It does not seem long ago since I reviewed Volume 1
of this most desirable CD production. In fact, it was only March of this year. I am delighted that the second volume has
followed so rapidly: often these projects get a wee bit bogged down in cash-flow
matters and time scales. However, the
present CD concludes what is an exceptionally valuable and important programme
of English song. Let us be honest: if C.W. Orr had been called ‘Henri Duparc’ there
would probably have been over a hundred discs devoted to his music. As it is,
there are only odd songs in remote corners of song recital CDs. The ‘Complete
Songs of C.W. Orr’ will probably be the one and only ‘complete’ survey of Orr’s
vocal music in my lifetime. Yet these songs are not only important, they are (often)
beautiful examples of the genre.
Twelve out of nineteen songs are settings of texts
by Alfred Edward Housman. The disc opens with the important Five Songs from ‘A
Shropshire Lad.’ These include ‘With rue my heart is laden’, ‘This time of year’,
‘Oh, when I was in love with you’, ‘Is my team ploughing’ and ‘On your midnight
pallet lying’. These were composed between 1924-26 and were published a couple
of years later. However, they were not
issued as a collection until 1959. It is fair to say they are not a
‘song-cycle’ but a set of songs that benefit being sung together and in the
order presented.
Perhaps the finest song in this group is ‘Is my team
ploughing?’ It is hard to forget the R.V.W. and Butterworth settings of this text;
however, Orr does not try to parody these. There is always a danger that this poem
can sound a little banal – especially with the line ‘The goal stands up, the
keeper/Stands up to keep the goal’ eschewed by Vaughan Williams. Orr has managed
to create a sound world that explores the depth of the poem rather than the
detail.
The other song that stood out for me was ‘On your midnight
pallet lying’ which reflects the thoughts of a young man about to leave his
lover and join his comrades setting out for war. Its mood sums up the
depressing thoughts of the soldier.
Arthur Waley was a well-known ‘Orientalist’ who taught
himself Japanese and Chinese. He published many books including a number of
volumes of poetry in translation. ‘Plucking
the Rushes’ was first published in the 1918 collection of 170 Chinese Poems. The song
is remarkable for its attractive melody and unexpected chromatic twists. The
setting is Orr’s earliest surviving song.
For his ‘Four Songs’ (1959) Orr turned his attention
to a wide variety of poets. The first is ‘Banhofstrasse’ by James Joyce
(1882-1941). This was the composer’s
contribution to the ‘Joyce Book’ which were settings by various hands of 13 poems
from the poet’s volume Pomes Pennyeach.
Joyce suffered from his first attack of glaucoma on Zurich’s Bahnhofstrasse.
The poem is a reaction to a realisation that ‘youth was behind him, but that he
had yet to obtain the sagacity of old age.’ This, to my mind this is one of the
best of Orr’s songs: it is an ideal musical evocation of the poem’s sentiment.
Helen Waddell (1889-1965) is justly famous for her
translation of ‘Medieval Latin Lyrics’ published in 1929 and still in print.
The liner notes point out that the words ‘Take, him, earth for cherishing’ are
best-known in Herbert Howells’ choral setting in memory of John F. Kennedy.
However, Orr’s 1954 song is equally moving and once again reflects on the the
composer’s sense of his own mortality. This is a powerful song that is both introverted
and lugubrious. The original Latin text was written by the Christian poet
Prudentius.
Thomas Hood (1799-1845) provides the words for ‘The
time of rose.’ It is one of the more optimistic settings on this CD, although
the words can be interpreted as being more depressing than the music would
suggest.
Robert Bridges (1844-1930) is a poet who is largely
ignored today, in spite of the fact he was Poet Laureate. ‘Since thou, O fondest and truest’ was Orr’s
final song. I must admit that it is hard work to listen to: I would love to be
able to appreciate and enjoy this work being the composer’s last ‘word’ on
song-composition; however, I find it too miserable and dirge-like.
Two other settings from Helen Waddell translations
are included on this CD. The first is the withdrawn ‘Hymn before Sleep’, also
translated from Prudentius. ‘While summer on is sleeping' is taken from the Benediktbeuern
Manuscript is the easiest on the mind in this present collection. The text is
taken from the same source as Carl Orff’s well-known Carmina burana. It is a simple,
if passionate, love song that does not end in tragedy or too much despair.
It is difficult to get George Butterworth’s setting
of ‘The lads in their hundreds’ out of one’s head when reading Housman’s text.
It is a problem that Orr faced when he wrote this song some twenty-five years
later. The liner notes point out that
Butterworth’s is a strophic setting whereas Orr has applied melodic
development. I prefer the earlier number.
‘The Isle of Portland’ is a ‘sea-scape’ for singer
and piano. The accompanist plays a rocking barcarolle that suggests the
‘star-filled seas are smooth tonight.’ However, the song does become more
animated as the singer reflects on the fact that ‘Far from his folk a dead lad
lies.’ It has to be recalled that prisoners were sent to Portland to quarry stone
as penal labour. It was a dangerous occupation.
I am baffled by the inclusion of a song called
‘1897’. Ok, it is a confection. C.W. Orr’s only offering for the orchestra is
the short but near-perfect Cotswold Hill
Tune. This was originally composed for
string orchestra in 1937. In this
present CD it has been ‘arranged’ as a song compassing the words of A.E.
Housman’s poem From ‘Clee to heaven the beacon burns’. It is a great poem – there is no doubt about
that. The poet contrasts the celebrations for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee
in 1887, with thoughts about the fallen in a variety of ‘colonial wars.’ There is nothing fundamentally wrong with
this ‘song’ it just appears to my mind to have been forced into the mould of
the the little tone poem. I guess that it
only appears as a makeweight to bring the CD duration up to nearly the hour
mark. It should be promptly forgotten.
‘In valleys green and still’ was the last of C.W.
Orr’s Housman settings. In many ways, I
feel that it is one of his best. Like much of the poet’s output, this poem
meditates on the theme of soldiers going to war. It is an involved number that sounds just a little
bit awkward for the voice. The piano part is quite minimalist, creating an
unfocused mood.
The final three tracks on this CD are settings of
Housman’s poems. These ‘Three Songs from ‘A Shropshire Lad’’ were published as
a group in 1940. However, they were composed over a period of some five years.
The first, ‘Into my heart and air that kills’ was composed in 1935. It makes an
interesting song-form being a set of variations on the melodic phrase from the
first line. It is a deeply moving setting that reflects the mood of anyone
‘away from the place they love.’
The liner notes explain that Orr’s setting of ‘Westward
on the high-hilled plains’ reflects the composer’s yearning for his ‘old life’.
The poem itself is construed as an elderly man looking at someone much younger
and reflecting on the dichotomy between ‘plus ca change’ and the continuity of existence
between generations (vide ‘On Wenlock Edge’) It is not a setting that
immediately appeals, but repeated hearing reveals the song’s character and
ultimate strength. The piano part is powerful and essential to the song’s
success. The final song in this group ‘Oh
see how thick the goldcup flowers’ was composed in 1939. It is another example
of Housman meditating of the transience of time and the need to ‘seize the
moment.’
With the exception of ‘1887’ (noted above), I relished
this CD. As I noted in my review of Volume I it is great to hear a number songs
by Orr that have eluded me for many years.
The two soloists give a sterling performance of all (most) of these
numbers that is both sympathetic and enthusiastic. It is obvious to any
listener that Mark Stone and Simon Lepper both have a deep understanding of the
words and music of these songs.
As with the previous volume, the liner notes are
helpful and are required reading before approaching the music. The format of each song having its own little
mini-programme note has been maintained. The text of the song is included. Part
II of the essay Charles Wilfred Orr: The
Unsung Hero of English Song is presented as a preface to the notes.
I guess that I would have enjoyed a little bit of
variety in these songs – a mezzo-soprano perhaps. However, this is an album to
sample – not to through-listen to. Much of the music is melancholic and could become
a touch depressing if listened to end-to-end. It is fair to suggest that these songs
need to be approached no more than three or four at a time.
However, there is much here to listen to, to think
about and ultimately to enjoy.
Track Listing:
Track Listing:
Charles Wilfred ORR (1893-1976)
Five Songs from ‘A Shropshire Lad’: With rue my heart is laden, This time
of year, Oh, when I was in love with you, Is my team ploughing?, On your midnight
pallet lying (1924-6) Plucking the rushes (1921) Four Songs:
Bahnhofstrasse; Requiem, The time of roses, Since thou, O fondest and truest,
(1932-57) Hymn before sleep (1953) While summer on is sleeping (1953) The lads
in their hundreds (1936) The Isle of Portland (1938) '1887' (?) In
valleys green and still (1952) Three Songs from ‘A Shropshire Lad’:
Into my heart an air that kills, Westward on the high-hilled plains, Oh see how
thick the goldcup flowers (1935-29)
Mark Stone (baritone) Simon Lepper (piano)
Stone
Records 5060192780192
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.
No comments:
Post a Comment