English Piano Rarities played by Peter Jacobs

Peter Jacobs states that “the genesis of this CD is curious, and a little unusual.” He explains that between 1980 and 2005 he recorded some 30 CDs/LPs. These were with record companies that are defunct in 2023. In 2019 Heritage Records began a major project of reissuing several of these albums. The present “sampler” is designed to allow the interested listener to appraise some of this unfamiliar repertoire. 

The recital gets off to a good start with Henry Balfour Gardiner’s Noel dating from 1908. It is quite definitely a Seasonal piece with its direct quotation of Good King Wenceslas. It is a little unusual as it begins energetically and ends softly after having explored the well-known carol.

Billy Mayerl wrote many once popular piano pieces but is now remembered for just one: Marigold. He fell out of fashion in the late 1930s but was revived in the 1990s. Due to the diligence of Eric Parkin, Leslie De’Ath and Peter Jacobs, the listener can hear a wide selection of Mayerl’s work. The evocative Sleepy Piano (1926) is no cinch as a glance at the sheet music will reveal.

In 1932 the great and good in English music published A Bach Book for Harriet Cohen. It included offerings from Arnold Bax, Arthur Bliss, Frank Bridge, Herbert Howells, John Ireland, Constant Lambert, William Walton, and Vaughan Williams. On this CD we hear first the Chorale Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ, as Bach harmonised it, followed by RVWs delightful re-creation of it.

Incunabula refers to written material prior to 1501. I am not sure what relevance this has to Thomas Wilson’s eponymous piece written in 1983. It is presented in six unrelated sections, balancing moods of agitation and tranquillity. Not easy music to come to terms with, but no doubt about the imaginative and colourful pianism.

Frank Bridge’s oeuvre divides into several periods. These include Edwardian romanticism, impressionism and finally a well-developed individual modernism that was dissonant, almost atonal in style. Hidden Fires was composed in 1926/27. It has been suggested that this “simmering toccata” recalls Scriabin’s Vers la flamme. There are nods to Bartók and bitonality and a lingering romanticism.

Calum MacDonald in the liner notes for the original CD release of Jacobs’s recording of Gargoyle (1928) suggests that it is an “astonishing, eldritch, (weird, uncanny) [and] sardonically witty piece.”  He notes the “spiky, angular melodic material, bitonal harmonies, frequent biting dissonance and stark, uncompromising textures.” MacDonald concludes by suggesting that this is “...a brilliantly vivid impression of some scuttling, sarcastic, impish being.” Nothing more need be said. 

Charles Villiers Stanford completed two volumes of 24 Preludes, op.163 (1918) and op.179 (1920). I accept the warning from Jacobs that the listener may “become submerged by sheer weight of numbers” if they try to through listen to all forty-eight. So, it is OK to excerpt. One from each book has been selected here. Both contain well-wrought pianism, rich harmonies, and flowing melodies. The track listing should have mentioned that the Prelude in E flat minor, from Set 1 is subtitled a Study and is eighth of that volume. The Prelude in E flat Major, from Set 2 is the seventh number of that series. 

Hubert Parry’s Hands across the Centuries Suite dates from 1918, the last year of his life. It reflects his lifelong interest in the music of J.S. Bach. The Suite presents a selection of baroque dance forms, reimagined for the twentieth century. Jacobs writes that The Passionate Allemande is “a thrilling tour de force, Bach and Brahms combined in British optimism…”  

Benjamin Dale is recalled (when remembered at all) for his massive, Sonata in D minor for piano, op.1 (1902-5). He composed a few other works for the instrument including the character piece Prunella, an English Dance and the present Night Fancies, Impromptu for piano, op.3 (1907). This latter is substantial, lasting for some ten minutes. The booklet suggests that it has “rich harmonies and Elgarian opulence” and shows that Dale knew Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1. There are also moments when it seems impressionistic as well as romantic. And look out for nods to the Westminster Chimes.

In the 1980s, Peter Jacobs recorded several Piano Sonatas by the forgotten British composer Harold Truscott. In 2019, they were re-issued by Heritage on three CDs. For this sampler, he has chosen the Allegro from Sonata No.13 completed in 1967. It is exciting and immediately approachable: it must have been at odds with much that was being written at this time. Jacobs explains that “everything [he] recorded was studied with the [Truscott], who was present at all the sessions.”

Alan Bush’s Corentyne Kwe-Kwe, op.75 (1972) was dedicated to “Those men and women of Guyana who faced a British warship and stood their ground.” This (apparently) refers to the population’s reaction, back in 1953, to the Royal Navy response to a “brewing Communist conspiracy”, in what was then a British colony. The toccata-like piece is based on an old African tune commemorating the abolition of slavery in British Guiana in 1842. All overly complicated date-wise. The title Kwe-Kwe alludes to a traditional Guyanese wedding ceremony where songs and dances are performed around the new bride’s house. Lots of rhythmic vitality here, but just a little predictable.

I did not warm to Trevor Hold’s enigmatic Musical Clocks taken from his Six Kaleidoscopes. It does not seem to develop or go anywhere. The musical onomatopoeia created as “the clocks chime, buzz, strike and whirr” are fun, though.

The final composer represented on this smorgasbord is John Foulds. First up is his Gandharva-Music, op.49 (completed 1926). Often inspired by Eastern religion and mythology, Fould’s alludes to Hindu/Buddhist “musical angels” which he insisted he heard one summer’s day during 1915. What the angels sang, he jotted down. A toccata-like right hand part is supported by a ground bass. I have suggested before that this is “the ultimate in Impressionistic music, full of the warm haze of an English summer’s day.” We are not wised up to what the angels sang, save perhaps that the world is a beautiful place.

Most John Foulds enthusiasts will know the extrovert April-England op.48, no.1 in its splendid orchestral arrangement. That said, it was originally a study from an unfinished suite, Impressions of Time and Place completed on the morning of the vernal equinox, 21 March 1926. Listeners will certainly make a connection with Robert Browning’s evergreen poem, O to be in England, now that April’s here (despite the date of composition being a few days previous!) Evoking “the boundless fecundity, opulent burgeoning of Springtime,” it provides an excellent conclusion to this remarkable recital.

The liner notes, devised by the soloist, present an interesting introduction to each piece of music on this CD. One serious drop off is that typically both the track-listing and the text do not provide the dates of composition, the opus numbers, nor in most cases, the given-name, and dates of each composer. This is essential information. I have provided these in this review. Neither are the venue and dates of recordings presented. I attach below details of the Heritage Record re-masterings from which this recital was derived.

The “compilation” does what it states, “on the tin.” It provides the listener, who may not have the patience to listen to the entire run of Peter Jacobs’s English music recordings, to get to know some of these works and decide whether to invest further. Measuring up the performances here, which are diligent and skilful throughout, I imagine that many listeners will wish to pursue this beguiling repertoire so well promoted by this soloist.

Track Listing:
Henry Balfour Gardiner (1877-1950)
Noel (1908)
Billy Mayerl (1902-1959)
Sleepy Piano (1926)
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Chorale Ach, bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ; Chorale Prelude: Ach, bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ (1932)
Thomas Wilson (1927-2001)
Incunabula (1983)
Frank Bridge (1879-1941)
Hidden Fires (1926/27); Gargoyle (1928)
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)
Prelude in E-Flat Major, Set 2, op.179 (1920); Prelude in E-Flat Minor, Set 1, op.163 (1918)
Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848-1918)
The Passionate Allemande from Hands Across the Centuries (1918)
Benjamin Dale (1885-1943)
Night Fancies, Impromptu for piano, op.3 (1909)
Harold Truscott (1914-92)
Allegro from Sonata No. 13 (1967)
Alan Bush (1900-95)
Corentyne Kwe-Kwe, op.75 (1972)
Trevor Hold (1939-2004)
Musical Clocks (1989)
John Foulds (1880-1939)
Gandharva-Music, op.49 (1926); April-England, op.48, no.1 (1926)

Discography
The Piano Music of Hubert Parry HTGCD 160
British Piano Collection Volume 1 HTGCD 405 (Parry, Stanford, Vaughan Williams)
British Piano Collection Volume 2 HTGCD 406 (Balfour Gardiner, Bush, Dale, Foulds)
The Piano Music of Trevor Hold HTGCD 294/5
Piano Music of Billy Mayerl HTGCD 176
Harold Truscott: Piano Sonatas and Prelude and Fugues HTGCD 304 (Three CDs)
Frank Bridge: Complete Music for Piano CCD1016 (Three CDs)
Thomas Wilsons Incunabula was issued on a cassette tape, Aspen Music PEN103