Exploring E.J. Moeran’s Chamber Music Part 1

The English composer E.J. Moeran (1894-1950) is best recalled for a few of his orchestral music, including a ‘rhapsodic’ Violin Concerto (1942) and a ‘glorious’ Symphony in G minor (1937). Singers may include the occasional song in their repertoire, whilst sporadically one or two piano pieces might creep into a recital. On the other hand, virtually all Moeran’s published music has been issued on record, CD, or download, in at least a single recording.

This essay will explore all the published chamber music by E.J. Moeran. This is an introduction to these works, not a detailed analysis. It is presented in roughly chronological order (beginning with the early String Quartet, composed (possibly) just after the end of the First World War, although there is some contention on this dating. The final chamber work is the heartfelt Cello Sonata, written in 1947 for his wife, the cellist Peers Coetmore. Much of this Sonata is a musical reflection on his love (or was it an infatuation?) for Peers. It was a relationship that was slowly coming to an inevitable end.  I have grouped the pieces written for Coetmore together.

Moeran’s chamber music provides a snapshot of his life, musical aesthetic, and passions. Taken overall, it is an enviable achievement, which cries out to be more prominent in the repertoire, both in the recital room and on CD.

Each work is given a brief introduction in non-technical language. I have tried to set them within the context of Moeran’s life and to give a few ‘helpful’ verbal impressions of the music. Additionally, I have referred to some contemporary reviews and subsequent critical comment. The essay concludes with a bibliography and a select discography.

Biographical Notes
The English composer Ernest John Smeed Moeran (E.J. or ‘Jack’) was born on 31 December 1894, in the village of Heston, near Hounslow in Middlesex. His father, who was a clergyman, had been born in Ireland, and his mother hailed from East Anglia. After prep school in Cromer, the young Moeran attended public school at Uppingham in Rutland. Then, as now, this school was particularly noted for its musical achievements. Moeran’s teacher there was Robert Sterndale Bennett, the grandson of the well-known Victorian composer, William. In 1912, Moeran enrolled at the Royal College of Music, however, he left here shortly after the declaration of war in 1914. He immediately enlisted in the army in the 6th (Cyclist) Battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment, where he was a motorcycle despatch rider. After service on the Western Front, he was invalided out with a serious head wound. Before he was demobbed, he spent time in Ireland which was inspirational for him.

After the war, Moeran studied privately with John Ireland, but this arrangement did not last long. Unfortunately, for the composer’s health and wellbeing, he did much of his musical ‘training’ with Peter Warlock (Philip Heseltine) and the enigmatic Bernard van Dieren. Their social influence led to Moeran’s heavy drinking.  It was a problem that he would never entirely overcome. 

In the post First World War years, Moeran collected folksongs from Ireland, Norfolk, and Suffolk. This influenced his not inconsiderable catalogue of original songs and choral music. He continued to write several important works, but it was not until the premiere of his Symphony in G minor in 1938, that he finally established his reputation as a leading British composer. Other major compositions followed, including the Violin Concerto (1942), the Rhapsody No. 3 in F-sharp major for piano and orchestra (1943) and the Cello Concerto (1945).

An important element of Moeran’s aesthetic was the influence of the country of Ireland. As noted, his father had been born there, and the composer came to love that nation, its people and culture, and spent much time there.

E.J. Moeran died on the banks of the River Kenmare in County Kerry on 1 December 1950. It was believed that he had a cerebral haemorrhage. He is buried in Killowen Old Parish Churchyard.

Stylistically, Moeran’s music changed from the ‘John Ireland-esque’ piano music of the early twenties, through the ‘folksy’ works and then the ‘high’ romanticism of the Symphony in G minor, to a new, personal, even neo-classical style forged during and after the Second World War. Yet, underlying all these ‘periods’ is a concern for structure, and a warm, lyrical tone is nearly always a prominent feature of Moeran’s music.

The Published Chamber Music Catalogue
I have used the titles given in Geoffrey Self’s ‘Classified List of Works’ (Self, 1986, p.257f).

1. String Quartet No.2 in E flat (posthumous) (possibly 1918-20) Novello & Co. Ltd, 1956
2. Trio in D for violin, cello and piano (1920, revised 1925) Oxford University Press, 1925
3. String Quartet No.1 in A minor (1921) J & W Chester Ltd., 1923
4. Sonata in E minor for violin and piano, (1923) J & W Chester Ltd., 1923
5. Sonata for two violins (1930) Hawkes and Son, 1937
6. Trio for violin, viola, and cello (1931) Augener., 1936
7. Prelude for cello and piano (1943) Novello & Co. Ltd, 1944
8. Irish Lament for cello and piano (1944) Novello & Co. Ltd, 1952
9. Fantasy Quartet for oboe and strings (1946) J & W Chester Ltd., 1947
10. Sonata for cello and piano (1947) Novello & Co. Ltd, 1948

String Quartet No.2 in E flat (posthumous) (c.1918-20)

The immediate post-First World War years were particularly busy for E.J. Moeran. In February 1920, he had returned to the Royal College of Music to study composition with John Ireland. Several important works were written in that year, including the Theme and Variations for piano, the A.E. Housman settings in the song-cycle In Ludlow Town, and the first version of the Trio in D. Moeran’s first orchestral piece, In the Mountain Country was completed in the following year. For relaxation, he toured France and Spain on a motorcycle with the Irish artist and writer Robert Gibbings.

It is understood that Moeran wrote four string quartets. The earliest was composed whilst he was still at Uppingham School. The score is missing. Three more followed. Only the final one, in A minor was published in his lifetime.

The String Quartet No.2 in E flat was found by the composer’s wife, Peers Coetmore in her late husband’s papers: it was not published until 1956. There is a debate about the work’s dating. Geoffrey Self (1986, 253 ff.) has argued that it is a late composition: the composer’s valediction. On the other hand, there is also an opinion that what we know as String Quartet No.2 may consist of two fugitive movements from these above-mentioned ‘lost’ early quartets. Certainly, Ian Maxwell (2014, p.133 ff.) considers that they were written at different times. This is based on hand-writing analysis. Furthermore, the second ‘movement’ can be seen emulating the formal characteristics of the English Phantasy promulgated by Walter Willson Cobbett and his Competitions between 1905 and 1919.

After considerable analysis, Maxwell declares that the most likely date for the first movement is the spring of 1918, and the score was possibly completed whilst Moeran was stationed at Boyle, County Roscommon. The second movement may have been composed for submission to the Cobbett competition of 1917.

Whatever the historical precedent for this attractive quartet, it is well-written, both formally and instrumentally. The two movements operate well together. It may not be the composer’s greatest chamber work, but it is certainly full of good things, that are often quite inspired.

Trio in D for violin, cello and piano (1920, revised 1925)

The Piano Trio is the longest of Moeran’s chamber works being just short of half an hour. It would be unfair to suggest that this was ‘only’ a student exercise. On the other hand, the influence of his teacher John Ireland is evident as well as that of Johannes Brahms, by way of Charles Villiers Stanford. The Trio was premiered at the Wigmore Hall on 12 November 1921, by the Harmonic Trio.

The reception of the original (1920) version was mixed. The Observer, (13 November 1921, p.16) considered that  '...[the work] proved to be rather too dependent on rhythmical considerations, so that the lengthy slow movement loses interest, and the whole trio, which is in modern vein, and couched in the language with which John Ireland’s chamber music has made us familiar, does not grip very well. But the composer has ideas not without originality, and if he can develop them into more closely knit movements, with a power in them other than that of rhythm alone, he will produce some strong work one day.’ It was a prophetic critique.

Between 1920 and 1925, Moeran revised the Trio, including several excisions and modifications. The manuscript for the original version is lost. 

The opening movement uses several themes, which, it could be argued are overdeveloped. It has been suggested that Delius may be a model for the beautiful slow movement. The following scherzo is characterised by a much ‘harder edge’, that implies he was trying to get away from the ‘Delian’ tag. It is possible that the Ravel Piano Trio (1914) could have been at the back of Moeran’s mind here. The final movement, a rondo, is infused by folk music, with the principal subject being characterised by a pentatonic mood (black notes on the piano). Whatever the formal shortcomings of the Trio, it has a deep lyrical flow. This is what makes it a success and deserving of more performances.

Bibliography
Cobbett, Walter Willson, ed., Cobbett's Cyclopedic Survey of Chamber Music Volume 2 (Oxford University Press, 1963)
Maxwell, Ian, The Importance of Being Ernest John: Challenging the Misconceptions about the Life and Works of E. J. Moeran, Doctoral Thesis, Durham University, 2014
McNeill, R. J. (1982). A critical study of the life and works of E. J. Moeran. PhD thesis, Faculty of Music, The University of Melbourne.
Self, Geoffrey, The Music of E.J. Moeran, Toccata Press, 1986
Wild, Stephen, E.J. Moeran, Triad Press, Rickmansworth, 1974
The Moeran Database (website seems to be defunct, July 2024).
The files of The Times, The Observer, The Daily Telegraph, The Chesterian, Music Review, Monthly Musical Record etc.

With thanks to Spirited, the Journal of the English Music Festival where this essay was first published.

To be continued…

Chamber Music of Kenneth V. Jones on Lyrita

Kenneth V. Jones and I go back a long, if limited, way. Many years ago, I discovered a mimeographed score of one of his songs in a famous second-hand music shop in London. At first, I thought I had found a holograph, but as it was only priced at £1, I guessed that it was merely a copy. But the name stuck in my mind. Some years later, I was watching one of the iconic British Transport Films Down to Sussex on video (remember them?). This was a remarkable portrayal of outstanding places and events to visit: Brighton, Chanctonbury Ring, Goodwood Races, polo at Cowdray Park, and Glyndebourne. The score was by Jones. In fact, he wrote the music for fourteen films in this series. Those I have seen always impressed me by their lyricism and craftmanship. So, it was with considerable anticipation that I listened to this remarkable new disc from Lyrita. I am beholden to Paul Conway’s outstanding introduction to the composer and his discussion of the repertoire, in my preparation of this review.

The liner notes give a decent biographical introduction to Kenneth V. Jones. Another source is the British Music Society Journal article on MusicWeb International, here, although this was written about 15 years before his death.

A few very brief notes may be of interest. Jones was born in Bletchley on 14 May 1924. He attended the King’s School in Canterbury. During the Second World War he completed an RAF sponsored course in music and philosophy at Queen’s College, Oxford. This was followed by four years in the service with Short Sunderland flying boats in Africa and Asia. From 1947, he studied at the Royal College of Music under R.O. Morris, Bernard Stevens, and Gordon Jacob. Highlights of his career include being founder and first conductor of the Wimbledon Symphony Orchestra. His work covered many genres, including the above-mentioned film scores, and incidental music for plays and television. I understand that concert works include three Sinfonias for orchestra, a Concerto for strings, and an another for oboe.

Jones aesthetic could be categorised as neo-classical, never avant-garde, but creating a bittersweet harmonic and melodic sound world. One advertising text suggests that “the language is familiar - Françaix and Shostakovich come to mind - engaging, playful and immediately graspable.” I would add Tippett, Rawsthorne and Bartók as useful stylistic markers.

Kenneth V. Jones died on 2 December 2020, aged 96 years.

The first work in this outstanding disc is the Quintet for piano and string quartet, op.26 (1967). A contemporary review in The Times (7 April 1967) suggested that the style was not “strikingly original with its echoes of Bartók and Tippett.” Yet, on a positive note, A.E.P. considered that despite a rough and ready performance, it was well constructed and “formally succinct.”  This is especially so with the final movement’s revisiting of material from the Allegro and the Adagio. Nearly sixty years on, listeners worry less about influences, and more about impact and integrity. This is a striking Quintet that impresses with its energy, vigour, and on occasion introversion. The piano is busy all the time but is not overbearing. It presents a constructive dialogue between all the instruments, never allowing one to dominate the proceedings.

The Wind Quintet No.2, op.2 was commissioned by UNESCO, and was complete by 1952. It was another three years before it was premiered during a studio broadcast on the BBC Third Programme (14 December 1955) and with the first public performance being during January 1956. The Quintet is presented in four short movements. What I enjoyed most was the luminous sound of the instruments, whether it was in “fanfare like gestures” of the opening Lento, the “crisp, clipped progress” of the Vigoroso or the “liquid fluency” of the slow movement. The finale is a delight with its hunting horns bidding farewell. One contemporary commentator (Daily Telegraph, 31 January 1956) accurately caught the work’s mood which showed “a feeling for the medium which lends itself…to the jocular, the pastoral and the aphoristic.”

I always enjoy hearing what can be termed “grade music,” such as the small character pieces by Alec Rowley, Felix Swinstead or Thomas Dunhill. I guess it comes down to the fact that it is good to hear tunes created for the tyro, played by professionals. The London Mozart players give six examples taken from Jones’s collection devised for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. All date from 1971. They are written for violin or cello and piano and vary from Grade 1 to Grade 5. All are well-wrought and no matter how technically simple are never patronising in their composition and performance. See the track listing above for the redolent titles. The one that caught my ear/eye was the lovely sounding The Day Dawns on the Breakwater.

Quinquifid is both an unfamiliar word and a novel musical title for me. It means “five columns" or as the booklet suggests “that which is cleft into five parts.” Certainly, this is what Jones has done with this brass quintet. It was written in 1980 and is the most recent piece on this disc. The five contrasting sections are linked by short cadenzas. Various dispositions are presented including the witty, the ruminative and the confident. Various brass techniques are used such as flutter-tongue and muted trumpet. The middle Jiocoso-Andante lyrico suggests a smoochy smoke-filled room, whilst the Duet-Shadow Play, the briefest movement, provides some respectable counterpoint between the two trumpets. Surely a work of this quality should be in the repertoire of all wind quintets.

Jones’s Piano Sonata, op.4 dates from 1950 whilst he was still a student at the Royal College of Music. Presented in three concise but not too short movements, it has been described as “a bright clear-cut composition, more a sonatina than a full-scale composition.” (Andrew Porter, Radio Times 27 February 1953). I would argue with him about this definition. For one thing, it lasts for more than twelve minutes and there is a wider range of emotion than a didactic sonatina. Typically, the music is angular, but a romantic strain emerges, especially in one of the episodes in the vibrant Rondo burlesque. This contrasts with the meditative Adagio molto sostenuto. The first movement is the most acerbic of the three, with “heavily accented, repeated chords” and wild scotch-snaps. Overall, this is a creative, satisfying and technically proficient piece for solo piano.

The Two Contrasts for solo cello were written in 1971. These imaginative numbers were dedicated to Jones’s son’s distinguished cello teacher, Margaret Moncreiff. The first, Energico, is witty and full of life, whilst the Andante espressivo is thoughtful and lyrical. Both end with a fetching pizzicato.

Jones’s String Quartet No.1 dates from 1950. It is presented in a single movement but is divided into two unequal parts. The work opens with a short Lento espressivo, which soon builds up momentum, before the Allegro moderato takes over. Conway suggests that Bartók is an inspiration, along with Elizabeth Maconchy’s Quartets. The latter had reached her sixth at this date. Stylistically, Jones insisted that the “acerbic, gritty character of the music” is in “direct contrast to the pre-Second World War English Pastoral style.” That said, 74 years on, there is nothing too stark about this quartet. Conway is correct in suggesting that there is “a certain folklike quality to the writing, not least in its punchy syncopations, that roots the score in a distinctly British landscape.” For me, it is one of the most enjoyable quartets that I have heard in a long time. It deserves its place in the recital room.

I have already mentioned the outstanding liner notes. There are a couple of points though. No CV of the London Mozart Players is given, although this is easy to find online. And secondly, the track listing states that several of the compositions are “undated” however, in the programme notes these are supplied…

The performances, which are always fully engaged and sympathetic, are aided by an excellent recording.

This is a resourceful CD which introduces the listener to an unfairly forgotten British musician. Jones’s music is always interesting, approachable, and enjoyable. I would most definitely welcome a subsequent disc of his work.

Track Listing:
Kenneth V. Jones (1924-2020)
Quintet for piano and string quartet, op.26 (1967)
Wind Quintet No.2, op.2 (1952)
From Easy Pieces for violin and cello (1971): The Day Dawns on the breakwater (cello); Valley Song (violin); The Moorhen’s Tap Dance (cello); Semi-Siesta (violin); Dancing Puppet (violin); Morning Song (cello)
Quinquifid for brass quintet (1980)
Piano Sonata, op.4 (1950)
Two Contrasts for solo cello (1971)
String Quartet No.1, op.6 (1950)
Soloists from the London Mozart Players
rec. 18-19 September 2020 (String Quartet, Two Contrasts, Wind Quintet, Quinquifid); 2 August 2022 (Piano Quintet, Easy Pieces) St John’s Upper Norwood, London; 9 August 2023 (Piano Sonata) Wyastone Concert Hall, Monmouth.
Lyrita SRCD.434
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.