Haydn Wood’s A May-Day Overture was published 1918 by Hawkes and Son, London.
This certainly suggests that it was a ‘wartime’ work. Wood, who was born in
1882 would have been 32 years old when the First World War commenced, so it is
unlikely he would have been able to volunteer or called up. In 1909, Haydn Wood
had married Savoyard soprano Dorothy Court, a student he had met whilst
studying at the Royal College of Music. From 1913 until 1925 they toured
British music halls. There they presented a series of concerts featuring songs,
ballads, piano pieces and violin works. During this period, Haydn Wood composed
much music, however A May-Day Overture
was the first orchestral piece with which the composer was totally satisfied.
Certainly, it displays the characteristic features of the composer’s mature
style: melody, charm and sheer delight. Other important works written prior to this Overture
included the excellent Piano Concerto in D minor (1912), a lost Symphony (1909)
and the Fantasy-Concerto for string orchestra dating from 1908. There is also
the fugitive Adagio from the B minor Violin Concerto. This is one of most beautiful
movements in the literature.
A May-Day Overture is a delightful little tone-poem that depicts
all the magic of springtime, awakening of nature and the promise of a glorious
summer. May-Day is often associated with dancing around the maypole on the
village green, baskets of flowers, washing one’s face in the dew and the May
Queen Procession. In more ancient days, the Feast of Beltane was celebrated,
marking the halfway point between Spring and Summer. Since 1886, May Day has become
entwined with International Workers’ Day. Wood has chosen to balance the
sentimental attraction of this holiday with the more vibrant excesses of pagan
days. It is certainly music that harks back to the lost Edwardian summers prior to the Great War.
Haydn Wood’s overture opens with
a misty passage on the French horn representing the dawn of the day. This is
answered by ‘bird-calls’ in the woodwind. Then a romantic string tune emerges which
surely has more to do with lovers walking hand in hand than pagan or medieval
traditions. Slowly, the tempo of the music increases, as the sun emerges in its
glory. The becomes more and more abandoned, with just a touch of pagan here and
there. Not quite Rite of Spring, but
something a little more reserved. The work builds up to a sparkling coda, with
barely a reminiscence of the misty start. I often wonder of the inspiration of
this music is the Isle of Man or some secluded nook in the Home Counties? I
plump for the latter, as the music is just that little bit too urbane for Manannán’s
Isle.
A May-Day Overture may be
classified as ‘light’ music, but this often-misused term does not detract from
Haydn Wood’s skilful development of his material, the sensuous portrayal of the
dawn and the sheer magical quality of the orchestration. It was dedicated Haydn
Wood’s brother Harry, who was a well-respected musician on the Isle of Man for
many years. He was often billed as Manxland’s King of Music.
Haydn Wood’s A May-Day Overture can be heard on Marco Polo 8.223605. It has been
uploaded to YouTube.
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