William Byrd: Ave Verum Corpus, Haec Dies, Laudate
Pueri and Vide Domine afflictionen, nostrum
Gordon Crosse: Violin Concerto No.2
Harrison Birtwistle’s Verses
for Ensemble is a radical work, even for 1970. Bill Hopkins writing in Tempo
(December 1975) summed up the composer’s achievement: ‘Verses is a long,
complex and richly-layered work disguised as a straightforward sequence of
contrasting episodes.’ I listened to this impressive, but challenging work as
part of my preparation for this blog post.
Verses is one of Birtwistle’s most radical works and can be seen
in this analysis: ‘the musical development consists of a series of abrupt,
energetically edited blocks; every melodic form or group of chords appears
charged with high voltage. The ensemble practically never uses ‘tutti’ but is
permanently divided up into different groupings (ensembles) which combine and
interchange with solo passages.’ (cited
in Wither, Rodney, An Annotated Guide to Wind Chamber Music, 2004)
The work is scored for Flute
(Piccolo/Alto), Oboe (English Horn), Two Clarinets (Eb and Bass), Bassoon
(contra bassoon), Horn, 2 Trumpets, 2 Trombones and 3 percussionists.
Verses for Ensemble was
premiered at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London on 12 February 1969. The London
Sinfonietta was conducted by David Atherton. The same forces gave the Proms
Premiere on Monday 31 August 1970. Other works that evening included Roberto
Gerhard’s Leo, Arnold Schoenberg’s ‘Lied der Waldtaube’ from Gurrelieder
(chamber version), Igor Stravinsky’s Berceuses du chat for contralto and
three clarinets, and Pribautki for low voice and wind ensemble. All
these works were ‘Proms Novelties’. A sense of musical continuity was provided
by Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor, K 466. The soloist was the
legendary Alfred Brendel. For the performance of Verses, the ensemble
and the conductor eschewed ‘tails’ and wore polo neck sweaters.
Interestingly, there were to be
two further performances of Verses at the Proms: in 2009 and latterly 2014.
There is only a single recording of Birtwistle’s Verses in the
catalogues. It was originally issued on the Decca Headline label (HEAD 7) in
1974. It was re-released on Lyrita (SRCD.308) in 2008.
William Byrd has not suffered any
diminution of interest since the performance of these four motets. Since the
sterling efforts of clergyman and musical scholar Edmund Fellowes (1870-1951)
at promoting Byrd’s music, his reputation has gone from strength to strength.
In 2020, virtually all the composer’s music is available ‘on record.’ Many of
his pieces are staples of choirs and place where they sing. The four pieces
were ‘Ave Verum Corpus’, ‘Haec Dies’, ‘Laudate Pueri ‘and ‘Vide Domine
afflictionen’, nostrum
These Byrd anthems were given
their Proms Premiere on Wednesday 22 July 1970. They were placed in the
programme as a ‘prelude’ to a performance of Edward Elgar’s The Dream of
Gerontius. They were sung by Cantores in Ecclesia directed by Michael
Howard. The main event featured the
Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Sir Adrian Boult. The soloists
were John Mitchinson, Alfreda Hodgson and Forbes Robinson.
Gordon Crosse’s Violin Concerto
No. 2, op. 26, written in 1969. This is a large, multi-layered work that
explores a wide variety of musical styles and soundscapes. The concerto was
commissioned by the Oxford Subscription Concerts for their 50th Anniversary
season. It was premiered on 29 January 1970 by Manoug Parikan, violin
accompanied by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Colin Davis. the
same artists gave the Proms Premiere on Monday 7 September 1970. At this
concert it was preceded by Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No.84 in E flat major (which
was also a Proms Premiere) and Gustav Holst’s well-loved Suite: The Planets.
The formal structure of this work
was inspired by Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Pale Fire. In this book (I have
not read it) a lyrical poem ‘is subjected to an elaborate and grotesque
misreading by its editor, whose notes [commentary] provide the narrative
vehicle of the book’. Apart from this formal structure, the Concerto derives no
programme from the book. Some of the music in this concerto was culled from an
opera Crosse was composing at that time, The Story of Vasco.
There are two important things to
note about the concerto. Firstly, although Crosse uses a large orchestra, there
is a chamber music texture to much of the music. There is a huge battery of
percussion. The composer uses his resources with great variety but in a sparing
manner. Typically, the soloist is not pitted against the orchestra, but is
primus inter pares. Secondly, Leslie East (British Music Now, ed.
Foreman, Lewis, 1975) has summed up the overall effect of the work: ‘the
bipartite Concerto presents dramatic opposition of different elements or styles
on various levels: unassertive first part against aggressive second…’ There are
other oppositions: lyrical/bravura, balance of expounded themes/motivic
manipulation, stasis/dynamism. For example, in the last movement, there is a
romantic outburst from the full orchestra that seems to nod to Messiaen’s Turangalîla
Symphony.
I could understand some listeners
not enjoying this powerful, modernist work, yet, it seems to me that it is
approachable within the context of its time. Criticism has been made of the
work’s lack of direction and the exaggerated ‘stylistic diversity’. This did
not appear to me a problem. I particularly enjoyed the huge disparity of
styles, the colourful orchestration, and the general ability of the composer to
hold my attention over a half hour period. It is, I believe, one of Gordon
Crosse’s greatest works.
It would be disingenuous to
suggest that this Concerto holds an established place in the orchestral
repertoire. However, in June 2017, the Proms recording was released by Lyrita
Records (REAM 1133). This CD also included the Elegy for small orchestra, op.1
(1960), the Concerto for chamber orchestra, op.8 (1962) and the Concertino
op.15 (1965) for flute, oboe, clarinet, viola, and chamber ensemble.
To be continued…
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