William Alwyn: Three Winter Poems (1948)

As winter gets into full swing, readers will have mixed views on the weather. On the one hand it is romantic to have a “traditional” White Christmas: I can only recall enjoying about three in the past sixty-odd years. On the other hand, travel by car, train and foot will be much easier without snow and ice. Yet, there will be chilly days ahead. William Alwyn’s (1905-85) Three Winter Poems for string quartet give us a perfect musical evocation of the season.

These miniatures were composed during the early months of 1948 but were not heard until the premiere by the Maraini String Quartet at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall on 1 June 2005. Alwyn produced sixteen works for string quartet, many written before the Second World War. There are three numbered examples, with the first being completed in 1953. At the same time, Alwyn was employed on the short score of his Symphony No.1, as well as finishing the Sonata for flute and piano and the Concerto Grosso No.2.

Three Winter Poems were dedicated to the Scottish composer and educator John Blackwood McEwen who died on 14 June 1948. He served as professor of harmony and composition at the Royal Academy of Music from 1898 to 1924, and as principal from 1924 to 1936. McEwen was a prolific composer, though his music remains little appreciated, even in his native country. He was known for his exacting teaching style and his contributions to British music education. McEwen was knighted in 1931 and left a legacy through his students and compositions. One of these pupils was William Alwyn.

Three Winter Poems thoughtfully explore several moods: Winter Landscape, Elegy – Frozen Waters and Serenade – Snow Shower. There is no suggestion that there was a literary inspiration behind these miniatures. Andrew Knowles (SOMMCD 0194) has stated that these Poems are “self-explanatory and vividly portray the wintry mood most tellingly. No doubt Alwyn’s experience in writing evocative scores for the cinema (he had written about one hundred soundtracks by this time) played its part in the creation of this charming work.”

Ewan McCormick, reviewing Naxos 8.570340, for MusicWeb International (9 September 2007) has suggested that the “music eloquently captures the coldness and desolation implied by the title. It is not dissimilar to Delius’s North Country Sketches in that respect. This does not however preclude an element of passion in the central Elegy.”

Evaluating the same CD, William Kreindler (MusicWeb International 7 December 2007) has stated that “The ‘Winter Landscape’ is exactly that - a perfect recollection of what one feels in the winter. The second piece is full of suppressed turbulence - waiting for the ice to crack. The instruments are beautifully used here. There is a more elegiac tone at the end. In the last piece a little of the tension is dissipated.”

Discography:

Alwyn, William, Three Winter Poems, with String Quartet, No.1, No.2 and No.3, Razumovsky Quartet, Dutton Epoch CDLX 7168, 2006.

Alwyn, William, Three Winter Poems, with Rhapsody for piano quartet, Sonata-Impromptu for violin and viola, Ballade for viola and piano, Two Songs for voice, violin and piano, Three Songs to Poems by Trevor Blakemore, Sonatina for viola and piano, Various artists, Naxos 8.570340, 2007

Alwyn, William, Three Winter Poems, with String Quartet No.3; Doreen Carwithen String Quartets No.1 and No.2, Tippett Quartet, SOMMCD 0194, 2019