Haydn Wood’s A May-Day Overture (1918)

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.