Jennifer Fowler: Line Spun with Stars

I did not believe that the stated constructional principle used in Line Spun with Stars for flute cello and piano would have been effective. Jennifer Fowler declares in the liner notes that the piece is almost entirely ‘monophonic’ – in other words one note at a time. Presumably, no complex chords or major passages of contrapuntal activity here. But it works. What is so attractive about this piece is the clarity of the parts. As Fowler writes, ‘the single stream of notes allows the patterns of tempo and direction to be etched out more distinctly’. The ‘Line’ part of the title is clear. The ‘stars’ element refers to note patterns where a ‘starburst’ of sound is tied to a ‘central’ note which seems to exert a ‘gravitational pull’ on the melodic event. All in all, an enjoyable experiment, but I am not sure that I would like to hear a longer (symphonic) work using these formal designs.

The programme notes state that ‘Lady Maisry’ reflects on ‘significant aspects of a woman's life, the kind of aspects which have always occurred and always will.’ In this song, Lady Maisry is on her deathbed possibly in childbirth. This is a ‘traditional’ English ballad for soprano and piano which has several incarnations and ‘plots.’ It is an attractive setting of a somewhat sad tale.

I was less impressed by the long-winded setting of a letter by Charlotte Bronte. Letter from Haworth is a half sung half spoken recitation. It seems to me that the burden of the letter is simply that of a woman who has been jilted. It could easily have been the other way around. A lot of vocal and instrumental drama goes into exploring this everyday tale of love and loss. Naturally, the language of the letter is particularly well-wrought. I doubt it needs the music to achieve its bathos.

Streaming Up is much more to my taste. Predicated on the Buddhist equivalent of Greek water-nymphs, this music seems to rise from the watery depths to sparkle in the atmosphere. This work is written in ternary form with a more relaxed and thoughtful middle-section balancing a toccata-like drive in the outer parts.

I was baffled by the undecipherable text of From the Cave Mouth, written for soprano clarinet and violin. For one thing the tessitura of the instrumentation makes for a rather piercing 15 minutes. The concept of the piece seems to imagine some esoteric secret contained in the cave: perhaps an ancient scroll, a sack of bones or maybe a prophecy.  The pace of the music is invariably slow. I accept that there are some delightful melodic phrases for the soloist and the instrumental forces. However, the piece just does not work for me. I certainly do not ‘get’ the drift of the poem, crafted by the composer.

I am on safer ground with the beautiful Lament for oboe, clarinet and bassoon. The piece was composed in 1987 in response to the death of a friend. Jennifer Fowler has been successful in her aim of ‘spin[ing] a long line of wordless lamentation.’ This is, as befits its title, a deeply felt piece that relies heavily on the oboe solo, with a kind of unsettling commentary from the violin and the bassoon. It is my favourite work on this CD.

The performances by Lontano and their director Odaline de la Martinez were uniformly excellent. Special mention must go to the beautiful voices of Raphaela Papadakis (soprano); Lauren Easton (mezzo-soprano). Even if I did not fully appreciate or enjoy the works they participated in, their singing is without fault.

The liner notes are acceptable. They include succinct paragraphs on each number, the text of the vocal works, an introduction to Jennifer Fowler and brief bios of the performers. Alas, they do not include the dates for most of the pieces. A careless omission. I got my information from the Australian Music Centre. Easy!

For full details of Australian-born Jennifer Fowler’s life and works, see her webpage at Impulse Music Consultants. Suffice here to say that she has a distinguished musical career both in Australia and London, UK. Her compositions features orchestral works, chamber music and many vocal numbers. Fowler’s musical style is approachable but demands considerable engagement from the listener.  

This new CD album of six pieces by Jennifer Fowler features music that I found impressive, moving and in some cases uninteresting. What I did not enjoy (Caves and Bronte’s) will no doubt be another listener’s delight.  That is the way it should be.

Track Listing:

Line Spun with Stars, for flute, cello and piano (1983/2006)

Lady Maisry, for soprano and piano (1989/2016)

Letter from Haworth, for mezzo soprano, clarinet, cello and piano (1984/2005)

Streaming Up, for flute, oboe, clarinet, cello and piano (2004)

From the Cave Mouth, for soprano, clarinet and violin (2017)

Lament, for oboe, clarinet and bassoon (1987/2001)

Raphaela Papadakis (soprano); Lauren Easton (mezzo-soprano), Lontano/Odaline de la Martinez.

Rec. 7,8 & 10 December 2018, The Warehouse, 13 Thread Street, London,

METIER MSV 28588

With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.