Further to yesterday's thoughts on Manchester-born composers, I was listening to John Foulds’s (1880-1939) ebullient tone poem, April-England Op.48 No.1 whilst travelling through the English landscape on one of Mr Branson’s trains. In spite of the high winds and the cold there is a touch of spring in the air. Foulds’s work seemed appropriate.
This little known piece is surely a ‘paean of joy’ that spring has returned to the earth: this is music revelling in the sheer ‘boundless fecundity (and) opulent burgeoning of springtime.’ The critic Malcolm MacDonald has stated that this is an ‘extravagantly virtuosic’ work.
It has been suggested by a commnetator that April-England is ‘light-hearted’ – although that same writer goes on to suggest that "the scoring is transparent and masterly, the sound world entirely of this isle." Further he mentions the debt that this music appears to owe Percy Grainger. Yet why would this make it light-hearted? This is certainly not the Gumsuckers March or Handel strolling along the Strand.
Foulds has written that "such moments as those of the Solstices and Equinoxes always seem to be particularly potent to the creative artist, and no less significant the place in which he happens to be at the time."
I do agree that there are nods to Grainger here – especially the ‘ebullient’ opening and closing pages. And certainly the Australian was never averse to using a folk-song or two. But the philosophy of April-England gives it a more serious intent. Foulds stated that there are two main thematic constructs for this work – the opening fanfare type music which is supposed to represent the idea of ‘April’ and the folksong middle section symbolizing ‘England.’
This little known piece is surely a ‘paean of joy’ that spring has returned to the earth: this is music revelling in the sheer ‘boundless fecundity (and) opulent burgeoning of springtime.’ The critic Malcolm MacDonald has stated that this is an ‘extravagantly virtuosic’ work.
It has been suggested by a commnetator that April-England is ‘light-hearted’ – although that same writer goes on to suggest that "the scoring is transparent and masterly, the sound world entirely of this isle." Further he mentions the debt that this music appears to owe Percy Grainger. Yet why would this make it light-hearted? This is certainly not the Gumsuckers March or Handel strolling along the Strand.
Foulds has written that "such moments as those of the Solstices and Equinoxes always seem to be particularly potent to the creative artist, and no less significant the place in which he happens to be at the time."
I do agree that there are nods to Grainger here – especially the ‘ebullient’ opening and closing pages. And certainly the Australian was never averse to using a folk-song or two. But the philosophy of April-England gives it a more serious intent. Foulds stated that there are two main thematic constructs for this work – the opening fanfare type music which is supposed to represent the idea of ‘April’ and the folksong middle section symbolizing ‘England.’
This work, in its original piano solo form, was composed (or at least completed) on 21 March 1926 which happened to be the Vernal Equinox. It was orchestrated in 1932 and received its first performance in this version in 1934. Yet this is not the full story. The orchestral version expands considerably on the original piano piece – especially in the complex and even ‘riotous’ middle section. It is here that we find the composer rejoicing in the beauty and diversity and freshness of spring.
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