was writing my reviews of the first five CDs of the Complete Piano Music. This is a book that can be read cover to cover, or can be used as a source book. Once the catalogue is available it will make a hugely valuable resource for Chisholm’s life and works in particular and Scottish music in general.

This is a book that looks good and certainly feels good. The text is printed on high quality paper in a font that is clear and easy to read. The book is well illustrated, with a large number of musical examples, a fine collection of line drawings and a good selection of black and white and colour photographs. The style of the writing is readable without in any sense failing to uphold the highest of scholarly standards. It is an expensive book, retailing at £50 which is more likely to be purchased by libraries and institutions rather than a mass of individuals. However, for scholars and writers who are interested in this composer or the period of his activity, it is an essential purchase.

If I had not received this book as a review copy I would most certainly have been saving up to buy one.

With thanks to MusicWeb International