One of my musical discoveries of
2019 (so far) is William Wordsworth’s (1908-88) Three Pastoral Sketches,
op.10. This has been released on the second volume of Toccata Records (TOCC
0526) survey of the composer’s orchestral music. Other works on this disc
include the Piano Concerto in D minor, op.28 (1946) and the Violin Concerto in
A major, op.60 (1980).
Although I knew of the existence
of these ‘Sketches’, I never imagined that I would hear them. I am beholden to
Paul Conway and his excellent CD liner notes for the background to this music.
The first thing to say is that
Wordsworth has not created a ‘cow and gate’ score. There is nothing here that
Elisabeth Lutyens at her most acerbic would have objected to. The word
‘pastoral’ can have several meanings. Often used to represent the ‘pleasant,
traditional features of the countryside’ it can also refer to the songs of ‘Arcadian’
shepherds. But maybe Beethoven’s definition is the one that most applies to
Wordsworth’s score. The German master wrote that his eponymous symphony was ‘more
the expression of feeling than painting.’ This allows for a representation of
nature in its smiling or angry mood and everything in between. Witness the
storm movement (IV) of Beethoven’s Symphony. Is this a tempest in the heart or
one conjured up by Nature?
William Wordsworth’s Three
Pastoral Sketches is the composer’s earliest ‘acknowledged’ orchestral
score. It was composed in 1937, shortly after he finished studies with Donald
Tovey at Edinburgh University. The three movements allude musically to ‘aspects
of the English countryside.’ The opening ‘Sundown’ has an impressionistic feel.
Conway notes that this movement is based on two contrasting melodies: a limpid
downward melody for solo flute, soon joined by horns and violins, which is
balanced by a ‘stately chorale like theme’ first heard on the woodwind. This
movement rises to a powerful climax, before subsiding into near tranquillity. Wordsworth
has managed to create a vivid impression of the sun setting over the countryside.
The second Sketch, ‘The Lonely Tarn’ suggests the remoter parts of the Lake
District, with its misty, eerie mood. Listeners will be reminded of ‘Saturn,
the Bringer of Old Age’ from Gustav Holst’s The Planets with its
‘hypnotic alternating chords.’ Warmth is brought to ‘The Lonely Tarn’ by a
gorgeous arabesque for flute, which is continued by the violins, however the
movement ends in sadness. The last Sketch, ‘Seascape’ may well look towards
Scotland for its inspiration. As noted, Wordsworth had spent three years
studying in Edinburgh. Presumably he got a chance to indulge in a little
tourism. Paul Conway notes the that online catalogue at the Scottish Music
Centre includes a reference to a score of the Sketches with the title of the finale
listed as ‘Mountain, Wind and Sky’. I was unable to find this in the
catalogue. ‘Seascape’ begins and ends
mysteriously but contains a stormy middle section. Conway has suggested that
the alternative title may be more appropriate to the mood of the music. I tend
to agree. For me this is an ideal musical portrait of the West Coast of
Scotland on a somewhat variable day. On the other hand, all notion of
tartanry’ is avoided: there are no ‘Scotch Snaps’ and pentatonic tunes.
Brian Wilson, reviewing the
Toccata CD for MusicWeb International (August 2019) wrote that ‘yet
again [the] Toccata [label] rescues a composer whose music has been unjustly
neglected…’ Wilson thinks that ‘no excuses need to be made for any of the
performances; all three make strong arguments for the composer.’ Turning to the
‘approachable’ Three Pastoral Sketches he understands that ‘though
clearly in the English pastoral tradition, they certainly don’t qualify for the
old slur that all such music smells of cow pats.’ He recommends that anyone who
enjoys Herbert Howells’s orchestral music will thoroughly relish these three
pieces.
I think that William Wordsworth
has written a work that describes ‘landscape’ over a wide range of the country:
‘Sunset’ in the Home Counties, ‘The Lonely Tarn’ in the more remote parts of
the Lake District and finally ‘Seascape’ or ‘Mountain, wind and sky’ somewhere
in the Western Highlands. Is my fancy running wild? Possibly, but this
imaginary construction works for me. This often-impressionistic early work is
well-written, is musically imaginative and exploits the relatively limited
orchestral resources with great skill. It is above all, a colourful score.
William WORDSWORTH, Orchestral
Music, Vol. 2: Piano Concerto/Three Pastoral Sketches/Violin Concerto Liepāja
Symphony Orchestra/J. Gibbons Toccata TOCC 0526
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