Eric Fogg is barely known to
enthusiasts of British music. He is remembered now only for a splendid Bassoon
Concerto (1931), the atmospheric tone-poems Sea-Sheen
and Merok and the William Blake
setting The Seasons for chorus and
orchestra.
The present Poem was composed in 1922 for Fogg’s wife, the cellist Kathleen
Moorhouse. There is certainly nothing ‘modernist’ about this piece. In fact,
the listener will consider this to be more in the vein of Bantock’s Scottish
inspired works. It is a reflective
piece, sometimes hinting at Rachmaninov. The liner notes draw attention to the
two major themes – one elegiac and the other noble. Poem is in ternary form with a stormy middle section. This is a poignant
and often moving work that does not deserve to remain in obscurity. It is an
impressive discovery.
The life and times of John
Ireland needs little discussion. The present sonata is one of the composer’s
most important works. The Cello Sonata was composed in 1923 and was premiered by
Beatrice Harrison and Evlyn Howard-Jones at the Aeolian Hall in London on 4
April 1924. The Sonata is imbued with a
strong sense of place and mystery inspired by the landscape around Chanctonbury
Ring in Sussex and the set of Bronze age barrows near Devil’s Jump on Treyford
Hill. The music has been described as ‘pervaded with the brooding mystery of
the deep past.’
The liner notes explain an
important clue to the work’s inner significance. In the opening movement,
‘moderato e sostenuto’, Ireland quotes music from his song ‘The Trellis’, a
setting of Aldous Huxley. The lines referred to are ‘None but the flowers have
seen/Our white caresses.’ Presumably this is a ‘hidden’ programme to this part
of the music.
The slow movement, ‘poco
largamente’, is played with rapt attention, allowing the heart-breaking
pastoral mood of the music to ‘stand revealed.’ The idealised picture of the landscape is
destroyed by the aggressive opening pizzicato in the ‘finale’, ‘con moto e marcato’.
This is in complete contrast to what has transpired. This changes the music
from a gentle, smiling landscape to something caustic, sometimes frightening
and emotionally challenging.
The entire Sonata is played with
drama, care and constant recognition of the ‘unity in diversity’ of this great
work.
I loved Cyril Scott’s short, but
utterly beautiful arrangement of the Irish folk-song ‘The Gentle Maiden’.
Originally published for violin and piano in 1912, the present cello version
(c.1925) remains unpublished. Scott
captures the magic and the sheer innocence of the original song, and this is
reflected in the performance.
I was disappointed that the liner
notes give comparatively little detail about Frederic Austin’s ‘exquisite’
Cello Sonata.
This large-scale three movement work
was completed in July 1927, and was most likely written for John Barbirolli,
who was an accomplished cellist as well as a conductor. Interestingly, Martin
Lee-Browne in his study of Austin (Thames, 1999) writes that there is no record
of a public performance and that Austin’s daughter-in-law Leily Howell, a
professional cellist, was unware of the Sonata’s existence.
I found that this Sonata was a
delight to listen to. It is typically rhapsodic in mood, but never meandering.
There are occasional hints of Delius, impressionism, and folksong in these
pages. In several passages Austin seems to move the argument of the work towards
the more ‘advanced’ sound-world of Continental Europe. The heart of the sonata
is the thoughtful ‘moderato’ which creates a magical mood.
Frederic Austin’s is fortunate in
having several of his orchestral works on CD. This includes the Overture: Sea-Venturers, the Symphony in
E major, the Rhapsody: Spring, The Pageant of London and the Richard II
Overture. The present Cello Sonata is a
worthy addition to this sadly short list.
For many years, a desideratum of
mine was Greville Cooke’s Cormorant Crag for
piano solo. A few years ago, Duncan Honeybourne obliged me with the excellent
CD A Forgotten English Romantic (EMRCD022).
Not only did this feature that wonderfully atmospheric tone-poem for piano, but
several other piano pieces by Cooke. Sea Croon, the eponymous track of this
CD, is four minutes of delight. Nodding to the Gaelic ‘ethos’ of Granville Bantock
and Marjorie Kennedy-Fraser
(1857-1930) this is a work that seems to be based on a folk-song, but probably
isn’t. It is a lyrical piece that tugs at the heart strings. I am not sure how
Gaelic the mood of the music is, but to me at least, it conjures up mages of
the far-distant Western Isles if not Tir-na-nÓg, the Land of the Young so
sought after by Arnold Bax.
When I first gained an interest in William Alwyn, the
received wisdom was that the earliest acknowledged works were the Rhapsody for
Piano Quartet (1939) and the Divertimento for Solo Flute (1940). It was assumed
that he had destroyed or suppressed all his student and early music. In recent
years there has been a rediscovery of much of these ‘lost’ works. These include
several orchestral pieces, some youthful string quartets and a selection of piano
pieces. To this listener, at any rate they have proved of considerable musical
and artistic interest.
The Two Folk Tunes for cello and piano date from 1929, when the
composer was aged around 24 years old. The first, a ‘Meditation on a Norwegian Folk-Song
Fragment’, would appear not to be based in any actual tune. This hauntingly
beautiful piece looks back to Grieg and his arrangements of the ‘calls of
Norwegian cowherds.’ According to the
liner notes, Ole Bull’s ‘The Dairymaid’s Sunday’ may have been an
inspiration. The second miniature is an
animated little number based on a genuine Irish tune, ‘Who’ll buy my besoms.’
But don’t miss the wistful middle-section.
Benjamin Burrows is usually regarded as an ‘art-song’
composer. However, a glance at his catalogue of music suggests that his
interests ranged much wider. There are several attractively titled orchestral
works, a large corpus of piano music and many chamber pieces. The present
Sonatina for cello and piano was completed in November 1930 and published the
following year. Most musicians associate the formal title ‘Sonatina’ with
‘teaching’ music (although Ravel and Ireland disprove this theory in their
piano works of that name). It is unfortunate that Burrows did not call this
piece a Sonata. Despite the brevity of its four movements, there is a
profundity intensity and technical accomplishment. The liner notes explain that
it was composed after the break up of a relationship with a student, Jane
Vowles. The present soloist, Joseph Spooner has summed up the Sonatina’s
aesthetic: [It is] a very lyrical piece that
is nevertheless marked by a terseness of expression not generally found until
much later in (for example) Rawsthorne.’
The liner notes are divided into several sections. After the
track listing there are helpful biographies of each composer. These are written
by several hands. Photographs of each composer are featured as well as the
artists. The second section of the insert are the programme notes for each
work. There are the usual performer bios.
This is a well-produced CD. The programme is excellent and
imaginative and deserves to be heard at a sitting – with maybe just a tea-break
(interval) after the Frederic Austin. I am not sure, but I think all these
pieces (except for the John Ireland), are premiere performances. I have noted
above the excellence of the readings by the soloists. This is enhanced by the exceptional
recording.
Finally, this CD is yet another splendid example of the deep
exploration of the British music repertoire by EM Records and the English Music
Festival. It reveals to listeners the depth of interest in music that has lain
undiscovered for many years. Yet, there is so much more hidden in archives and
music libraries of similar quality that need to be excavated. All concerned have done, and are doing, a sterling job.
Track Listing:
Eric FOGG (1903-1939)
Poem (1922)
John IRELAND (1879-1962)
Sonata (1923)
Cyril SCOTT (1879-1970)
The Gentle Maiden (Irish Air) (c.1925)
Frederic AUSTIN (1872-1952)
Sonata (1927)
Greville COOKE (1894-1992)
Sea-Croon (1929)
William ALWYN (1905-85)
Two Folk Tunes
Benjamin BURROWS (1891-1966)
Sonatina (1930)
Josephs Spooner (cello), Rebeca Omordia (piano, Fogg);
Maureen Galea (piano)
EMF CD042
With thanks to MusicWeb Where this CD was first published.
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