This remarkable CD opens with
Alan Rawsthorne’s Chamber Cantata dating from 1937 (not 1939 as listed in the
liner notes). It is a premiere recording. John Turner explains that he
discovered the manuscript of this work in the Library of Congress, Washington
DC amongst the papers of American composer and musicologist Halsey Stevens. It
was believed to have been destroyed. The Cantata was premiered at the Wigmore
Hall, London on 15 February 1937. I guess that the composer quietly withdrew
the work, after receiving a bunch of less than positive reviews.
Rawsthorne chose to set four medieval poems: Of a Rose
is al myn Song; Lenten ys come; Wynter Wakeneth al my Care and The Nicht is neir gone. They are a
subtle balance of slightly ribald humour, nature painting and religious piety. The
liner notes remind the listener that this cantata was a rare example of
Rawsthorne’s setting of Christian texts (the first two of these songs).
However, the composer was clearly inspired by medieval poetry, religious or
otherwise: subsequent settings of medieval texts included Carmen Vitale (1963) and the Medieval
Diptych (1962).
What is interesting is the contemporary
critics’ view of this work, which as mentioned, was none too encouraging. The
reviews do give the present-day listener a clue to enjoying this music. For
example, the Daily Telegraph (16
February 1937) thinks that the piece was ‘sincere, and even humorous’ but the
‘obstinate counterpoint and the nervous shrinking from a natural vocal line
made an effect of strain and forced expression.’ The
Times critic (19 February 1937) felt that the dichotomy between the ‘four
very old English poems’ and the ‘very new dissonances’ denied the vocal line
‘feeling.’ And finally, the most acerbic
review of all was in the Musical Times
(March 1937): ‘Here the composer has set four poems in spiky old English to
modern linear counterpoint so very spiky that its strands evoke an image of
barbed wire…’
Viewed from a period of more than
80 years later, this work is a remarkable balance of ‘experimental’ music and a
deep sensitivity for the varied impact of the poems. Since 1937, listeners have become accustomed
to hearing texts from all periods of English and Scottish literature set to
music of wildly differing styles: from pastiche to avant-garde. It is not an
issue to have ‘dissonances’ and ‘obstinate counterpoint’ in music any more
(hopefully). And there is a satisfying tension raised between the timelessness
of the medieval texts and hints of forthcoming barbarity that was in the air at
the time of composition. Maybe ‘barbed wire’ was not a bad metaphor to use.
Alan Rawsthorne’s Chamber Cantata
is sung to perfection on this recording. The string quartet and harpsichord
accompaniment is ideally balanced.
American composer Halsey Stevens
(1908-1989) provides a neo-classical Sonatina Piacevole for recorder and
harpsichord. This work was composed around 1955/6. The opening ‘allegro
moderato’ is pure pastiche. Then follows something more modern sounding – the ‘poco
lento.’ This is truly lovely music. The proceedings close with a lively
‘allegro.’ Here the label ‘neo-classical’ may obscure the vibrant and contemporary
harmonies and rhythmic vitality of this music. A great work that deserves to be
in the repertoire of all recorderists.
I first heard Alan Rawsthorne’s
wonderful Practical Cats in the 1957 recording
made by Robert
Donat and Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Alan Rawsthorne for
EMI. It was reissued on CD in 1998. In 2007, Dutton Epoch released a new
version with Simon
Callow as the speaker, accompanied by the Royal Liverpool
Philharmonic Orchestra.
Practical Cats was commissioned by the Edinburgh Festival Society
for a children’s concert during 1954. It was scored for reciter and orchestra.
The present version, which substitutes a piano for the ‘band’ was realised by
Peter Dickinson from sketches in the Rawsthorne archive at the Royal Northern
College of Manchester. I think that this is a splendid ‘reduction’ which ought to allow many more ‘economical’ performances
of this sparkling and witty confection.
Rawsthorne’s take on T.S. Eliot’s poems includes a
rumbustious overture followed by ‘The
Naming of Cats’; ‘The Old Gumbie Cat’; ‘Gus, the Theatre Cat’; ‘Bustopher Jones’;
‘Old Deuteronomy’ and ‘The Song of the Jellicles’. It is full of felicitous
musical impressisons and allusions. Mark
Rowlinson and Peter Lawson give an inspiring and enjoyable performance of this wonderful
fun work.
I have occasionally run into
trouble with friends who enjoy Andrew Lloyd Weber’s popular musical Cats: I would pit Rawsthorne’s take on
Eliot’s poems against this every time! The problem I do have, is which of the
three outstanding recordings of this work do I listen to?
Basil Deane’s The Rose Tree is presented on this disc
in an arrangement by Raymond Warren for soprano, recorder and cello. It is a
setting of two poems by the Irish poet W.B. Yeats: the eponymous ‘The Rose Tree’ and ‘I am of
Ireland.’ These remained unfinished at the time of his death in 2006. Deane had written the vocal line only of both
songs. The original holograph was lost, but later turned up amongst the
composer’s paper. What struck me about these two songs is the inherent
timelessness of the music. I have noted before that it is extremely difficult
to argue for a particular ‘stylistic or analogous descriptive label’ for them. The nearest I can come to giving a flavour of
the sound world of these two songs is to suggest a fusion between the lilt of
Irish folksong and an atonal accompaniment which tends to be fragmented rather
than lyrical. That said, these are minor masterpieces that work extremely well
in Warren’s excellent ‘realisation.’
It is always a
delight to come across a piece of music by Ralph Vaughan Williams that I have
not heard before. ‘The Willow Whistle’ is a case in point. This is a setting
for treble voice and bamboo pipe. The text was by M.E. Fuller. Michael Kennedy,
in his catalogue notes that the manuscript of this piece is undated, but he
considers that is may be contemporaneous with the Suite for pipes composed just
prior to the Second World War. Little is known about the poet, nor is any
indication given as to where the text was garnered. The opening line gives
sufficient clue to the nature of the song and its beautiful pastoral setting:
‘Only a boy can set free/The music in a willow tree…’
I have never come
across any music by the London-resident, Czech composer Karel Janovicky.
The present miniature The Little Linden
Pipe is an engaging set of variations for solo recorder based on a Moravian
folk-song. The liner notes explain that the text translates as ‘I have a little
pipe made of linden-tree wood/It does always tell me when my love is
angry.’ It was composed for John Turner
in 2016. There is no real anger in this music: it is a delightful exploration
of the potential of the original tune.
Like most Rawsthorne enthusiasts, I have known of the
existence of the String Quartet in B minor for several years. Yet, I have never
heard it until reviewing this CD. I believe that this is the premiere recording.
The work was first given at Dartington Hall on 11 June 1933 at a private
performance. This was followed by its first public performance at the Ballet
Club Theatre, Notting Hill Gate on 22 January 1934 at one of the ‘famous’ Macnaghten-Lemare
concerts.
There are three movements: ‘Fugue’, ‘Andante – allegretto’
and a ‘Molto allegro quasi presto.’
The only problem with this quartet is the slight imbalance
between the more ‘modernist’ first and last movements and the ‘Dvorakian’ tune
heard in the middle movement. This did not bother me in the least, but it was
picked up by contemporary critics.
Yet, there is no doubt that the 28-year-old composer was a
master of form and presented a work that often looked forward to his own unique
musical language. The most magical part of this quartet is the final episode in
the ‘finale’, just before the coda. This music is touchingly (sentimentally?)
romantic for Rawsthorne.
Donald Waxman’s superb ‘Serenade
and Caprice’ (2016) was dedicated to John Turner. It is a delightful parody of
all sorts of music, with nods to Baroque, more modernist music and even ‘pop.’
I note that the composer is 93 in October and still going strong.
‘The Buckle’ is a charming
setting of Walter de la Mare’s lovely poem about the soul of a child at play. It
is the third of his Three Romantic Songs
composed in 1921. The song was ‘dedicated to the composer’s infant half-sister’
Enid Bliss who was latterly a bridesmaid at his wedding (1925). The cycle was
originally for voice and piano. The liner notes suggest that the composer is
likely to have made the present sparkling and somewhat elaborate arrangement
for string quartet as a companion piece to ‘The Fallow Deer at the Lonely
House’ (1925) to words by Thomas Hardy.
The Journey (2016) for solo recorder was the last work composed by
Malcolm Lipkin before his death in 2017. It was composed for a colleague who
had recently died. This short study is supposed to be a mediation on life as a journey,
with its inevitable end. It is formless, lacking interest and short on
lyricism. It is not a piece that I warm to.
David Ellis’s haunting Mount Street Blues for recorder and
string quartet is dedicated to the memory of John McCabe. The connection to
Mount Street is interesting. This was where John McCabe studied at the
Liverpool Institute in that street. The music is sad and lugubrious making this
short work into an elegy. It is movingly played by John Turner and the Solem
Quartet. I am not sure when it was written, but I guess it was probably around
2016.
The playing and the singing by
all the performers on this adventurous CD is ideal in every way. I loved Clare
Wilkinson’s voice, especially in Rawsthorne’s Chamber Cantata. The Solem String
Quartet play with clarity and commitment in the String Quartet. The recording
is excellent. John Turner not only gave first-rate performances on the recorder
and the bamboo pipe, but also wrote the liner notes which are informative and
entertaining. I was disappointed in the CD cover: reading black text on blue
background is not good for ageing eyes. Texts are given for the Rawsthorne
Chamber Cantata, but not for the other songs. I understand the copyright issues
with T.S. Elliot. And finally, I was surprised to read that Matthew Arnold is
included in the Galaxy music publisher’s listings of British Music. (Halsey
Stevens note) …
All in all, this is an
extraordinary disc. Not only does it do what it says on the tin and introduce
the listener to some rarities by a variety of better-and-lesser-known
composers, it gives Rawsthorne enthusiasts two previously unrecorded works, the
Chamber Cantata and the String Quartet in B minor and includes an incarnation
of the whimsical Practical Cats which
deserves all success. Finally, the
entire CD is dedicated to the memory of John McCabe (1939-2015). It is a most
worthy tribute.
Track Listing:
Alan RAWSTHORNE (1905-1971) Chamber Cantata for mezzo-soprano, harpsichord
and string quartet. (c.1937)
Halsey STEVENS (1908-1989) Sonatina Piacevole for recorder and
harpsichord (1955/6)
Alan RAWSTHORNE Practical
Cats for reciter and piano (text by T.S. Eliot) (1954) edited and arranged
by Peter DICKINSON (b.1934)
Basil DEANE (1928-2006) The
Rose Tree (texts by W.B. Yeats) realised by Raymond WARREN (b.1928) for mezzo-soprano, recorder and cello (2008)
Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958) The Willow Whistle (c.1939) for mezzo-soprano and bamboo pipe
Karel JANOVICKY (b.1930) The
Little Linden Pipe for solo recorder (2016)
Alan RAWSTHORNE String Quartet in B minor (1932 or 1933)
Donald WAXMAN (b.1925) Serenade and Caprice for recorder and
harpsichord (2016)
Arthur BLISS (1891-1975) ‘The Buckle’ for mezzo-soprano and string
quartet (1921)
Malcolm LIPKIN (1932-2017) The
Journey for solo recorder (2016)
David ELLIS (b.1933) Mount
Street Blues for recorder and string quartet (?)
Clare Wilkinson (mezzo-soprano),
Harvey Davies (harpsichord), John Turner (recorder and bamboo pipe), Mark
Rowlinson (reciter), Peter Lawson (piano), Stephanie Tress (cello), Solem
Quartet.
Rec. UK, 2017
DIVINE ART DDA 25169
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.
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