British Celebration Volume 3

The proceedings commence with one of my favourite pieces of ‘light’ music: Anthony Hedges Overture: Heigham Sound. It was originally written in 1968 as a Holiday Overture, but the composer felt that it was too short and ‘concentrated.’ It was revised in 1978 as the present work.  The composer has indicated that the location in the Norfolk Broads can be either very busy or tranquil. This dichotomy is reflected in the music. The overture opens and closes with bustle and energy, with a beautiful contrasting middle section.

Paul Conway has perceptively suggested that the Overture: Heigham Sound is the equal of such British overtures as Portsmouth Point (William Walton), Derby Day (William Alwyn), Beckus the Dandipratt, (Malcolm Arnold) and Street Corner (Alan Rawsthorne).

Sunderland-born composer Edward Gregson is best known for his important contribution to brass band and wind ensemble music. However, he has composed for many other genres including concertos, chamber works and film music. The present ‘Sarabande’ was written in 2016 in memory of the late composer and pianist John McCabe. The ‘Tarantella’ is dedicated to the recorderist John Turner. These two pieces work well as a short ‘suite.’ The beautiful ‘Sarabande’, full of melancholy and introspection is balanced by a vibrant ‘Tarantella.’ This ‘Italian’ dance was inspired by English artist JMW Turner. Any relation I wonder to the soloist?

Gareth Glyn is one of the most significant contemporary Welsh composers. His large catalogue includes diverse work including a splendid Symphony, many songs, orchestral and chamber works and ‘incidental’ music for TV and radio. The present Gododdin is a short tone-poem inspired by one of the founding stories in British literature. It was written in the 6^th century AD when much of the country spoke the language that would eventually mutate into present day Welsh. The music describes the campaign waged by Mynyddawg Mwnyfawr, the King of Gododdin. against the Angles and their allies. The king called 300 (or 363) warriors to his court in Din Eidyn (Edinburgh) to participate in a year of practice manoeuvres. This was in preparation for the great battle at Catraeth (Catterick)Yorkshire. The tragic outcome was that only three of Mynyddawg Mwnyfawr’s troops survived the conflict. The work is divided into six sections: ‘Muster’, ‘Training’, ‘Feasting’, ‘Catraeth’, ‘Sorrow’ and ‘Remembrance’.  Each section is self-explanatory; nevertheless, it is important to note that the finale insists that the soldiers’ bravery should be recalled for all time. Gododdin was first heard at a concert in 2014, the centenary year of the commencement of the First World War. The important lesson is surely that ‘We will remember them’, whether at Catraeth or Cambrai.  Gareth Glyn’s music is both striking and reflective. The progress moves easily between Waltonian bombast, Welsh dance music inspired (maybe) by William Mathias or Alun Hoddinott, towards introspective music written for harp and muted strings which echoes the culture of the poem’s source. It is a completely satisfying and approachable tone-poem that deserves wider appreciation within and without the Principality.

I have not heard any music by Roger Cann before listening to the delightful Fantasia: Where the Watchful Heron Strands. There seems little information about this composer on the Internet: I did discover that he has written an Oboe Concerto and a Sinfonietta. The inspiration for the Fantasia was a weather-vane visible from Cann’s music room in Lancaster. A heron regularly stood ‘sentinel silhouetted against the sky.’ The piece was written for John Turner in 2004: it features a solo part for recorder. This is a lovely little pastoral meditation lasting just shy of six minutes. It is not challenging music, but quite simply something to sit back and enjoy. I guess that the solo part would be equally effective played on the oboe or cor anglais.

Bryan Kelly’s short work Lest We Forget is presented in two contrasting parts. The commission required that the first ‘movement’ be scored for woodwind, brass and percussion, whilst the second featured strings only. The former is entitled ‘Omens of War’ and is aggressive and violent in mood. The latter is elegiac, as befits the deeply felt and utterly heart-breaking ‘Epitaph for Peace.’ 

I enjoyed Philip Godfrey’s Fugal Fantasia composed in 2017. I would have imagined that in this world of sub-Einaudi vacuous meanderings that ‘fugue’ would be an outlawed form. The work was originally part of a musical play about an ‘aspiring pianist’ and featured a rock band backing group. The heavy metal has gone, to be replaced with the orchestra. The original has been expanded into a seven-minute piece of sheer pleasure. It features cool echoes of Bach and has not quite lost its ‘pop’ origins. It is a little showstopper.

Gareth Glyn’s second piece on this CD is the 2015 Harp Concerto No.1 subtitled ‘Amaterasu.’  The liner notes explain that this ‘programme music’ is based on the Shinto religion’s story of the Divinity of Light. Upset by her mistreatment by her ‘volatile’ brother, Amaterasu disappears into a deep cave, plunging the world into darkness. Not be outdone, the other gods hold a boisterous feast outside her cave. Aroused by curiosity, she emerges and floods the world again with light. Clearly, the harp represents Amaterasu, but the darkness of the world (and her brother) is heard in the powerful and sometimes wayward solo trombone part. This is an evocative piece that is often ravishing, but sometimes deeply sinister. All in all, it is a splendid concerto. ‘Amaterasu’ was commissioned for the St Asaph Festival as part of the celebrations for the UN/UNESCO International Year of Light (2015).

The final piece is The Nightingale Rondo, by the Welsh composer John Parry. This was written for an ‘octave flageolet’ which was a forerunner of the descant recorder. The liner notes mention this piece being the only ‘substantial British concert piece for duct flute.’ Now I am confused. Are Duct Flutes and Octave Flageolets the same or similar? They don’t look like it on Google. The sheet music for this piece declared it was originally for the octave flageolet. More explanation needed here… I understand that this attractive little Rondo was discovered by John Turner, who edited it and provided the cadenza. It was arranged for recorder and orchestra by Peter Hope. The Nightingale Rondo makes an excellent conclusion to this diverse collection of British music.

The concise liner notes by Philip Lane are helpful and give a brief overview of each composer and their music. The two orchestras and their respective conductors give a great performance of each work. The four soloists (recorder, harp, piano and trombone) are excellent. The method used to associate works with orchestras and conductors in the track listing is a little confusing. It is a little like a game: I hope I have got it right!

The notion of ‘war’ may be the connecting thread in these varied pieces. Each work is standalone. Are there any masterpieces here? I think that the most important (and hopefully lasting) piece is Gareth Glyn’s Harp Concerto. The same composer’s Gododdin deserves to be better known. Bryan Kelly’s profound ‘Epitaph for Peace’ could become a Remembrance Day ‘favourite’. And not forgetting Cann’s ‘watchful heron…’

Track Listing: 

Anthony HEDGES (1931-2019) Overture: Heigham Sound (1978)

Edward GREGSON (b.1945) Sarabande & Tarantella (2016)

Gareth GLYN (b.1951) Gododdin (2014)

Roger CANN (1938-2006) Fantasia: Where the watchful heron stands (2004)

Bryan KELLY (b.1934) Lest We Forget (2013)

Philip GODFREY (b.1964) Fugal Fantasia (2017)

Gareth GLYN Amaterasu (Harp Concerto No:1) (2015)

John PARRY (1776-1851) The Nightingale Rondo, orchestrated Peter HOPE (b.1930)

John Turner (recorder) (Gregson, Cann, Parry) Dimitri Kennaway (piano) (Godfrey), Hannah Stone (harp), Donal Bannister (trombone) (Glynn Harp Concerto)

BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Gavin Sutherland (Hedges, Glyn), Royal Ballet Sinfonia/Ronald Corp (Gregson, Cann, Kelly ‘Omens of War, Godfrey, Parry); Barry Wordsworth (Kelly, ‘Epitaph for Peace’)

Rec. Angel Studios, London 14 November 2018; 7 June 2014 (Kelly’s Epitaph for Pease), Alun Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff, 7 November 2018 (Hedges, Glyn)

HERITAGE HTGCD 181