Wednesday 4 March 2020

Robin Stevens: Prevailing Winds-Music for wind instruments


I struggled to contextualise this new two-CD set. It is not possible to listen to this music chronologically. Save for three numbers, there are no dates given. Bearing in mind that Stevens is 62 years old, and has been composing for many years, this music could have been written anytime since the mid nineteen-seventies. There is no way of knowing. Presumably, the composer has a rough idea when he wrote each work. That said, lack of dates is a common drop off from CDs these days.

I am not going to comment on all 22 works on this album. Just a few general thoughts and a brief look at what to me were highlights. What I do recommend is listening to this album in short sections. It does not benefit the listener or composer to through-listen to 25 tracks (22 works) one after another without a break.

Robin Stevens does give a clue to the stylistic background into which the works fall.  There are, he writes, three categories: songs without words, character pieces and ‘fledgling tone poems.’ Alas he does not say which ones are which.
The musical language of Stevens’ work is difficult to gauge as well. The listener does not know what to expect as they explore each track. The soundscapes vary from what I call ‘Suburban Sunday’ music of the kind that Philip Lane provided in his piano suite Leisure Lanes, through to a piece that pushes towards the avant-garde of several decades ago.
More demanding pieces include the lovely soliloquy for solo oboe Conversations, the Uneasy Dialogue for clarinet and piano (or is it argument) and the modernist O Brave New World. This latter piece makes use of extended techniques, such as playing on the cello’s bridge, artificial harmonics and flutter-tonguing on the flute. It is the most advanced piece on this album, and one of the best. Equally ‘expressionistic’ in mood is the Clarinetissimo! I thought that this would be jazz-infused, but discover it is a good old-fashioned piece of ‘contemporary’ music. Equally ‘mod’ is the bewitching Coquette for flute with its ‘fleet-footed’ music balancing more lyrical moments. It is satisfying to hear these ‘spicy’ numbers after some of the drivelling and anodyne music that some composers write these days.
Strangely, the promise of the Variations of a Twelve-Note Theme does not come to pass as this is an easy-going piece that owes absolutely nothing to Humphrey Searle or Elisabeth Lutyens! Examples of the lighter touch are the opening Oceanic Lullaby, An Interrupted Waltz and the wayward Concert Rondo. This latter piece is given in two versions: recorder and oboe, both with piano.
Early music echoes fill Pandora’s Box, which is scored for recorders, bassoon and cello. At nearly eight minutes, it is the most substantial piece on these two CDs. It would make a good film score for some Tudor drama, except when jazz takes over and it gets ‘into the groove’. I have never heard a cool, jazzy recorder before. Great stuff.
The Reflections on a Scottish Theme for solo oboe is not ‘shortbread tin’ music, but a truly contemplative little number that captures the numinous quality of the Hebrides. Still in Scotland, the Berceuse is a like a Celtic mother calling to her exiled children from across the seas. A really moving piece. And finally, sometimes ‘Les Six’ from France seem to oversee the stylistic proceedings with pieces such as Sweet Souffle.

A few words about the composer will be helpful. Robin Stevens was born in Wales in 1958. He studied at Dartington College, the Royal Northern College of Music and finally at Manchester and Birmingham Universities. At the end of his education he was appointed Musical Director and Pastoral Worker at St Paul’s Church, York.  For three years he was Head of Music at a comprehensive school on the West Riding of Yorkshire. Sadly, he suffered a ‘debilitating illness’ which meant that he could not work full time for many years. Restored to health, Stevens prepared for his PhD in Composition at Manchester University. It consisted of six large scale musical works composed in a ‘contemporary idiom.’
His work would seem to balance traditional musical language with a more ‘modernist’ voice. He enjoys writing for ‘Cinderella’ instruments and ensembles which have a ‘low profile’ such as a euphonium duet, bassoon trio and tuba quartet. Major works include a Fantasy Sonata for violin and piano, Mourning into Dancing for symphony orchestra and Brass Odyssey for brass band. He is currently working on a Cello Concerto and a Clarinet Quintet.

The liner notes presents most of the relevant information required to enjoy this diverse and variable selection of wind music. The actual descriptions of each piece could have been more fulsome, as they are all (I think?) premieres and therefore unknown quantities. The usual biographies of the composer and the soloists are included, as well a series of photos of all the participants.
I cannot fault the sound quality of this two-CD set. And the playing in every case is enthusiastic, committed and technically convincing.

This new release from Divine Art is typically very enjoyable. But please note my caveats at the start of this review. I do feel that a little bit more planning might have further improved the value of this excellent introduction to the music of Robin Stevens.

Track Listing:
Robin STEVENS (b.1958)
CD1
Oceanic Lullaby for oboe and piano
Concert Rondo for descant recorder and piano
Sicilienne for Gillian for clarinet and piano (2000)
O Brave New World for flute and cello
Three Epigrams for bassoon and piano (1994) – I. Foreboding II. Gentle Lament III. Clockwork Toy
A Soldier’s Prayer for horn and piano (2014)
Reflections on a Scottish Theme for solo oboe
Pandora’s Box for recorders, bassoon and cello
Variations on a Twelve-Note Theme for clarinet and piano
Sound and Silence for solo flute/alto flute
CD2
Suite Ecossaise – Jig for descant recorder and guitar
Waltz for Pierrot for solo bassoon
Grief’s Portrait for horn and piano
At a Tangent for treble recorder and cello
Clarinetissimo! for solo clarinet
Suite Ecossaise – Berceuse for flute and guitar
Concert Rondo for oboe and piano
Contemplation for bass recorder and cello
Coquette for solo flute
An Uneasy Dialogue for clarinet and piano
Conversations for solo oboe
An Interrupted Waltz for descant recorder and piano
Sweet Soufflé for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon
John Bradbury (clarinet), David Jones (piano), Sarah Miller (flute and alto flute), Helen Peller (bassoon), Richard Simpson (oboe), Janet Simpson (piano), Lindsay Stoker (French horn), John Turner (recorders)
Rec/St. Thomas’s Church, Stockport, England, 27th and 28th February 2019
DIVINE ART dda 25194

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