This is the final instalment of CDs exploring the
orchestral music of Charles O’Brien. There are three works on this disc: the
delightful Waltz Suite, op.26, the witty Suite Humoristique, op.8 and a second
version of the dramatic Ellangowan:
Concert Overture, op.10.
Jonathan Woolf reviewed Volume 1 of this collection of music with a Caledonian twist.
It featured the early version of the Ellangowan Overture and the fine Symphony
in F minor, op.23. I had the privilege of submitting my thoughts on Volume 2. This included several
smaller works including the evocative Highland
Scenes and the overtures The Minstrel’s Curse and To Spring.
If I am honest, I prefer the ‘long’ version of Charles
O’Brien’s Ellangowan Overture, op.12.
The revision, which is presented on this disc, is five minutes shorter and
utilises a smaller orchestra. Paul Mann is not explicit with the reasons for
the cuts but suggests they may have been purely pragmatic: the possibility of
more performances. Apparently, the present version was his most frequently
performed work during the composer’s lifetime. So, the revision strategy
worked.
The Ellangowan
Overture was inspired by the great Sir Walter Scott novel Guy Mannering. It is important to note
that this is an ‘overture’ and not a ‘tone poem.’ There is no attempt to create
any programmatic content. O’Brien is more concerned with mood than event. The progress of the music is filled with
tunes that sound as if they are Scottish, however Paul Mann insists that all
the melodies are from the composer’s head and not from a book of Highland Melodies.
In fact, the fictional Ellangowan is really in the Scottish Borders: it was the
home of Harry Bertram, son of the
Laird. But do not let geographical and
topographical details spoil the genuinely Highland mood of this music. There is
much of Felix Mendelssohn’s impressions of Scotland in these pages as well has
Hamish MacCunn’s take on The Lay of the Last Minstrel (a great poem,
well worthy of study) and The Land of the Mountain and the Flood.
Going back to the original
version of Ellangowan, I feel that
the work gains much with the two slower, more reflective passages included: it gives
a greater depth to the incipient romance of this overture. It is ideal that
listeners now have both versions of this splendid concert overture to choose
from.
Paul Mann suggests that
Charles O’Brien’s Waltz Suite, op.26 (1928) may have had its raison d’être in
the demand for music to be played in the then newly-emergent cinemas. This is
reflected in the relatively small-scale orchestra that the work is scored for. The
Waltz Suite, which was composed in 1928, has appeared in its delightful piano
version on Toccata Classics (TOCC0257).
The opening number is
subtitled ‘Tendresse. It begins quietly with an oboe solo, as if a shy beau is
making an ‘invitation to dance.’ The remainder of the piece is subtle in is
exploration of what may well have been an allusion to the ‘Hesitation’ Waltz,
introduced to ballrooms in 1910. The
second piece is called ‘Joie de Vivre’: it is exuberant, extrovert and
evocative of a ballroom in full swing. Notable is the orchestral colour that
the composer has derived from his small band.
‘Jeunesse’ is marked by innocence and delight that is only briefly
challenged by a dramatic encounter with horns and bass trombone. The last waltz
‘Extase’ is perfectly charming. In fact, the liner notes suggest that Charles
O’Brien may have heard Richard Strauss’ Der
Rosenkavalier. It is an assumption that I agree with. Finally, I do think
that Charles O’Brien’s Waltz Suite would have made an excellent score for a
ballet.
The Suite Humoristique, op.8 was written during 1904,
whilst O’Brien was studying with Hamish MacCunn. Mann is unable to state
exactly when the work was first performed, but he notes that it received a
couple of radio broadcasts (May 1929 & January 1939). It was also played by
Dan Godfrey at Bournemouth. The Suite is presented in four movements, each
composed in ternary form. The opening ‘March Fantastique’ is a quirky piece (as
the title implies): I felt it was a little more Russian than Scottish in
temper. The ‘Au Theatre’, a little scherzo really, is more about circuses and
acrobats than a deeply-meaningful play: the middle section is wistful, rather
than boisterous. I loved the ‘Barcarolle’: this is a thoughtful piece of greater
musical depth than the rest of the Suite. It is elegiac in mood, and nods to
Chopin by way of Edward Elgar. Despite this not being ‘Scottish music’ in tone,
it reflects the composer’s feelings about his native heath. The final ‘Danse
bohémienne’ is a flamboyant and vivacious waltz. It is virtuosic and makes
considerable ‘demands’ on the orchestra.
The entire Suite could be classified as ‘light’ music,
but that is no criticism: it is superbly scored, well-constructed and perfectly
balanced.
The liner notes by Paul Mann, the present conductor,
feature a highly-readable and important discussion of all three works. It has
been extremely helpful to me when reviewing this CD as there is virtually no
other information available on Charles O’Brien. The booklet includes the usual
details about the Liepāja Symphony
Orchestra and Paul Mann.
I noted in my review of
Volume 2 that this Latvian orchestral invests a great deal of enthusiasm and
imagination into this music. Less obviously ‘Scottish’ in temper than some of
the previous music (Ellangowan
excepted) this music is played with understanding and sympathy. I reiterate my
point that it would show some ‘gumption’ if one (or more) of the Scottish
orchestras took up some of this music.
Over the last few years, Charles O’Brien has ceased to
be an ‘undiscovered composer’. TOCCATA have presented listeners with three CDs
of orchestral music and two of his piano works. Listeners now have an
opportunity to assess the achievement of this impressive Scottish
composer. I am not sure what other music
exists in the composer’s catalogue: songs, chamber music etc. I do know that
all the orchestral music has been recorded: this is a gigantic achievement.
Track Listing:
Charles
O’BRIEN
(1882-1968)
Ellangowan: Concert Overture, op.10
(1909)
Waltz Suite, op.26 (1928)
Suite Humoristique, op.8 (1904)
Liepāja Symphony Orchestra/Paul Mann
Toccata
Classics TOCC
0299
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.
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