John Blackwood McEwen: “Rising Young Composer”

Scottish composer John Blackwood McEwen (1868-1948) is rather like the district of Galloway in Scotland - an undiscovered country. Most folk hurry through heading for the Highlands. Both deserve to be much better known. Born in the Border town of Hawick on 13 April 1868, he studied at Glasgow University, gaining an M.A. McEwen had an interest in singing - he was choirmaster at St James' Free Church in Glasgow and subsequently Lanark Parish Church. He had a period of training with the great names of the day, at the Royal Academy of Music: Ebenezer Prout, Tobias Matthay and Frederick Corder. In 1893 McEwen returned to Scotland and became choirmaster at South Parish Church in Greenock. He taught piano, harmony and composition at the Athenaeum School of Music in Glasgow.

Five years later, he headed back down South where he joined the staff at the Royal Academy of Music as a professor of harmony and composition. McEwen later became Principal of that organisation in 1924, succeeding Sir Alexander Campbell Mackenzie. He received a knighthood in 1931. John Blackwood McEwen died on 14 June 1948.

McEwen’s best-known orchestral work is almost certainly his Solway Symphony: it was revived by Chandos in 1995. He also wrote a fine series of tone poems, including Grey Galloway and Coronach. However, it is McEwen’s chamber music that best epitomises his musical style and achievement. Of a very large catalogue, the nineteen string quartets are the bedrock.

On 1 October 1922 (p.651) a short letter appeared in the Musical Times. It is self-explanatory – after a fashion:

Sir,

It was with particular pleasure that I read on a weekly contemporary that one of the most gratifying features of the Royal Academy of Music Centenary celebrations was the brilliant promise shown by that 'rising young composer, J. B. McEwen,' and that his Quartet Biscay was one of the most notable of works heard during the fortnight. It is a pity that all our rising composers do not receive such encouragement at the proper time.

Yours, &c., A.K. (possibly a certain A Keay).

The following month (Musical Times, October 1922, p.726) the 54 year old composer and Professor of harmony and composition at the Royal Academy of Music gave his witty reply:

Sir,

Musical opinion in this country groups the native composer into two categories: ‘The Promising Young Composer' and the 'Old Fogey'- the 'May-be' and the 'Has-been.' There does not seem to be any intermediate stage, and one never knows when exactly he makes transition from the one to the other.

Twenty-five years ago I was told that I belonged to the first of these; and I had believed that I had long since been promoted- or reduced- to the other. However, I am glad to see that in the opinion of your weekly contemporary, quoted by 'A. K.' in this month's Musical Times, I am still to be regarded as vociferating a promise which the expiry of a quarter of a century has not stifled, even if it has not succeeded in bringing it to fruition.

Yours, &c., Royal Academy of Music. 

John B. McEwen. September 12, 1922.

John Blackwood McEwen: ‘Fantasia’ for String Quartet, No. 17 (1947)

Scottish composer John Blackwood McEwen's (1868-1948) music is not always easy to come to terms with. Neither is it unapproachable. Critics regarded him in his day as being something of a modernist. Certainly, with hindsight it is easy to see that he was often quite daring in his use of harmony and instrumental timbre. None of McEwen’s music could be classified as extrovert; much of it is introspective. Yet, it is all the better for this. He is not a showman - he does not use effect for effect’s sake. Every note seems to count for him; he composes with an economical style. This is especially obvious in his many the chamber works.

The last of McEwen's String Quartets is a Fantasia, completed after the Second World War in 1947. It lasts a bare ten minutes. But the short duration should not encourage us to belittle this music. This is highly concentrated stuff, occupying a sound-scheme very much of its own. It is not possible to pin it down to being inspired by Bartók, Shostakovich or Britten. Here is a work that exhibits the considerable creative powers present in the mind of an eighty-year old man who was close to the end of his distinguished career. This is not a composer resting on his laurels, nor harking back to some youthful or previously successful style. The Quartet Fantasia is a powerful statement in its own right. We look largely in vain for the Scottish fingerprints - although perhaps it is in the 'air' rather than in the notes. There may be some dancing steps here and there, especially in the middle section. 

Levon Chilingirian, in the liner notes explains that the Quartet is “introduced by a dignified cello solo in the distinct tonality of C sharp minor, the music unfolds unhurriedly. The central Allegro has scurrying rhythms with a reflective Dvorakian middle section. The sombre and almost defiant Andante returns, its final notes pessimistic and very distant.”

This is a dark, work - although the darkness is occasionally relieved by passages of some considerable warmth. It is a fitting end to a fine academic and creative career. There were to be only a few relatively minor chamber pieces for cello and piano before the composer's death.

John Blackwood McEwen’s ‘Fantasia’ for String Quartet, No. 17 can be heard on Chandos CHAN 9926 (2002). Other works on this CD includes Quartet No. 16 ‘Quartette Provençale’ (1936), the Quartet for Strings No.7 ‘Threnody’ (1916) and the Quartet No. 4 (1905). All works are played by the Chilingirian Quartet.

Premiere Performance of John Blackwood McEwen’s Biscay Quartet (1913)

John Blackwood McEwen’s (1868-1948) cycle of 19 string quartets is a remarkable achievement by any standards. I base this opinion on hearing the ten quartets which were recorded by the Chilingirian Quartet in the early 2000s. 

The Quartet No.6 (sometimes indicated as No.8) in A major is subtitled Biscay. It was written in 1913 whilst McEwen was convalescing in Cap Ferret, France. This beautiful resort is built on a spit of land facing the Atlantic Ocean and bordering the River Gironde.

The work was dedicated to the London String Quartet which at that date consisted of Albert Sammons, Thomas W Petre, Harry Waldo Warner, and Charles Warwick Evans.

The Pall Mall Gazette (17 June 1915, p.4) announced the premiere of McEwen’s Biscay String Quartet. It was to be given by the London String Quartet at the Aeolian Hall, London on the 19 June 1915. Other works to be performed included Claude Debussy’s String Quartet and Franz Schubert’s Quintet in C, op.163, D.956. The writer noted the three movements:  Le Phare, Les Dunes and La Racleuse. He suggested that this last was “a humoresque and is obviously a subject suitable for treatment by stringed instruments, as the word is commonly used to describe someone who scrapes a fiddle.”

The following Monday, the Daily News (21 June 1915, p.2) reported that “the London String Quartet played Debussy’s Quartet very beautifully, particularly the strangely original scherzo.” Turning to McEwen’s “British novelty,” the critic felt that “it is a charmingly fresh and sane piece of work, quite free from morbid introspectiveness or pedantry, and all the movements have a very welcome open air feeling.” Interestingly, they suggest that the first and last movements, Le Phare and La Racleuse respectively, “are based on haunting tunes, which if not folk tunes of Southern France, are very like them in their lilt, and they are treated with great but unobtrusive skill. The second movement, Sur les Dunes is, in a word, a serene and peaceful meditation. The reception of the work, which it is to be hoped will soon be repeated, was exceedingly cordial.”

The Scotsman (21 June 1915, p.7) referred to the Saturday afternoon “pop.” Can one imagine anyone referring to a chamber concert of Debussy, Schubert and McEwen as a “pop” in 2022? After a brief outline of the work, the reviewer considered that “Mr McEwen’s music is of a descriptive character and has the same elemental strength of which a favourable example has already been given in his orchestral piece Grey Galloway.”

They continue: “All three movements have their own special attraction. The expressive minor phrase which plays such an important part in the second [movement] brings vividly before one’s mental vision the sad expanse of the sand dunes, to which each in its own style, the stormy Le Phare and the concluding humoresque, supply a distinct sense of contrast.”  The assessment concludes by suggesting that Mr McEwen may be congratulated on having made a notable contribution to the modern chamber music repertoire. The new quartet was admirably performed by the [London Quartet, and] had an enthusiastic reception.”

On 23 June, the Truth journal (p.1041) reported that “Certainly I never want to hear a more finished performance of Debussy’s quartet, which, as our American friends might say, is “some quartet” and takes “some” playing – than they provided, while they brought forward also a new quartet dubbed ‘Biscay’…which despite its title, produced sensations wholly pleasant.”

It is fair to say that the Biscay Quartet is not a classically-designed ‘absolute’ work. It is a suite of three pieces. It has been described as ‘a mellifluous and deftly written series of romantic seascapes.’ The opening movement is subtitled Le Phare (The Lighthouse). To this day, it is an important landmark on the Cap. The music is written in a robust 6/8 time played Allegro. It gives a characteristically (for the Bay of Biscay) stormy mood which is contrasted with a wistful and much calmer passage. The second movement, Les Dunes displays a Gallic charm and features viola and violin solos. It was appropriate that this quartet was originally programmed with Debussy’s great exemplar: McEwen has captured an impressionistic mood without developing into pastiche or parody. The title of the finale, La Racleuse, is an enigma. The word translates as ‘The Scraper.’ The music seems to mimic a violin played either badly or enthusiastically. There are also hints of a French accordion here. Cobbett’s Cyclopaedic Survey of Chamber Music (1929/1963) notes that La Racleuse…recalls the free and happy life of the oyster gatherers on the oyster beds. So maybe it is scraping a living rather than a fiddle? Whatever the inspiration, this is a vivacious and thoroughly enjoyable exploration of the possibilities of string quartet writing. 

John Blackwood McEwen’s Biscay Quartet can be heard on Chandos, CHAN 10084.

John Blackwood McEwen: String Quartet No.4 in C minor (1905)

John Blackwood McEwen’s String Quartet No. 4 in C minor dates from 1905. This is an adventurous work for its era. It certainly defies any complaint that McEwen was somehow writing music that was parochially Scottish. One can agree with the writer of the programme notes by Levon Chilingirian, written for the Chandos recording, that there are echoes of Bartók - at least in the first movement. There is an intensity and depth, which sets this work above much British and European chamber music that was being composed at this time. McEwen was absorbing a variety of styles at home and abroad. As with much of his music there is a definite bittersweetness about it.

The opening Allegro ma non troppo is both vigorous and discursive. The first subject is “grim in its severity” but is balanced by an “expressive” second subject. The movement ends with a pianissimo Lento passage. The scherzo, a ‘Vivace’ is sardonic in mood. Although the harmonies are not outrageous, there is a strong feel of dissonance to this moto perpetuo. There is little relief in the trio section. The third movement, an Andante espressivo begins with an impassioned theme with a Scottish feel to it, complete with “Scotch Snaps.” However, this is not pastiche. The mood changes into a very chromatic and intense meditation on this idea. There is an air of sadness here: a lament if ever there was one. The last movement is a kind of “double rondo.” It is typically “a high-spirited romp,” despite opening with a “declamatory larghetto.” This is not the rondo theme as such, even though it recurs twice more. The main Vivace subject is first heard on the viola and is repeated with considerable development throughout the movement. The coda allows the opening theme to catch up with the bustling semiquavers.

There is no doubt that this is fine music. How it can languish from the concert halls is a complete mystery to me. It is a masterpiece of balance between the Scottish idiom and the broader Western musical tradition.

The Quartet was premiered at a concert organised by the Incorporated Society of Musicians on Saturday 11 December at the “small” Queen’s Hall in London. It was devoted to British composers. The ensemble featured Arthur Payne, Ernest Yonge, C.H. Woodhouse and J.E. Hambleton. Another premiere that day was the Suite for Pianoforte in E flat, op.30, 1910 (now known as the Suite No.2) by York Bowen, played by the composer. A mixed bag of other music included songs by the forgotten composer Lewis Carey, sung by Miss Lucie Johnstone. Recitations were given by Jessie Henderson Matthay, accompanied by Stanley Hawley on the piano. The final important work was the Sonata for viola and piano, op.15 by W.H. Bell, which has totally disappeared from the repertoire.

The Times (13 December 1909, p.9) reported that McEwen’s new quartet was “not as genial as the two earlier quartets, but its finale had a good deal of spirit.” Equally tepid was the review in the Daily Telegraph (13 December 1909, p.7) where the critic thought that it was “chiefly remarkable for its lack of melody and synthetic continuity,” and that it is “modern in feeling, at least as regards tonality – or absence of it.”

The Musical Times (January 1910, p.25) reported that McEwen’s Quartet featured “the customary wealth of device that has always distinguished his work, and with a full grasp of his material, only lessened by a tendency to relapse into the least desirable characteristic of Continental music of the new school.” Less likely a reference to Bela Bartok, whose String Quartet No.1 was premiered in January 1910, but possibly Arnold Schoenberg. The Austrian composer’s String Quartet No.1, written around the same time as McEwen’s No.4, had stretched tonality to its limit and in his String Quartet No.2 (1908) he not only introduced a soprano into the third and fourth movements, but “new sounds were produced, a new kind of melody appeared, a new approach to expression of moods and characters was discovered.”

McEwen’s Quartet was dedicated to Mrs Rachel Henry (Henrey) Cheetham, née Shorrock. Nothing is known about this lady, (someone somewhere will tell me about her), except the she was born in Darwen, Lancashire, attended Denmark Hill School in Lambeth, and was married to William Henry Cheetham on 15 May 1879. The 1911 census shows the couple living in Mottingham, Kent. William is recorded as being an East India merchant. She died during 1916.

The first broadcast of the Quartet was on 15 June 1928, on the BBC. The Virtuoso String Quartet played in the Aeolian Hall.

The String Quartet No.4 in C minor was released on Chandos Record label (CHAN 9926) in 2002. The Chilingirian Quartet also include the Quartet No. 16 Quartette Provençale (1936), the Quartet for Strings No.7 Threnody (1916) and the Fantasia for String Quartet No. 17 (1947).

John Blackwood McEwen (1868-1948) Tone Poem, 'Grey Galloway' (Border Ballad, No. 3) (1908)

John Blackwood McEwen’s Tone Poem, Grey Galloway was composed in 1908. It was the final instalment of his Three Border Ballads. The other two being The Demon Lover and Coronach. There is no suggestion of a ‘literary’ programme for this final work. The musical content is a ‘reflection on the ideas engendered by the physical characteristics and historical associations of the district lying in the extreme south west corner of Scotland.’  The ‘scenery is of the greatest diversity and beauty, embracing the flat reaches of Solway Sand to the beetling ‘heughs’ or cliffs of Wigton Bay…The interior country rises to a considerable height, and amongst its hills are lochs and tarns innumerable…The whole country is shadowed by legends and historical associations, and romance cannot have a more fruitful field or a more beautiful setting. (Philharmonic Society Programme Book). 

Rosa Harriet Newmarch (1857-1940) was a poet and writer about music. Much of her time was spent studying Russians composers and their work. She wrote several books, including biographies of Tchaikovsky, Sibelius and Sr Henry Wood. Between 1908 and 1920, Newmarch provided programme notes for the New Queen’s Hall Symphony Orchestra. Latterly she was assisted in this by the Swiss-born musicologist Eric Blom. Many of these notes were published in The Concert-Goer's Library (six volumes, 1928–48). She gives a succinct description of McEwen’s Grey Galloway.

‘This work was premiered at a Philharmonic Concert in February 1909 [1]. It reflects the romantic beauty of this south-western District of Scotland, which under the name of Galloway includes part of Ayrshire, with Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire, and embraces a great variety of scenery; sometimes stern and desolate; sometimes rich and pleasing. The opening theme (Andante molto marcato) seems to be inspired by the former aspect of nature. Rugged and strongly emphasized, it is given out by the strings, and accompanied by detached chords for brass and harps. After some development a second melody is introduced by the 'cellos, against sustained notes for woodwind, the upper strings having light semiquaver figures of accompaniment. A contrasting section follows (Molto tranquillo), the first pastoral subject of which is assigned to solo oboe. The second subject is heard from solo 'cello, cor anglais, and horns. The Finale opens Molto vivace with a vigorous theme, to which succeeds a gentler subject for woodwind. Aclimax is built up, at the height of which the brass gives out the initial theme with great emphasis, and with a Molto ritornando the work comes to an end.’ 

Rosa Newmarch The Concert-Goer's Library Volume 2 p.52 

Notes

[1] The occasion was the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Mendelssohn. The Philharmonic Society concert, held at the Queen’s Hall on 2 February 1909, included the German composer’s Overture to a Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Piano Concerto in G minor, three piano pieces and the Symphony No.3 in A major, op.56 (Scotch). In the second half, concertgoers heard McEwen’s Grey Galloway and Chabrier’s Overture: Gwendoline. The orchestra was conducted by Camille Chevillard (1859-1923).

John Blackwood McEwen’s (1868-1948) Tone Poem, 'Grey Galloway' has been issued on Chandos 9241. The London Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by Alasdair Mitchell. The work has been uploaded to YouTube.

Celebrating John Blackwood McEwen’s 150th Anniversary- Today!

John Blackwood McEwen is not one of the United Kingdom’s best-known composers. Even in his native Scotland he is too little appreciated. A good selection of his music has been recorded, and based on this, he is a composer to be reckoned with. His music can be romantic and sometimes impressionistic with references to Scottish musical tradition. He is never in thrall to ‘tartanry’ or ‘sentimentalism for its own sake.

Brief Biography of John Blackwood McEwen:

• Born in the Scottish Border town of Hawick on 13 April 1868.
• Graduated MA at Glasgow University in 1888 and studied music there until 1891.
• Appointed choirmaster at St James Free Church, Glasgow followed by a similar position at Lanark Parish Church.
• Entered the Royal Academy of Music in 1893.
• Returned to Scotland in 1895 taking up the position of choirmaster at South Parish Church in Greenock,
• Taught piano and composition at the Athenaeum School of Music in Glasgow (now The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland).
• Recruited in 1898 by Sir Alexander Mackenzie to the post of Professor of Harmony and Composition at the RAM.
• Founded (with others) the Society of British Composers in 1905 and later the Anglo-French Music Publishing Company.
• Appointed as Principal of the Royal Academy of Music in 1924, succeeding Sir Alexander Mackenzie
• Knighted in 1931.
• Died at his home in 25 Abercorn Place, St John's Wood, London 14 June 1948.

Five Key Works:

These works are all available on CD or download. There are several other works that would appear to demand interest and possible professional recording.

• Concerto for Viola and orchestra (1901)
• Grey Galloway: A Ballad for orchestra (1906)
• Solway Symphony (1911)
• Prince Charlie: A Scottish Rhapsody for violin and piano (1920)
• Where the Wild Thyme Blows for orchestra (1936)

Key Bibliography:

• Janey Drysdale (probably) The Dunedin Magazine (Volume 3, No.3) in 1915
• Henry George Farmer, A History of Music in Scotland (Hinrichsen, London 1947)
• John Purser, Scotland’s Music: A History of the Traditional and Classical Music of Scotland from Early Times to the Present Day,  (Mainstream Publishing, Edinburgh, 1992)
• Alasdair Mitchell, Edition of selected orchestral works of Sir John Blackwood McEwen (1868-1948), 2002.

If you can only listen to two CDs of McEwen’s music:

• McEwen, John Blackwood, Three Border Ballads: Grey Galloway, The Demon Lover, Coronach, London Philharmonic Orchestra/Alasdair Mitchell, Chandos 9241, 1993.
• McEwen, John Blackwood, A Solway Symphony, Hill o’ Heather, Where the Wild Thyme Blows, Moray Welsh (cello), London Philharmonic Orchestra/Alasdair Mitchell, Chandos 9345, 1995.

And finally, if you have only time to hear one work:

Where the Wild Thyme Blows for orchestra (1936)

This work is a subtle balance of impressionism and romanticism owing something to the bleakness of Gustav Holst’s Egdon Heath.  Despite the title being a quotation from William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream which contrasts ‘A wood near Athens’ with the Forest of Arden in Warwickshire, McEwen’s work is an ideal evocation of the Scottish landscape. I do not know what part of the country lies behind this work, but I guess that I would plump for The Gegan rock in East Lothian.

John Blackwood McEwen: Quartet for Strings No.7 in Eb

The Quartet for Strings No.7 in Eb was written in 1916: this was in the middle of the First World War. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that this work was subtitled 'Threnody'. It is a song of lamentation.

This quartet is written in four movements with three of them being slow. The work opens with a very dark and lugubrious Lento. However there are some moments of warmth in this movement. With increasing complexity it builds up to a climax which resolves itself into a restatement of the opening theme. 

This is a satisfying opening movement, showing the composer's genius to the full. The short second movement is full of string effects. The programme notes describe them as ‘late Elgarian arpeggios and motoric figures.’ All too soon we are in the ‘Allegro Molto. There is no doubt that this is the heart of the work. Here we have a stunning display of string writing.  Tunes seem to be passed ‘to and fro’ across this movement. Suddenly a gorgeous phrase is taken up, used and then seemingly cast aside. There is no doubt that this is a masterpiece of string writing. Not until Britten and Tippet do we reach such an understanding of how a string quartet works within British chamber music.

The last movement is a meditation the old Scottish Lament - Flowers of the Forest. This song was composed to remember the fallen at the battle of Flodden in 1513, and is a highly appropriate choice for a work written during the 'War to End all Wars.' Somehow McEwen manages to avoid any sense of the parochial or of pathos or sheer sentimentality. It is a beautiful and perfect ending to a splendid composition.

John Blackwood McEwen’ Quartet for Strings No.7 in Eb can be heard on Chandos CHAN9926.  

John Blackwood McEwen: Scottish Rhapsody - Prince Charlie

John Blackwood McEwen is rather like the district of Galloway - an undiscovered country. Both deserve to be much better known. A few brief notes about the composer's life and works are in order. Born in the Border town of Hawick in 1868. Studied at Glasgow University - gaining an M.A. - then at the Royal Academy of Music under the tutelage of Ebenezer Prout, Tobias Matthay and Frederick Corder. Held posts as choirmaster and organist in Glasgow and in Lanark. Founded Anglo-French Music Publishing Company. Taught harmony and composition at the Athenaeum at Glasgow. Moved to Royal Academy of Music in London teaching the same subjects. In 1924 he succeeded Sir Alexander Campbell Mackenzie as Principal of this institution. He retired in 1936. He was author of a number of books and articles. McEwen died on the 14th June 1948.

All one’s instincts tell you that Scottish Rhapsody - Prince Charlie will not be a success. For one thing, Bonnie Prince Charles, Charles Stewart, ended his days ingloriously in Rome. However, his pretension to the throne generated an entire industry in Scotland - especially in the poetry and song departments. McEwen uses a number of tunes to evoke the memory of this 'hero'. It is a fantasy based on a strange funeral version of 'Charlie is my Darling', although it reappears in more traditional guise later. Other tunes are less well known but equally poignant - especially the extremely reflective 'Wae's me for Prince Charlie' & 'The Gypsie Laddie'. As a Scot myself I declare that it would bring a tear to a glass eye. This is actually a well constructed piece - defying all negative expectations of 'Tartanry'. Why is it not a popular encore?

John Blackwood McEwen: Scottish Rhapsody - Prince Charlie can be heard on CHANDOS CHAN 9880 although I believe that it is only available as MP3 or in the second-hand shops.

John Blackwood McEwen: String Quartet No.7 'Threnody'

The Quartet for Strings No.7 in Eb was written in 1916. Obviously this was in the middle of the First World War. It is hardly surprising that this work was subtitled 'Threnody'. This is a song of lamentation.

This quartet is written in four movements -three of them being slow. The work opens with a very dark and lugubrious Lento. However there are some moments of warmth in this movement. With increasing complexity it builds up to a climax which resolves it self into a restatement of the opening theme. This is a very satisfying opening movement, shewing the composer's genius to the full.

The short second movement is full of string effects. The programme notes describe them as "late Elgarian arpeggios and motoric figures." All to soon we are in the Allegro Moto. There is no doubt that this is the heart of the work. Here we have a stunning display of string writing. Tunes seem to be passed too and fro across this movement. Suddenly a gorgeous phrase is taken up, used and then seemingly cast aside. There is no doubt that this is a masterpiece of string writing. Not until Britten and Tippet do we reach such an understanding of how a string quartet works.

The last movement is a meditation the old Scottish Lament - Flowers of the Forest. This song was composed to remember the fallen at the battle of Flodden in 1513, and is a highly appropriate choice for a work written during the 'War to End all Wars.' Somehow McEwen manages to avoid any sense of the parochial or of pathos or sheer sentimentality. It is a beautiful and perfect ending to a splendid composition.

John Blackwood McEwen: String Quartet No.7 can be heard on Chandos CHAN9926