This CD opens with a song of
hope. The African Twi-Tune was written when Ronald Stevenson was Senior
Lecturer in Music at Cape Town University between the years 1963 and 1965. This
was during the Apartheid years and shortly after the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960.
Stevenson was appalled by this political system.
This piece is a
combination of the Bantu National Hymn, ‘God Bless Africa’ with the Afrikaans
Song ‘The Call of South Africa’. In fact, in this work these tunes are played ‘simultaneously.’
Apparently, Stevenson was surprised that these two hymns with opposed
aspirations ‘fitted together so well’: it was, for him, a symbolic resolution
to the ‘tensions and strife he witnessed’. The title Twi-Tune is a
definite nod to Percy Grainger’s idiosyncratic use of the English
language.
Finally, the current South
African National Anthem is a hybrid featuring new words in several languages
and includes extracts from these two old songs.
The longest and most profound
work here is Ronald Stevenson’s transcription of Percy Grainger’s Hill Song
No. 1 composed in 1901 for wind band.
Stevenson’s ‘take’ on this piece is more a commentary than a literal
reworking. The liner notes remind the listener that Grainger was inspired to
write this piece ‘by the soul shaking hill-scapes’ which he witnessed during a three
day hike in Argyllshire: he said ‘wildness and fierceness were the qualities in
life and nature that I prized the most and wished to express in music’. As Rob
Barnett in his review
of this CD has pointed out, neither Grainger original, nor Stevenson’s
transcription are ‘example[s] of cod-tartan Scottishry.’ Formally, the work is
written with a ‘stream of consciousness’ configuration rather than any conventional
formal structures. I certainly enjoyed this piece. I have not heard Grainger’s
original for many years (it is on my to-do list for 2020!) For me, it does
conjure images of the Scottish Highlands in their awe-inspiring majesty and
beauty, with intimations of brutal history deployed for good measure. This is
not a ‘shortbread tin’ portrait. A great and profound work.
Sounding Strings was
inspired by Celtic folksong. It must be recalled that although Ronald Stevenson
was born in Blackburn, Lancashire his mother and father were Welsh and Scottish
respectively. The Celtic muse came naturally to him. Originally conceived for clarsach, the Celtic
harp, Sounding Strings is also playable on the concert harp and, as
here, on the piano. The piece features
14 songs from all parts of the Celtic world including Cornwall and
Brittany. The reader would not thank me
if I listed all these tunes, however, taking my lead from Rob Barnett’s review,
I note some highlights. I enjoyed the Hebridean Dance Song, ‘The
Cockle-gatherer’ with its jaunty gait. Stevenson created evocative
transcriptions of the extremely well-known ‘Londonderry Air’, ‘The Ash Grove’
and the ‘caressingly’ played ‘Eriskay Love Lilt’, without ever descending into
sheer sentimentality. The ‘La Basse-Breton’ calls for the pianist to ‘knock on
the piano lid’: it is an effective little conceit. Finally, the powerful tune ‘Ben
Dorain’ was later used as the basis of the composer’s massive choral symphony In
Praise of Ben Dorain premiered in Glasgow during 2008. This is a major work
that demands a CD release. A recording of the BBC broadcast is available on YouTube.
Ronald Stevenson’s eclectic
mindset is obvious in the Chinese Folk-Song Suite and the Ghanaian
Folk-Song Suite, both composed in 1965.
The first of these Suites showcases the common musical heritage shared
between Scotland and China. It makes use of pentatonic and hexatonic scales. ‘Pentatonic’
is a five-note scale that corresponds to the black notes on the piano (it can
be transposed) and ‘hexatonic’ is a scale of 6 notes in the octave rather than
the eight commonly used in the Western musical tradition. Stevenson has culled
the tunes from the Archive of the Shanghai Conservatoire of Music and the book Die
Musikkultur Chinas by Grigoriĭ Schneerson.
The titles of the five pieces are evocative of Chinese culture and art. ‘The
Washer Woman and Flower Girl’ begins the set, followed by ‘A Song for New
Year’s Day.’ There is a ‘War Widow’s Lament’ and an image of a ‘Beautiful Fresh
Flower’. The final piece is the ‘Song of the Crab Fisher’. This suite is not
sentimental tat: this is no Albert Ketèlbey vision of the Far East. It reflects the composer’s theory that
‘different musics of the world are linked’. The liner notes explain that Percy Grainger
had explored some of this material: in fact, Stevenson’s ‘Beautiful Fresh
Flower’ is very similar to Grainger’s arrangement.
Another collection of folk material
inspired the Ghanaian Folk-Song Suite. It was J. H. Kwabena Nketia’s Folksongs
of Ghana which Stevenson discovered when he was working in Cape Town. There
are three movements here: the rhythmically fluid ‘Song of Valour’, the simply
stated but subtle ‘Consolation’ and the concluding ‘Leopard Dance.’ Christopher Guild suggests that that the call
and answer format of this final piece may reflect the ‘‘waulking’ songs of the
Outer Hebrides.’ These songs were traditionally sung by woman as they ‘waulk’
(cleanse and soften) woollen cloth. One woman sings the verse and the rest join
in for the chorus. Interestingly ‘Leopard Dance’ is the ‘other way round’: the
opening statement is loud, the echo correspondingly quiet.
‘Bonny at Morn’ is a sumptuous
setting of the well-kent Borders folksong. The context of the song is a
lullaby, but also ‘bemoans’ the idleness of the lad and lassie o’ the hoose.
The tune features stylistic clichés from both the Northumberland and Scottish
traditions. Stevenson has transcribed this song in two stanzas, rather than
reflect the original three. It is truly lovely.
Percy Grainger would seem to be
the inspiration for the final two pieces on this CD: the Barra Flyting
Toccata and the Toccata-Reel:
‘The High Road to Linton’.
The
latter is based an old Scottish fiddle tune. This tune is subjected to a
short set of variations which explore increasingly complex pianistic figurations.
There is a ‘Chopinesque’ coda to this
piece provided by the Swedish musician John Fritzell, who was staying at
Stevenson’s home. He felt that the piece ended a little too abruptly. Fortunately,
the composer approved the change and incorporated it into the score. West Linton
is a small village in Peeblesshire in the Scottish Borders. Ronald Stevenson
lived here for many years at Townfoot House and wrote much of his music there.
The
term ‘Flyting’ is a literary convention describing a debate between men/women
of letters who allow their mutual antagonism to descend into stylised abuse - even
if they are the best of friends! Stevenson’s ‘take’ on this is full of exciting
stuff. It is vivacious, eclectic and
showcases boogie-woogie riffs ‘flyting’ against complex counterpoint. Maybe not
evocative of the ‘wild and lonely Isle of Barra’ as the title implies, but
great fun.
All these works are claimed to be
‘first recordings’ except for Hill Tune No.1. Whether the ‘High Road to
Linton’ and the ‘Barra Flyting Toccata’ are premiere performances, as stated in
the liner notes depends on the precise release date of Kenneth Hamilton’s
second volume of Stevenson’s piano music. (Review)
I cannot fault the brilliant
playing by Christopher Guild. He clearly has a great sympathy towards Ronald
Stevenson’s eclectic musical style. The playing is always luminous, often
moving and never sentimental. The liner notes, written by the pianist are
excellent. They present a major essay length discussion of the music and
composer, complete with useful footnotes. The evocative CD cover shows Ronald
Stevenson at the fifteenth century Cille Choirill church, Roybridge, in the
Scottish Highlands.
This is an outstanding further
exploration of Ronald Stevenson’s piano music. I look forward to succeeding
volumes of this project with considerable enthusiasm.
Footnote: Christopher
Guild has recently informed me that Ronald Stevenson: Piano Music, Volume. 4
will be released on 1 February 2020, and Volume 5 will be recorded
at the end of May. The former, although
it doesn't yet have a title, could well be 'Songs Without Words' as it is
almost exclusively song and opera transcription: Paderewski, Stevenson himself,
Stephen Foster, Ivor Novello, Coleridge-Taylor, Bridge, Rachmaninov. The latter
is to be purely a transcription album and is expected to include music by
Bernard van Dieren, Bernard Stevens, Delius and either John Bull or Purcell.
Track Listing:
Ronald STEVENSON (1928-2015)
African Twi-Tune: The Bantu and Afrikaner National Hymns
Combined (1964) [1:41]
Percy GRAINGER (1882-1961) transcribed Ronald
STEVENSON Hill Song No. 1 (1960) [22:19]
Ronald STEVENSON
Sounding Strings (1979)
Chinese Folk-Song Suite (May 1965)
Ghanaian Folk-Song Suite (1965)
Bonny at Morn (1990)
The High Road to Linton (1978)
Barra Flyting Toccata (1980)
Christopher Guild (piano)
Rec. on 5 and 12 June 2016 (Chinese Folk-Song Suite,
Ghanaian Folk-Song Suite and Barra Flyting Toccata); 15 April 2018 (African Twi-Tune,
Hill Song No. 1, Sounding Strings, Bonny at Morn and The High Road to Linton)
at Turner Sims Concert Hall, Southampton.
TOCCATA CLASSICS TOCC 0403
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review
was first published.
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