Finger Prints: British Light Music for Piano

The ethos of this pot-pourri is predicated on an old Viennese adage of “taking serous music lightly and light music seriously.” Here the listener will find an “eclectic” selection from a wide cross section of composers. These include pieces by so-called “classical” masters such as Frank Bridge, John Ireland, Roger Quilter, and Lennox Berkeley. These men were able to cross the boundaries between art music and a more “popular” touch. The recital gets off to a great start with Harry Engleman’s Finger Prints. This is the epitome of the novelty piano solo made so popular by Billy Mayerl (more of him later in the review) and the American Zez Confrey. Later in the programme we hear Engleman’s Golden Chain, another challenging piece for “dizzy fingers.”

Haydn Wood is usually remembered for his First World War hit, Roses of Picardy. Capable of working in both light and classical genres, he wrote accomplished piano and violin concertos, as well as attractively evocative orchestral suites. Longing is delightfully sentimental, poignant, at times passionate and always engaging. Written in 1917, it well reflects the emotions of wartime lovers.

I enjoyed Cecil Macklin’s The Cockney Crawl, which was originally danced at the Alhambra Theatre, London by Phyllis Monkman and Clyde Cook. Basically, a one or two-step with knobs on!

All enthusiasts of so-called light music will know Jack Strachey’s In Party Mood, used for many years as the theme tune for the radio programme Housewife’s Choice. Equally popular is his Theatreland, so reminiscent of London’s West End. Anna’s Polka is a lovely little number that combines the Bohemian dance of the title with a beguine. Paul Guinery adds a little “quirky” magic of his own in the concluding bars.

When I inherited my late grandparents’ upright, there was a copy of Amy Woodforde-Finden’s Indian Love Lyrics in the piano stool. I struggled to battle my way through the Kashmiri Love Song from an early age, never quite getting it right. The mood is of lost love, nostalgia, and despair, as seen through the eyes of an Edwardian lady’s enthusiasm for things ‘Oriental.’ It is heard here in Stephen Hough’s transcription.

Billy Mayerl was an English pianist and composer, popular in the 1930s. He is best remembered for his syncopated novelty piano solos like Marigold and Bats in the Belfry. His music was “highly crafted,” often cunningly difficult to play and always entertaining. He is represented on this disc by four arrangements of songs written for Hollywood by the British born songwriter, Harry Revel. Most popular is the jazzed-up version of Did You Ever See a Dream Walking? Equally attractive is I Feel Like a Feather in The Breeze with its lush opening and bouncy middle sections. With My Eyes Wide Open I’m Dreaming appeared in film about a successful nightclub singer and radio star. Once again Mayerl creates a balance between a slow foxtrot and an up-tempo section marked “with much rhythm.” The final transcription is the well-crafted You Hit the Spot from the film Collegiate (1936). The one original composition is The Shy Ballerina, which is a wistful celebration of a bashful girl who was asked to dance for Mayerl, but “nothing would persuade her to pirouette for him.” All are marked by rhythmic dash, memorable melodies, abundant caprice, and a touch of sheer sentimentality.

Edward German was an English composer of Welsh descent. He is known for his extensive output of incidental music for the stage. His light operas, including Merrie England, hold a place still in the repertoire. German also wrote symphonies, orchestral suites, and some piano pieces. The Polish Dance nods to the Chopin’s Mazurkas and is none the worse for that. It balances high spirits with more reflective moments.

Frank Bridge’s Berceuse was dished up in several editions, including for small orchestra, violin or cello and piano, violin and strings, and a late addition in 1929, as a piano solo. This exquisite lullaby features a delicate, calming tune that perfectly lives up to its title. In true Frank Bridge fashion, it transcends the boundaries of mere salon music, revealing layers of subtlety and elegant craftsmanship.

Two works are heard by cinema pianist and broadcaster Jack Wilson. Phantom Fingers ticks all the boxes of “novelty, syncopated or rhythmic piano solos.” It is his only published piece. The second, still in manuscript, is the undated Shadows on the Moon. It fairly swings along, with little gloom in these pages.

Cavatina by John Ireland has had numerous incarnations. Originally produced in 1904 for organ, and violin and piano, it “shows that Ireland had a gift for melody in the style of say Elgar’s Salut d’amour or Chanson de Matin”.

Transitioning from violinist to rhythm pianist, Peggy Cochrane, wrote Busy Day in 1941. This lively item highlights a jazzy left hand and a delightful, almost mischievous, flurry of notes in the right hand.

Roger Quilter is recalled for his incomparable songs. There are a few pieces for piano, including Three Studies and Three English Dances. The present Country Dance is from incidental music for the 1921-22 Old Vic production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It. Grainger-esque, it uses “off beat rhythms” and “teasing counter melodies.”

Arthur Sullivan is usually paired with W.S. Gilbert in peoples’ minds. Yet in recent years, his non-Savoy-Opera music has gained a hearing, especially in the recording studio. He did not produce many piano works: the liner notes state that there are only nine original pieces published in his lifetime. The two Thoughts here date from 1862 and clearly have a debt to Felix Mendelssohn. They are full of melodic charm and pianistic delight.

One work that may surprise the listener is Lennox Berkeley’s Java. This parody was written in 1932 and was originally part of an unrealised ballet score. Lots of wrong notes and chords here (think Les Dawson!) and a good impression of the “salacious” dance that was the rage in post war Paris in 1919. The arrangement here was made by composer, historian, and pianist, the late Peter Dickinson.

The final track on this charming CD is Richard Addinsell’s Blithe Spirit Waltz, taken from the eponymous 1945 film starring Rex Harrison, Kay Hammond, and Constance Cummings. This was a supernatural, black comedy derived from Noel Coward’s stage play. The Waltz is a wonderful evocation of Elvira (Hammond), Charles’s (Harrison) first wife, who is summoned at a seance.

The CD booklet is a model in design. Beginning with a brief outline of each composer, in alphabetical order, this is followed by succinct comments on each work in batting order. They are clear to read. Illustrations of sheet music covers enhance the impact of this insert. A note on the soloist is included.

This is the third CD in Paul Guinery’s exploration of light music classics. In 2020 he released Dicky Bird Hop (reviewed, here, and here) and two years later Chasing Moonbeams. (Sadly, not yet assessed for MusicWeb International).

Tremendous playing by Paul Guinery, an outstanding recording, and splendid packaging contribute to the success of this CD. Each piece is played with love and enthusiasm, and is never condescending, which is the way that light music ought to be performed.

Track Listing:
Harry Engleman (1912–2002)
Finger Prints (1936)
Haydn Wood (1882–1959)
Longing (1917)
Cecil Macklin (1883–1944)
The Cockney Crawl (1914)
Jack Strachey (1894–1972)
Anna’s Polka (date unknown)
Amy Woodforde-Finden (1860–1919)
Kashmiri Song (1902) (Trans. Stephen Hough, b.1962)
Harry Revel (1905–1958)
Did You Ever See a Dream Walking? (1933) (Trans. Billy Mayerl)
I Feel Like a Feather in The Breeze (1936) (Trans. Billy Mayerl)
Edward German (1862–1936)
Polish Dance (1891)
Harry Engleman
Golden Chain (1937)
Frank Bridge (1879–1941)
Berceuse (1901)
Jack Wilson (1907–2006)
Phantom Fingers (1934)
John Ireland (1879–1962)
Cavatina (1904)
Peggy Cochrane (1902–1988)
Busy Day (1941)
Harry Revel
With My Eyes Wide Open I’m Dreaming (1934) (Trans. Billy Mayerl)
You Hit the Spot (1936) (Trans. Billy Mayerl)
Roger Quilter (1877–1953)
Country Dance (1920)
Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900)
Thoughts, op. 2 No. 1 (1862)
Thoughts, op. 2 No. 2 (1862)
Jack Wilson
Shadows On the Moon (date unknown)
Billy Mayerl (1902–1959)
Shy Ballerina (1948)
Lennox Berkeley (1903–1989)
Java (1932) (Trans. Peter Dickinson, 1934-2023)
Richard Addinsell (1904–1977)
Blithe Spirit Waltz (1945)
Paul Guinery (piano)
rec. 4-5 January 2024, St John the Evangelist Church, Oxford
EM Records EMR CD088

Gordon Cameron: Organist and Composer (1900-89)

The Priory CD Organs of the Lake District (PRCD1177) has enabled listeners to discover the music of an organist and composer who had an important association with Glasgow and Scotland. His most prestigious appointment was between1944 and 1952 when he was Director of Music at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral in the Great Western Road, Glasgow.

I asked Frikki Walker, current Director of Music at St Mary’s for some information about Cameron’s tenure at the Cathedral. He kindly passed on my request to the Choir Historian, Pam Barrowman.

The wartime situation at the Cathedral between the years 1939-45 has been described as ‘in the doldrums.’ The Vestry, at a meeting held on 4 December 1944, was therefore delighted to engage the highly-regarded and well-qualified Gordon Cameron to the post of ‘choirmaster’. The appointment was taken up on 28 January 1945. Cameron first appears in the ‘officials’ section of the Cathedral Magazine during March 1945. He made huge improvements to the choir and general music making at the Cathedral. Pam Barrowman told me that the vestry ‘was pleased to order and pay for 16 royal purple boys' cassocks to replace the old ones, and St Mary's was invited to send representatives to sing at the Albert Hall Service, celebrating the 1951 Festival of Britain. They were able to send their best eight boys, and to pay their expenses.’

In June 1952, St Mary’s Vestry received Gordon Cameron’s resignation, on personal and health grounds. Three months later he left to take up the post of organist at Town Kirk (Holy Trinity), in St Andrews. Between 1946 and 1969, Cameron was lecturer of Harmony, Counterpoint and Composition at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland).

There is no ‘formal’ biography of [John] Gordon Cameron (1900-89) except for a few fugitive references here and there. Despite his Scottish-sounding name, Cameron was born in Cardiff in 1900. He studied at Ellesmere College, Christ’s College Cambridge and Edinburgh University. Whilst at Cambridge, he was one of Sir Charles Villiers Stanford’s last pupils. Before his appointment to St Mary’s, he was organist at St John’s Episcopal Church in Dumfries (1937-44).  Gordon Cameron died in 1989.

Gordon Cameron published two sets of hymn-tune preludes. The first was Six Preludes on hymn-tunes for organ (Novello, 1942) including ‘Rockingham’, ‘Tune by Orlando Gibbons’ [Song 13], ‘Windsor’, ‘Martyrdom’, ‘Cape Town’ and ‘Bristol’, followed by Four Preludes on Hymn Tunes (Novello, 1948): ‘St Columba’, ‘Strathcaro’, ‘Franconia’ and ‘Quam dilecta.’

Ian Hare has performed Gordon Cameron’s Fantasia on St Denis (‘Immortal, Invisible’) which was published by Novello in 1945. The CD liner notes point out that this Fantasia was dedicated to Lieut. Colonel George Dixon (1870-1950) – possibly of the Border Regiment (1914) - who had considerable influence on the design of the organ at St Bees Priory and several other Cumberland instruments. 

The Fantasia is an accomplished work that explores the tune of ‘St Deniol’, with considerable subtlety. The tune, somewhat varied, is usually heard on a reed stop although it is often subsumed by the complex figuration of the accompaniment. This is a piece that would make an ideal recessional at a wedding or ‘big service.’ 

The Fantasia is played on the fine three-manual organ in St Peter’s (Roman Catholic) Cathedral in Lancaster. This instrument, commissioned in 1889, was originally by Henry Ainscough of Preston. After additional work by Ainscough in 1956 and some modernisation and a new console by Pendelbury of Cleveleys in 1976, it was rebuilt by Willis during 2008-9.

Other instruments used on this CD include St. Patrick’s Patterdale, Crosthwaite Church, Keswick and St. Oswald's Church, Grasmere as well as Lancaster Cathedral. Music includes works by Handel, J H Reginald Dixon, Dr F W Wadely, Adrian Self, Arthur Somervell, Ian Hare and the complete Six Sketches by Cecil Armstrong Gibbs.

With grateful thanks to Frikki Walker and Pam Barrowman at St Mary’s Cathedral and Stuart A. Harris-Logan, Archives Officer at the The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland for their valuable assistance.  

With thanks to the Glasgow Society of Organists Journal where this essay was first published in 2017.

It's not British, but...Pelléas and Mélisande: Schoenberg and Fauré

The listener needs to know that both these great works are predicated on Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck’s (1862-1949) five act play, Pelléas et Mélisande. This was completed in 1892 and was premiered the following year. I understand that it is regarded as a highlight of French Symbolist drama. This genre became popular in the late 19th century. It put an emphasis on atmosphere, feeling, and the numinous, using poetic language and abstract settings to explore themes of spirituality, dreams, and the subconscious.

The “plot” involves a love triangle between the three main characters: Pelléas, Mélisande, and a certain Golaud, who is Mélisande’s husband and Pelléas’s half-brother. The backdrop to the action is an imaginary country, during medieval times. Reviewers of the play have explained that Maeterlinck emphasises atmosphere over plot, by creating a “dreamlike fairy tale about the terrifying power of love.”

Over the years, composers have been inspired by the play, including incidental music by Jean Sibelius and the operatic masterpiece by Claude Debussy.

The two works on this disc are hugely different. Gabriel Fauré’s op.80 was originally incidental music for a London performance of the play in 1898 whilst Schoeneberg’s op.5 was a tone-poem written in a full-blown late-Romantic style.

Originally, there were twenty separate numbers of stage music, which Fauré had devised in under a month. His pupil Charles Koechlin produced the orchestral score in time for the play’s London premiere. Three years later, Fauré gathered up various fragments to create the Suite. There were originally three movements: Prélude, Fileuse, and La mort de Mélisande, with the famous Sicilienne being added some years later. This latter piece was originally part of an “uncompleted stage music project.”

The Prélude sets a serious tone, while Fileuse portrays Mélisande’s spinning wheel, creating a filigree of movement. The Sicilienne depicts the lovers’ short-lived happiness: it has a charming melody which is justifiably popular. Finally, La mort de Mélisande leaves the listener in a sad, but thoughtful mood. Overall, Fauré has captured the story’s “mysterious, enchanted, cryptic” tempers. This is aided by sophisticated orchestration and a rich harmonic palette.

I discovered Arnold Schoenberg’s Pelleas und Melisande, op.5 (1902) several years after having been introduced to his atonal and dodecaphonic music. And it came as a major surprise. Here was a strong, romantic sounding tone poem that sounded more Wagnerian or Straussian than the expressionist sound world of Pierrot Lunaire, the string quartets, or piano pieces with which I was familiar.

Richard Strauss had suggested to the 27-year-old Schoenberg that he should write a work based on Maeterlinck’s play. This was to have been an opera, but finally he decided to craft a tone poem.

The critic Harry Neville summed up the creative process (Sleeve Note Angel 36509): “Unlike the incidental music of Fauré and Sibelius, Schoenberg’s Pelleas is no mere delineation of character and atmosphere; in it the composer attempts not only to narrate musically the action of the drama, but to depict the psychological implications as well – all within the confines of a vast sonata form.”

Pelleas und Melisande is long, lasting for more than forty minutes. It is conceived as a single movement divided up into eleven interrelated sections. Schoenberg wrote that “Aside from a few omissions and minor alterations in the sequence of scenes…I tried to reflect every detail…”  In fact, it is customary to analyse it as a “symphony” rather than a “symphonic poem.” Alban Berg has suggested that “in the four principal sections of this work we can even identify clearly the four movements of a symphony.” The initial sonata form is followed by a scherzo, a slow movement, and a rondo-like finale, that recaps much that has gone before.

The progress of the tone poem is constructed from leitmotifs and themes associated with the individual characters in the play. Also represented by musical tropes are the various external forces at play: jealousy, fate, death, and love. These are often superimposed on each other, with deft contrapuntal skill. Berg categorized twenty themes. Also, instrumental colouring is used to identify the characters – Pelleas, trumpet; Golaud, horn; and Melisande, cor anglais.

The work was completed in 1903 and was premiered at the Musikverein in Vienna on 26 January 1905. This caused great consternation amongst the audience and the critics.

For the listener unacquainted with Schoenberg’s Pelleas und Melisande, the stylistic markers are Wagner and Strauss, with hints of Mahler and Brahms. Yet, this is not a pastiche, but a glorious synthesis of the received musical language of the late nineteenth century.

The playing by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra under Paavo Järvi is faultless, the recording is ideal. The booklet with notes by Adam Gellen is essential reading: it is printed in German, English and French.

This CD presents two wonderfully contrasting explorations of Maurice Maeterlinck’s Pelléas et Mélisande. Both are a pleasure to listen to.

Track Listing

Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)
Pelleas und Melisande, op.5 (1902)
Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)
Pelléas et Mélisande, op.80 (1898/1901)
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra/Paavo Järvi
rec. October 2012, Alte Oper, Frankfurt (Schoenberg), January 2016 HR Sendesaal, Frankfurt (Fauré)
Alpha Classics Alpha 1058

 

 

Frank Bridge: Cherry Ripe for orchestra (1916)

Frank Bridge’s Cherry Ripe is a delightful piece that forms the second of his Two Old English Songs for string quartet, completed on 30 May 1916. This work, alongside Sally in Our Alley, displays his ability to blend traditional folk melodies with his own unique compositional style. Cherry Ripe is based on a popular English folk tune, and Bridge’s arrangement captures its pastoral and nostalgic qualities. Interestingly, he did not use folksong very often. The only other obvious example apart from these is Roger de Coverley.

Cherry Ripe is characterized by its lyrical melodies and rich harmonies, which evoke a sense of simplicity and elegance. Bridge’s use of the string quartet format allows for intricate interplay between the instruments, creating a delicate and intimate soundscape. This has been replicated in the orchestral transcription.

Paul Hindmarsh (2016, p.141) explains that “Cherry Ripe is a miniature technical tour-de-force. The bustling opening gives no hint of the tune, and this eventually eases in unannounced, emerging out of the contrapuntal texture as the second subject. There is a touch of class in the way Bridge towards the end combines his own energetic subject with the more sustained phrases of the traditional melody.”

On the afternoon of 17 June 1916, the London String Quartet premiered the chamber version of the Two Old English Songs at the Aeolian Hall. The orchestral transcription, enhanced with an added bass part, had its debut at a Queen’s Hall Promenade Concert on 26 September 1916, conducted by Henry Wood.

Leonard Rees (The Sunday Times, 1 October 1916, p.4) noted “that [there] was a quasi-novelty on Tuesday night when Mr Frank Bridge’s skilful and genial arrangement of Sally in our alley and Cherry Ripe for string orchestra was given for the first time under the composer’s direction.”

Sadly, the critic of the Westminster Gazette, (27 September 1916, p.9) was unimpressed – “If, therefore, there was not an overflowing audience last night, it was really not very surprising—for it is to be feared that the "first performance "of Mr. Frank Bridge's perversions of Sally in Our Alley and Cherry Ripe were hardly compensation, in the opinion of most, for the absence of works more famous.”

For me, Cherry Ripe remains a good example of early 20th-century English music, highlighting Bridge’s talent for crafting beautiful and evocative arrangements.

Listen to the orchestral version of Frank Bridge’s Cherry Ripe on YouTube, here. The English Northern Philharmonia is conducted by David Lloyd-Jones.

Bibliography
Hindmarsh, Paul, Frank Bridge (1879-1941) The Complete Works, PHM Publishing, 2016. eBook.

Select Discography

1. Bridge, Frank, Cherry Ripe, with Enter Spring, The Sea, Lament and Summer, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/Sir Charles Groves EMI 566855-2 (1998) (original LP release: EMI ASD 3190) (1976)
2. Bridge, Frank, Cherry Ripe, with Threads: 2 Intermezzi, Suite for Strings, Sally in Our Alley, Rosemary, Canzonetta, Valse Intermezzo à Cordes, Sir Roger de Coverley, Todessehnsucht {after J.S. Bach}, The Hag and Two Songs of Robert Bridges), BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Richard Hickox, CHANDOS CHAN 10246 (2004)
3. Bridge, Frank, Cherry Ripe, with Sir Roger de Coverley, Sally in our Alley, Vaughan Williams: Charterhouse Suite, Haydn Wood: Fantasy-Concerto, Ireland: The Holy Boy, Delius: Air and Dance, Elgar: Sospiri, Warlock: Serenade, G. Bush: Consort Music), English Northern Philharmonia/David Lloyd-Jones NAXOS 8.555068 (2001) 

With thanks to Paul Hindmarsh for permission to use the musical example.

Thomas Pitfield: His Friends and Contemporaries

The advertising brief for this new CD from Divine Art states that this album “pays homage to the multifaceted talent of Thomas Baron Pitfield (1903-1999). Pitfield was not just a composer; he embodied the essence of a Renaissance man, excelling in various fields including teaching, visual arts, poetry, writing, furniture making, and ornithology.” Of huge importance was his impact on his musical colleagues. Here is a wide selection of works by Pitfield and his peers, friends, and students.

The four movement Divertimento, for oboe and string trio was dedicated to Leon Goossens who celebrated his 70^th birthday during 1967. Pitfield headed the score with a few poetic lines, beginning, “He pipes his pastoral way...” These five words sum up the impression of this delightful tribute. After a brief, airy Toccatina, the Pastorale unsurprisingly presents a folksong-like melody. This is followed by a well-crafted, introspective Intermezzo, before concluding with a rondo featuring a “chattering” tune with several reflective byways. It is a long work, lasting for eighteen minutes. It delights the listener with its evocation of the North Country landscape.

John Joubert’s Remember: Scena for soprano, recorder and string quartet, op. 184 (2018) was one of his final compositions. It was dedicated to the recorderist, John Turner. The text is taken from Christina Rossetti’s heart-breaking sonnet, Remember, which explores themes of love, death, and memory. This intense setting emphasizes the poet’s desire that the beloved should remember her without sadness.

The highlight (for me) of this first CD is E.J. Moeran’s Fantasy Quartet, for oboe and string trio. The liner notes explain that Pitfield knew Moeran well. The Fantasy was devised for Leon Goossens, who gave the premiere performance on 8 December 1946. It should be recalled that at this time, Moeran was struggling with alcoholism as well as marriage problems with Peers Coetmore. Yet, these issues barely trouble the progress of this mature and deeply felt piece. It was summed up by the reviewer of the premiere (The Times, 10 December 1946, p.6) who noted that it was “almost inevitably pastoral in its general character” and “somehow conveyed the feeling of sunshine over rural England.”

Ernst Hermann Meyer’s Now, Voyager: Ode for voice and string quartet was completed in 1946. It is a haunting exploration of Walt Whitmans’ poem Now finalè to the shore. This text encourages the reader to embark on new adventures, suggesting that there is much still to be discovered and experienced. The words can be seen as being a metaphor for the transition between life and death. Although contemporaries, Meyer and Pitfield never actually met. Both men were Socialists, although Meyer was a card-carrying communist who would find fulfilment after the Second World War in East Germany.

The final work on CD 1 is the charming Three Nautical Sketches (1982) for recorder and string quartet. Originally devised for recorder and piano, the present arrangement was made in 2003 by Pitfield’s onetime pupil, the late John McCabe. The three movements explore a “quodlibet” (often a light-hearted combination of tunes) on the sea shanties The Three Mariners and Donkey Riding. The slow movement is a moving reflection on Tom Bowling, whilst the finale majors on a rumbustious take on The Keel Row. There is also a version for recorder and string orchestra. (Naxos 8.572503). Any of these incarnations would make a great piece for the concert hall or recital room.

The second CD opens with Robin Walker’s Parrottry for recorder and string quartet, completed in 2006. The title is a play on words between the dictionary definition of Parrotry (one ‘t’) as being “servile imitation and repetition” and the composer Ian Parrott (1916-2012) whose ninetieth birthday was celebrated in this commission. Certainly, the progress of the music calls for repetition, but never “servile.” Walker asks “How much repetition is too much? Literal repetition rapidly wears thin (vide Minimalism), but varied repetition is the essence of extended symphonic composition. The instruments play out a mixture of the two until - to avoid things getting out of hand, and the likely onset of parrotry – it is time, as it were, to place a cloth over the parrot's cage.” It is fun, and I am sure Ian Parrott must have appreciated it, with no imputation concerning his musical achievement!

The liner notes explain that Jeremy Pike’s Spring for recorder and quartet was written to celebrate the eightieth birthday of John Turner during 2023. Pike explains that “the letters contained in John’s name are used to create a theme that reflects the various sounds of the season. The music alludes to the conflicting emotions stirred in the months of March and April.” The only musical note in JT’s name is ‘E,’ but perhaps there was a scheme…? Altogether a dark offering, rather than an explosion of vernal fecundity.

My comments on the songs for soprano solo and recorder are given together. Firstly, the Three Short Songs by friends of Pitfield, for soprano and recorder. First up, is a lively Yeats setting, by Nicolas Marshall, To a Child Dancing in the Wind. This is followed by Anthony Gilbert’s lugubrious realisation of his own text, A breath for Life. Finally, John Turner has contributed a song to words by William Blake, Spring. Stuart Scott’s Three Blake Songs for recorder and soprano include: Ah, Sunflower, The Lilly, and Infant Joy. For me, the tessitura of the two soloists tends to be too piercing and overbearing in most of these songs.

Richard Pantcheff’s Spring Suite, for recorder and string quartet was written in 2022 for John Turner. It is an attractive collection of baroque dances reimagined in a contemporary, but not unapproachable, musical language. The four contrasting movements include, a Bourrée, a Siciliano, an Air, a Minuet, and a concluding Gigue.

Seasons of Mist for recorder and string quintet (2021) by Geoffrey Poole’s was conceived during the Covid pandemic. It was designed to reflect “poets from Basho to Keats [who] have dwelt on the peculiar beauties of Autumn.” There are three contrasting movements. November Dawn is restrained and impressionistic, and the Bonfire Night is a vibrant scherzo, complete with musical onomatopoeia, of bursting rockets and Catherine wheel. The work concludes with a meditation on Autumn Leaves, echoing the transience of life, rather than portraying a blustery day.

Two more songs follow. The Carol Lullaby for soprano recorder and harp is gentle and sentimentally religious. Both text and music are by Pitfield. The second number Lullaby (TBP [Thomas Baron Pitfield] his goodnight) is by Gordon Crosse and uses the same forces. The liner notes explain that this piece began life as part of the incidental music for Michael Elliott’s Manchester Royal Exchange production of the Greek tragedy Philoctetes, by Sophocles. It was revised as a contribution to Thomas Pitfield’s eightieth birthday album, published by Forsyth’s of Manchester. It is an astringent, rather than soothing, berceuse.

Christopher Cotton’s Overture for St. Paul’s, (possibly 2018), for recorder, oboe and string quartet was composed for the launch of the Stockport Heatons concert series ‘Music on the Moor.’ The liner notes are shy on explaining which St Paul’s is referenced in the title: it is in fact St Paul’s Church, in Heaton Mersey, Stockport. This is a wistful little work that seems timeless in its evocation of baroque mannerisms and more up-to-date echoes. It is perfectly scored with the two wind instruments in equilibrium.

This CD features magnificent performances from all the artists, a splendid recording, and an informative booklet. The cover features the evocative water colour "Weaver Bridge at Church Minshull, Cheshire, from the garden of Weaver Cottage.” It is a remarkable sample of Pitfield’s accomplishment as a visual artist.

This two-disc set is a rewarding exploration of music by Thomas Pitfield, his contemporaries, and friends.

Track Listing:
CD1
Thomas Pitfield (1903-1999)
Divertimento, for oboe and string trio (1966/67)

Richard Simpson (oboe), Benedict Holland (violin), Heather Wallington (viola), Jennifer

Langridge (cello)

John Joubert (1927-2019)
Remember: Scena for soprano, recorder and string quartet, op. 184 (2018)
Lesley-Jane Rogers (soprano), John Turner (recorder), Victoria String Quartet
E. J. Moeran (1894-1950)
Fantasy Quartet, for oboe and string trio (1946)
Richard Simpson (oboe), Benedict Holland (violin), Heather Wallington (viola), Jennifer
Langridge (cello)
Ernst Hermann Meyer (1905-1988)
Now, Voyager: Ode for voice and string quartet (1946)
Lesley-Jane Rogers (soprano), Victoria String Quartet
Thomas Pitfield, arr. John McCabe (1939-2015)
Three Nautical Sketches, for recorder and string quartet (1982, arr. 2003)
John Turner (recorder), Victoria String Quartet
CD2
Robin Walker (b.1953)
Parrottry, for recorder and string quartet (2006)
John Turner (recorder), Victoria String Quartet
Jeremy Pike (b. 1955)
Spring, for recorder, harp, and string quartet (2023)
John Turner (recorder), Lauren Scott (harp), Victoria String Quartet
Nicholas Marshall (b.1942)
To a Child Dancing in the Wind (words by W. B. Yeats) (2023)
Anthony Gilbert (1934-2023)
A Breath for Life (words by “Anthonymus 2023”) (2023)
John Turner (b.1943)
Spring (words by William Blake) (1968, rev.2023)
Lesley-Jane Rogers (soprano), John Turner (recorder)
Richard Pantcheff (b.1959)
Spring Suite, for recorder and string quartet (2022)
John Turner (recorder), Victoria String Quartet
Stuart Scott (b.1949)
Three Blake Songs (?)
Lesley-Jane Rogers (soprano), John Turner (recorder)
Geoffrey Poole (b.1949)
Seasons of Mist, for recorder and string quintet (2021)
John Turner (recorder), Victoria String Quartet, Alex Jones (double bass)
Thomas Pitfield
Carol Lullaby, for soprano, recorder, and harp (undated)
Lesley-Jane Rogers (soprano), John Turner (recorder), Lauren Scott (harp)
Gordon Crosse (1937-2021)
Lullaby (TBP his goodnight), for soprano, recorder, and violin (c.1982)
Lesley-Jane Rogers (soprano), John Turner (recorder), Benedict Holland (violin)
Christopher Cotton (b.1947)
Overture for St. Paul’s, for recorder, oboe, and string quartet (?2018)
John Turner (recorder), Richard Simpson (oboe), Victoria String Quartet
rec. 22/23 June and 11 October 2023, St. Paul's Church, Heaton Moor, Stockport. 

Divine Art DDX 21246

Introducing Henry Purcell

Henry Purcell, often hailed as England’s greatest Baroque composer, left an indelible mark on the world of music with his innovative and expressive compositions. Born in Westminster in 1659, Purcell’s musical genius blossomed early, leading him to become organist at both Westminster Abbey and the Chapel Royal. His works, ranging from operas and semi-operas to sacred anthems and instrumental pieces, comprise a unique blend of English, Italian, and French styles. Despite his premature death at the age of thirty-six, Purcell’s legacy endures, with his music continuing to charm audiences and influence composers to this day.

Brief Biography

• Born St Anne’s Lane, Old Pye Street, London during 1659.
• Entered the Chapel Royal around 1669 and studied under Captain Henry Cooke.
• Further instruction from Pelham Humphrey, in the Chapel Royal in 1872.
• Appointed Assistant Keeper of the King’s Instruments in 1673.
• There were probably further studies with John Blow and Christopher Gibbons.
• Purcell is organ tuner at Westminster Abbey in 1674.
• Appointed Organist at Westminster Abbey (1679) and at the Chapel Royal (1682).
• Marries Frances Peters (?) in c.1681.
• Appointed Organ Maker and Keeper to the King in 1683.
• Composes the Sonatas in III Parts in 1683.
• Dido and Aeneas (1689) is considered as the first English opera and is regarded as an early masterpiece of the form. 
• Composes anthem for the funeral service of Queen Mary, Thou Knowest, O Lord (1695
• Henry Purcell died at Marsham Street, Westminster, on 21 November 1895, aged 36 years.
• Buried adjacent to the organ in Westminster Abbey on 26 November 1895. 

Twelve Selected Works

Henry Purcell wrote a vast amount of music. He contributed to many genres, including opera, incidental music, liturgical works, odes and welcome anthems, many sacred and secular songs, a deal of instrumental music and small number of organ pieces.

Musically, he successfully fused English, French and Italian styes leading to an original sound. He was especially adept in writing for the voice that balances lyricism and expressive melodies supplemented by a good declamatory style. His dramatic works often use spoken dialogue with music to heighten the dramatic effect. Purcell was creative in his harmonic explorations, often writing unexpected chordal progressions and a subtle use of dissonance. He added “a subtlety and variety of expression and an intensity of emotion” rarely seen in the instrumental music of his day. Equally impressive is his use of counterpoint in his instrumental works.

1. Twelve Sonatas in Three Parts (c.1680)
2. Welcome to All the Pleasures (1683)
3. My Heart is Inditing, anthem composed for the coronation of King James II (1685)
4. Dido and Aeneas, opera (by 1688)
5. The History of Dioclesian or The Prophetess, semi-opera (1690)
6. King Arthur, semi-opera (1691)
7. The Fairy Queen, semi-opera based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1692)
8. Hail! Bright Cecilia, ode for St Cecilia’s Day (1692)
9. Come, Ye Sons of Art, ode for the Birthday of Queen Mary (1694)
10. Te Deum and Jubilate in D major (1694)
11. Abdelazer or The Moor’s Revenge, incidental music to Aphra Behn’s play (1695)
12. Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary (1695)

Further Reading

Most listeners will begin with the encyclopaedic essays in Grove’s Dictionary, the National Biography as well as Wikipedia. There are several introductions to the composer including Franklin B Zimmerman’s Henry Purcell: a guide to research (Garland Pub. 1989), the Ashgate Research Companion to Henry Purcell by Rebecca Herissone (Ashgate Pub., 2012) and The Purcell Companion edited by Michael Burden (Faber, 1995). Other interesting books that provide insights into Purcell’s life and works include Purcell: A Biography by Jonathan Keates (Northeastern University Press, 1996). This book offers a detailed account of Purcell’s life and his contributions to music, set against the backdrop of Restoration England which gives a detailed account of the composer’s life and his contributions to music, set against the backdrop of Restoration England. Then Robert King’s Henry Purcell (Thames and Hudson, 1994) explores his life against the political and social context of his time. Finally, I was introduced to the composer by way of an old paperback, Henry Purcell: The English Musical Tradition (Penguin, 1949). This remains a good introduction to the background, the influences, and the output of the composer.

If you can only hear one CD…

There are dozens of CDs dedicated to the music of Henry Purcell. These include complete editions of the sacred music, the chamber works, and the incidental music. Many versions of the operas and semi-operas are available. Much of this legacy will only be of interest to the specialist, but there are plenty of discs that explore a selection of his achievement.

If you can only hear one CD of music by Henry Purcell, I would recommend “The Best of Purcell” from Naxos (8.556839). This compilation includes a variety of his most celebrated works, such as the “Dido’s Lament” from Dido and Aeneas, the “Trumpet Tune” from The Indian Queen, and selections from The Fairy Queen. It is a great introduction to Purcell’s diverse and rich musical style.

Finally, if you can only listen to one work…

If you can only listen to one work by Henry Purcell, I would recommend Dido and Aeneas. This opera is one of Purcell’s most celebrated compositions and highlights his exceptional talent for blending dramatic narrative with beautiful, expressive music. The famous aria “When I am laid in earth” (Dido’s Lament) is particularly moving and highlights Purcell’s mastery of emotional depth and musical storytelling.

Haydn Wood: Paris Suite (1937)

Haydn Wood (1882-1959) was an English composer, renowned for his contributions to both light and classical music. Born in Slaithwaite, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, he moved to the Isle of Man at an early age. This beautiful island often inspired his music. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London, where he excelled in violin and composition under the guidance of Charles Villiers Stanford and Enrique Fernández Arbós.

Wood’s career was marked by his versatility and prolific output. He wrote over two hundred ballad-style songs, including the famous Roses of Picardy, which became extremely popular during the First World War. His orchestral works, characterized by their lyrical melodies and rich harmonies, include suites, rhapsodies, and concertos.

In addition to his compositional achievements, Wood was a celebrated violinist and conductor, often performing his own music. 

Best recalled for his evocation of London with suites such as Snapshots of London, London Cameo, and Landmarks of London, he was also inspired by places further away. There was the Suite: Cities of Romance (1937), where Budapest, Venice and Seville were evoked, and an Egyptian Suite (1927) with movements dedicated to the Valley of the Kings, the Court of Pharoah, and a Slave Dance. In 1935 he turned his sights on Gay Paris, with a redolent portrayal of Parisians sights and characters.

The Paris Suite opens with a Waltz subtitled Apache Life. The Paris Apaches were a notorious subculture of violent criminals, hooligans, and street gangs that emerged in early 20th century Paris during the Belle Époque era. Known for their brutal muggings, inter-gang warfare, and general hooliganism, they became a symbol of urban menace and lawlessness. Their notoriety was amplified by the media, which often exaggerated their exploits, creating a lasting image of the Apaches as a significant threat to public safety. Haydn Wood has presented a sanitised picture of these unsavoury characters and has given a largely romantic view of their exploits. The Waltz opens with a typically ballroom strain before embracing little bit of “knockabout pseudo-violence” thereby balancing “the tender and the frenetic.”

The second movement is Meditation: In the Tuileries Garden. This popular spot, over half a mile long, is located on the banks of the Seine, between the Louvre Museum and the busy Place de la Concorde. They were established in 1564 by Catherine de’ Medici as a private garden for the Tuileries Palace. This edifice was set on fire during the Commune in 1871 and was demolished in 1883. The gardens were reimagined in the 17^th century by the French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France, André Le Nôtre (1613-1700) becoming a public park in 1667. Today, it features beautiful landscapes, sculptures, fountains, and walking paths, offering a peaceful retreat in the heart of the bustling city. Haydn Wood has created a sympathetic evocation of this magical spot. He gives the music romance with just a touch of sentimentality present in the “big tune.” It is really an Englishman- Abroad’s take on these famous gardens.

When I first went to Paris back in 1979, I was keen to visit Montmartre. It was a place associated with artists and authors whom I had been studying and reading. I guess everyone at that time was obsessed with Gustav Flaubert, Guy de Maupassant, and Andre Gide, as well as Toulouse-Lautrec, Edgar Degas, and Van Gogh. Montmartre, located in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, is an historic and picturesque quarter known for its artistic heritage and bohemian charm. Once a village outside the city, it became part of Paris in 1860. It is famous for its cobbled streets, the stunning Sacré-Cœur Basilica, and its vibrant nightlife, including the iconic Moulin Rouge. The “lively and spirited” March: Montmartre does not echo the military parade ground. Rather, it reflects on the vibrant social atmosphere of this district as a playground, with its theatres, cafes, and other entertainments.

Haydn Wood’s Paris Suite can be heard on Marco Polo CD 8.223605 issued in 1993. It is played by Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava) under Ernest Tomlinson.

Thomas Pitfield: String Chamber Music

Listeners need to know that Thomas Baron Pitfield was a polymath. Not only was he a hugely prolific and skilled composer, but he was an artist, poet, teacher, author, cabinetmaker, and ornithologist. It has been said that he hid many more lights under his bushel. To be sure, he is not one of the “towering giants” of British music, but on the other hand he has been unfairly ignored on the wider stage of concert halls and recital rooms. I have mentioned before I have never heard a piece of Pitfield’s music that I have not enjoyed and genuinely warmed to.

Stylistically, he is hard to define. I guess that Delius, Vaughan Williams, and Percy Grainger will spring to mind. Pitfield does make use of folk song and adapts it to his own classical style. To my knowledge, he never indulged in dodecaphony or flirted with the avant-garde. His compositions are always characterised by tuneful melodies, interesting harmonies, and an acute understanding of the needs of instrumentalists.

I began my review of this CD with the bewitching Sonatina for cello and piano completed in 1955. The liner notes explain that the “cello was Thomas Pitfield’s own instrument, and he received lessons in his youth from the cellist Katherine Moorhouse, the first wife of the Manchester composer Eric Fogg (Uncle Eric of BBC’s Children’s Hour), both of whom became hospitable friends to Pitfield.” It was dedicated to the onetime Principal Cellist at the Hallé Orchestra, Oliver Vella, and his [Oliver’s] wife Sheila. It is delightful, with some inventive moments especially in the opening Allegro risoluto and the dreamy Arietta. At just shy of eleven minutes, this sonatina is hardly a miniature designed for didactic purposes. The tyro would need to have a strong technique to give a good account, especially for the concluding Toccatina. It is given an impressive performance here by the two soloists.

The Sonata in D minor, was finished in 1937/38, however, it was not published until 1949. Sadly, no commentary on this important work is given in the liner notes. The opening Variations contains Rachmaninovian pianism, counterpointed to more “English” sounding passagework. Overall, it is conceived in an eclectic style: some may argue to its detriment. I loved the dreamy Pastoral Interlude. Echoes of Delius abound here, with significant effect. Other stylistic models follow in the ‘middle eight.’ I can imagine Pitfield exploring his beloved Dunham Massey, a great park south of Manchester. The Sonata is rounded off with a folksy Epilogue, played Allegro. Are there nods to a well-known Christmas carol in these pages? Like so much British music, it is hard to understand why this splendid sonata is not in the “standard” repertoire for cello/piano duos.

The short Epigraph for violin, cello and piano (undated) was based on “fragments from an ostinato by the Russian composer Arensky, written for The Arensky Trio.” It is a thoughtful, pensive little number.

Ever since being introduced to Schubert’s Trio in B flat major, op.100 in 1977, I have been an enthusiast of the piano trio genre – especially, I must add, those devised by British composers.

Pitfield’s Piano Trio No.1 in C major was written in 1930 and was dedicated to his wife-to-be, Alice M Astbury. It was premiered at an Oxford University Press private concert on 16 March 1933, by the New London Trio. It is difficult to pin down the sound world of this piece. It is by turns pastoral, romantic, and edging towards an incipient modernism, especially in the final movement. Here and there a folk tune emerges before being cast aside. Yet this is not cow-and-gate music, despite debts to several then-contemporary composers, including RVW and the pianism of York Bowen. John Turner, in the liner notes, explains that “this substantial and serious early work is in a much more harmonically advanced style than his later music, and exhibits few of the distinctive footprints of his later works.” It is an enjoyable and deeply felt Trio that enchants the listener, rather than seriously challenges them.

The premiere performance of the Piano Trio No.2 in F minor (Lyric) (1948/49) was given by the Arensky Trio, during a concert celebrating Pitfield’s 80th birthday, on 6 May 1983 at All Saints Church, Altringham. John Turner notes that it remains unpublished. Despite its soubriquet, it is more astringent in mood than the earlier example. Yet, it is hardly difficult for the listener. The opening Allegro marcato, uses a bouncy folklike theme, whose title is always just on the tip of the tongue. The two-part, second movement opens with a long Larghetto solenne theme for solo piano, before it opens into a beguiling scherzo, Allegro quasi allegretto for all the players. The piano does dominate again for a number of bars before the movement concludes melancholically. The finale, an Allegro marcato, fairly bounces along, with lots of extravagant pianism and vivid string playing. Here and there, a quieter interlude tries to impose itself, typically without success. This characteristically “molto perpetuo” movement concludes in quiet reflection.

The CD booklet is well produced. As noted above, I would have appreciated a little more analysis and commentary on each work than John Turner has provided. There is a good introduction to the composer as well as notes on the performers. The cover features the evocative water colour "Weaver Bridge at Church Minshull, Cheshire, from the garden of Weaver Cottage.” It is a splendid example of Pitfield’s achievement as an artist.

Despite having nothing to compare them to, the performances exude brilliance, technical competence, and a sympathetic understanding of Pitfield’s music. The recording is clear and vibrant.

I do hope that this CD is successful and manages to introduce these five attractive works to a wide audience, including other piano trio outfits. The advertising brief for this CD is spot on:

“This album offers a glimpse into Pitfield’s artistic vision and craftsmanship. Pitfield’s compositions are filled with elegance, lyricism, and emotional depth.”

Track Listing:
Thomas Pitfield (1903-99)
Piano Trio No.1 in C major (1930)
Piano Trio No.2 in F minor (Lyric) (1948/49)
Epigraph for violin, cello and piano (undated)
Sonatina for cello and piano (1955)
Sonata in D minor for cello and piano (1937/38, pub. 1949)
The Pleyel Ensemble: Sarah Ewins (violin), Heather Bills (cello), Harvey Davies (piano)
rec. 17-19 July 2023, Carole Nash Recital Room, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester.
Divine Art ddx 21137

Hidden Holst V: The Lure (1921)

Gustav Holst’s The Lure is a surprisingly interesting score. Think of the powerful brass figurations, a touch of folk melody, wide ranging percussion, much use of chords of the fourth, a degree of orientalism, and all topped off with a decidedly romantic moment towards the conclusion, and we have one of Holst’s most remarkable and vibrant scores. It is unbelievable that it is absent from the repertoire. Since 1982 there have only been two recordings of this piece.

In a letter to his friend W.G. Whittaker, (2 October 1921, quoted Short, 1974, p.69) Holst wrote:

“The books of songs make a feast indeed. Thanks 1000 times. I have not heard the piano parts yet and have not even looked at them much yet because the tunes have fascinated me.

Would you allow me to murder two or three of them in a ballet for Chicago? It sounds mixed but I got the books and a little commission from the USA about the same time and your tunes ran through my head when I thought of the ballet. But I shall ill-treat them disgracefully.”

This referred to North Countrie Ballads, Songs & Pipe-Tunes, edited and arranged by Whittaker (Curwen, 1921).

Nothing further is known about this commission, and the ballet was never performed.

Other works written at this time included the iconic, but sadly now regarded as politically incorrect, I Vow to thee my Country. The previous year (1920) had witnessed the first complete performance of The Planets.            

In her catalogue of her father’s music, Imogen Holst printed a shortened version of the ballet’s scenario. This had been devised by the American artist and impresario, Alice Barney (1857-1931):

“The Flame of a candle is shining brilliantly in the room. He [the Flame] …looks disdainfully at the poor little moths who flutter round him in adoration, [and] as they come too near him, he scorches them. ‘Folia’ appears - the most beautiful of moths. The Flame awaits her homage, but she ignores him at first. Filled with desire for her beauty, and anger at her indifference, he puts forth all his powers and she is irresistibly drawn towards him only to be crushed and burnt in his embrace…He flings her aside…But there are greater powers than he. As the grey dawn appears a large snuffer slowly descends and covers him.” (Holst, 1974, p.145)

It is not necessary to relate the music to the above synopsis. This really is only of historical interest. It does, however, explain the title of the piece.

Formally, The Lure is episodic – one dance following another. A.E.F. Dickinson (1995, p.195) observes that “the music presents a series of ideas characteristic of the mature Holst…” The note in the published score explains that “Folia’s Dance” nods towards the Marionette’s Dance from the Japanese Suite. It is also possible that it is based on one of the tunes from Whittaker’s volume. I was unable to check this out. There is evidence that Holst also used material from his incidental music to Clifford Bax’s 1918 play, The Sneezing Charm. This in turn was used as the basis of The Perfect Fool.

Colin Matthews (Music Times, May 1984, p.272) believed the scenario of The Lure was “rather naïve” and was “to all appearances composed in haste.” He concludes by suggesting that “though the ballet music does not have quite the vitality of The Perfect Fool, it contains some striking ideas, notably the shifting ‘fourth’ chords of the opening and some uncharacteristically romantic writing towards the end as one of the moths dies in the flame’s embrace.” 

The score was published in 1984 by Faber Music Limited. It was reviewed in Music and Letters (October 1985, p.411) by Michael Hurd. He writes that “The Lure now enjoys a certain currency as a nine-minute concert piece. That said, I am not aware of many “concert” performances of The Lure over the past few decades.

He continues, “Though typical of the composer in its use of ostinatos, asymmetrical rhythmic patterns, bitonality, and a very brilliant incisive kind of orchestration, it is relatively minor Holst – welcome enough, but unlikely to challenge such pieces as the Perfect Fool ballet music which go through the same hoops with much greater conviction.”

Listen to BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Richard Hickox, perform The Lure on YouTube, here.

Bibliography:
Dickinson, A.E.F., Holst’s Music: a Guide, Thames Publication, 1995.
Holst, Imogen, A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst’s Music, Faber Music Ltd, 1974.
ed. Short, Michael, Gustav Holst Letters to W.G. Whittaker University of Glasgow Press, 1974.
Short, Michael, Gustav Holst: The Man and his Music, OUP, 1990.

Discography:
Holst, Gustav, The Lure, with Dances from the Morning of the Year, The Mystic Trumpeter, London Symphony Orchestra/David Atherton, Lyrita, SRCS.128, 1982
Holst, Gustav, The Lure, with A Winter Idyll, Indra, A Song of the Night, Interlude Sita, Invocation, Morning of the Year Dances, Lorraine McAslan/Alexander Baillie/London Philharmonic Orchestra/London Symphony Orchestra/David Atherton, Lyrita SRCD.209, 1993.
Holst, Gustav, The Lure, The Perfect Fool, The Golden Goose, The Morning of the Year, Joyful Company of Singers/Peter Broadbent, BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Richard Hickox, Chandos CHSA 5069, 2008.

William Alwyn: The Green Girdle

The Green Girdle was a propaganda film made in 1941 by the Strand Film unit and directed by Ralph Keane. Its message was quite simply one of encouragement. At that time, Londoners had been suffering daily ‘blitzes’ and although a number were evacuated, there were many still living in some of the worst targeted areas. A substantial number of people engaged in War-Work, ARP and Home Guard activities, fire, police, railways and other ‘essential services.’

It was deemed as a positive message to suggest that as a relaxation (such as they could have) they should make their way out to The Green Girdle – places such as Epping Forest, Hampstead Heath, Box Hill, Ivinghoe Beacon... Interestingly Keane specialised in ‘animal and rural themed’ film productions, so this was an ideal screen play for him to direct.

With the Chandos CD release of the film score, The Green Girdle can alternatively be viewed as a miniature tone poem that stands alone – it can be listened to apart from the visual imagery and the commentary. And as such it is an attractive work. It has been suggested that Alwyn’s score was a precursor to The Magic Island and the Autumn Legend. It could be argued the other way round – that both works have a cinematic feel to them – and I guess that no-one would deny that. Yet, there is a certain ‘bucolic’ mood about the present film score that is hardly a characteristic of the above works!

Alwyn wrote this work at a time when the film industry was occupying much of his energy. Contemporary scores included Penn of Pennsylvania, S.O.S. and Steel goes to Sea. Concert works for 1941 were rare, however his Sonatina for Viola was written in the same year. In the previous year, a number of works were composed, including Night Thoughts for piano and the Divertimento for Solo Flute.

One curious fact about this film score was that originally it was to have been composed by Richard Addinsell of Warsaw Concerto fame. In fact, he is given credit for this in ‘titles.’ He produced sketches for this film: they are in the possession of the composer Philip Lane. However, Alwyn completed the task and made use of some of the material – although this is a musicological task that would need to be confirmed. It is the one of the few of Alwyn’s film score holographs to have survived in its entirety.

The film itself was produced with minimal commentary: the visuals and the music predominated. The cinema audience was taken on a tour of many places that still, after 83 years, hold their magic and act as a potential release from the stresses of an ever-growing Metropolis. Who has not enjoyed a day on Wimbledon Common looking for the windmill and exploring the woods and hidden dales? Numerous Londoners will have gone to see the spring flowers in Epping Forest and ended up lost in the woods. Surely the view from Hampstead Heath will never fail to impress – and bear in mind that in those days (1941) the smoke from millions of coal fires and hundreds of steam locomotives would have hidden much of the scene. And lastly, the magic of Box Hill will stay with all those who have climbed its flanks. Who does not marvel at the stunning views southward towards Sussex and the sea and northwards towards London and the Chilterns?

The ‘tone poem’ opens with a dreamy phrase supported by inevitable harp arpeggios. After a short woodwind solo the main theme tries to emerge. Yet a little brass fanfare holds up the proceedings. There follows a short reflection of the opening page, before the clip-clopping ‘horse effect’ in the percussion section nods to the pastoral idea of this film. This is quickly pushed aside, and the ‘big’ tune starts in earnest. This is a theme that is so full of potential; it seems a pity that Alwyn was not able to use this in one of his ‘concert’ works. This melody has been described as a ‘folk-like tune,’ yet it is really a full-blown romantic theme. Surely it suggests lovers cresting Primrose Hill and seeing the whole of London spread out below their city: it does not evoke being knee deep in mud in a pig farm!

Yet Alwyn’s music is about contrast. The lovers are now left to their own devices and a jaunty tune suggests riding a horse or playing rounders or an impromptu game of football. The big tune never really disappears: it is always there in the music either implicitly or explicitly. At the exact halfway point in the score the music comes to a full stop.

Nocturnal music follows – there is a poignant cello solo followed by a short brass ‘chorale’ and once again the harps lead to a restatement of the romantic tune. But then there is movement. If the film were about pre-war days, it would have suggested a jaunting car in the high Chilterns or even a mad drive through the country lanes in the latest open-top tourer. A gentle melody is heard, followed by a short clarinet solo. But inevitably the lover’s tune returns, this time in a sort of Elgarian guise. It dominates, without ever really going over the top before the outdoor music returns. There is a nod to the opening ‘dreamy’ bars before the work concludes on a positive note.

Unfortunately, there has been little critical commentary on this work – Ian Lace at MusicWeb International wrote that “…The Green Girdle music is gently, tenderly pastoral...” Rob Barnett says a little more. He suggests that this is a romantic work. He noted that he “had just been listening to Muti’s Scriabin and …thought of that as well as of Debussy.” He is much closer to the mark with his suggestion that “other reference points include the playful enchantment and the skittering joy of [Frank] Bridge’s Enter Spring and the second of his Two Jeffries Poems.” Delius is also a potential model – with his ‘nature tapestries’ which facet various elements of the topographical scene.

Finally, the Documentary News Letter (June 1941, p.108) suggests that this film was “a rare balance” between “visuals, music and commentary.”

THE GREEN GIRDLE (Strand Film Unit) Production: Basil Wright; Direction: Ralph Keane, Photography: Jack Cardiff; Music: Richard Addinsell/ William Alwyn; Commentary: Bruce Belfrage & Robert Mac Dermot. Film released June 1941. First screening date unknown.

The Green Girdle can be seen on YouTube, here and heard on Chandos CHAN 9959.

Charles Villiers Stanford: Three Intermezzi for clarinet and piano, op. 13

Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) wrote four major works for clarinet. In 1902 the Concerto for clarinet, op.80 was composed and dedicated to Richard Mühlfeld. It was later withdrawn although in recent years it has gained a toehold in the repertoire. Around 1912 he produced his Sonata for clarinet (or viola), op.129 which was published in 1918. The two Fantasies for clarinet and string quartet date from the early nineteen-twenties. Other examples of Stanford’s chamber music include the clarinet as one of the instruments such as the Serenade in F major (Nonet) op.95 (c.1906).

The present Three Intermezzi for clarinet and piano, op.13 predates all these works by more than 20 years. The dedicatee was Francis William Galpin (1858-1945) who later became a well-regarded clergyman, musicologist, and antiquarian. He specialised in the study of old musical instruments. As an undergraduate at Trinity, he studied organ under Robert Sterndale Bennett (1847-1928) and was librarian of the Cambridge University Musical Society. Galpin was also a competent clarinettist. The Three Intermezzi were premiered on 18 February 1880 at a Society concert.

All three movements are written in ternary form and have contrasting ‘trio sections.’ The first intermezzi is a reflective andante espressivo with a livelier leggerio middle section before the return of the thoughtful opening melody. The second begins with an ‘agitated’ theme, before a tranquillo mood takes hold. The final intermezzo opens with a playful allegro scherzando in C minor. The mood changes as the music moves to C major with arpeggiated piano chords against a lovely melody. The piece concludes in good humour after a brief backward glance to the quieter music.

The Three Intermezzi were originally conceived for clarinet and piano but were also arranged for solo violin as well as cello. All are equally effective, although there is no doubt that the composer had a strong affinity with the clarinet.

Until 1879, the intermezzo form typically applied to piano pieces and Stanford would appear to have been the first composer to write an example for the clarinet.

It is conventional to suggest that Johannes Brahms is 'not far away' from these pieces. However, Stanford’s work predated Brahms’s two Clarinet Sonatas, op.120 nos.1 & 2 (1894) and his Clarinet Quintet, op.115 and Trio, op.114 composed in 1891. Other exemplars may include Robert Schumann’s Romances for Oboe and Piano, op.94 No.1&2 (1849) and possibly the Drei Fantasiestücke op. 73 (1849) for clarinet and piano.

There is a magic about the Three Intermezzi that must be recognised as Stanford's own. Although these pieces are not 'Irish' in feel, the wit and the charm of the Dublin-born composer is never far away.

Listen to the Three Intermezzi on YouTube, here. Robert Plane (clarinet) and Benjamin Frith (piano) are the soloists. 

With thanks to the English Music Festival, where this note was first published.

Howard Ferguson: Piano Concerto, op.12 (1951)

There are two things to say about Howard Ferguson. Firstly, he wrote too little! It is always a great disappointment to me that Ferguson gave up composing in the early 1950s; he reckoned that he had said all he wanted to say! The listener’s loss is the student and performer’s gain as most of the rest of his life was spent in editing early music and teaching material. The second thing is that every piece that Ferguson wrote is near perfect and commands our attention. There is nothing that does not deserve to be permanently in the repertoire.

The Piano Concerto is a case in point. I have no doubt that if this work was by a Polish or German composer it would be in the public domain. As it stands, I imagine that it is well known only to a handful of British music enthusiasts. Yet, what a great and wonderful work it is. It is not really necessary to try making comparisons. I do not agree with Andrew Burn’s liner notes (Naxos 8.557290) that it nods to Mozart. What we have is a beautifully composed piece that throws introspection and an extrovert, almost ‘puckish’ feel, into contrast, yet manages to give a satisfying sense of completeness. The heart of the work is the reflective ‘Theme and Variations’ – this movement is quite bitter-sweet and stays in the mind long after the last note plays. The last movement, an ‘allegro giovale,’ is a tour de force. However, there are some quieter, more introverted moments and there is a reprise of the slow movement ‘tune’ towards the end. But this is positive, uplifting music that is a joy and pleasure and a privilege to listen to.

Listen to Howard Ferguson’s Piano Concerto  in a live performance Howard Shelley, piano and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sir Charles Grove on YouTube, here.

Discography
Ferguson, Howard, Concerto for piano and strings with Amore langueo, Howard Shelley, piano, Martyn Hill, tenor, London Symphony Chorus and the City of London Sinfonia/Richard Hickox EMI 0777 7 64738 2 6 (1986)
Ferguson, Howard, Concerto for piano and strings with concertos by Christopher Darnton, Alec Rowley and Roberto Gerhard, Northern Sinfonia, Peter Donohoe, piano/conductor, Naxos 8.557290 (2005)
Ferguson, Howard, Concerto for piano and strings with with concerted works by Finzi, Austin and Rawsthorne SOMMCD241, 2009

It's not British, but...Ravel's Orchestral Transcriptions on Danacord

This enriching CD platforms a selection of Maurice Ravel’s orchestrations of his piano compositions, alongside the Rapsodie Espagnole.

Le Tombeau de Couperin was composed as a suite for solo piano, between 1914 and 1917. Ravel insisted that it was “a tribute not so much to Couperin himself as to Eighteenth Century French music in general.” Originally, there were six movements: Prélude, Fugue, Forlane, Rigaudon, Menuet, and Toccata. All were dedicated to friends who had been killed during the First World War. Two years later, Ravel orchestrated four of them, omitting the Fugue and Toccata. The typically serene and charming Prélude sets the scene for the entire Suite. Yet, even here, there is occasionally a slight edge to its progress. The Forlane is playful and may remind the listener of an ‘antique’ dance, from an earlier generation of French composers. Ravel pays homage to classicism in the graceful Minuet. Finally, a folk dance, seen through twentieth century eyes, underlies the lively and rhythmic Rigaudon. The Suite is given a delightfully cool performance by the Aarhus SO.

Maurice Ravel provided a rich orchestral arrangement of his piano suite, the Valses nobles et sentimentales, dating from 1911-12. Ravel wrote that it was “clearly enough my intention to write a chain of valses in the style of Schubert.” He had been inspired by Franz Schubert’s Valses nobles (D.969) (1827) and his Valses sentimentales (D.779) (1823-4). It is possible that he was also motivated by his encounter with Franz Liszt’s Valse caprice after Schubert and his Soirées de Vienne as well as nods to Johann Strauss II. There are eight waltzes in this Suite, each with its own character and atmosphere, with contrasting moods, pace, and rhythmic variation, but always subject to the 3/4 time signature.

The only composition on this disc that was originally written for orchestra is the Rapsodie Espagnole (1907-08). Like Bizet, Chabrier and Debussy, Ravel paints an evocative picture of the Iberian Peninsula and its musical traditions. There are four movements. The sultry, shimmering, Prélude à la nuit (très modéré) is followed by a vibrant dance from the Malaga region complete with castanets and Basque drum. Then there is a slow, smoky Habanera (assez lent et d’un rythme las). The Rapsodie closes with the festive Feria (assez animé) which paints a riotous fairground image. The impact of this piece is abetted by its masterful orchestration.

The ubiquitous Pavane pour une infante défunte originated as a piano solo in 1899 and was later orchestrated by Ravel in 1910. This lovely number evokes a sense of melancholy with its elegant melody and delicate textures. Despite the picturesque title alluding to an unnamed member of Spanish royalty, Ravel insisted that he “simply liked the sound of these words and I put them there, c’est tout.”

Interestingly, it was dedicated to the Princesse Edmond de Polignac (Winnaretta Singer) who was a contemporary patron of the arts and heiress of the Singer Sewing Machine fortune.

Une barque sur l’océan is the third section of Ravel’s Miroirs. Originally devised for solo piano in 1904-05, it was orchestrated the following year. The liner notes explain that “[Ravel] paints the movement of the boat with the theme initially presented by the flute” however the “tres souple de rythme” gives the composer much scope to portray the “unpredictable swell of the ocean.”

It is hard to imagine a better “impression of a very blue Mediterranean, with just a hint of a breeze stirring up wavelets.”

The Aarhus Symphony orchestra is based in the eponymous second largest Danish city, in the eastern part of the country. It was established in 1935. Since 1982 it has performed most of its concerts at the Musikhuset in the city centre. The sixty-five players also engage in chamber music recitals, take part in school concerts, and support the Danish National Opera.

Danacord explains that French classical conductor Marc Soustrot, who is currently Chief Conductor of the Aarhus SO, has extensive expertise in major works from the classical and Romantic repertoire. His interpretations of French orchestral compositions are particularly noted. Soustrot served as the director of the Orchestre Philharmoinique des Pays de la Loire from 1976 to 1994 and later as the Generalmusikdirektor of the Beethoven Orchester, Bonn from 1995 until 2003. His first album for the Danacord label was a disc of Georges Bizet’s music including the Symphony in C Major; Carmen Suite No. 1; L'Arlésienne Suites Nos. 1 and 2. (DACOCD 775, 2016). It was reviewed here, and here.

This disc offers a delightful listening experience with a great recording, comprehensive documentation, and excellent performances. It serves as a wonderful primer to some of Maurice Ravel’s essential orchestrations.

Track Listing
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Le Tombeau de Couperin (1914-17, orch.1919)
Valses nobles et sentimentales (1911, orch.1912)
Rapsodie Espagnole (1907)
Un barque sur l’océan (1904-05, orch.1906)
Pavane pour un enfant défunte (1899, orch.1910)
Aarhus Symphony Orchestra/Marc Soustrot
rec. 22-26 May 2023, Symphonic Hall, Aarhus, Denmark
Danacord DACOCD 982