All the works here were written
in the decades immediately following the conclusion of the Great War (1914-18).
However, I think that only Frank Bridge’s Sonata majors on the devastating
impact of that conflict. Delius’s Preludes are a backward glance to his younger
days, the Bax is more to do with his love-life and his interest in Irish
politics, Vaughan Williams harks back to Tudor times and Chaplin considers the
impact of modern industrialisation in the aftermath of the Great Depression. All
that said, this is an important CD that will be required listening to all
enthusiasts of British 20th century piano music.
Frederick Delius’s Three Preludes
are hardly in the composer’s ‘greatest hits’ category. In fact, his small
corpus of piano pieces are probably amongst the least known if his works. As
the liner notes suggest, at the time the Preludes were written, most of the
composer’s big achievements were in the past, he was severely incapacitated and
was probably trying to recapture his long-departed youth. The Preludes were
composed in 1923, with Delius’s wife Jelka acting as copyist. This was before
the young Eric Fenby arrived at Grez-sur-Loing to begin his stint as Delius’s
amanuensis in 1928.
The first Prelude was dedicated
to the English pianist, conductor, and music educator, Evlyn [sic]
Howard-Jones (1877-1951). It is changeable and sometimes ‘will o’ the wisp’ in ambience.
The second, which is a miniature ‘toccata’, is inscribed to Adine O’Neill, a
celebrated pianist, and pupil of Clara Schumann. The final Prelude is a
delightful little tone poem portraying (to my mind) a gently bubbling stream. The
entire set will remind the listener of Debussy and perhaps Edvard Grieg. The three Preludes are full of
impressionistic sunshine, whole tone scales and magical chromaticism.
Arnold Bax’s Piano Sonata No.3 in
G sharp minor (GP 279) was completed in 1926. Like many of his piano works it
was dedicated to his lover and muse, the pianist Harriet Cohen. Several
commentators note that this stormy work presents Bax’s response to the
turbulent and tragic progress of the Irish Civil War as well as his own
personal ‘affairs’ with Harriet.
This Sonata is written in the
conventional three movement form: his two previous numbered piano sonatas had
been composed as single movement works. Bax himself conceded in a letter to
John Simons (13 May 1935) that: '[The sonata] gave me a lot of trouble... and
as always when work does not come easily, I always felt doubtful about it'.
The first movement, ‘Allegro
moderato’ is virtually devoid of lyricism and repose. Bax has eschewed romantic
tunes and has used a series of short motifs that are related to each other. The
progress of this movement is one of ‘wild passion’ and high drama, which never
quite seems to stay the course. Regular changes of mood is the order of the
day. The ensuing, ‘Lento moderato’ as a stunningly beautiful creation. It has been described as a ‘dream-poem’ with
its careful balance of one of Bax’s ersatz Irish folk tunes and an intense
chromaticism that seems to push towards atonality. There is some warmth in this
music, but the deep introspection outweighs any sense of optimism.
It is easy to hear ‘sea music’ in
the finale with the relentless use of semiquavers in either hand. There is a
wild dance-like theme which appears sporadically. The movement nearly ends
quietly with soothingly rippling waves plashing against the rocks, before a ‘ff’
G major chord awakens anyone who may have dozed.
This work is given a splendid
performance here by Benjamin Martin. He convincingly expounds the dichotomy
between passion and elegy and well as focusing on the essential nature of the
work as a stormy love letter to Harriet Cohen and a protest about the Irish
situation.
Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Hymn-tune
Prelude on Song 13 by Orlando Gibbons was written as a gift for Harriet
Cohen. It was presented to her in 1930.
The music is a perfect synthesis of the ‘Tudor’ melody with Vaughan
Williams’s inimitable counterpoint. Despite its relatively straightforward
sound this is a difficult piece to play. Gaining a good legato with the main
melody and working around it the ‘parts’ can be difficult. Benjamin Martin
gives it an idyllic performance. There is virtually nothing here that looks
back to the Great War: if anything, it is a reaffirmation of Vaughan Williams’s
pastoral ‘Land of Lost Content’.
Frank Bridge’s Piano Sonata is
one of the greatest examples of the genre – whether this is equated to British music,
or music on general. This ground-breaking and style-changing sonata occupied
Bridge for several years and was completed in 1924. It might be regarded as
composer’s masterpiece: it is certainly his most elaborate work for the
piano. I guess that any listener coming
to this work after having heard some of the composer’s character pieces for
piano or maybe even the orchestral tone poem The Sea, may be baffled by
its sound world. The Sonata is a massive work that displays great profundity
and sometimes an almost unbearable sense of despair and hurt. This is hardly
surprising as it was dedicated to fellow composer Ernest Farrar who was killed
on the Somme in 1917. But not just Farrar. This Sonata seems to be a ‘requiem’
for all the musicians Frank Bridge had known and who due to the fates of war
had been unable to realise their potential.
One of the half-truths about the
reception of this work is that it represents the composer’s move towards his
‘Dissonant Contemporary’ period. To be sure, there is much dissonance in these pages.
But in some mysterious way, several of these passages create a lyrical magic
that seems far away from the horror of the trenches. There are moments of
resentment and passion, but this is not the whole story. The structure of the Sonata owed much to
Franz Liszt. There are moments when Alban Berg’s mantle falls on the composer. And
then Scriabin’s ‘shifting tonalities’ are often present.
From a recitalist’s point of
view, this a challenging work. Maurice Hinson (Guide to the Pianists
Repertoire, Indiana University Press, 2000) remarks that it ‘is one of the
most ambitious British piano composition of its period.’ He concludes by noting
that ‘advanced pianism is required.’
Benjamin Martin presents one of
the finest interpretations that I have heard. For the record there are
currently eight versions noted in the Arnold Bax Website discography.
The final number on this
excellent CD is a wonderful ‘cocktail piano’ transcription by Benjamin Martin of
Charlie Chaplin’s iconic song ‘Smile’. This music was originally written for
the silent film Modern Times. Words to the ‘song’ were added in 1954. Over
the years it has been rescored and rearranged many times and has been recorded
by a diverse group of artists including Placido Domingo, Liberace and Michael
Jackson. The film was a critique of the impact of Fordism in the US
workforce. Chaplin plays a man who is at
odds with modern technology. It is regarded as the last great silent film,
although Chaplin did concede to a soundtrack of music and sound effects. There
is no spoken dialogue. Martin’s arrangement makes a thoughtful and wistful
conclusion to a fascinating exploration of English piano music.
The liner notes are in two parts:
An overview by the late Michael Kennedy and a detailed analysis of each work by
Michael Quinn. I think a through-written note would have been preferable. There
is a brief biography of Benjamin Martin.
The font is of reasonable size; nonetheless, it is printed as black text
on beige. Not the easiest of reads. As for the cover, it is one of the least
inspiring I have seen for a while. The pianist is dressed as if he has just
come in from digging the garden. It is the sort of cover that one would skip
past in the browser. Which is a pity, as this is a major contribution to the
repertoire of English piano music. It is essential repertoire that is played to
perfection with huge technical accomplishment and a great sympathetic
understanding of each piece.
Track Listing:
Frederick DELIUS (1862-1934) Three Preludes for piano
(1923)
Arnold BAX (1883-1953) Piano Sonata No. 3 in G sharp
minor (1926)
Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958) Hymn-tune Prelude
on Song 13 by Orlando Gibbons (1930)
Frank BRIDGE (1879-1941) Sonata for Piano (1921-24)
Charles (Charlie) Spencer CHAPLIN (1889-1977) arr. Benjamin
MARTIN (b.1970): 'Smile' from Modern Times (1936)
Benjamin Martin (piano)
Rec. 2006-2009
MELBA PANTHEON MR 301146
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review
was first published.
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