I
was listening to Harry Farjeon’s ‘Some Goblins and Gnomes and Things’ on this
CD the other day. I realised that although I had reviewed this CD back in the summer of 2013,
I had never posted it here. It deserves its place here as a remarkable and
imaginative CD that includes a few gems from of British Music.
The
‘preface’ to this fascinating CD sets out the territory – ‘Amidst the endless
glories and treasures of the piano repertoire, there is some music that leads a
more shrouded and spectral existence- aural figures of the otherworld.’ The
music presented on this disc is a ‘journey into the musical imagination of 18
composers featuring pieces that were all inspired by phantoms, goblins, ghosts
and spirits.’
I
have long been of the opinion that concert pianists ought to give more time and
thought to pieces of music that are outwith the standard repertoire. This is
especially so when the music is written by composers who are less-well known to
the average piano music enthusiast. Additionally, I believe that there is an
important place for pieces that are not virtuosic or particularly demanding on
the pianist’s technical skill, but are nevertheless attractive and interesting
works in their own right.
The
present disc includes eighteen pieces of music that are either unknown or are
the preserve of enthusiasts, specialists or those committed to the
obscure. A few of the composers are
familiar, but most appear to haunt the fringes of the repertoire. All of them are surprisingly good pieces of
music: all of them are suitably scary.
A
good place to begin an exploration of this disc is with ‘The Goblins’ Wedding Procession at Vossevangen’ by Edvard
Grieg. This rarely heard piece from the even rarer set of ‘17 Norwegian Dances’
is a revelation. I guess that for every thousand listeners who have heard ‘Wedding
Day at Troldhaugen’ only one or two will know the present nuptial piece. It is based on old folk-songs, but is given a
late romantic turn of pianism. There is even a ‘bluesy’ feel to this tune.
Walter Niemann is a German composer who has so far eluded me.
Seemingly he wrote a wealth of music for the piano. ‘The Ghosts: Night on the
Fleet’ is an impressionistic piece that was first published in the Hamburg Suite. It is an impressively
well-constructed work.
I was bowled over by Carl Tausig’s ‘The Ghost Ship’ which originally
saw light of day as an orchestral tone poem. This is a complex, pianistically
involved piece that tests the player’s technique. It is hardly surprising that
Tausig is regarded by many as Franz Liszt’s greatest pupil: alas he died
tragically young. Another virtuosic
piece is by the Russian Sergei Lyapunov, ‘Round of Phantoms’. Once again Liszt would
appear to be the technical model. The work is part of the composer’s Etude’s
which Michael Lewin suggests are one of the most significant set of studies
ever written. It is no surprise to read that the music anticipated Ravel’s ‘Scarbo’.
Another Russian has contributed a wayward piece called ‘Wood Goblin’. This is
one of Nikolai Medtner’s Fairy Tales, Op.34 written in 1916. The story of this particular
chap is given in the liner notes and bears perusal.
The ‘Goblin’s Dance’ by Dvorak is a little less hectic that
some of the other manifestations in this collection. There is a good balance
between the extrovert and the reflective. Maybe this goblin has a heart of gold
– some of the time…
There are a few treats for the British music enthusiast with
works by Eugene Goossens, John Vallier, Harry Farjeon (born Hohokus, New
Jersey) and Edgar Bainton. The low registers of Goossens’ ‘A Ghost Story’ from
his ‘popular’ suite Kaleidoscope
leads to an impressive climax only for the ‘ghost’ to slip back into the
‘underworld.’ Vallier’s ‘The Ghosts of
Restormel’ is slightly brighter, with an eclectic mix of trumpet calls,
Scottish folk-tunes and eerie chords: it is a fine impression of a haunted
Cornish castle. I am an advocate of the
piano music of Harry Farjeon. Many of his miniatures are in the gift of
amateurs. He also contributed a fine Piano Sonata and there are tantalisingly
impressive reports of his Piano Concerto. The present piece, ‘Some Goblins and
Gnomes and Things’ comes from his charmingly titled The Three Cornered Kingdom Suite.
Edgar Bainton’s rollicking ‘Goblin Dance’ is a rare indulgence. It is
derived from a suite called From Faery
(1912). The liner notes are correct in suggesting that this goblin is ‘active
and mischievous.’
American composers are well-represented too. The composer/pianist Julie Rivé-King’s
outgoing ‘March of the Goblins’ was composed in 1879 and is characterised by
musical wit and light-heartedness. It is one of those tunes that appears well-known
to the listener, but one that they cannot quite place. Another good example is by the ‘first
African-American woman to be recognized as a serious composer’ Florence
Price. He short, quicksilver ‘The Goblin
and the Mosquito’ is an impressive study in glissandi and fractured melodies.
William Bolcom has contributed a ‘Graceful Ghost Rag’ which is the first of
three numbers in a little suite. It is good example of ragtime, but unlike
Scott Joplin tends to disintegrate slightly. It is a million miles away from his
more cerebral and ‘spiky’ music. The ‘American Indianist’ Carlos Troyer has
contributed a lively ‘Ghost Dance of Zunis’. This music is meant reflect
rituals and traditions of the Zuni tribe in New Mexico. Whatever the
intellectual foundation of this music, it is an aggressive, almost Bartokian
romp.
The short ‘Night Music of the Mountain Goblin’ by the Finnish
composer Heino Kaski is more of a ‘scamper’ than anything diabolic. Ferdinand
Hiller’s ‘Dance of the Phantoms’ is more of an etude that a tone poem. Good virtuosic
stuff.
I enjoyed the short ‘Spirit Dance’ by Franz Schubert, re-presented
by that prolific but now largely forgotten pianist Stephen Heller. The original
was a song to a text by Freidrich von Matthison. Lewin suggests that the words are like a
cross between Edgar Allan Poe and a modern-day horror movie. The ‘Spirit Dance’
is characterised by sudden mood changes.
The final (and longest) piece is the ‘Ghost Variations’ by
Robert Schumann. It is a little known piece in spite of it being the composer’s
last completed piano work written at a time when he was about to be admitted to
the asylum at Bonn-Endenich. The
Variations were based on visions of things hideous and wonderful that the
composer was experiencing. The ‘theme’
is particularly beautiful and surely owes little to demons. The mood of each
succeeding variation is that of an introverted spirituality rather than
anything ghoulish or sinister. It is as if the composer knew that he had
reached the end of his life. This is a beautiful and affecting work that
demands to be better known in the recital rooms.
Michael
Lewin is an American pianist who has made a huge reputation for himself. He has
a ‘commanding’ repertoire of some 40 piano concertos from pot-boilers such as
George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue
through Rach. 1 & 2 to Loeffler’s stunning Pagan Poem and David Kocsis’ Piano Concerto: For the New Millennium
(1999) which was written for the pianist. Lewin has made a considerable
contribution to recorded music. There are wide ranging editions of music by
Charles Tomlinson Griffes and Scarlatti on Naxos, interesting recitals of
Gottschalk and William Bolcom on Centaur and CDs of Russians music and Franz
Liszt.
This
is a beautifully contrived CD. The liner notes are excellent, giving as much
information about these invariably attractive pieces and their not-so-well-known
composers. I was impressed by the
vibrant sound quality of this recording.
Michael Lewin’s playing is flawless. There is no sense of condescension
apparent in any of these pieces – even those that the ‘high-brow’ may regard as
less-than-worthy of a concert pianist. Each number is given a concentrated,
well wrought performance that reveals the composer’s picturesque, creepy and at
times macabre musical imagery.
This
is a fabulous (in more ways than one) new release from Sono Luminus that explores
a wide range of musical achievement from a number of talented composers. It is
a CD that will be of interest to all those who are young at heart and who
relate to goblins, ghouls and things of the night. This disc is a delight for anyone
who has enjoyed Saint-Saens’ Danse
Macabre and has wondered is there is any more ‘scary’ music in the
repertoire.
Track Listings:
Walter NIEMANN (1876-1953) Ghosts: Night on the Fleet
Sergei LYAPUNOV (1859-1924) Round of Phantoms
Edvard GRIEG (1843-1907) The Goblins’ Wedding Procession at Vossevangen
Carl TAUSIG (1841-1871) The Ghost Ship, Op. 1b
Nikolai MEDTNER (1880-1951) Wood Goblin
Antonin DVOŘÁK (1841-1904) Goblins’ Dance
Eugène GOOSSENS (1893-1962) A Ghost Story
Carlos TROYER (1837-1920) Ghost Dance of the Zunis
Heino KASKI (1885-1957) Night Music of the Mountain Goblin
John VALLIER (1920-1991) -The Ghosts of Restormel
William BOLCOM (b.1938) Graceful Ghost Rag
Harry FARJEON (1878-1948) Some Goblins and Gnomes and Things
Florence PRICE (1887-1953) The Goblin and the Mosquito
Edgar BAINTON (1880-1956) Goblin Dance
Ferdinand HILLER (1811-1885)The Dance of the Phantoms
Julie RIVÉ-KING (1855-1937) March of the Goblins
Franz SCHUBERT(1797-1828)/ Stephen HELLER (1813-1888) Spirit Dance
Sergei LYAPUNOV (1859-1924) Round of Phantoms
Edvard GRIEG (1843-1907) The Goblins’ Wedding Procession at Vossevangen
Carl TAUSIG (1841-1871) The Ghost Ship, Op. 1b
Nikolai MEDTNER (1880-1951) Wood Goblin
Antonin DVOŘÁK (1841-1904) Goblins’ Dance
Eugène GOOSSENS (1893-1962) A Ghost Story
Carlos TROYER (1837-1920) Ghost Dance of the Zunis
Heino KASKI (1885-1957) Night Music of the Mountain Goblin
John VALLIER (1920-1991) -The Ghosts of Restormel
William BOLCOM (b.1938) Graceful Ghost Rag
Harry FARJEON (1878-1948) Some Goblins and Gnomes and Things
Florence PRICE (1887-1953) The Goblin and the Mosquito
Edgar BAINTON (1880-1956) Goblin Dance
Ferdinand HILLER (1811-1885)The Dance of the Phantoms
Julie RIVÉ-KING (1855-1937) March of the Goblins
Franz SCHUBERT(1797-1828)/ Stephen HELLER (1813-1888) Spirit Dance
Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
Ghost Variations
Michael Lewin (piano)
Rec. Sono Luminus, Boyce, Virginia July 19-21, 2012
Sono Luminus
DSL-92168
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was
first published.
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