The Toccata, op.3 is an early
work. It was written in 1875 during Stanford’s second half-year stay in
Germany. Howell notes the nod towards
Schumann’s example of the form and suggests that the present work ‘must be a
joyride for those who find the Schumann easy, slightly less for who don’t.’ It
has also been influenced by Weber’s ‘moto perpetuo’ (the finale of the Piano
Sonata No.1 which was deemed to be the ‘ne plus ultra of dexterity.’ It was dedicated to the pianist Marie Krebbs
(1851-1900), whose ‘war horse’ was the Schumann Toccata in C, op.7.
Everyone who has toiled to learn
the piano has had to contend with Sonatinas. Whether Clementi, Diabelli, Spindler,
Kuhlau or Beethoven, they are an ever present feature of teaching the classics
from Grade I upwards. Some are good, some dreadful, many musical, some devoid
of any artistic content. But all are deemed good practice. Other Sonatinas have
been produced by composers such as Ireland and Ravel. (Why they did not call
them Sonatas, I will never know. They are certainly not pieces designed to help
the tyro with diverse aspects of technique.)
Stanford’s examples fall between
these two stools. Hardly likely to be used pedagogically, they do not really
present recital standard material. Howell writes that Stanford may have been musing
on sonatas by C.P.E. Bach and early Haydn. These interesting, sometimes wayward,
examples of the genre are his reaction to this earlier music. The two examples,
one in D minor the other in G major were composed in 1922. I did enjoy them and
hope that one day I can peruse the scores. I guess that they may just about be
in gift of a Grade 6½ -er!
The only work on this double-CD
set that has been recorded before (two movements of the Suite, op.2 were released
by Howell on Sheva 019) is the massive Twenty Four Preludes in all the keys,
op.179. This were issued in 1998 by Peter Jacobs on the Olympia label (OCD638).
In 1918 Stanford had composed his
first set of 24 Preludes and Howell muses that ‘it is typical of [his]
industry, that…he should become the first – maybe the only – British composer
to have produced two such sets.’
These preludes follow the same
key-scheme as Bach used in his celebrated 48.
They were dedicated to Harold Samuel who was a concert pianist, teacher
and exponent of Bach.
Christopher Howell ponders on
whether these preludes ought to be played as a group, or whether it is
acceptable to make a selection for recital purposes. He does not come to a
final conclusion, but I think he considers that this set has considerable
‘continuity of thought between the one piece and the next’. I listened to these
straight through: I certainly felt that the work is well-balanced, has much
stylistic consistency and takes the listener on an emotional journey through a
well-judged set of experiences, from the ‘Edwardian bombast’ of the opening
Prelude in C major to the deeply funeral final Prelude ‘Addio’. This expedition
includes references to baroque dance forms such as a ‘musette’, a ‘sarabande’
and a ‘gavotte’.
It has been suggested that the first
set of Twenty Four Preludes was Stanford’s ‘war diary’ whereas the present work
is his ‘peace diary.’
Like the previous volume of
Charles Villiers Stanford’s piano music, the liner notes are excellent.
Christopher Howell has reprinted his important essay on ‘Stanford the Pianist’
which examines his early years as an accomplished player, his enjoyment of
chamber music and accompanying songs. There is a succinct overview of the
entire corpus of piano works before a detailed study of the pieces presented on
these two CDs. I have relied heavily on
these notes in making this review.
The quality of Christopher
Howell’s playing is superb. I have remarked before that it would be easy to be condescending
when playing the ‘educational music’ yet he brings considerable integrity to
the pieces presented here, no matter their technical difficulty. I have no
complaints about the excellent sound quality of these two discs.
Stanford’s piano music tends to
be ‘summative’ of the past, without ever descending to pastiche I concede that
by and large it is ‘conservative’ in its sound world. He is happy to use tried
and tested forms and pianistic devices, yet he always brings his personal honesty
and imagination to whatever he writes. These pages reveal that there is
considerable depth, romanticism, accommodation to classical models, inspiration
for young pianists and exploration of the then emerging ‘Celtic Twilight’.
Every piece presented here is worthy of our attention.
I understand that this major
project will be fairly soon be completed with a third volume. So far, it has
been a wonderful experience coming to terms with Charles Villiers Stanford’s
music for the piano. I look forward to this with considerable impatience.
Track Listing:
Track Listing:
CD1
Two Novellettes (1874)
Suite, op.2 (c.1875)
‘Fare Well’ (1916)
Six Song-Tunes (1919/20)
Toy Story (For the Children (1919/20)
Ten Dances (Old and New) for Young Players, op.58 (1894)
Toccata in C major, op.3 (1875)
CD2
Sonatina in D minor (1922)
Sonatina in G major (1922)
Twenty Four Preludes in all the keys, op.179 (1920)
Christopher Howell (piano)
SHEVA SH125
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.
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