Radiant with Celestial Fire: Graham Whettam's Solo Violin Music

Graham Whettam has a massive catalogue of music, which includes works in virtually every genre. I guess that the listener will rarely come across this composer’s compositions at recitals or concerts - and only rarely on CD or download. It is great that EM Records have given listeners a conspectus of his solo violin music.

A brief (and incomplete) review of previous Whettam recordings may be of interest. Divine Art (DDA 25038) have recorded a selection of the piano music and Paladino CDs (PMR 0041) issued the ‘complete cello works.’ Redcliffe Records encouraged Whettam with excellent discs of the Sinfonia Intrepida (RR 016), the Concerto Drammatico for cello and orchestra and the Sinfonia contra timore (RR 017). In 2008, Carducci Classics (CSQ 5847) issued an album of String Quartet’s nos.1 and 4 as well as the Oboe Quartet no.2.  Finally, Sinetone (AMR CD) released the Concertino for Oboe & String Orchestra and the Concerto Scherzoso for Harmonica & Orchestra in 2012. All these albums are worthy of attention. Several more works have been uploaded to YouTube, often deriving from live radio broadcasts.

Graham Whettam was born in Swindon 7 September 1927. He was largely self-taught as a composer. His first public performance was in 1950. In 1953 Whettam’s Oboe Concerto was premiered at the Proms.  He was Chairman of the Composer’s Guild in 1971 and again from 1983-6. Whettam’s five (completed) symphonies form the core of his achievement. Many of his works were premiered on the continent. His ‘post-romantic’ music is a perfect balance between grittiness and lyricism and is always crafted meticulously.  Graham Whettam died on 17 August 2007 at the village of Woolaston, Gloucestershire.

Before looking at these works, I will make a single caveat. For me, solo violin music is hard work when heard ‘en masse’. I listened to these five works discretely, with a long gap between. I adore Bach’s Cello Suites but can only cope with one at a sitting!  I suggest that with this Whettam CD, the listener reads up the notes about one of the Sonatas or Romances, listens to it, takes a wee dram (or a cup of tea) and repeats the process. I promise it will lead to a satisfying experience!

The Sonata no.1 was written in 1958 when Graham Whettam was 31 years old. This work is an ideal equilibrium between classical formal structures and a characteristic use of chromatic intervals to construct the melodic material. That said, I do not believe that the composer has attempted to compose a serial or atonal work, as such. The order of movements is interesting. The soulful but terse (gritty?) opening ‘andante’ features a theme, two variations and a coda. This is followed by a ‘scherzo’ full of energy, showcasing ‘percussive’ double stops counterpointing the melody. This is a rhythmic challenge for the soloist. Amazingly effective, though. The concluding movement is a palindrome. (Ends as it begins!). This gives the music an arch-like shape, which, as the liner notes state, provides a ‘journey from sorrow, fear and anguish to reassurance and quiet acceptance.’ This description summarises not only this Sonata, but much of Graham Whettam’s music (based on the small amount I have been privileged to hear).

The Sonata no. 2 for solo violin was completed on 8 June 1972 but had to wait until 1993 before being revised and published. Once again Graham Whettam has used non-diatonic (not in a key) melodic patterns but has retained classical forms. This is intense music that can sometimes grate a little. The liner notes mention the ‘brutal’ section in the opening movement which comes after the ‘yearning’ introductory ‘adagio.’ These are repeated in an even more concentrated manner.  The movement ends with repose. The ‘scherzo’ is a wee bit of a conundrum. The sleeve notes state that this is performed at a ‘presto-allegretto con rubato- presto con prima’ tempo. Yet the opening statement is not played fast. The movement does speed up a bit as it progresses. Various techniques appear here including pizzicato, harmonics and extremes of register. The middle (of the scherzo) ‘allegretto’ also seems relaxed. Certainly, movement does not become really animated until 2/3 of the way through.  The slow movement is intimate in mood, with little to disturb the proceedings. However, towards the conclusion, the tension is ratcheted up in preparation for the finale. The Sonata ends with a complex fugue that highlights the difficult art of playing counterpoint on the fiddle. It is well done here, with interest being maintained from the first note to the chordal conclusion.

The longest work on this CD is the Violin Sonata no.3 published in the 1990s. There is no indication in the liner notes when it was composed. The British Music Collection website (Huddersfield University) cites as date of 1989. This is a complex work, which probably needs the score in order to be able to understand the internal cohesion between and internal to, each movement. All I can give is an overall impression of the piece. This four-movement work seems to me to be well-argued, deeply pensive and featuring a wide range of timbre. The second, slow movement, creates a magic that I find compelling and moving. This contrasts with the will o’ the wisp ‘scherzo svelto’. But even here the music is never totally extrovert. Pizzicato and harmonics bring this ‘elvish’ music considerable colour and interest. The finale is a different kettle of fish: this is a rather gloomy set of variations, although the ‘magical spell’ is recreated here and there. Once again, Whettam has used many of the performer’s tools of the trade, including ‘strumming’, multiple stopping and combinations of bowed and plucked string played in tandem.

I first heard the two Romanzas whist reviewing Whettam’s ‘Complete Music for Cello’, played by Martin Rummel. The first ‘Romanza’ was originally written for violin and was later rescored for viola. It was composed in 1993 and dedicated to Jillian White for her retirement from the post of Senior Music Producer at the BBC studios in Bristol.  The second was written specifically with Martin Rummel’s playing style in mind during 2000 and was transcribed for violin and viola. This was dedicated to Hilary Groves, a family friend. It was Whettam’s idea that both Romanzas were to be played successively at a recital.  These two pieces are pure abstract music. Despite the title, there is no programme whatsoever. They contrast and complement each other with their exploration of lyricism, rhythmic vitality and textural diversity. I noted before that these two Romanzas demand our concentration. Only then will their undoubted charm, beauty and considerable depth be revealed.

The liner notes, written by the soloist Rupert Marshall-Luck, are detailed and excellent in every way. Clearly, he has taken Whettam’s wonderful music to heart and is a great advocate of it. There is also an ‘appreciation’ of the composer by Christine Talbot Cooper. The engineers have created a spacious sound on this recording and have captured every detail of the recital.

I hope that Graham Whettam’s compositions feature in many more recordings over the coming years. And I am sure that EM Records must have an important part in the promulgation of his music.  I guess that the ultimate desideratum is a cycle of the complete Symphonies (including Sinfoniettas and Sinfonias).

Meanwhile, with the above caveat about listening strategies, Rupert Marshall-Luck’s stunningly performed survey of the solo violin music is an excellent contribution to Graham Whettam’s slowly evolving discography.

Track Listing:

Graham WHETTAM (1927-2007)

CD1

Sonata no.1 for solo violin (1958, rev 1986)

Sonata no.2 for solo violin (1972, rev, 1993)

CD2

Romanza, no.1 (1993) [7:58]

Romanza, no.2 (pub. 2000)

Sonata no.3 for solo violin (pub.1990)

Rupert Marshall-Luck (violin)

Rec. Church of St Andrew, Toddington, Gloucestershire, 19-21 June 2018

EM RECORDS EMR CD 058-058 

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

Graham Whettham: Complete works for cello

This CD is well-placed to become one of my discs of the year.
The primary reason for this assessment is the often-heartbreakingly beautiful and disturbingly energetic Concerto Drammatico for cello and orchestra which is one of the finest British cello concertos that I have heard since first discovering those by Finzi, Leighton and Walton. The other cello music presented on this disc is hardly less impressive.

Whettam in a nutshell. Graham Whettam was born in Swindon 7 September 1927. He was largely self-taught as a composer. His first public performance was in 1950. In 1953 Whettam’s Oboe Concerto was premiered at the Proms.  He was Chairman of the Composer’s Guild in 1971 and from 1983-6. Whettam’s catalogue is extensive, with examples of all the major genres with the five (completed) symphonies forming the core of his achievement. Many of his works were premiered on the continent. His ‘post-romantic’ music is a perfect balance between grittiness and lyricism and is always crafted meticulously.  

Graham Whettam died on 17 August 2007 at the village of Woolaston, Gloucestershire.

The CD insert includes a long discussion of the Concerto Drammatico for cello and orchestra by the composer himself. The work has a complex history, deriving from an earlier (1960s) Cello Concerto which remained unfinished. Inspired by Martin Rummel’s recording of his Solo Cello Sonata, Whettam reworked the score in 1999. In September 2000, it was duly premiered in Urbana, Illinois with Rummel and the Sinfonia de Camera conducted by Ian Hobson. It is this performance which is presented on this CD.

The Concerto is well-written for soloist and orchestra. One reviewer of the premiere suggested that Whettam was ‘an imaginative user of exotic sonorities.’ The overall style is difficult to define. Markers would include Shostakovich, Bartok and Stravinsky: English influences embrace Walton and even Vaughan Williams.

The Concerto is written in three movements: ‘Scena’, ‘Danza vigorosa’ and ‘Scena ultima’. The composer’s technique includes atonal harmonies and the probable use of a series. The first movement is deliberately convoluted in its progress, opening with a long melancholic exposition of the movement’s main theme played by solo cello, before being joined by the orchestra with mounting tension. The middle section of this first movement, ‘con fuoco’ which is, as the work’s title suggests, dramatic, if not overtly histrionic. There are some gorgeous romantic moments. After a long cadenza, the close of this Scena is elegiac in mood which presents a huge contrast with the following dynamic ‘Danza vigorosa.’ This second movement is lively, aggressive in mood, with the composer almost allowing it to get out of hand. This is contrasted with a thoughtful middle section. The dance music is reprised and is followed by an over-blown, film-music-like, restatement of the central section. This leads into the final movement. Once again this ‘Scena ultima’ provides great contrast, based on a chorale-like ‘adagio.’ After a heart-breakingly slow exposition of the theme, the music rises to a huge climax which subsides after impetuous ‘side drum rhythms…and harrowing brass chords of growing intensity.’ The music gradually dies away, with further reminiscences of the chorale melody.

The sheer craftsmanship of Whettam’s musical language is audible in every bar of this concerto.

I am not usually a fan of solo cello music, unless it is Bach or Britten. Recently I have added the English composer Liz Johnson’s Cello Suite (MÉTIER MSV 77206) to those two exceptions. In this review, I find that I now must include Whettam’s Romanzas No.1 and 2 and the Solo Cello Sonata.

Turning to the two Romanzas. The first (1993) was originally written for violin.  It was then reworked for viola and finally for cello.  The second (2000) was composed with Martin Rummel in mind.  Once again, maximum exposure was created by simultaneous versions for violin and viola. I understand that the composer wished both Romanzas to be played successively at a recital.

I was struck in both cases by music that is ideally formed for the cello. They present ‘absolute’ music that demands concentration to reveal their charm and beauty. The first Romanza was dedicated to Jillian White and the second to Lady Hilary Groves.

The Solo Cello Sonata is a masterpiece.  It was premiered at a recital at the Austrian Cultural Institute in London during April 1994. According to the liner notes, it was recorded on a minor German CD label in 2011.  I enjoyed the sincerity and musical integrity of this Sonata, which is written in three short movements. The biggest technical challenge arrives in the middle movement, which is a three-part fugue. The two outer movements are discursive by design and major on a ‘lamenting’ theme commemorating the composer’s parents.

The Ballade Hebraique for cello and orchestra began life as a Ballade for violin and piano which received several performances in the North of England during November 1981. Listeners to this work picked up on the ‘Jewish sound of the string writing.’ A commentator in Canada wrote that the work had ‘the modal ambience of a heart rending Hebraic lament.’ Interestingly, it had been composed for a Jewish friend, Yossi Zivoni. In the late 1980s Whettam made a new version of this work for violin and orchestra, now the Ballade Hebraique. It was dedicated to Yehudi Menuhin and Yossi Zivoni. There was a project to record the work with Menuhin as soloist, but this did not come to fruition. In 1999, Whettam revised the work for cello and orchestra and dedicated it to the present soloist Martin Rummel.

The Ballade is written in ‘sandwich’ form -ABCBA - the first and last parts are meditative in mood, the central section is a vibrant moto-perpetuo and the ‘B’ sections are romantic and flowing in temper. This a beautiful, thoughtful and moving work, that certainly displays many of the qualities of a Hebrew lament.

The present soloist, Martin Rummel, was a close friend of the composer.  He was born in Linz, Austria in 1974. He is currently located in Auckland, New Zealand. Rummel combines playing with teaching and working in the music industry as an artistic director.

The liner notes (in English and German) are excellent and provide a detailed study of each work. They include programme notes by the composer. There is also a good biography of Graham Whettam. There are several attractive photographs of Whettam and Rummel taken shortly before the composer’s death in 2007. Alas, white print on grey background does not make for easy reading of the cover details.

I cannot rate this CD too highly. Martin Rummel’s playing is superb. He is a splendid advocate of Graham Whettam’s music. The Sinfonia de Camera conducted by Ian Hobson (concerto) and the Woolaston Festival Orchestra directed by the composer (Ballade Hebraique) give satisfying accounts of both concerted works.

I do not know if this record company is planning more releases of music by Whettam. Certainly, looking at the record catalogue there is a dearth of CDs dedicated to his music. The Cello Concerto was previously released on Redcliffe Recordings (RR017) in 2002 along with the Sinfonia contra timore, and a retrospective of the composer’s piano music played by Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow, is available on Divine Art 25038. I look forward to a cycle of Graham Whettam’s five symphonic works, some of his many concertante pieces and at least a selection of his chamber music. 

Track Listing:

Graham WHETTAM (1927-2007)

Concerto Drammatico for cello and orchestra WW 73 (1999)

Romanza No.1 for cello solo WW 63/3 (1993)

Romanza No.2 for cello solo WW 75/1 (2000)]

Solo Cello Sonata WW 60 (1990/96)

Ballade Hebraique for cello and orchestra WW 47/3 (1981/1999)

Martin Rummel (cello) Sinfonia de Camera/Ian Hobson (Concerto); Woolaston Festival Orchestra/Graham Whettam (Ballade)

PALADINO MUSIC pmr0041 

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

Graham Whettam: Sinfonia Concertante for small orchestra

Graham Whettam’s (1927-2007) Sinfonia Concertante for small orchestra was first performed 50 years ago at the Civic Theatre in Darlington on 11 October 1966. Other works that evening included Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.2 with the soloist Peter Wallfisch, Mozart’s ‘Linz’ Symphony No.36 in C major, K.425 and Jacques Ibert’s Concertino da camera for alto saxophone with Jack Brymer in a less-than-familiar role.  The Northern Sinfonia was conducted by the Canadian Boris Brott with Whettam directing his own work. The Sinfonia Concertante was repeated in Newcastle on 12 October. It was one of three important premieres for the Northern Sinfonia that year: the other two included Nicolas Maw’s Sinfonia and Wilfred Mellers’ Magnificat. All three works seem to have disappeared from the repertoire.

Graham Whettam’s Sinfonia Concertante for small orchestra has three movements: Maestoso, allegro, andante and allegro. It lasts for about 21 minutes.  The full score was published in 1987 by UK Meriden Music.

Brian Newbould in The Guardian (12 October 1966) gave a major review of this concert: ‘With some relief, no doubt, those in the audience to whom Graham Whettam has been no more than a name will have found his new Sinfonia Concertante an utterance of the direct, uncomplicated kind, designed (so it seemed) to please the ear above all, and engage the mind of him who is willing.  The symphonic element of the title is invoked at the start with a sombre, pounding bass that recalls Brahms’s very first symphonic bars. Although its mood is to return intermittently, and again for a passing moment in the last of the three movements, it is the concertante element that predominates, the elected instruments being flute, oboe, cor anglais, clarinet, bassoon and harpsichord against a background of strings.

It is the woodwinds that have summoned Mr Whettam’s more riveting ideas: the string writing rather overworks its less resourceful material. The central slow movement measured by ear, not by the clock, is long in relation to the other movements and its own slight substance. It also dispenses with the harpsichord, which elsewhere had not sounded very much a part of the concertante group, placed as it was by the stage wings.’

The first broadcast performance was given on 9 October 1968 on BBC Radio 3. The concert also included music by Haydn. The Northern Sinfonia was conducted by Norman del Mar (Radio Times)

Edmund Rubbra wrote in a review of this concert in The Listener (17 October 1968):

‘The first broadcast performance of Graham Whettam’s Sinfonia Concertante …showed a skilled hand in the deployment of instruments and a flair for effect. If it left no very clear-cut formal impression, this was partly the result of material that tended to have blurred edges and loose ends.’

Two weeks later the composer responded to this review in a letter to The Listener (7 November 1968):

‘Sir: Dr. Edmund Rubbra, in reviewing the first broadcast performance of my Sinfonia Concertante, referred to ‘blurred edges and loose ends.’ With this I entirely concur, having advised the BBC of over three dozen specified inaccuracies or inadequacies in the performance, these varying from simple ignoring of written dynamics to one passage where crotchets were played in time of quavers. The microphone balance in the recording did not appear to be satisfactory, there being a heavy preponderance of strings. After a two year delay since the Northern Sinfonia Orchestra gave the initial performances of this work under my own baton, the BBC was obliged ‘in the interests of the Corporation’s economy drive’ to quote a senior official, to entrust this first broadcast to a conductor hitherto unfamiliar with the work, and whose only consultation was to advise me by letter that this would be ‘an ordinary common-or-garden pre-recorded broadcast.’ I regret that I was unable to accept this broadcast as an adequate representation of Sinfonia Concertante.

Graham Whettam.’

I find that his work is immediately approachable. There is nothing here to challenge the listener in 2015: there is plenty to interest them. I was particularly impressed with the use of the harpsichord in this work. Strangely, it adds to it contemporary feel and does not strike the hearer as being in any way pastiche baroque. The slow movement is haunting and quite magical. The work is full of delightful conversations between the solo instruments and the string orchestra. This is a piece that would be successful if given a modern recording, possibly coupled with some other music by the composer. It is one of the great works of the 1960s. 

Graham Whettam’s Sinfonia Concertante for small orchestra has been uploaded to YouTube .  It was recorded from a broadcast on 19 May 1982.  The Northern Sinfonia was conducted by Bryden Thomson. The concert included John McCabe’ ‘Sonata on a Motet’ (1976) and Gerard Schurmann’s ‘Variants for chamber orchestra’ (1970)