I guess the one thing that put
York Bowen’s career into perspective for me, was meeting a lady on a train.
Conversation about the weather turned to London, the Wigmore Hall and the
piano. She told me that the examiner at one of her early ‘grades’ was - York
Bowen. My travelling companion probably took her Grade 5 around 1959, two years
before his death. The liner notes point out that the composer lived from a time
when a person could have been expected not to have seen a motor car, to a date
when John Fitzgerald Kennedy announced his intention to land men on the Moon.
And there were two World Wars in between. He lived through remarkable years.
It is interesting to note that
the earliest piece on this CD, the Three Preludes was composed in 1905
and the latest, the Toccata in 1957.
It is only relatively recently that enthusiasts of British music have been able to get their heads around Bowen’s music. For many years, during the ’sixties, ’seventies and ’eighties the only record that was generally available was the composer’s recital on Lyrita: it was a good and tantalising introduction. I immediately fell in love with the selection of Preludes, op.102 (pub.1950) – most especially the gorgeous ‘seventh’.
It is not the place to develop a chronological discography of York Bowen, but the highlights have to include several versions of the Viola Concerto, a considerable variety of his chamber music, concertos and orchestral works on the once prolific Dutton Epoch label, the fine ‘Romantic Piano Concertos’ volume from Hyperion, and Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 on Chandos. Finally, there is Danny Driver’s masterly account of all six Piano Sonatas on Hyperion. The biggest project was the potentially complete solo piano music by Joop Celis on Chandos. Sadly, the project was abandoned after the fourth volume. A large section of Bowen’s piano music therefore remains to be recorded.
The CD opens with a fine performance of one of the longest of the composer’s piano pieces that is not a Sonata: Ballade No.2 in A minor op.87. This is a fine work, one which allows the listener to ‘get into’ Bowen’s style. The liner-notes suggest that this piece is “somewhat epigrammatic in its melodic writing”. However, the nature of a Ballade is that it takes a simple story and embellishes it with detail. It is exactly this process which the composer uses to such great effect here. It places huge demands on the soloist, both from a technical and from an interpretive perspective. It was published by Oxford University Press in 1931 and was presumably written around that time.
I enjoyed the delicious Three Songs without Words op.94, which belie their ‘late’ date of 1935. There is nothing of the ‘Second Viennese school’ about these romantically overblown works! I could suggest several sources for his inspiration, but that would be largely irrelevant. Let’s just say that if you like Fauré you will love these dreamy pieces. There is a certain sadness here which resolves into a definite feeling of ‘heartsease’. I believe that these three ‘songs’ – Song of the Stream, Solitude and The Warning – ought to be heard as a group.
I guess that many people will know that York Bowen wrote his Twenty-Four Preludes ‘in all the major and minor keys’ in 1950. I agree with those commentators who regard this work as the composer’s masterpiece – at least within the ambit of the solo piano literature. There are a small number of other Preludes which Bowen wrote at various times in his career. The present Three Preludes op.81 date from the late 1920s and can be seen as a precursor to his larger opus. Unfortunately, due to ‘the limitations of playing time’ only the second and third of these delightful numbers have been recorded. Now, I have no problems with the length of this CD – just 40 seconds shy of eighty minutes. But it does trouble me that this first Prelude may have been lost for good. I doubt if there will be many subsequent recordings of this music and I imagine that if Chandos did release Volume 5 it would be somewhat of an ‘orphan’ if presented there. But the fact remains, these two Preludes are worthy of Bowen’s art, especially the ‘heart-on-the-sleeve’ romance of the ‘allegretto grazioso’.
If the listener is of the impression that the Short Sonata, op.35, no.1 (1922) is ‘diminutive’, in some way akin to a ‘sonatina’ suitable for neophytes, they are mistaken. This Sonata is fourteen minutes long, so it is ‘not really that short’. It is correct to suggest that this work ought to be ‘numbered’ as one of the composer’s list of piano Sonatas – which would then number seven. Listen for the ‘haunting tune’ at the start of the middle movement and note the finale, a ‘presto scherzando’ which is a sheer delight.
The Three Miniatures op.44 are another example of music where the title belies the depth and the technical difficulty. These were ‘wartime’ pieces which were completed in 1916: they seem a million miles away from the horrors of that time. Bowen composed this music shortly after he had been invalided out of the Scots Guards - his wartime service thankfully complete. Robert Matthew-Walker, in the liner notes, suggests that they are in fact ‘studies in rhythm’ rather than just written for the salon. The opening Prelude is thoughtful and makes use of subtle variations and part-writing. Look out especially for the sultry Spanish flavour of the second – an Intermezzo. The final ‘allegro scherzando’ is quite lovely – but is certainly not easy. There is a magic about these ‘miniatures’ that seem to define much of Bowen’s pianistic style.
The Three Serious Dances, op.51 (1919) are quite a contrast to the Three Miniatures. I guess that the title derives from the generally introspective feel of this music. I agree with Robert Matthew-Walker that there is a constant forward momentum in these three pieces. There is no doubt that they are ‘retro’ – even for 1919. Nevertheless, they are beautiful and exquisite. I was most struck by the ‘languid’ second Dance, which like the others is in no way sentimental or clichéd. The last Dance in F# major, a forceful ‘allegro molto pomposo’, is technically demanding, if not quite pushing the bounds of Listzian virtuosity.
The late Toccata op.155 from 1957 was reconstructed from the autograph score by Stephen Hough. Lasting for some five minutes, it is exactly what one would imagine a toccata to be. Full of highly technical writing, it is well laid out for pianists allowing them at least half a chance of playing this demanding music. The composer gave the first performance at the Wigmore Hall in June 1960 – the year before his death. At that time. he would have been 76 years old. It is surely a tribute to his enduring keyboard technique that this work was a huge success at that recital.
The CD closes with the earliest item on this CD – the Three Pieces op.20 which date from 1905. Despite their obvious Francophile influences – Debussy, Ravel and Saint-Saëns spring to mind - these are convincing works. The 21-year-old composer was probably under a heap of influences at that time: the programme notes mention Grovlez and Fauré as being influential. I must be honest and state that the Arabesque, the Reverie d ‘Amour and the Bells are derivative. Contrariwise Bowen handles his material with skill, honesty and conviction.
This is a great CD. All the music is beautifully played by Joop Celis, who has manifestly become one of Bowen’s champions. The recording is superb and has a clarity that certainly adds considerably to an appreciation of this underrated music. The programme notes by Robert Matthew-Walker add to the listener’s enjoyment.
One last thought, York Bowen is a composer who seriously impresses me. Yet, it is more than this. Along with Cyril Scott, Samuel Barber and Maurice Ravel, I have never yet heard a piece of his music that I have not thoroughly enjoyed or been moved by. That is surely a rare thing. And it is certainly not true of some of the ‘greats’ – at least for me.
York BOWEN (1884-1961)
Ballade No.2 op.87 (1931)
Three Songs without Words op.94 (1935)
From Three Preludes op.81 (late 1920s)
Short Sonata Op.35 no.1 (1922)
Three Miniatures op.44 (1916
Three Serious Dances op.51 (1919)
Toccata op.155 (1957
Three Pieces op. 20 (1905)
Joop Celis (piano)
Rec. Willem Hijstek Zaal, Maastricht Conservatory, The Netherlands, 21-24 March 2008
CHANDOS CHAN10506
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