Cyril Rootham Symphony No.1 in C minor (1932)

Cyril Rootham's (1875-1938) First Symphony was produced in 1932. It is written in four well balanced movements. The Symphony was dedicated "To my old friend H.P.A. with affection" [Hugh Percy Allen]. Arthur Hutchings (Liner Notes SRCD.269) believes that the quintessential Rootham is present especially in the first two movements. "Vigorous” and “genial" are the overriding characteristics of this work. It was first heard at a Royal College of Music Patron's Fund rehearsal on Thursday, 30 March, 1933. The New Symphony Orchestra was conducted by Aylmer Buesst. This performance, according to contemporary reviews, left a lot to be desired. Other works heard that day included Mozart’s Violin Concerto in A major (soloist Bessie Rawlins) and two songs from Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, Im Treibhaus and Träume. The soprano was Victoria Schlageter.

The first movement, Adagio-Allegro Ritmico opens with a shimmer on woodwind followed by the main subject. Brass fanfares overlay an urgent message from the strings. Rootham's ability to present a competent woodwind counterpoint is well in evidence as the movement progresses. One of the key features of this composer’s style is his use of brass, both in vigorous contrapuntal writing and in the “chorale” style. Throughout this movement the listener is reminded of elements from Vaughan Williams Wasps Overture and from some passages of the Fourth Symphony. There is a curious point of repose about two-thirds of the way through the movement. A pianissimo roll on the timpani leads to a brass fanfare and marching effects from the side drum. The last chord comes as a slight surprise with a crescendo followed by a diminuendo.

The second movement is underpinned by the tread of a march, Adagio molto (alla marcia). Whether it is pizzicato strings or timpani the regular beat is never far away. On occasion the hearer supplies it for themselves when not stated on one or more instruments. There are two unexpected brass fanfares in this slow movement, interrupting, yet not destroying, the spirit of the long romantic, if slightly unsettling, theme. Once again, the use of a woodwind 'descant' against the strings is in evidence.

Next, is a scherzo, Allegro molto, - yet with features which make this movement quite unique. It opens with a characteristic 'dancing theme' owing much to the English folk-song school. It comes complete with a pizzicato string underpinning. This movement has a greater use of percussion – with xylophone and glockenspiel included. The formal construction involves a slowing down of the pace every so often. The dance theme is abandoned for a kind of romantic, Baxian, musing on strings. It is as if the composer is suffering quite distinctive mood swings - more than one would expect in a scherzo. The listener is conscious of an effective use of brass - almost vocal in its part-writing. The woodwind is used to reiterate the 'dance' tune and some quite involved counterpoint is found in the closing pages. The movement ends quietly.

The Symphony ends with an Allegro con spirito which, as Hutchings describes in his article on Rootham’s music, (Musical Times, January 1938, p.17-22), is a fine piece of “folk-songy or school songy” writing. Brass fanfares introduce the movement which has 'film music' overtones in places. The folksong-like 'big tune' is introduced on strings. The presence of modalism and harmonic parallelism is not far away. There are changes of moods - oboe melodies and echoes on the flutes. Then, a moment of repose followed by a horn theme accompanied by strings and the harp. One is reminded of the last theme of the first movement of the later 6th Symphony of Ralph Vaughan William's. Progress becomes increasingly dissonant, and the brass and snare drum part tend to increase the intensity. Once again, we are presented with the 'Celtic Twilight' on the strings: a "well-wooded backwater" of Rootham’s mind. The 'happy' tune re-emerges complete with counter subjects. The pace slows down slightly, and brass figurations lead to a quiet and certainly not a triumphant finish.

Altogether a fascinating work: certainly, better than many contemporary efforts. Not a major, world-shattering symphony in the sense of Elgar's 2nd or RVW's 4th but one which would raise the rafters were it performed at a BBC Promenade Concert.

The Symphony was given its first broadcast performance on the BBC Home Service on 30 October 1936: Cyril Rootham conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Vernon Handley and the London Philharmonic Orchestra recorded the Symphony during January 1979. It was released by Lyrita Records (SRCS.103) coupled with The Birds of Rhiannon by Joseph Holbrooke. It was subsequently reissued on CD, SRCD. 269 in 2007.

The Lyrita recording can be heard on YouTube, here.

Introducing Cyril Rootham...

Cyril Bradley Rootham is one of numerous English composers who are now largely forgotten. Only the diminishing number of people who heard performances of his music before the Second World War will recall how distinctive this prolific musician was. Much of his time was spent in running the Cambridge University Musical Society (C.U.M.S.) often to the detriment of performances of his own works. Other commitments found him deeply involved with educational and other practical music making activities. He was organist at St John’s College, Cambridge for many years. In fact, overstrain may have been one of the causes of a stroke which led to an early death at sixty-two, at a time when his creative powers were at their highest. Arthur Hutchings (Musical Times, January 1938, p.17) prophesied a remarkable future for Cyril Rootham and was able to “know him first as a composer, to be compared without prejudice amongst other composers.” Despite half a dozen commercial recordings and a few broadcast performances over the last near 86 years this has not happened. At a time when a significant amount British music written in the 20th century has been re-evaluated, the time for re-discovering Rootham’s catalogue is urgent.

Brief Biography of Cyril Rootham:

• Born on 5 October 1875, in Redland, Bristol, Rootham was the son of Daniel Wilberforce Rootham, a renowned singing teacher and director of the Bristol Madrigal Society.
• Schooled at Bristol Grammar School and Clifton College.
• Initially studied classics at St John’s College, Cambridge, but later pursued music, completing a second bachelor’s degree in the field.
• Continued his education at the Royal College of Music, studying under notable teachers Charles Villiers Stanford and Walter Parratt.
• Held the position of organist at Christ Church, Hampstead, followed by a brief stint at St. Asaph Cathedral in Wales.
• Was as the organist at St John’s College, Cambridge, for most of his career.
• Rootham’s leadership of the C.U.M.S. left a lasting impact on English music.
• In 1930, Rootham organised the first Cambridge Festival of British Music.
• Revived neglected music by Handel, Mozart, and Purcell.
• Introduced modern compositions by Zoltán Kodály, Arthur Honegger, and Ildebrando Pizzetti.
• Cyril Rootham died in Cambridge on 18 March 1938.

Rootham’s Music:

Critics regard his main contribution as choral music both with and without orchestra. Yet this is only a small portion of the Rootham catalogue. He produced a major opera, unheard in our generation, The Two Sisters.

A String Quintet in D was given in 1909. Three String Quartets followed. They are marked by qualities of "refined scholarship & charm." Rootham’s best known chamber piece is the Septet. The wonderfully lyrical Violin Sonata was recorded by Dutton Epoch (CDLX 7219) to positive reviews.

There are two symphonies. The first, completed in 1932 and the second shortly before his death in 1938. I will discuss No.1 in a later post. The Second Symphony has a curious history. It was sketched out during his last illness. He required assistance in these sketches from friends and pupils. It was left to Patrick Hadley to finish and orchestrate it. The Symphony was given its first hearing by the BBC on St Patrick's Day 1939. The broadcast coming from the Maida Vale Studios. Henry Colles (Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1954) notes that it bears the signs of a serious physical and spiritual struggle, it is, he says, "the work of a man facing tragedy with a high courage and faith.”

Much of his choral music remain to be re-discovered. Especially so is the massive Ode on the Morning of Christ's Nativity. This was produced at Cambridge in 1930 and is set for solo voices, chorus, and full orchestra. Henry Colles, writing in the 1954 Groves says, "[Rootham] devoted the closest thought to the setting of the poem and to devising a musical form worthy of its massive proportions. The result was a noble work…"

Rootham did not join any of the contemporary competing 'schools' of composition. Although there are often elements of the folk-song revival and the Celtic Twilight in his music, he was not a person to be categorised. Typically, he avoids the cow-and-gate clichés which were criticised by Constant Lambert in his book, Music Ho!

Ten Selected Works:

1. All have been issued on vinyl/CD/streaming and many are available on YouTube.
2. The Stolen Child, op.38 for choir and orchestra (1911-12)
3. For the Fallen, op.51 for chorus & orchestra (1915)
4. Miniature Suite, op.61 for orchestra/string quartet & piano (1921)
5. Suite in Three Movements, op.64 for flute and piano (1921)
6. Sonata in G minor, op.75 for violin & piano (1925)
7. Ode on the Morning of Christ's Nativity, op.81 for soli, chorus, semi-chorus, and orchestra (1928)
8. Psalm of Adonis, op.84 for orchestra (1931)
9. Symphony No.1 in C minor, op.86 (1932)
10. City in the West, op.93 for chorus, string orchestra & harp (1936)
11. Symphony No.2 in D major, op.97 (1938)

Bibliography:

At the time of writing this post there is no definitive biography or study of Cyril Rootham. Interested listeners must try and piece together information from a variety of disconnected sources.

The earliest study would appear to be C.M. Crabtree’s 'Introduction to Contemporary Musicians, xxi: Cyril Bradley Rootham' in the Music Bulletin, vi (1924, p.268-73). Fourteen years later, A.J.B. Hutchings drafted an important essay for the Musical Times (January 1938, p.17-22). It was published shortly before his death. Hutchings provides a readable overview, illustrated with musical examples. Forty-seven years were to pass before Kenneth Shenton’s essay was published in the British Music Society’s Journal (vii, 1985, p.30-37). This was a wide-ranging discussion of Rootham’s life and achievement.

In 1996, Jürgen Schaarwächter contributed a detailed study of ‘Cyril Bradley Rootham', to the British Music Society Newsletter (no.71 1996, p.257-60). This pulled together a number of sources including those mentioned above. It remains the best introduction to the composer’s life and work. The same author also gave a good introduction to Rootham’s two symphonies in his two-volume Two Centuries of British Symphonism from the Beginnings to 1945, (Georg Olms Verlag, 2015). There are the usual entries in several editions of Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the British Music Society’s Composer Profiles and Wikipedia.

One final resource is the Cyril Rootham Website, here. The reader will find considerable information, as well as anecdotes, photographs, recordings, and scores. It does not appear to have been updated since 2023.

If you can only hear one CD…

It is possible to evaluate five pieces because of the valuable Sinfonia Chorus BBC Northern Singers/Northern Sinfonia of England/Richard Hickox recording made in the early nineteen-eighties and issued on EMI Digital EL 27 0605 1 in 1987. It was reissued on CD (EMI British Composers 505923-2) in 2007.

Commentators agree that Rootham's version of For the Fallen, which preceded Elgar's, is just as impressive as the elder master’s and may even score higher marks for subtlety if not passion. The Stolen Child penned in 1911 to words by W.B. Yeats is a gem. Although influenced by modalism and the Celtic-Twilight it is effective and beautifully written and provides an atmospheric setting of the words. One of the most haunting musical descriptions of a city is given in his choral piece - City in the West. This is dedicated to the organist and choirmaster Arthur Warrell who was a Bristolian. The words are from a text by Rootham's son, Jasper. It certainly deserves to be placed with Vaughan Williams' London Symphony and Dyson's In Honour of the City as an Evocation of a city. Equally fascinating is the orchestral Psalm of Adonis. Rob Barnett (MusicWeb International, December 2007) noted that this “lambently-bathed purely orchestral…Avian sounds mingle and enliven this warm evocation which may also passingly recall Delius and Finzi.” Also included on this “sampler” is Rootham’s delightful small piano concerto, the Miniature Suite. The soloist is Alan Fearon.

If you can only listen to one work…

This must be the Symphony No.1 in C minor, completed in 1932. If one considers the quality of the themes, the distinctive orchestration and the critical balance between modernity and romanticism, IS one of the greatest of the unsung symphonies of the 1930s. To be sure, it is easy to pick up allusions to Arthur Bliss’s Colour Symphony (1921-22) in this present work. Rob Barnett, in his review on MusicWeb International (January 2009), insists that Rootham is responding to "matters as weighty and gripping" as Bliss had. He also contrasts moments in this Symphony with Holst, Vaughan Williams, and E.J. Moeran. Perhaps Arnold Bax is an inspiration too? I do not for one moment imagine that Rootham was parodying or copying anyone – it is just that certain moods and styles were in the air. Yet, even a superficial hearing reveals one that ought to be regarded as one of the big hitters of the mid-century group of symphonists. More about this Symphony in a subsequent post.

Photo "Reproduced by permission of the Cyril Rootham website at www.rootham.org"