Haydn Wood (1882-1959): British Rhapsody for orchestra (1945)

The Yorkshire-born composer Haydn (pronounced Hay-den) Wood clearly enjoyed composing Rhapsodies. Topographical examples include two featuring tributes to the Isle of Man, an American one and a Southern Rhapsody, subtitled ‘Virginia’. Others include a notable Stanford Rhapsody showcasing music from the grand old man’s Songs of the Sea and one for the Seafarer’s. All have been recorded.

Haydn Wood’s remarkable British Rhapsody was composed in 1945, towards the end of the Second World War. The score is headed with the following note: 'Though the themes of this are original, the composer has endeavoured to imbue them with the folk tunes of the British Isles.’

After a short ‘Highland’ introduction, the work begins with a beautiful tune that could have been composed by George Butterworth 30 years previously. It certainly nods to his Shropshire Lad Rhapsody. Rob Barnett (MusicWeb International 5 October 2005) has suggested that Balfour Gardiner’s Shepherd Fennel’s Dance as a model for another tune. The ‘bounce’ of Percy Grainger is never too far away either. Wood introduces a vaguely Scottish melody with a lovely oboe solo, which is my favourite moment in this score – I wish it went on longer! Here and there we hear a hornpipe and an Irish Reel. I am not sure where the Welsh connection is introduced. The conclusion of the piece looks to Ireland with a splendid tune that brings a tear to a glass eye and acknowledges the Londonderry Air. The entire Rhapsody is well written and competently orchestrated. One interesting thing is that Wood has not introduced any ‘pomp and circumstance’ into the score. This is a celebration of the diverse landscapes and peoples of the British Isles rather than an exercise in tub-thumping. Clearly, there is a place for the latter, but it is not here.

The British Rhapsody was premiered on the BBC Forces Programme on Friday 25 May 1945. The composer conducted the BBC Theatre Orchestra in a concert of his own music. The other works included a ‘Miniature Overture: The City’ from London Cameos, A Manx Pastoral Scene, the ‘Concert Waltz: A State Ball at Buckingham Palace’ (London Cameos), the lovely ‘Andante Sostenuto’ from the Violin Concerto  (soloist Alfred Barker), ‘Fairy Revels’ from A Day in Fairyland and finally A Southern Rhapsody: Virginia.

Reviewing this CD for MusicWeb International, Rob Barnett sums up his thoughts about the British Rhapsody by noting that  ‘at the time this must have seemed very much out of date: now its charms are easy to accept and it has none of the lapses into tawdry to which Coates was occasionally prone.’ Gerald S. Fox writing in the American Record Guide (September/October 2005) writes that ‘Haydn Wood's British Rhapsody is slightly more serious than the other works [on this CD], but still very melodic and high spirited.’  And Paul Snook (Fanfare, March 2006) suggests quite simply that Haydn Wood's British Rhapsody is fraught with stirring melodies that sound traditional…’

Haydn Wood’s British Rhapsody can be heard on Dutton Epoch CDLX 7151 (2004) British Light Music Premieres Volume 2. The Royal Ballet Sinfonia conducted by Gavin Sutherland. It has been uploaded to YouTube.