I first came across the music of Herbert Sumsion in the organ loft (actually a pit) at St. Andrew’s Church, Stepps, Glasgow. Someone had left a copy of A Book of Simple Organ Voluntaries published by Oxford University Press originally published in 1949, but then still in print. This album was in the distinctive blue and white cover that graced so much organ music from that publisher in the late ‘sixties/early seventies. I remember that I could just about play Sumsion’s contribution which was a ‘Pastoral.’ Other pieces in this volume included ‘Le prie-dieu’ by George Oldroyd, an ‘Adagio’ from Henry G. Ley and an ‘Alla Marcia’ by Henry Coleman. I looked at this music the other day and still reckon I could play it - pedals an’ all. It was a few years later that I heard some of Sumsion’s liturgical music as I began to visit various Anglican churches and cathedrals. He is certainly a composer I can do business with.
Currently, there is no biography of
Herbert Whitton Sumsion. Any information needs to be pieced together from the
relatively few sources that are available in libraries or online. Even Stanley Webb’s entry in the current
Grove runs to only just over 200 words.
Sumsion was born in Gloucester on 19
January 1899. As a boy he was a
chorister at the Cathedral at the time when Herbert Brewer was the organist
there and was musical director of the Gloucester Three Choirs Festivals. He studied organ with Brewer, completed war
service in Flanders and eventually succeeded him to the post in 1928. For nearly forty years Sumsion was director
of the Festival and introduced many new works by composers such as Kodaly, Sibelius,
Howells and Finzi. Sumsion found time
between playing, conducting, organising and teaching to compose a sizeable body
of choral and organ music. There were a few chamber and orchestral works but these
have largely stayed below the musical horizon. Sumsion died in 11 August 1995
at the age of 96.
It would be true to say that there is little that
is challenging in the pages of his organ and choral music. Yet, that is to miss
the point. I imagine that virtually all the pieces presented on this CD were
composed with a congregation in mind rather than the cognoscenti of the organ
loft. Where Sumsion truly weaves his magic is in the craftsmanship of his
writing and registration and in his personal adaptation of the lingua franca
(mixing metaphors) of the English organ music ‘school.’ The influence of Elgar, Parry, Brewer and
Stanford can be heard in these pages. Yet Sumsion has managed to fuse these
Victorian and Edwardian exemplars with a more contemporary sound as engendered
by Howells and other mid-century organ composers. It is a stylistic synthesis
that is stunningly and competently reflected in Daniel Cook’s playing.
I do not want to analyse or describe
each of the pieces presented on this CD. However, a few highlights will not be
amiss. The proceedings get off to a
dramatic and impressive start with the fine Toccata on ‘University’. It is a little unusual for this ‘form’ in that
the hymn tune (attributed to Charles Collignon,) is presented in full in
alternation with more ‘traditional’ toccata like figurations derived from
‘melodic fragments’ of the tune.
Writing in early January, I cannot
help but mention the ‘Four Preludes on Well-Known Carols’ written for Christmastide.
These are varied in style with a toccata-like treatment of ‘Adestes Fideles’ to
a more reflective, but not slow, meditation on the ‘Coventry Carol’. ‘The Holly and the Ivy’ is restrained rather
than boisterous. The set concludes with a Postlude on ‘Unto us is born a Son’
which is a powerful and ‘joyful’ conclusion to these Yuletide celebrations.
Some of the most attractive music on
this disc is the three chorale preludes on ‘Dundee’, ‘Liebster Immanuel’ and
‘Down Ampney.’ The second of these is a
bit of a surprise. The tempo of this piece fairly romps along: Bach’s ‘take’ is
a lot slower. Sumsion varies the metre of the piece between the tune and the
interludes. The ‘Down Ampney’ Prelude is
as lovely as one might come to expect from this well-known tune by Vaughan
Williams. The liner notes rightly suggest that there is a structural
resemblance to RVW’s exquisite ‘Rhosymedre’.
The work that surprised me most is
the ‘Introduction and Theme in B minor’. The liner notes point out this work is
one of Sumsion’s ‘most substantial pieces in terms of artistic achievement’ as
well as being his earliest composition for organ. What is startling is the sheer competence and
confidence that this work exhibits. To be fair, he was not a youngster at the
time: he was 37 years old (assuming it was written near to its publication
date). This long, complex work is a
major recital piece rather than a ‘mere’ voluntary. Diane Nolan Cooke is correct
in wishing that Sumsion had composed more works of this magnitude.
Finally, it was good to hear the ‘Pastoral’
that I had engaged with some 40 years ago.
It was only the second of Sumsion’s pieces to be published and nods
rather belatedly to the so-called ‘English Pastoral’ school of composition. It
is an attractive little number that is well-crafted: I can see how it must have
appealed to a teenager who had just come to appreciate the Lark Ascending.
Daniel Cook was until recently Organist and Master
of the Choristers at St David’s Cathedral. He had a significant involvement
there with the Cathedral Festival. In September 2013 he was appointed to the
post of Sub-organist at Westminster Abbey. He is also
currently artistic director of Mousai Singers who have lately released a fine
album of British music with a ‘Welsh Connection’. Cook has recorded a number of CDs for Priory
Records, including the complete works (on-going) of Herbert Brewer, Charles
Villiers Stanford and a selection or music by Walter Alcock. He recently
released an excellent and enjoyable recital on the organ at St Mary’s,
Cullercoats in Northumberland.
It is hard not to be impressed with
the acoustical properties of this disc. Like Daniel Cook’s previous disc of
music by Stanford it has passed my ‘recorded organ music test.’ I am once again
given the impression of sitting in the nave of Salisbury Cathedral.
The excellent CD liner notes have
been written Diane Nolan
Cooke who is an expert on Herbert Sumsion. She has
contributed the composer’s Wikipedia entry and has recently edited the important
Volume 12 ‘Sacred Music’ of the Elgar
Complete Edition (due for release in 2015, I understand). The present notes
are wide-ranging and informative. I look forward to reading more from her pen
about Herbert Sumsion. Included in the
booklet is the essential specification of the ‘Father’ Henry Willis organ which
was installed in the cathedral in 1877. In
spite of a series of rebuilds, cleans and restorations, this organ is reputed
to sound exactly as it did the day it was built. John Stainer believed that this was ‘even
finer than the organ Father Willis had designed for St Paul’s in 1872. The organ builder himself considered that it
was his finest creation.
As I noted above, Herbert
Sumsion’s music is not challenging. All of it is immediately approachable. The
listener will soon realise that here is a composer who is steeped in the
Anglican Cathedral Tradition, has a deep sympathy with the liturgy and
ceremonial of the church and has made a significant contribution to music that
reflects the beauty, the dignity and the holiness of worship. I look forward to
reviewing the next volume of Daniel Cook stunningly executed survey of
Sumsion’s music in the near future.
Track Listing:
Track Listing:
Herbert SUMSION (1899-1995)
Toccata on ‘University’ (1987), Variations on a Folk Tune (pub.1989), Quiet Postlude (1957), Four Preludes on Well-Known Carols (1955): Prelude on 'Adeste Fideles', Prelude on 'The Coventry Carol', Prelude on 'The Holly and the Ivy', Prelude on 'Unto Us is Born a Son', Canzona for Organ (1957), Elegy (1955), Ceremonial March (posth. 1998), Prelude (1977), Chorale Prelude on 'Dundee' (1977). Pastoral (1949), Chorale Prelude 'Liebster Immanuel' (1977), Chorale Prelude on ' Down Ampney’ (posth. 2000), Introduction and Theme (1936)
Daniel Cook (organist)
PRIORY PRCD1075
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