Frank Bridge: An Appreciation of Sir Charles Villiers Stanford

How does a musical revolutionary remember a traditionalist? In July 1924, a few months after the death of Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, his former pupil Frank Bridge offered a surprising answer.

On the death of the elder composer on 29 March 1924, many tributes were written about him. A selection by his former pupils were included in the journal Music & Letters (July 1924). These included words by Ralph Vaughan Williams, George Dyson, Ivor Gurney, Herbert Howells, and Frank Bridge.

Frank Bridge (1879-1941) was a pivotal figure in early 20th-century British music, bridging the gap between Victorian tradition and modernism. A competent violist and conductor, his deep understanding of string instruments infused his chamber music, such as the evocative piano trios and string quartets. While his early works like the orchestral The Sea radiated late-Romantic warmth, the distress of World War I pushed him toward a more radical, expressionistic style. He became the link between Victorian/Edwardian tradition and the modernism of his own pupil, Benjamin Britten.

In 1899, Frank Bridge had entered the Royal College of Music on a scholarship, where he fell under the rigorous tutelage of Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. Stanford, a titan of British pedagogy, emphasised structural integrity and Brahmsian discipline. While Bridge eventually moved toward a more radical, modernist language, his time with Stanford provided the solid technical foundation - particularly in counterpoint and orchestration - that defined his early mastery. Their relationship was a classic blend of traditional craftsmanship meeting an evolving, innovative spirit. In his tribute, Bridge reflected on the "bruising" but vital lessons he received:

"THAT from tuition grounded with staunch belief upon the classics so many composition pupils should have achieved distinction on self-willed paths, is a noteworthy testimony to the soundness of his training and guidance. An extraordinary versatility and interest in all forms of musical art enabled him to solve their problems with facility and shrewd insight. He possessed a continuous inspiration of technical resources with which lie administered first-aid. His firm insistence that we should not embark on an orchestral score which required so-called " extra " instruments may perhaps have been a relic of his own youthful student days abroad. It was undoubtedly a deep-rooted conviction, and his own works prove how unconcerned he was with the mere exploitation of instrumental technique. On one occasion a song with orchestra evoked a severe lecture, and although I recall feeling rather bruised, the experience of its public performance made me realise the truth of his criticism."

Music & Letters July 1924, p.195f

Frank Bridge in America, 1923: An Important Interview Part II

In Musical America (17 November 1923), the Irish-born critic P.J. Nolan who worked in America between 1921 and1924 recorded a remarkable interview with the English composer Frank Bridge (1879-1941), who was on a three month visit to the United States. This is the second part of that interview.

“But any work, as I have said, must conform in its first principles to the canons of art. Unless it does, it cannot exist. No mere playing around in the colours and embroideries of some fashionable caprice will keep it alive. Some people talk of contemporary music as if it were the beginning of things—as if the music of the past could be ignored altogether. This is a wrong view. That which has nothing in common with the past is lifeless.”

He emphasized his conviction that the true artist does not compose to please the public: “The man invites failure who, when he sets out to originate a work, says to himself, ‘I am now going to write something which will be a great popular success.’ Any effort of that kind carries with it the mark of its own failure. The composer must shut out from his view all but his own inspiration. If he follows that inspiration, that is sufficient to justify him, even though the work he produces under its influence pleases only two persons in the world.”

Interest in chamber music has been stimulated immensely of recent years in England - a result clearly due to the activities of Mr. Bridge and his fellow composers in this field. Replying to a query upon this point, he said the revival was particularly keen among amateurs, who were carrying this music into their homes to an extent unknown for many years.

In other directions, too, a growing appreciation of artistic values was manifest. “When I tell you,” He said, “that the Fifth Symphony of Beethoven has replaced the Fifth Symphony of Tchaikovsky at the popular concerts in London, you will realize what a change there has been in public taste.” But as for the decline of music in London - that’s another story! Mr. Bridge assigns this, as others have done, to higher taxes and financial difficulties which have affected private expenditure.

The Fantasy competitions, instituted in 1905 by W. W. Cobbett, [1] an enthusiastic London amateur, have played an important part in fostering chamber music. These competitions were originated with the object of inducing the production of shorter pieces of this type, the idea being that a better concert program could be compiled by including only two long works instead of three, the place of the third being taken by one of these shorter works. Mr. Bridge had written three pieces in shorter form in 1904, under the title of “Noveletten,” and in the following year was a prize-winner in these competitions. He again won a prize in 1908 for his Fantasy Trio in C Minor for piano, violin and ’cello. Among the prize-winners have also been John Ireland, James Friskin, H. Waldo Warner, and [William] Hurlstone, a gifted composer who died in 1906. It was in 1908 that Frank Bridge took an Irish folk-tune and set it to music which, under the title of “The Londonderry Air,” has travelled around the world. His arrangements of “Cherry Ripe” and “Sally in Our Alley,” two old English songs, are almost equally well known as examples of his gifts in chamber quartet-writing. [2]

“They are simple, and not in the least bit pretentious,” he says of these three works, “and they fulfil a purpose in fostering an interest in chamber music among those who cannot yet appreciate more serious music.” Of his larger works, “The Sea” has been heard this season in America in various cities under his baton. He had intended to conduct a performance of this Suite in New York, but when he learned, a week or two ago, that Josef Stransky had included it in the program of the State Symphony, he changed his intention, and substituted for it, for his appearance with the New York Symphony on Nov. 11, his Two Poems for Orchestra. The Two Poems, produced in 1917 at Queen’s Hall, London, are based on quotations from Richard Jefferies. The first is, “Those thoughts and feelings which are not sharply defined but have a haze of distance and beauty about them, are always dearest,” and the second, “How beautiful a delight to make the world joyous! The song should never be silent, the dance never still, the laugh should sound like water which runs forever.” [3]

Mr. Bridge was greatly interested to hear that his Quintet in D Minor was performed at Worcester, Mass., in June 1921. He wrote this work in 1904, then put it away, and, when he looked at it again, decided to revise it. This revision was completed in 1912, and it was not published for some time later - indeed, it had been in print only about a year when it was performed at Worcester. [4]

He was very much impressed by his recent visit to Boston and says he can imagine nothing more ideal than the orchestral conditions which exist there. “I think,” he said, “that enormous credit is due to Mr. Monteux, [5] conductor of the Boston Symphony, for what he has done for that orchestra, and through it for Boston. He is a man of sensitive understanding, a real artist, and his forces produce as fine a body of tone as one could have. The Symphony plays with wonderful efficiency.” Mr. Bridge led the orchestra in the performance of his “Sea” Suite, and earlier in Cleveland conducted the Cleveland Orchestra in the same work. He was also warm in praise of Mr. Sokoloff’s [6] forces for their interpretation of the Suite. “Mr. Sokoloff has certainly built up a fine orchestra,” he said. “It is in excellent order, and the men are very interested and very keen. We had only two rehearsals, and they showed a fine grasp of the points of the work.” Mr. Bridge and his wife, who is an Australian, will leave New York by the Majestic [actually the RMS Olympic] this month on their return to England. Mrs. Bridge was formerly Miss Sinclair, a Melbourne violinist. [7]

Musical America (17 November 1923 p.3 & 32).

Notes

[1] Walter Willson Cobbett (1847–1937) was an English businessman whose passion for chamber music was critical for Britain’s musical landscape. An amateur violinist inspired by hearing Joachim perform Beethoven, he became a tireless patron, using his business success to commission new works and encourage young composers. Cobbett championed the phantasy form, sponsoring influential competitions that helped define early twentieth‑century British chamber music. His most enduring legacy is Cobbett’s Cyclopaedic Survey of Chamber Music (1929), a monumental reference work that reflects his lifelong devotion to “music of the nobler kind.”

[2] Examples of Frank Bridge’s use of “found” folk tunes.

[3] Richard Jefferies (1848–1887) was an English nature writer celebrated for his vivid depictions of rural life. Raised on a Wiltshire farm, he blended observation with mysticism, producing works from The Amateur Poacher to The Story of My Heart, shaping later writers, and influencing modern nature conservation thinking.

[4] Paul Hindmarsh in  his Frank Bridge: The Complete Works (2016) states that the Quintet in D minor “was premiered on 28 May 1907, at the home of Miss M. C. Hall, 79 Emperor’s Gate, London; played by Thomas Morris and Ethel Sinclair (violins), Frank Bridge (viola), Ivor James (cello) and Harold Samuel (piano). This was a private performance at a Royal College of Music Students’ Union ‘At Home.’ The first public performance of this version took place during one of Thomas Dunhill’s concerts, 14 June 1907, played by the Erinson Quartet and Thomas Dunhill piano). Hindmarsh continues, “Bridge withdrew the Quintet after its initial performances. In 1912 he radically revised it, shortening the outer movements, altering, and smoothing out the thematic material and piano texture, and compressing the central movements into one. The present score contains some pencil comments and suggestions for improvements to the piano part, probably added by Harold Samuel or Thomas Dunhill.”  The revised version was “was launched at a Royal College of Music Union ‘At Home’ Concert. On this occasion the musical evening was held at the home of Mrs. Capel, Queen’s Gate on 29 May 1912. The English String Quartet, was joined by Harold Samuel (piano).” (op.cit.).

[5] Pierre Monteux (1875–1964), the French-born maestro, conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1919 to 1924, revitalising its sound and reputation. Renowned for his premieres of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and other modern works, Monteux balanced French elegance with German concentration.

[6] Nikolai Sokoloff (1886–1965) was a Russian‑Ukrainian‑American conductor, violinist, and pioneering educator. He became the first music director of the Cleveland Orchestra (1918–1932), expanding its size, repertoire, and national tours. Sokoloff championed equality by hiring women musicians with equal pay, later directing the Federal Music Project and Seattle Symphony

[7] Frank Bridge’s wife, Ethel Sinclair, was born in Melbourne, Australia. The two were fellow students at the Royal College of Music. Ethel returned home in 1903, before coming back to London in 1907. Frank and Ethel were married at St Mary’s Church, Fulham. Shortly afterwards, Bridge moved from 50 

Elm Park Mansions, Chelsea, to establish their home at 23 Foster Road, Chiswick.

Concluded.

Frank Bridge in America, 1923: An Important Interview Part I

In the Musical America (17 November 1923), the Irish-born critic P.J. Nolan who worked in America between 1921 and1924 recorded a remarkable interview with the English composer Frank Bridge (1879-1941), who was on a three month visit to the United States. The article opens with a brief overview of the composer at this time. I have included a few brief notes.

In overview, the essay presented under the striking headline “Frank Bridge, Distinguished English Composer, Describes Our Educational Movements as Wonderful - Is Greatly Impressed by Leading Orchestras Discusses Work of British Contemporaries Must Wait Ten Years for Accurate Appraisal.”

FRANK BRIDGE, now on his first visit to America, [1] disavows any narrow ambitions of nationalism on the part of contemporary British composers, among whom he occupies a leading place. This activity in British music, he says, is not collective. Each man is engaged independently of the others in developing his own lines of thought. The trouble in regard to the modernists is not with the leaders, who know what they want to say, but with their imitators. The self-criticism to which the true artist subjects himself will prevent him from foisting an ill-prepared work upon the public. Mr. Bridge, who is widely known not only as composer but as conductor, was born in Brighton, England, forty-four years ago, and studied with Stanford at the Royal College of Music. He was a viola player in the Joachim Quartet. His first important orchestral composition, “Isabella,” was produced at the Queen’s Hall Promenade Concerts in London in 1907.

Animated by high ideals, the music of Frank Bridge, the distinguished British composer now visiting the United States, is, in its refinement and cultured taste, no less than in its broad outlook, a reflection of the nature of the man himself. Talking to Mr. Bridge, one derives a conviction that the interests of music are invulnerably safe in his keeping, and that he is actuated above all by the desire to maintain the traditions of art secure from unworthy influences. “The true artist,” he says, “writes to express his own honest views, not to please the public.” In this spirit, then, he gazes out over the whole field of musical endeavour, and finds good in every phase of activity, however varied, whether conservative or radical, if it be sincere.

Occupying a foremost position in the chamber music developments of late years, Mr. Bridge, famous for many picturesque and graceful scores in this form, is one of the composers who have brought Great Britain again into prominence as a musical nation. Yet he is prompt to disavow any narrow ambitions of nationalism in this movement, for art, he agrees, cannot be limited by territorial boundaries. He will not even speak of the new British activity in composition as a Renaissance. [2] “It is not a collective effort,” he reminds us. “The half dozen or more composers who are engaged in it are working independently of each other, looking down separate roads, so to speak, and recording their impressions of what they see. It so happens that these men have begun to work at about the same time. It is only within the past ten years that their work has definitely attracted attention, and another ten years must elapse before we shall be able properly to appraise its value.”

This is Mr. Bridge’s first visit to America, and he is tremendously impressed by what he has seen of the widespread zeal in the cause of music in the United States. “You are wonderful here!” he exclaimed, “with your large orchestras in all the important cities, [3] and, above all, in the organizations connected with them for the education of young people. Children’s concerts are the rule, I am told, and I believe that you actually have leaders of the various sections of the orchestras lecturing in the schools, explaining the instruments, and the music in which they are used. Wonderful!” he repeated, when assured that this is the case. “All this must tell immensely for the benefit of music. It must make for ideal audiences in a few years.”

Reverting to the British composers, he extolled their achievements - but his praise was all for others. He is too modest to speak of his own work, but the world has done that for him, anyway, in the enthusiasm with which it has acclaimed his music. “They are doing fine work - Vaughan Williams, [Gustav] Holst, John Ireland, Arnold Bax, Eugene Goossens, and the others, and they have created a keen interest, until the general music public of Great Britain has come to understand and appreciate the fact that a few men in their country are able to produce music, and are, in fact, producing music. “I do not mean to say that the British people were unmusical, but the fact was that the creative faculty was dormant. [4] These men have been working for a long time, but it is only within the past ten years that their achievements have become generally known, and in another ten years, when a great deal of the music which is being written in our day will have disappeared, and the best will have remained, it will be possible to realize more accurately the value of what they have done.”

Mr. Bridge dissents from the proposition that folk songs will prove the basis of a national music. [5] “Many people, it is true, think they will; but on the other hand, there are a great many other people, of whom I am one,” he affirmed, ‘‘who do not think so. “You really cannot speak of nationality in music since art is world-wide. If there is to be any expression of national spirit, it must be the expression of the composer’s own thoughts and feelings, and must come from the promptings of his own inspiration; he cannot seek it, and any effort on his part to aim at it as a national expression must end in failure. This is precisely where, to my mind, those who are interested in folk-music are making a mistake in seeking to force that which should be spontaneous.” “All activity is healthy, if it is sincere; but any new work must retain its solid foundation in art, if it is to live,” was his dictum, when asked for his views on the revolutionary tendencies in modern music.

And this summing-up is particularly interesting from the fact that, while Mr. Bridge is fully prepared to listen to all that the modern writers have to say, he has consistently allied this conciliatory attitude with an unwavering respect for established standards. Therefore, he does not by any means agree with the revolutionaries who contend that we ought to break completely with the past.

“After all,” said he, “our store of music of the present day has been built up steadily through the centuries, just as our great fabric of law has been, and our store of medical knowledge - by patient experiment after experiment, not in public, but in the work shop. That is the place where new theories must be subjected to rigid and complete tests before they are given to the world. Just as the chemist conducts his research in his laboratory, the composer makes his experiments, but he must make them in his workshop, too, not in the concert-room. And remember, the chemist, searching for some new fact in medical science, absolutely refuses to publish his research to the world until his discovery has been established beyond question. “Debussy made his experiments and proved to be really a first-rate artist in these experiments. The trouble is not with Debussy, or Stravinsky, or Scriabin, who knew what they wanted to say, and had a clear plan in mind before they began to compose any work. The trouble is with their imitators, who do not know what they want to say. A new work is the reflection of the composer’s outlook upon life. He seeks truth, and when he presents his finished work to the public, he presents the solution of a problem.”

“The self-criticism to which the artist subjects himself will prevent him from foisting an ill-prepared work upon the public. The true artist may be trusted to take that care, and the greater the artist he is, the greater the care he takes. After that, the truth of his message must make itself known. If he is sincere, then all is well. It is the sincerity of his work which is the real test.”

Musical America (17 November 1923 p.3 & 32).

Notes:

[1] On 8 December 1923, Frank and Ethel Bridge returned to Southampton aboard the White Star liner RMS Olympic. Earlier that year, on 22 August, Bridge had departed for the United States on the company’s majestic flagship, the RMS Majestic.

[2] The British or English Musical Renaissance is a fraught topic. Often seen as beginning in the 1880s it alludes to the surge of creative activity, and stylistic endeavours of composers such as Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Charles Villiers Stanford, and Alexander Mackenzie who were regarded by some as being in the vanguard of a newly revitalised national tradition, one that sought to “rival the Germans.” British music re‑emerged on the European stage with symphonies, choral works, and operas that asserted a distinctive cultural voice. This Renaissance continued well into to the 20^th century, especially as composers began incorporating English folk song and Tudor church music influences. It certainly includes Frank Bridge as one of the participants.

[3] In 1923, the leading American orchestras were the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Cleveland Orchestra, the five ensembles that would later be recognised collectively as the nation’s “Big Five”. Alongside them stood several other significant forces in the country’s musical life: the San Francisco Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra,        the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (later the Minnesota Orchestra), and the young but ambitious Los Angeles Philharmonic. Together, these orchestras formed the backbone of America’s symphonic culture in the early twentieth century.

[4] As scholarship has explored further back into the Victorian era, before Parry, Stanford and Mackenzie, other gems have been discovered. These include William Sterndale Bennett, Arthur Sullivan, George Macfarren and Alice Mary Smith.

[5] Frank Bridge himself relied on folk tunes for a few works, such as Sally in Our Alley, Sir Roger de Coverley, the Londonerry Ait and Cherry Ripe.

With thanks to Paul Hindmarsh for permission to use the photograph of Frank and Ethel Bridge (centre of picture) about the RMS Majestic. 

To be concluded…

British Cello Works: Volume 3

Despite his short life, English composer William Hurlstone left behind a small but outstanding catalogue, including pieces like Variations on a Swedish Air, the Piano Concerto in D major and the Magic Mirror Suite, based on the fairy tale of Snow White. Hurlstone displayed an extraordinary talent, which was recognized early on by his teacher, Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, who considered him the most gifted of his students. Sadly, his music is rarely performed today.

Although not well received by the Times critic at its premiere performance, the Cello Sonata in D major has come to be regarded as a minor masterpiece, the Sonata was written for the cellist May Mukle. With four well balanced movements, the slow movement and the “playful” Scherzo stand out as highlights. The ‘refrain’ of the concluding Rondo has features that Thomas Dunhill regarded as being “unmistakably English in spirit.”  Certainly, this sweeping theme provides a good foil to some of the more reflective moments as the movement progresses. The impact of Brahms is keenly felt as the sonata unfolds. Other stylistic influences include Schumann and Elgar. Yet, the overall impact is none the worse for these debts.

Most pianists of a certain age will have come across Felix Swinstead in their studies. Swinstead was an English pianist and composer, known for his educational piano music. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music and later became a professor there. He produced around two hundred pieces, mainly for the piano, including Fancy Free and Work and Play. He was known for his recitals and international tours.

The liner notes explain that the present Cello Sonata is undated but may well have been written shortly before Swinstead’s death. There are no details of any performances or even a “run-through.” After a dramatic opening flourish, the first movement Allegro devolves into a charming “strolling tune.” Much of the succeeding music is warm hearted and downright lyrical. The Adagio is a different matter. Dusk shrouds the proceedings with the main theme being “a wistful, folk-like tune with a decidedly Celtic lilt.” The finale, an Allegro deciso, has all the hallmarks of English light music, as the two main themes explore moods of happiness and of “Elgarian radiance.” This is a delightful Cello Sonata that makes no demands on the listener and is thoroughly enjoyable from the first note to the last. It should be in every duo’s repertoire.

Doreen Carwithen has made a remarkable impact on the record scene in recent years. Most of her orchestral works have been issued on CD. There are albums featuring her chamber music and a few songs. I am guessing that this is the premiere recording of her Cello Sonatina, although this is not stated on the cover.

Carwithen’s Sonata was completed around 1946. The form is in three movements, with the central one being the fast one. The opening Andante is melancholy and sometimes troubled. The Allegro is a breath of fresh air, with lots of questions and answers between instruments. It sounds technically demanding. The final movement returns to the melancholic mood, as the cello weaves a tender and serene melody. It is another example of a work which begs the question, “Why is it not heard in the recital rooms?”

Unfortunately, the track listing gives this as Sonata in E minor for cello and piano, op.132 (1951). These are the details of an example by Cecil Armstrong Gibbs!

Two other short numbers by Carwithen are included: the introspective Nocturne and the energetic Humoresque. They date from 1943.

The English composer, violist, and conductor, Frank Bridge needs little introduction in these pages. Save to say he is well remembered for his chamber music and orchestral works. The fact that he was a mentor to Benjamin Britten, tends to detract from the appreciation of his own work. Bridge's compositions evolved from romanticism to a more modernist style, reflecting the emotional and societal shifts of his time.

Since hearing the Rostropovich/Britten recording (Decca SLX 6426) of Bridge’s Sonata in D minor for cello and piano, back in the early 1970s, this has been one of my Desert Island works. It has everything: from high romanticism to hints of Bergian “modernism.”

The Sonata took four years to finish, being started in 1913 and concluded in 1917. Its gestation thus spans the years of the First World War. Other major chamber works from Bridge’s pen during this period includes the Sextet (1912) and the String Quartet No. 2 in G Minor (1915).

The clue to appreciating Bridge’s Cello Sonata is to see the “fundamental dichotomy between a pre-war pastoralism and the angry reaction to the horrors of the conflict. It is presented in two movements: Allegro ben moderato and Adagio ma non troppo. The first is a celebration of the high-water mark of Edwardian triumphalism and has echoes of Brahms and even Rachmaninov. The second, is fraught with grief and angst, but comes to a surprisingly optimistic conclusion. It is given a superb performance here by Handy and Walsh.

The track listing on the rear cover of the CD states that Frank Bridge’s dates are (1913-76) and that the cello sonata dates from 1961! It is not the Sonata in C for cello and piano, op.60 (1961). This one belongs to Benjamin Britten.

The liner notes by Paul Conway are to the usual high standard, forming an essay-long introduction to the composers and the music. No resume of the two soloists is included.

All this music is played with obvious skill and enthusiasm. The Swinstead is my discovery on this album, but the Bridge is the highlight (for me), and I will certainly listen to this version many times in the future.

Track Listing:
William Hurlstone (1876-1906)
Cello Sonata in D major (1899)
Felix Swinstead (1880-1959)
Cello Sonata (date unknown)
Doreen Carwithen (1922-2003)
Cello Sonatina (1946)
Nocturne (1943)
Humoresque (1943)
Frank Bridge (1879-1941)
Sonata in D minor for cello and piano, H.125 (1913-17)
Lionel Handy (cello), Jennifer Walsh (piano)
rec. 23-24 March 2024, Winchester College.
Lyrita SRCD.441

Frank Bridge: Cherry Ripe for orchestra (1916)

Frank Bridge’s Cherry Ripe is a delightful piece that forms the second of his Two Old English Songs for string quartet, completed on 30 May 1916. This work, alongside Sally in Our Alley, displays his ability to blend traditional folk melodies with his own unique compositional style. Cherry Ripe is based on a popular English folk tune, and Bridge’s arrangement captures its pastoral and nostalgic qualities. Interestingly, he did not use folksong very often. The only other obvious example apart from these is Roger de Coverley.

Cherry Ripe is characterized by its lyrical melodies and rich harmonies, which evoke a sense of simplicity and elegance. Bridge’s use of the string quartet format allows for intricate interplay between the instruments, creating a delicate and intimate soundscape. This has been replicated in the orchestral transcription.

Paul Hindmarsh (2016, p.141) explains that “Cherry Ripe is a miniature technical tour-de-force. The bustling opening gives no hint of the tune, and this eventually eases in unannounced, emerging out of the contrapuntal texture as the second subject. There is a touch of class in the way Bridge towards the end combines his own energetic subject with the more sustained phrases of the traditional melody.”

On the afternoon of 17 June 1916, the London String Quartet premiered the chamber version of the Two Old English Songs at the Aeolian Hall. The orchestral transcription, enhanced with an added bass part, had its debut at a Queen’s Hall Promenade Concert on 26 September 1916, conducted by Henry Wood.

Leonard Rees (The Sunday Times, 1 October 1916, p.4) noted “that [there] was a quasi-novelty on Tuesday night when Mr Frank Bridge’s skilful and genial arrangement of Sally in our alley and Cherry Ripe for string orchestra was given for the first time under the composer’s direction.”

Sadly, the critic of the Westminster Gazette, (27 September 1916, p.9) was unimpressed – “If, therefore, there was not an overflowing audience last night, it was really not very surprising—for it is to be feared that the "first performance "of Mr. Frank Bridge's perversions of Sally in Our Alley and Cherry Ripe were hardly compensation, in the opinion of most, for the absence of works more famous.”

For me, Cherry Ripe remains a good example of early 20th-century English music, highlighting Bridge’s talent for crafting beautiful and evocative arrangements.

Listen to the orchestral version of Frank Bridge’s Cherry Ripe on YouTube, here. The English Northern Philharmonia is conducted by David Lloyd-Jones.

Bibliography
Hindmarsh, Paul, Frank Bridge (1879-1941) The Complete Works, PHM Publishing, 2016. eBook.

Select Discography

1. Bridge, Frank, Cherry Ripe, with Enter Spring, The Sea, Lament and Summer, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/Sir Charles Groves EMI 566855-2 (1998) (original LP release: EMI ASD 3190) (1976)
2. Bridge, Frank, Cherry Ripe, with Threads: 2 Intermezzi, Suite for Strings, Sally in Our Alley, Rosemary, Canzonetta, Valse Intermezzo à Cordes, Sir Roger de Coverley, Todessehnsucht {after J.S. Bach}, The Hag and Two Songs of Robert Bridges), BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Richard Hickox, CHANDOS CHAN 10246 (2004)
3. Bridge, Frank, Cherry Ripe, with Sir Roger de Coverley, Sally in our Alley, Vaughan Williams: Charterhouse Suite, Haydn Wood: Fantasy-Concerto, Ireland: The Holy Boy, Delius: Air and Dance, Elgar: Sospiri, Warlock: Serenade, G. Bush: Consort Music), English Northern Philharmonia/David Lloyd-Jones NAXOS 8.555068 (2001) 

With thanks to Paul Hindmarsh for permission to use the musical example.

Frank Bridge’s Suite: The Sea for large orchestra (1911)

I want to dispel the notion that Frank Bridge’s Suite: The Sea for large orchestra is in some way an English response to Debussy’s La Mer (1903-05). It is not. It could be argued that this music is an evocation of the sea and often an impressionistic one at that. But if you play the two works back-to-back, one will notice the difference. Frank Bridge uses and develop themes, whereas Debussy is more driven by motives.

There are four movements, all of which contribute to the magic of this impressive tone poem. Let Bridge’s words give us some idea of the mood evoked in this score:

“Seascape paints the sea on a summer morning. From high drifts is seen a great expanse of waters lying in the sunlight.  Warm breezes play over the surface.  Sea-foam froths among the low-lying rocks and pools on the shore, playfully not stormy. Moonlight paints a calm sea at night. The first moonbeams are struggling to pierce through the clouds, which eventually pass over, leaving the sea shimmering in full moonlight. Finally, a raging Storm. Wind, rain and tempestuous seas, with the lulling of the storm an allusion to the first number is heard and which may be regarded as a sea lover’s dedication to the sea.”

It is interesting to note that Frank Bridge composed much of this music in Eastbourne, with the seascape of the English Channel in view. Strangely it was at an hotel in the same town the Debussy put the final touches to his masterpiece, La Mer.

The score was begun in 1910 and was completed on 5 July 1911. It was published under the Carnegie Music Publishing scheme, being included in the first list of works chosen by the committee.

The Sea was premiered on 24 September 1912 during a Queen’s Hall Promenade Concert. The resident orchestra was conducted by Sir Henry Wood.

The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer (25 September 1912, p.6) notes that “The subject has frequently tempted, and, in some cases inspired composers, for the ocean and its many and constantly varying moods bear a close analogy to the ebb and flow of human emotion, added to which it possesses a grandeur peculiarly its own. The possession of so many different attributes makes the task of the composer who would suggest them very difficult. It is well to remember this when listening to a sea piece, especially the one produced last night, for, truth to tell. Mr. Bridge does not seem to have sufficiently realised the possibilities of his subject. Apart from this, the work is well-considered and musicianly composition.”

The young Benjamin Britten was totally bowled over when he first heard this work performed at a Norwich Triennial Festival concert in 1924. He was particularly impressed with the ‘sensuous harmonies’ in the Moonlight movement.

Frank Bridge’s Suite: The Sea can be heard on YouTube, here. The Ulster Orchestra is conducted by Vernon Handley.

Frank Bridge: Summer (1914-15)

The tone poem, Summer must rank as one of my all-time favourites. It would certainly feature as one of my Desert Island Discs. I understand that it was completed whilst Bridge was living in Bedford Gardens in Kensington. However, he had recently (1914) moved from Chiswick. It was written at a time when the composer was extremely disturbed by the effect the Great War was having on the lives of his friends. Bridge was too old to be involved in the fighting himself; besides, he was an unrepentant pacifist. He was uneasy with the apparent jingoism that was in the air at that time. Rather than write a ‘troubled’ work depicting in musical terms the clash of the Titans, he resorted to a kind of escapism. It is this context that we are to listen in Summer and the Two Poems which were also composed at about this time. 

It would be easy to see Summer as a kind of parody of Delius. However, it is a cleverly constructed work with an obvious ternary form to it. The skill that Bridge brings with his orchestration and harmonic structures tends to blur the underlying form. This is one of those pieces of music that need to be listened to with a kind of relaxed concentration. By this I mean that it is not to be listened to in the background whilst discussing the holiday snaps over a glass of Chianti. Neither, though, should it be an intellectual exercise. Switch off the light, open the window, enjoy the cool evening breeze, and just fall into the delicious harmonies and counterpoints. Let the music wash over you. Lose yourself in the summer’s day haze. Think of Matthew Arnold’s evocative lines “All the live murmur of a summer’s day!” It is nine minutes and forty seconds of Heaven. There is plenty of time to evaluate and analyse the score the next morning.

Summer was premiered on 13 March 1916 during a Royal Philharmonic Society Concert at the Queen’s Hall: the composer conducted the resident orchestra.

Paul Hindmarsh, in his Frank Bridge Catalogue quotes a letter from Frank Bridge to his friend Marjorie Fass. It was penned as an update on the composer’s tour of the United States and refers to the American premiere by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Hence the (sadly disingenuous) generalisations about Americans:

This piece ‘Summer’ goes at a snail’s pace, comparatively; it has a peace in it which I wish I could find and rest in at the moment. It reflects nothing that the average American has in his or her life. It has nothing to do with any material aspect of life. It has nothing to do with twenty-storey buildings or the concrete roads which run throughout the country. Only to the lover of the footpath which winds through the woods and over brooks with the aid of old-fashioned foot bridges, or with stepping-stones, can this piece arouse a sympathetic understanding. (From a letter to Marjorie Fass, dated 17 October 1923)

Frank Bridge must have the final word. He is quoted as saying in a letter to his wife, ‘…only if there is such a thing as rest in the soul of the listener and in the sweetness of a summer day faraway in the heart of the country will my piece Summer make any impression.’ 

My favourite version of Bridge’s Summer is the recording by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Charles Groves on HMV ASD 3190, (1976) (LP): EMI Studio CDM 7 69870-2 (1989) (CD). This version has been uploaded to YouTube. Other good accounts have been made on Chandos (Hickox) and Naxos (Judd).

Frank Bridge: Enter Spring (1927)

I believe that Frank Bridge’s masterpiece is Enter Spring. Furthermore, I consider it to the finest tone poem in the repertoire of British music. Fulsome praise indeed!

Despite its ‘Georgian’ title, there is no way that it can be described as a purely pastoral piece. It is not a cow leaning over a gate. There is a pastoral element, but as Rob Barnett (MusicWeb International) has said, “tempered with the more serious stirrings of [Bridge’s] more avant-garde style.”

Although Bridge’s life centred on London he was able to spend much time in his native county. In the nineteen twenties Bridge and his wife built a house, Friston Field, near West Dean in Sussex. It overlooked a large panorama of the downs. Bridge’s earlier master work, The Sea was inspired by the English Channel. The South Downs were to provide the backdrop to Enter Spring. Originally it was to have been called On Friston Down but this name was abandoned. The short-score was composed between August 1926 and January 1927. The full score is dated 27 May 1927.

It would be easy to play ‘spot the influence’ with this piece. There are echoes of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring or Arnold Bax’s Spring Fire. Barnett alludes to John Fould’s great but neglected work April-England. Ravel and Debussy and even Alban Berg are never far from mind. But Bridge is beholden to no man; this is a synthesis of all that he had composed up 1927.

Enter Spring was premiered on 21 October 1927 at that year’s Norwich Triennial Festival. The Queen’s Hall Orchestra was conducted by the composer.

The critic of the Morning Post (28 October 1927) was impressed: “[Frank Bridge] ...carried the arms of a commissioned composition with remarkable success. The work has a fluent inspiration, meticulous in detail yet seemingly spontaneous, graphic yet not wholly realistic, complex yet persuasive. The programme is spring as a full experience rather than a vague prescience, and at every point the finally wrought music conveys this experience urgently and generously.”

This is not the place to analyse the details of this work. It is the forum to pile up the adjectives. This work is rich in development, subtle in its remarkable scoring. There is a superabundance of invention and imagination here – from the first to the last bar. There is a “formal mastery” that makes this work a paragon of its type. It is sunny, turbulent, colourful, exuberant, and melancholic all in the space of twenty minutes. At the end of the work Spring is truly ushered in. Would that I was on the Sussex Downs at Chanctonbury or Firle Beacon or West Dean to see it!

Listen to Frank Bridge’s Enter Spring on YouTube, here. It is played by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Richard Hickox.

Frank Bridge: Valse Intermezzo for strings (1902)

When Paul Hindmarsh published the first edition of his indispensable Frank Bridge: A Thematic Catalogue in 1983, he noted that the composer’s Valse Intermezzo for strings had neither been performed or published. The piece had been completed on 22 August 1902, whilst the composer, still a student, was holidaying at Eastbourne.

On his website, Hindmarsh takes up the story: “In the autumn of 1999, John Bishop (1931–2000) the administrator of the Royal College of Music’s Frank Bridge Bequest music committee, invited me to assemble a suite of pieces as a “home” for an attractive early waltz for strings. We had both long admired this work but were undecided how best to promote it. As I considered some of Bridge’s early piano pieces to be more like sketches for string works than genuine keyboard music, I looked for suitable items from his early instrumental music.”

This resulted in Four Pieces for String Orchestra (Frank Bridge), arranged by Paul Hindmarsh. This included 1. Prelude in E minor [H.29], 2. Valse Intermezzo in E minor [H.17], 3. Song without Words [H.22] and 4. Scherzo Phantastick [H.6]. The score was published in 2001 and was soon after recorded in its entirety on the Delos Record label.

Fabian Huss (The Music of Frank Bridge, Woodbridge, Boydell Press, 2015, p.24) noted this early work as “an elegant minor-key waltz” which revealed “his idiomatic string writing, and looks ahead to the refined polished style of the Suite for Strings of 1909-10.”

Listeners will enjoy this remarkable homage to the waltz. Despite the obvious influence of French and Russian models, Frank Bridge has made a uniquely English take on this form. The entire piece is wistful, never sentimentally sweet, and always sophisticated. Of equal importance is the confidence that Bridge brings to the string writing.

The Valse Intermezzo has received three recordings: Northern Sinfonia/David Lloyd-Jones, English String Miniatures, vol. 4, Naxos 8.555070, (2000); Moscow Chamber Orchestra/Constantine Orbelian, The Music of Frank Bridge, Delos DE3263, (2001) and BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Richard Hickox, Bridge Orchestral Music, vol. 5, Chandos, CHAN 10246, (2004). This final version has been uploaded to YouTube.

With thanks to Paul Hindmarsh for permission to use the musical example. 

De Profundis Clamavi: English Piano Music played by Duncan Honeybourne

I am beholden to Duncan Honeybourne’s wise and informative liner notes for details of most of these pieces. Several other hands have contributed useful composer biographies to the booklet. 

Johannes Brahms seems to underly the post-romantic breadth of Christopher Edmunds’s powerful and impassioned Piano Sonata in B minor. And not only Brahms. He has absorbed the romantic pyrotechnics of Franz Liszt and Sergei Rachmaninoff. It may be regarded by some as a little “retro” in style, but who really cares.  I loved the introspective slow movement which is such a contrast to the “extrovert” opening movement. It builds up to a considerable, but largely lugubrious climax. The finale is typically vivacious but balanced by some quieter and more thoughtful moments. The movement ends with a convincing and dramatic peroration.

This is a magnificent Sonata which ought to be in the repertoire of all British pianists and not a few from other nationalities as well.  It was dedicated to the pianist Tom Bromley (1904-85) and was first performed in the summer of 1938.

Edgar Bainton had his fling on CD a few years ago with some important symphonic works issued on the Chandos and the Dutton Epoch labels. A few odds and ends have appeared since, including several songs from Naxos.  The present Variations and Fugue in B minor, op.1 (1898) dates from Bainton’s years as a student at the Royal College of Music. Seemingly, it was his first acknowledged opus.  I was amazed at the technical demand of this piece. There is nothing here that indicates the tyro. The entire work unfolds from a “melody of wistful nobility” which is developed into nine engaging variations. The final fugue is a surprising triumph. Equally remarkable is that a work of such vision and technical achievement lay in a drawer for over 120 years until Duncan Honeybourne unearthed it for this CD.  What does it sound like? Brahms is in there, and unsurprisingly Stanford. But the listener will be conscious of an individual voice emerging.

When I first inspected the track listing for this album, I imagined that Cecil Armstrong Gibb’s Essex Rhapsody (1921) would be something in the line of Butterworth’s A Shropshire Lad Rhapsody or maybe Holst’s A Somerset Rhapsody. In other words, a medley of folk tunes, or based on an original tune with rustic pretensions. How wrong can one be? Despite ostensibly being a paean of praise to his native county, this music is overblown, romantic, full of Listzian clichés. If RKO Radio Pictures had made a film called Ipswich Moonlight, (instead of a Dangerous one) this optimistic score would have been ideal. 

On the other hand, Gibbs’s significant Ballade in D flat is full angst and passion. It was composed during the Second World War, when the composer was staying in Windemere.  His house in Danbury, Essex had been requisitioned as a military hospital, he was displaced from his beloved county, and his son David was on active service. David would later be killed near Monte Cassino. The music is fraught, menacing and dramatic. It is hard to tell what the narrative of this Ballade is, but it is a story of fear and unsettling change.

Richard Pantcheff’s Nocturnus V Wind oor die Branders (Wind on the Waves) was completed in 2015. It describes well “impending blustery weather on the sea” before the storm arrives and then subsides. I hope the composer will not be offended if I suggest the hand of Claude Debussy lies behind this watery music. It is quite beautiful in its impact.

I can never hear enough of Charles Hubert Hastings Parry’s Shulbrede Tunes. Apart from Jerusalem, it was the first piece of his music that I got to know. It dates from 1914, just before the start of the First World War. Parry was staying with his eldest daughter Dorothea, at Shulbrede Priory in West Sussex. The collection is a set of character sketches portraying individuals who were staying there, as well as some aspects of the building itself. The opening hymn of praise of to Shulbrede itself is a wonderful bit of romantic pianism. The second number is a depiction of Parry’s granddaughter Elizabeth. She must have been a bewitching wee lassie. There are two portrayals of Dorothea - Dolly No.1 and Dolly No.2, presumably as a mother and a daughter.  Rather haunting is the Bogies and Sprites that Gambol by Night. This is followed by Matthew, the composer’s grandson who may have been a little precocious for his age. It is a touch serious. The Prior’s Chamber by Midnight is suitably descriptive. This is followed by the scherzo Children’s Pranks, which seems to include the entire family. The penultimate piece is In the Garden with the Dew on the Grass. This is a pastoral that evokes an idyllic summer’s day.   The finale, the broadly played Father Playmate illustrates the composer’s son-in-law. Parry wrote “‘Father Playmate’ is all sorts of delightful things - a great companion to the children as well as a great politician and deeply interested in Art and Music as well.”

Shulbrede Tunes is perfectly charming. But the listener cannot help thinking that this serene world of Edwardian family life was about to disappear forever as the cataclysmic War approached. They remain a perfect testament of a loving father and grandfather to his family.

The second CD opens with Edgar Bainton’s “sensitive” tone poem Willows, written in 1927. This music here is a little spartan in places. Despite its title, it owes nothing to the pastoralism of its time. Later Frank Bridge is one exemplar. Yet, Bainton has made this beautiful work all his own. It is a remarkable discovery. Equally impressive is his ravishing The Making of the Nightingale. This was meant to been one of a collection of three pieces. Only two were completed. Hopefully, Duncan Honeybourne will record the eloquently named Gardens of the Sea soon.

Much has been written about Frank Bridge’s monumental Piano Sonata. Duncan Honeybourne is correct in regarding it as “among the towering masterpieces of English piano music.” Pianist and musicologist Maurice Hinson (Guide to the Pianists Repertoire, Indiana University Press, 2000) remarked that it “is one of the most ambitious British piano compositions of its period.”

Many commentators note the decisive break between Bridge’s pre-war piano music and this sonata.  One of the half-truths is that was written in the composer’s ‘Dissonant Contemporary’ period. I worry a little about this classification. To be sure there are definite echoes of Alban Berg’s atonalism here. Scriabin’s “shifting tonalities” are obvious. Yet the formal structure looks back as far as Liszt.  Here and there, moments of Bridge’s earlier romanticism and even pastoralism reveal themselves amongst the “avant-garde angularity.”

Bridge’s Sonata is long, lasting for more than 35 minutes. The three movements are played without a break. Often the mood is one of great profundity and an uncompromising sense of despair and anger. Yet, occasionally, a sense of optimism appears almost from nowhere. The job of the pianist is to hold the stylistic elements of this massive construct together, as well as coping with highly challenging writing. I think that Duncan Honeybourne has made a splendid job in achieving all these aims. There are several other excellent readings of this sonata available, including those by Mark Bebbington, Peter Jacobs and Malcolm Binns.

Benjamin Britten’s poignant Night Piece (Notturno) is one of very few works for solo piano that he wrote. It was composed as a test piece for the first Leeds Piano Competition in 1963. It had been commissioned by the legendary Fanny Waterman for the occasion. The liner notes state that Duncan Honeybourne had the “privilege” of studying this work with her. The music muses on many aspects of the night: creeping things, birdsong, dreams and perhaps something a little darker in the human soul.

The inspiration behind Richard Pantcheff’s Piano Sonata (2017) seems to be “disquieting political and social events in the UK” during 2017. I can only think this must refer to the Brexit legislation, as this was the dominating political news of that year. The composer has written that its aim was to express “the greatest possible tumult, and on occasion, desolation.” A Remainer Sonata? But there is a deeper programme to this work. The composer has taken several snippets from the Greek Nobel Laureate Odysseus Elytis’s The Axion Esti (1959) and appended them to the score.  This is a long poem in which the author explores his own personality, as well as that of his country and its people.  The poem has been described “as a secular oratorio, reflecting the Greek heritage, and the country's revolutionary spirit, and also as a kind of autobiography, in which the spiritual roots of the poet's very individual sensibility are set in the wider philosophical context of the Greek tradition.”  Seemingly, (I have not read it) this poem examines the Eternal Greece, the horrors suffered during the Second World War and its aftermath. The poem concludes with a “celebration of human life.”

I certainly found Richard Pantcheff’s Sonata desolate and full of tumult. There is no optimism here. The musical language seems to me to be a concatenation of styles including Bridge, sometimes Debussy, and maybe even Messiaen. For me the slow movement is the highlight.  I did not enjoy this Sonata, but I respect and appreciate it.

This is an excellent CD with an adventurous and imaginative programme. Except for the Parry, the Bridge and the Britten, each work is a “World Premiere Recording.” It goes without saying that Duncan Honeybourne’s playing is superb throughout. He has rapidly become the Dean of British Piano Music. I have mentioned the excellent liner notes above.

Let us hope that there are many more CDs of British Piano Music “on the stocks” at EM Records and undiscovered music in Duncan’s piano stool.

Track Listing:
CD 1
Christopher EDMUNDS (1899-1990)
Piano Sonata in B minor (1938)
Edgar BAINTON (1880-1956)
Variations and Fugue in B minor, op.1 (1898)
Cecil Armstrong GIBBS (1889-1960)
An Essex Rhapsody, op.36 (1921); Ballade in D flat (1940)
Richard PANTCHEFF (b.1939)
Nocturnus V Wind oor die Branders (2015)
Charles Hubert Hastings PARRY (1848-1918)
Shulbrede Tunes (1914)
CD 2
Edgar BAINTON
Willows (1927); The Making of the Nightengale (1921
Frank BRIDGE (1879-1941)
Piano Sonata (1921-24)
Benjamin BRITTEN (1913-76)
Night Piece (Notturno) (1963)
Richard PANTCHEFF
Piano Sonata (2017)
Duncan Honeybourne (piano)
Rec. 20-21 August 2020, Potton Hall, Westleton Hall, Suffolk.
EM RECORDS EMR CD070-71

With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.

London Myriad: French and British Works for Wind Quartet

I thoroughly enjoyed all six of these delightful and interesting works on this new CD from London Myriad. But first a word of caution. Listen to these works one at a time. There is a danger that unremitting flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon will all melt into one great mass of puff and blow. All these pieces are mini-masterpieces, and each deserve our individual attention. I suggest a listening strategy: I began with Richard Rodney Bennett and promptly read up the fulsome liner notes. And went from there…

In 1975 Bennett wrote a set of Travel Notes for string quartet. They were largely snapshots of means of travel, written with a film composer’s ‘panache.’ These included ‘A Walking Tune’, ‘In a Hearse’, ‘On Horseback’, ‘In a Pram’ and ‘Express Train.’ The following year he composed Travel Notes II for wind quartet.  If any composer influenced this work, it must be Francis Poulenc. The cool opening ‘In an Air Balloon’ is a slow saunter. The flight ‘In a Helicopter’ is a brilliant little scherzo with unhurried conclusion. As relaxed as the ‘Balloon’ is ‘In a Bath Chair.’ This is gentle music, with a gorgeous tune. Nowadays it would be hell for leather in a mobility scooter. The final number is a ‘Car Chase’. This well-contrived little scherzo is more Keystone Kops than James Bond. Travel Notes II may be light music, but it is technically of high quality and ideally written for the genre.

I moved onto Jacques Ibert’s ‘Deux Mouvements’. Since learning to play his light-hearted piano piece, A Giddy Girl some 45 years ago I have enjoyed listening to his music. Important orchestral works include Escales (Ports) (1922) and the ever-popular Divertissement (1929). But it is chamber music that most often seems to have attracted his attention. He wrote for several different combinations. This wind quartet is idiomatic and presents approachable, if somewhat tongue-in-cheek music that entertains and amuses. Always lyrical in tone, these two short pieces are a splendid exercise in composition for this combination.

Jean Françaix’s four-movement Quartet was written in 1933 when the composer was 21 years of age. Françaix gave a fitting description of this piece as ‘a fusion of Machiavelli and magic.’ Presumably with ‘Machiavellianism’ meaning the manipulative tendencies of this music rather than an allusion to scheming, popular politics of the man himself.  The composition displays impetuous themes that are typically light-hearted and largely straightforward. The clever bit is the constantly changing moods, tempo and timbre. Just occasionally, there is something a little bit more poetic and calmer. The music is a pleasure from end to end, with little to cloud the neo-classical humour and wit of the entire work.

I had not heard of the French composer Louise Marie Simon (1903-90) before hearing this CD. For reasons unknown, she adopted the pseudonym Claude Arrieu. Perhaps this was to fend off negative judgements of her music because of her gender. On the other hand, there were several eminent female composers in Paris at that time, including Nadia Boulanger and Germaine Tailleferre. The liner notes explain that Arrieu wrote more than 400 works in a wide variety of genres, however chamber music was ‘where she best demonstrates her love of melody…’ This was at a time when ‘melody’ was not necessarily a popular word with the musical cognoscenti. The ‘Suite en Quatre’ was composed as late as 1979. Its frankly neo-classical style does seem a wee bit dated, yet the equilibrium between lyricism, a little bit of musical fury and a more hard-edged sound creates a satisfying work. ‘Claude Arrieu’ clearly understands the range and technical limitations of each instrument, and, more to the point the subtle balance of these timbres within the progress of the ‘quartet’.

Eugene Bozza’s (1905-91) Trois Pièces Pour Une Musique De Nuit were written in 1954. Not altogether convincing as a ‘nocturne’ per se, this piece is full of interest. The opening ‘andantino’ is a little ‘lullaby’ that has the flute, oboe and clarinet singing a soothing melody with the bassoon player providing the ‘lilting’ accompaniment. The ‘scherzo’ is typically French in temper. It fairly bounces along. The finale, which is a ‘moderato’, is in the form of a chorale. The liner notes hit the nail on the head by describing this as ‘melodious and mesmerising.’ This movement comes nearest to creating a crepuscular mood.

The last piece that I tackled was Frank Bridge’s Divertimenti (H.189). This work began life as two duets for flute and oboe, but was expanded to include clarinet and bassoon, as well as having two extra movements. It was completed in 1938 and dedicated to Mrs Sprague Coolidge.  The opening movement is a vibrant and urgent ‘Prelude’, at least in the opening and closing sections where it has fanfare-like figurations. The middle part is more reflective. The haunting ‘Nocturne’ is long and introspective: it features only the flute and oboe and creates an absorbing if sometimes depressing contrapuntal conversation. The ‘Scherzetto’ is scored for the clarinet and bassoon only. It is another discourse, but this time somewhat animated with ‘darkly humorous dotted sections.’ Motifs are tossed around like a breezy autumn day. The final movement includes all four instruments. This is, as the liner notes state, not serious music, but does as it says on the tin, ‘diverts’. Yet deep down there is an autumnal sadness about this work that is hard to escape.

I have already mentioned the excellent liner notes provided with this CD.  The oboist Fiona Joyce Myall has provided informative biographical details as well as a working description of each piece. There is a short introduction to London Myriad’s recording project as well as thumbnail photos of all six composers.

The quality of the recording is ideal for music that demands clarity of the instrumental colour which exploits the individual characteristics, timbres and tonal range of four related, but diverse instruments. Most of these works are new to me. But the performances are convincing and always satisfy the listener’s interest.

I understand that the second part of this project is to commission new works from a variety of composers. It is to be looked forward to, however, it will have to be something truly remarkable to beat the repertoire for wind quartet presented on this present CD.

Track Listing:

Eugène BOZZA (1905-91) Trois Pièces Pour Une Musique de Nuit (1954)

Frank BRIDGE (1879-1941) Divertimenti, H.189 (1938)

Jean FRANÇAIX (1912-1997) Quatuor (1933)

Richard Rodney BENNETT (1936-2012) Travel Notes 2 (1976)

Jacques IBERT (1890-1962) Deux Mouvements (1922)

Claude ARRIEU (1903-90) Suite en Quatre (1979)

​Julie Groves (flute), Fiona Joyce Myall (oboe), Nadia Wilson (clarinet), Ashley Myall (bassoon)

Rec. Studio 1, The University of Surrey, Guildford, 21-22 September 2014 Bozza, Bridge, Françaix); Whitgift Concert Hall, Croydon, 24 July and 6 August 2018 (Bennett, Ibert, Arrieu)

MÉTIER msv 28587 [55:31]

With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.

Frank Bridge: The Turtle’s Retort (One-Step) (c.1919) H.147

The listener does not usually associate composer Frank Bridge (1879-1941) with the dance-hall. From his early days as an exponent of Edwardian romanticism, through a period dabbling with impressionism and on towards the modernism of his latter years, we are not really prepared for cheerful little The Turtle’s Retort (One-Step).

It is difficult to assign an exact date of composition to this piece: Paul Hindmarsh in his E-Catalogue (PHM Publishing, 2016) simply provides the date of publication, 1919. The holograph is missing.  Hindmarsh explains that Bridge composed this one-step under the pseudonym of John L. Moore. This was derived from his wife’s middle name: Elmore. The work was included in series of ‘American Dance Tunes’ published by Winthrop Rogers. The series included a foxtrot, one and two steps and waltzes. Hindmarsh suggests that it was a best-seller for Frank Bridge.

For information, a one-step was an early 20th-century ballroom dance with long quick steps and was the forerunner of the foxtrot. It was characterised by a ²/₄ time signature and marked by quick walking steps backward and forward.

The main tune of The Turtle’s Retort was introduced in the opening bars. The composer indicated at the ‘appropriate’ point in the score, the words of the ‘song:

‘This is,’ said the turtle as he waddled away,

‘Wot is?’ said the lady as she sat down to play,

‘That is,’ said the turtle with a grin, ‘Why can’t you see,

That is the tune, that is the tune, for you and for me!’

The Turtle’s Retort has been arranged for band and for orchestra.

Eric Wetherell’s orchestral transcription of The Turtle’s Retort has been uploaded to YouTube. It is coupled with a lovely performance of the piano piece Heart’s Ease arranged for orchestra by Robert Cornford. It is played by the Chelsea Opera Group Orchestra conducted by Howard Williams. The upload is derived from the Pearl LP (SHE 600) issued in 1987.

Frank Bridge-The Complete Works: Portraits of an English Composer in his time, with full Thematic Catalogue of Works (1900-1941) compiled and edited by Paul Hindmarsh

I discovered a copy of the first edition of Paul Hindmarsh’s book in Ken Spelman’s second-hand book shop in Micklegate, York in the mid-nineteen-eighties. Until then, I had been unaware of it.

Since purchasing this book some 30 years ago, it has become a constant source of reference as I have reviewed Bridge’s works for MusicWeb International and written a number of articles and book reviews. Even more valuably, it has allowed me to approach my listening to Bridge’s music in a structured and informed manner. I am sure that many musicians, musical historians and listeners have also been aided by this book.

So it is fitting that Paul Hindmarsh has chosen to republish this excellent Thematic Catalogue with the accumulated wisdom of more than a third of a century of his study of Bridge’s life and works.

In 1970, R.M. Keating majored on ‘The Songs of Frank Bridge’ in his dissertation presented to the University of Texas. It was an important forerunner of current academic attention. An early popular study of the composer was Frank Bridge by Anthony Payne, Lewis Foreman and John Bishop which was published in 1976.  This short pamphlet (50 pages) re-presented Payne’s illustrated account of the music printed in Tempo (September & December 1973). The catalogue of works by Foreman was helpful in gaining a bird’s eye view of the composer’s achievement.

The most significant advance in Bridge studies was the original edition of this present book, which was published in 1983. Here for the first time, the composer’s works were listed chronologically, with details of manuscripts, instrumentation, first performances, bibliographic references and a commentary on many of the works. There was a chronology of the composer’s life, a select bibliography and discography, and indices. It was the first appearance of the ‘H’ (Hindmarsh) numbers to Bridge’s music.  All this has been retained in the new edition.

The following year, Anthony Payne published Frank Bridge: Radical and Conservative. It was the latest incarnation of his Tempo articles. In this volume, Payne reassessed the earlier compositions and found them just as important to the composer’s reputation as the later ‘radical’ works. It was deemed by Stephen Banfield as a ‘mature critical survey…a rounded accomplishment from the best man for the job.’ (Musical Times, April 1986). The book was reissued in 1999.

In 1991, Karen R. Little presented Frank Bridge: A Bio-Bibliography. Some of this material was concurrent with Hindmarsh’s Catalogue, however there were interesting additions. The succinct biographical chapter is excellent, the discography is extensive (up to 1991) and there is a comprehensive bibliography with brief précis of articles and many reviews. It remains a useful adjunct to Hindmarsh’s book.

Other important sources include Trevor Bray’s Frank Bridge: A Life in Brief, (2004-16) conveniently published online, Peter Pirie’s early Frank Bridge (1971) and a detailed study of the early ‘Modern Maritime Pastoral: Wave Deformations in the Music of Frank Bridge’ by Stephen Downes included in British Music and Modernism, 1895-1960 (2010).

There are a growing number of dissertations and theses being addressed to the composer. This includes studies of his piano works, his relationship with Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, Musical Modernism, and the Late Works as well Fabian Huss’ detailed examination of the chamber music (2010).

In 2015, Huss published his monograph on The Music of Frank Bridge (Boydell Press, 2015) which for the first time set the music into the various contexts implied by romanticism, musical modernism, British pastoral and the composer’s own personal development as a man and a musician.

I turn now to the new edition of Frank Bridge: The Complete Works – Portraits of an English Composer in his time with full Thematic Catalogue of Works (1900-1941).

After the usual preface and acknowledgements, there is an extremely helpful (and expanded) timeline. For example, a century ago, on 13 March 1916, Frank Bridge conducted the first performance of his tone poem Summer at one of Beecham’s Philharmonic Society Concerts. It is an excellent resource for contextualising Bridge’s musical progress.

The first section of the book features six important essays by a diverse group of writers. These include the excellent ‘Biographical Sketch: Seeds of Discontent’ by Paul Hindmarsh. Part of this was originally published in the Musical Times in 1991.  This is followed by a paper penned by Ivor James, friend of the composer and excellent cellist.  Daphne Oliver, based her notes for ‘Memories of a Unique Friendship’ on the recollections of Bridge’s companion Marjorie Fass. The redoubtable critic Edwin Evans wrote a series of articles for the Musical Times after the First World War examining ‘Modern British Composers.’ Frank Bridge was the first to be discussed.  A rare interview between the composer and P.J.Nolan was originally published in Musical America (17 November 1923). It makes fascinating reading, as Bridge was reticent in talking about his work.  Lastly, the finely stated obituary by Herbert Howells which appeared in Music and Letters (July 1941) examines the crisis in style between the first (early) and second (late) Bridge. 

The thematic catalogue itself includes a general introduction outlining the structure of the entries. This is followed by details of previously produced lists of Bridge’s music, including those in the standard reference works such as Grove’s and the unpublished hand-list in the Royal College of Music produced by Dr Peter Horton.

A summary of the location of manuscripts and sketches are given as well as a list of works where the holograph has been lost.  An important section for students of Bridge’s music is the location of his considerable body of correspondence.

The entries for the Thematic Catalogue are presented chronologically, beginning with H.1 which is the lost Trio in D minor composed in 1900. The last composition is H.192, the uncompleted Symphony for string orchestra dated January 1941.

For readers who have not perused the original catalogue, I will describe a typical entry: in this case for the orchestral tone poem ‘Summer’ H.116.

Each work has the relevant ‘H’ (Hindmarsh) number which has gained acceptance in scholarship. A brief title of the work is given followed by the orchestration/instrumentation and the playing instruction, in this case ‘Andante ben moderato – A tempo ben moderato e tranquillo’. Included in the text is a short extract prepared from the score of the opening half-dozen bars.  This is followed by information such as the work’s duration, the location of the autograph manuscript and the MS sketches.  The date of composition, where known, is noted, in this case ‘Sketch written July 1914, score 11th - 22nd April 1915’, at end of full score.’ Details of publication of the full score are included as well as the availability of miniature/study scores.

For musicians interested in the works reception history, the date, venue and performers of the work’s premiere are given.  Of great value are references to a number of contemporary reviews: those for Summer include notices in the Daily Telegraph, The Detroit Free Press, The Musical Times, The Sunday Times, The Times and Musical America. Notices of subsequent concerts are typically not included.  The entry closes with details of all recordings both historical and currently available. Printed or online reviews of these recordings are not referenced.

Extremely valuable is Paul Hindmarsh’s personal commentary on the work, which for Summer include a letter written to Bridge’s friend Marjorie Fass. This information is the solid basis of any future discussion of Bridge’s music, the writing of programme notes and the construction of performance histories.

The thematic catalogue is rounded off with a list of works classified by genre, a good general bibliography, an index of the titles and first lines of the works. A general index has been prepared by Paul Hindmarsh and Jessica Chan.  As I examined this book in its .pdf format, searching was easy using the Adobe search facility. The index will be useful to those who purchase the spiral bound edition.

I do have a concern about the ‘H’ numbers. Comparing my 1983 edition with the present catalogue, I note that certain numbers have changed or swapped about. The author has mentioned these in his introduction, however, I do worry that this could lead to a wee bit of confusion. It certainly means that Bridge scholars will have to work from this revised edition! These changes only seem to affect minor works, so that may mean relatively few essays, liner and programme notes which have used the ‘H’ numbers will be affected and have become out of date.

Three things make this revised edition of the catalogue an essential purchase for all enthusiasts of Frank Bridge’s music. Firstly, Hindmarsh has updated the commentary on each work to reflect scholarship and performance since 1983. This has included full details of all recordings of Bridge’s music up to January 2016.  This is important, as there has been an explosion of CDs released since 1983, including a virtually complete survey of the orchestral music on Chandos, the complete songs on Hyperion and two explorations of the piano music. Virtually all the chamber works have appeared in this time.  Additionally, the book features a number of rare photographs which allow the reader to see Frank Bridge as a man and not just a composer.

Secondly, a few of Bridge’s manuscripts have come to light since 1983, including the Phantasie in F minor for string quartet (H.55), the Morçeau Characteristique (H.83) and the finale from ‘A Royal Night of Variety’ (H.184). There has only been one new discovery – the song ‘Remembrance’ (H.35).

And lastly, as the author has written much about Frank Bridge over many years, he has used, to quote him, ‘much of that writing plus an extensive selection of correspondence by Bridge and his friends and some significant ‘period’ articles and images to create, I hope, a more complete picture of Frank Bridge in the context of his time.’  

Frank Bridge-The Complete Works: Portraits of an English Composer in his time, with full Thematic Catalogue of Works (1900-1941) compiled and edited by Paul Hindmarsh

Revised edition published in 2016 by PHM Publishing © 2016 by Paul Hindmarsh

272 pp, A4, coil bound ISBN: 978-1-5262-0264-2 (Print to order - £40.00)

Contact phmpublishing@btinternet.com

Pdf download (£30.00) available by pre-paid order and signed use of agreement via www.paulhindmarsh.com

NB This review is based on the .pdf version of this book.