MALCOLM WILLIAMSON - a 70th Birthday Tribute
by Paul Conway
Malcolm Williamson, Master of the Queen's Music,
Died on Sunday March 2nd 2003, aged 71
List of Works Photo
gallery
Photo credit John Carewe courtesy
of Boosey&Hawkes
Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson was born in Sydney
on November 21st 1931. He studied piano, violin and
french horn at the Sydney Conservatorium. Later, his composition
teachers were Sir Eugene Goosens, Erwin Stein (an ex-pupil of
Schoenberg) and Elizabeth Lutyens. Since the age of 18 he has
lived in Britain, though frequently visited other European countries
(encountering the music of Boulez in Paris) and America. In
his early years in Britain he worked in a publishing house and
as an organist and choirmaster before concentrating on composition.
As a young aspiring composer he experimented with the 12-tone
serial technique, became interested in medieval music and discovered
an affinity with the compositions and philosophy of Olivier
Messiaen not long after his conversion to Catholicism in 1952.
Thus, when his own music began to be recognised as a powerful
individual voice in the mid-1950s, he had already immersed himself
in various trends and influences. From 1958 he began to earn
a living as a night club pianist and this had a major impact
on his attitude to popular music which he has always produced,
sometimes simultaneously with intensely serious religious works,
a juxtaposition which has occasionally baffled his critics.
Malcolm Williamson's many compositions range from full scale
operas, symphonies, choral, vocal, chamber and keyboard works
to church music, film music and music for children. In the 1950s,
it was the help of Sir Adrian Boult and Benjamin Britten that
enabled his first works to be published. A steady flow of commissions
followed. In 1975 he was appointed 19th Master of
the Queen's Music, succeeding Sir Arthur Bliss and in 1976 he
was created CBE. Latterly, due to ill health, his output has
become less prolific yet 1995 saw a beautiful song cycle for
soprano and orchestra premiered at the Proms: "A Year of Birds"
is an evocative song cycle to poems by Iris Murdoch. Though
his interest in writing occasional pieces for the Royal family
has clearly waned over the last two decades, he was moved to
write a work in memory of his friend Sir Harold Wilson which
received its first performance in 1995. With such a rich and
diverse body of work to choose from, it is difficult to single
out individual works. The following selection is a mixture of
significant compositions in Malcolm Williamson's development
as a composer and examples of his best work in all genres.
Malcolm Williamson's First Symphony is
entitled 'Elavimini' (the Latin for 'be ye lifted up' taken
from Psalm 24). It was written between 1956 and 1957 and is
scored for 2 flutes (piccolo), 2 oboes (cor anglais), 2 clarinets
(bass clarinet), 2 bassoons (contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets,
3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion and strings. 'Elevamini
' is an astonishing achievement for a composer in his early
twenties: apart from the technical skills evident in the scoring
and architecture of the symphony, the emotional depth and spiritual
maturity apparent in the personality behind the work is remarkable.
Created in response to the death of the composer's maternal
grandmother (the score is inscribed 'in memoriam M.E.W.'), the
piece takes the form of a requiem with a light, lively middle
section encased by two probing Lentos (a structure he would
repeat in his equally profound Violin Concerto of 1964). The
symphony lasts about 25 minutes.
The Lento first movement is divided into
four parts. The opening section begins with imposing dissonant
tutti chords representing the passage in Psalm 24 where the
gates of brass of the New Jerusalem are raised to receive a
new soul. These chords make an arresting opening to the symphony,
resembling the 'Fire' chords which recur in the Ritual Dances
from Michael Tippett's 'A Midsummer Marriage'. The Dances were
first performed in 1953 and the opera in 1955 and the 'Fire'
chords may possibly have found their way into Malcolm Williamson's
imagination. The first section of the Lento continues
with the progress of the soul depicted by the string section
in hushed interweaving counterpoint. An important falling motif
in the first violins emerges five bars after fig 1. It bears
a striking resemblance to a haunting descending motif on cor
anglais in the final movement of Mahler's Ninth Symphony just
before the start of the closing Adagissimo section and
the valedictory nature of such an association is poignantly
appropriate. Stomping lower string chords and semitonal clashes
in the violin parts create a mounting feeling of restless anguish.
The 'Mahler' motif is repeated ever higher in the first and
second violins until they ascend to the very edge of inaudibility.
The second section contains memorable vaulting, arch-like arpeggiated
woodwind figures over scrunched semitonal conflicts on violin
chords. The third section (largo marziale) is a solemn funeral
march which rises in fugal complexity and increases in intensity
as instruments are added to the texture. At the climax of this
section, the 'gates of brass' chords reappear (quadruple forte,
sounding like the Last Trump). The fourth and final section
of the first movement, Andante lento, provides serene
and hushed repose. The 'gates of brass' chords are transfigured
into a rhythmic motif which appears on violins and bassoons
both in their highest registers. The 'Mahler' motif returns
as a flute solo, espressivo. The movement ends with muted strings
sounding the 'gates of brass' from afar.
If the Allegretto central movement is
meant to depict the joy of the Angels and the Saints at the
arrival of a new soul, they also resemble latter-day Saints
as there is a distinctly Coplandesque quality about this movement
with its dancing arpeggios. These arpeggios are a transformation
of the arch-like woodwind figures from the start of the previous
Lento movement's second section, whilst the 'gates of
brass' chords are transmuted into punchy, accented tutti chords
that momentarily stem the flow of the undulating texture. The
complexity of the interweaving lines of the preceding movement
is replaced by a more straightforward tonality and the time
signature is an unchanging 3/8, though cross rhythms lend a
syncopated feel to the movement. The Trio section takes the
form of a long-breathed benediction for the violins and divided
cellos over which the flutes continue the scherzo theme. The
scherzo reprise is varied, the textures thinning out until three
final, emphatic tutti strokes.
The Finale, Lento assai, is conceived
in terms of blocks of slow and fast sections though the rhythm
remains unvaried. The slower section consist of an evermore
insistent muted trumpet call cutting through multi-layers of
Messiaen-like woodwind lines. The faster sections echo the first
Danse Sacral from Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, an apt reference
as the ritual and dance elements of the Stravinsky ballet score
complement Elevamini 's ecstatic dances of the angels and saints
as the soul is accepted into their celestial number. The 'gates
of brass' chords return, leading to an extended dance section
which has something of the cosmic explosiveness of a symphonic
movement by Robert Simpson. The side drum beats out the predominating
dance rhythm of the Finale and the work ends with the divided
string section playing a seemingly endless chord stretching
out into Infinity.
The importance of Elevamini in the Williamson
oeuvre cannot be overstated. It was the first large-scale orchestral
composition of his maturity as a composer and the piece reveals
the Williamson style burgeoning out of his early influences
- the Second Viennese School, Stravinsky and Messiaen, with
a dash of Britten and Tippett. The idea of a first symphony
based on such solemn inspiration and its unusual slow-fast-slow
sequence of movements may have militated against the success
of Elevamini , though John McCabe adopted a similar structural
layout of movements for his elegiac First Symphony in 1965 without
harm. Perhaps in mid-1950s Britain, conservative elements in
the Musical Establishment were not prepared to accept Williamson's
vision. In any event, the work was not taken up until Sir Charles
Groves and the RLPO nearly 20 years after its composition when
they recorded it on an EMI LP (SLS 5085), a performance
which deserves an immediate CD release. Ironically the work
enjoyed critical acclaim on the release of the LP not accorded
to the Williamson works of the late 1970s. Today, the symphony
stands up as an astonishingly original first example in the
genre, serving notice that Malcolm Williamson was not going
to be a traditional symphonist!
One of the composer's most approachable orchestral
works, the Overture 'Santiago de Espada' of 1957 is a
delight and would make the perfect curtain raiser to any concert.
Its format adheres closely to the traditional Overture with
a martial introduction given to timpani and percussion leading
to the Allegro first subject, a rousing, emphatic rallying
cry for trumpets, as chevalric in tone as the Agincourt Overture
by Walter Leigh or the music for Henry V by Walton. This first
subject theme, suggesting St James inspiring the Spaniards to
victory in battle is elaborated in a syncopated, jazzy style:
typical Williamson. A ritardando leads to the regal second subject,
a noble theme depicting St James lying in a marble ship. This
melody, first heard on second violins and joined by first violin
with a solo horn descant, is a greatly deconstructed, serene
version of the first subject. The first oboe continues the theme,
followed by trumpet supported by first oboe and clarinet with
piccolos, flutes and violas giving out a celebratory peal of
bells. The Allegro first subject bursts in along with
the percussion from the introduction. Soon the horns intone
the second subject on top in dazzling counterpoint, reaching
a triple forte climax before the percussion powers the
overture to a spectacular conclusion. Perfectly paced and thrillingly
scored, the Santiago de Espada Overture is sorely neglected
by concert promoters and record producers alike - an oversight
for which the music loving public is all the poorer. It too
was included on the deleted EMI LP SLS 5085 with the
RPLO conducted by Sir Charles Groves.
The Piano Concerto no 2 (1960) represents
the composer at his most brilliantly playful. It is scored for
piano and strings only and is dedicated to Elaine Goldberg.
The first subject of the opening Allegro con brio
has a 'cat and mouse' quality about it with the piano as scuttling
mouse and the strings as the pouncing cat. The second subject
(in fourths) is a witty amalgamation of the oriental and the
tango. It recurs near the end of this brief movement, fortissimo
and tenuto, ironic and magnificent, before the piano
and second violins shoot up (via some dominant sevenths) to
a dead halt. The following Andante lento begins with
muted strings ushering in an extended canon of solemn beauty.
The piano joins in. There is a brief pause and a series of ethereal
broken chords introduce the second subject, characterised by
rippling piano arpeggios and tutti upper strings in a chant-like
melody. The piano takes up the chant, building a crescendo of
considerable intensity which leads to a brief but brilliant
cadenza. The first subject, now bathed in a half-light provided
by tremolo upper strings, returns in the lower strings.
The piano takes it up and the textures become increasingly delicate
until…the Allegro con spirito Finale bursts in with
all the brilliance of A major. If the first movement was 'Tom
and Jerry', this is outright slapstick comedy with a Keystone
Kops first subject and an 'off-key' waltz for a second subject.
The first subject gains a Rachmaninov-like string theme which
is taken up by the piano and gains some triplets. After a reprise
of the opening material, the 'Rachmaninov' theme is given the
full Romantic treatment where it rises above the level of its
cliché status as surely as the ending of Malcolm Arnold's
Fifth Symphony transfigures its own 'cliché theme. There
is a mad dash for the finishing line.
The Shostakovich-like wit on display in the
outer movements would make this concerto one of the most enjoyable
in the repertoire. Sadly, of course, it isn't in the repertoire,
at least in Britain, which is unaccountable and a great shame.
Displaying the same raucous good-humoured fun as that of most
of the Malcolm Arnold concerti, the Williamson Second Piano
Concerto needs to be rescued from its undeserved obscurity and
brought before a public who will be amazed to find that so much
fun can be had from a late-20th Century concerto.
The beautiful central Andante provides a perfect contrast
and ensures the frolics do not become tiresome - a moment of
deeply felt calm between two circus acts of infectiously cheerful
vulgarity. The Piano Concerto no 2 was released on a long-deleted
EMI LP EMD 5520 with Gwenneth Prior as soloist
with the English Chamber Orchestra under Yuval Zaliouk. The
LP also included the Concerto for Two Pianos and Strings
of 1972 and the string orchestra version of the Epitaphs
for Edith Sitwell (1966).
In 1960, the composer wrote his first film score
for Hammer Productions: The Brides of Dracula, the company's
first sequel to the international successful 'Dracula' of 1958.
The composer showed himself to be adept at creating a powerfully
atmospheric soundtrack without drawing attention away from the
film's action. The opening title seqeunce is available on a
GDI CD (GDICD002). The composer returned to Hammer
for two more films, Crescendo (1969) and The Horror
of Frankenstein, though neither of these productions had
the style and prestige of the initial project. The title sequence
of Crescendo is available on GDICD005 and the music for
The Horror of Frankenstein's opening credits appears on GDICD011.
The latter film is also available on Video (Warner Home Video
Horror Classics S039135). Twenty four years after The Brides
of Dracula, Williamson found himself supplying the music for
another Peter Cushing film, The Masks of Death. Cushing
and John Mills make a somewhat ancient Holmes and Watson in
this Tyburn production, but the score is first rate. The final
march as Holmes drives up to Buckingham Palace in a coach and
horses to receive the "signal honour" of his knighthood is splendidly
Elgarian with a dash of Walton thrown in. It was used again
for the title theme of Peter Cushing's life story 'A One-Way
Ticket to Hollywood' and is proof that Malcolm Williamson's
melodic gifts have never deserted him. The Masks of Death is
available on an Art House Production video (AHF 2027)
and One-Way Ticket to Hollywood is released by Encore Entertainment
(encore@enc.co.uk).
Malcolm Williamson originally designated his
Sinfonia Concertante as Symphony no 2, but owing to the
concertante nature of the solo instruments of three trumpets
and piano as distinct from the string orchestra, he changed
the title. Begun in 1958 and finished in 1961, this piece is
dedicated to the composer's wife. Each of the three movements
bears a religious superscirption. The first movement, 'Gloria
in excelsis Deo', begins with a chanting motif played by the
piano over held three-part trumpet chords. After their imposing
opening statement, the strings initiate a driving pulse. This
pulse continues throughout the movement which is in sonata form.
The central Andante lento remains in 3/8 throughout and
is constructed in one long-breathed arc, building up in complexity
and richness only to fall away to a restful conclusion. The
Presto Finale harps on F sharp, exploiting the bright
colours of trumpet, piano and strings. A Rondo with variations
to its recurring material, the Presto contains a piano
cadenza with trumpet interjections. A slow epilogue almost achieves
the status of another slow movement, reviewing the harmonic,
rhythmic and colouristic elements of the work and bringing the
piece to a satisfying close. The Sinfonia Concertante featured
on the EMI LP SLS 5085 with Martin Jones as pianist
with the RLPO under Sir Charles Groves.
Commissioned by William Glock for the Proms,
the Organ Concerto of 1961 is dedicated to Sir Adrian
Boult who conducted the first performance. A celebration of
the dedicatee, the work's unchanging time signature in each
of the three movements was allegedly a response to a plea from
Lady Boult to refrain from a surfeit of metric variety. To compensate
for this, Malcolm Williamson concentrates on rhythmic diversity
with the use of cross rhythms in particular characterising the
piece. It emerges as one of the most life-affirming and idiosyncratic
of the Williamson orchestral works. The first performance of
the concerto took place at the Royal Albert Hall on 8th
September 1961 with the London Philharmonic under Adrian Boult
and the composer himself as soloist.
The opening movement begins with a cadenza (Andante
quasi recitativo) on the notes ACB (the thematic germ for
the whole concerto) for timpani over bass drum pointed up by
harp and organ chordal eruptions from the brass. The character
of the movement is that of a ritual dance or even a Dance of
Death with the soloist as a gleeful Satan. Throughout the movement,
the majority of the strings play pizzicato, only four violas
and two double basses being permitted to use their bows. The
woodwind section is silent throughout.
The central Largo sostenuto is scored
for strings alone. It provides a necessary core of repose in
an otherwise highly exuberant and extrovert work. The Largo
is characterised by an extended unison melody for strings as
well as divisi string writing. An extended and challenging
organ cadenza follows, adding necessary structural balance in
that it lends weight to the Allegro Finale to match that
of the first movement.
The Finale marks a return to the volatility
of the opening movement, accumulating motifs and effects from
earlier sections of the concerto. It is scored for full orchestra
and the woodwind are finally allowed full reign. A climax is
reached in which the main motif of the work (ACB) reaches its
apotheosis in a broad and noble melody, capping the concerto
with an affirmative and jubilant conclusion. The Organ Concerto
was recorded in 1975 by Lyrita with the composer as soloist
with Sir Adrian Boult and the LPO (SRCS 79). Sadly this
recording, along with so many other riches in the Lyrita vaults,
is currently unavailable.
The Third Piano Concerto (1962) was commissioned
by the Australian Broadcasting Commission and is dedicated to
John Ogdon who gave the first performance of the work with the
Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Joseph Post. The Allegro
first movement begins with the chordal main theme on solo piano
over accompanying horns and strings. The song-like second subject
is a reconstructed version of the first subject. It is heard
on clarinet, then piano and finally divided amongst the orchestra.
This opening movement is entitled 'Toccata' owing to the diversity
of touch required of the pianist and also because of the driving
rhythms which permeate it. The following Scherzo falls into
four parts: the first is a fluent and ascending melody; the
second an oppressive dance in 10/6; the third a return to the
first section and the fourth section the culmination of the
movement where all the previous material collides and reaches
a violent apotheosis. The slow movement, marked Molto largo
e cantando resides within a flowing 3/2 time signature.
Inward-looking, this weighty movement is the emotional core
of the Concerto, its opening cantillena for piano establishing
the mood of restrained lamentation whilst the shattering brass
motifs introduce a more agonised form of grief, close to raging
despair. In the cadenza, calm is restored before the daylight
breaks in with the Ben Allegro Finale. The orchestration
and metres of the first movement are recalled and the soloist
goads the orchestra with its ebullience restored towards ever-greater
feats of rhythmical dexterity. Metrically inventive and melodically
attractive, the concerto finds the composer at his most uninhibited.
It was coupled with the Organ Concerto on the Lyrita
release SRCS 79 when the composer played the solo part
with the LPO under Leonard Dommett.
Malcolm Williamson was asked to write an organ
piece for the new cathedral at Coventry in 1962. The resulting
work, Vision of Christ-Phoenix was inspired by the sight
of the rebuilt cathedral constructed upon the ashes of bombed-out
remains. The Coventry carol beginning "Lullay, Lulla, thou little
child" is used as the basis for a passacaglia and a set of variations.
The three sections portray the destroying flame, the second
section peace and hope whilst the third and final section reflects
the triumphant Resurrection with Christ as a pheonix rising
from the ashes. The piece has been recorded in a splendid performance
by Kevin Bowyer on Nimbus (NI 5509) along with
the original version for organ of Williamson's Epitaphs for
Edith Sitwell (1966).
The Display (1963) is a narrative ballet
devised by Robert Helpmann and commissioned by the Australian
Elizabethan Theatre for the 1964 Adelaide Festival of Arts.
The story centres on a male bird's wooing of its mate. At the
ballet's conclusion, the girl, desolated by the violent events
in the forest, gives herself up to the bird's advances. A Concert
Suite from the complete ballet was included in the EMI
release SLS 5085. The Sydney SO was conducted by John
Hopkins.
Malcolm Williamson's Violin Concerto
was commissioned by Yehudi Menuhin for the Bath Festival in
1964. Dedicated to the memory of Edith Sitwell, who died during
the composition of the work, the concerto consists of two grieving
slow encasing a central scherzo whose satirical bite suggests
a portrait of the dedicatee. The concerto was first performed
by Yehudi Menuhin and the Bath Festival Orchestra in the Assembly
Rooms, Bath on 15th June 1965.
The opening movement, Adagio e sostenuto,
begins with the imposing and tragic first subject (a descending
scale over an undulating accompaniment). The solo violin rises
out of the violin section to perform an extended solo passage.
This is the concerto's sole cadenza and it leads directly to
the second subject, an uneasy lament in 10/4 time. If the first
subject is a public declaration of mourning, the second subject
has the intimacy of private grieving. It is a haunting, nostalgic
theme, slightly sentimental - like a Victorian ballad such as
Edith Sitwell would have heard in her youth. The development
section pits the sorrowing solo violin against the full-throated
sobbing of the tutti orchestra whilst the recapitulation of
the much transformed first subject features severe technical
tests for the soloist with its double and treble stopping passages
over harp and string accompaniment. The second subject returns
largo tranquillo, transformed into a gentle requiem for
a bygone era. It brings the movement to a hushed close with
the musical argument unresolved.
The central Vivace is an acerbic scherzo
- music of the night and second cousin to the central spectral
Scherzo of Mahler's Seventh Symphony. Fleeting as a nightmare,
its gawky, martial main theme is occasionally interrupted by
a rich, soaring melody which again seems parodic in intent.
A direct tribute to the irony and brilliance of Edith Sitwell's
verse, the world of Façade is not far away (Walton himself
is said to have admired this concerto). The Presto coda
brings the movement to a spiky, spirited conclusion.
The Adagio molto Finale is a slow threnody,
elegiac in character. A tender and poignant melody for solo
violin ascends to celestial heights over a throbbing, kaleidoscopic
orchestral accompaniment. Three tutti hammer blows of Fate divest
the work of its remaining energy and the concerto ends in dignified
resignation, accepting the loss it has previously railed against.
As the soloist soars away, fading to a triple piano conclusion,
the inevitability of the passing of life is memorably and unsentimentally
caught in these final bars. The Violin Concerto is currently
available on CD (coupled with the Panufnik and Lennox Berkeley
violin concertos with Yehudi Menuhin and the LPO conducted by
Sir Adrian Boult (EMI 7243 5 66121 2 9).
The three-movement Sinfonietta for orchestra
was commissioned by the BBC for performance at the inaugural
concert of the introduction of Radio 3. It was first performed
on March 21st 1965 by the New Philharmonia Orchestra
conducted by Sir Adrian Boult. Ten years later, Sir Frederick
Ashton created a ballet from the score for the Royal Ballet
at Covent Garden and for this production, the composer added
a Prelude and reduced the brass scoring. The absence of any
timpani in the score is compensated for by an array of percussion
as well as harp. The short Prelude of the 1975 ballet version
features a mystical and creeping dialogue between woodwind and
brass. In the very last bar of the Prelude, a dramatic and drastic
crescendo heralds the arrival of the first movement proper -
a lively and motoric Toccata in modified sonata form. The first
subject is the opening string motif with short replies from
the brass section. The extended second subject begins in the
bass but becomes a memorable theme for violins derived from
the first subject. An elliptical recapitulation leads to a short
coda which ends with a leap into the stratosphere.
The central Elegy is tripartite in structure.
Firstly, a highly evocative passage for divided solo strings
in harmonics with harp sounds against flutes. Under this, a
broad theme rises from a solo double bass. A counter-statement
on strings with oboe assuming the double bass theme leads to
the second main section - brass and woodwind intone a funeral
march which builds to a powerful climax in the aftermath of
which the third and final section flickers into life. This passage
juxtaposes aspects of both previous sections. The brass and
woodwind rhythm is transfigured into a convulsive pulse with
the woodwind assuming the flute's melody above the double bass
theme now given out by solo trombone.
The concluding Tarantella is a whirligig of
almost frenetically high spirits. A whirling dervish of a movement,
the contrasting section of its Rondo structure provide fleeting
contrasts but the sheer energy of the main dance motif overrides
all and powers the Sinfonietta on to a bravissimo conclusion,
crowning one of its composer's most immediately enjoyable works.
It was recorded by the Melbourne SO under Yuval Zaliouk for
RCA (GL 40542) on a deleted LP.
The Five Preludes for piano (1966), premièred
at the 1966 Cheltenham Festival, were the product of a commission
for a set of piano pieces by Antonietta Notariello. The titles
for the preludes are taken from William Wordsworth's sonnet
'Upon Westminster Bridge' - Ships, Towers, Domes, Theatres and
Temples. Each prelude evokes a different aspect of London (the
London of 1966 rather than that of Wordsworth's day) and explores
a different pianistic technique. In the opening 'Ships', an
undulating figure for the left hand suggests the sea whilst
the wide melodic range of the piece (it is scored for treble
and two bass clefs!) and the hushed dynamics (mostly ranging
from piano to triple piano) suggests a ship in full sail on
clam waters. In 'Towers', powerful chords for the left hand
depict the firm base of tower blocks, whilst the flowing right
hand phrases point in more intricate details. The central prelude,
'Domes' includes right hand grace notes which paint a picture
of vaulting domes. Something of the bravura performances of
the stage are recalled in 'Theatre' in the heavily accented
chordal passages for right hand, marked brilliante which
recur throughout the prelude. The main theme is slightly jazzy,
suggesting the smell of greasepaint and a touch of the Music
Halls. The final prelude, 'Temples' makes a grand, imposing
conclusion, paying tribute to the architectural splendour of
such sacred buildings. The Preludes were recorded by the composer
on a deleted Argo LP ZRG 682.
Also in 1966 came the great opera in three Acts The Violins
of Saint Jacques with a libretto by William Chappell based
on the novel by Patrick Leigh Fermor. It was premiered at Sadler's
Wells Theatre on 29th November 1966. The cast included
April Cantelo as Berthe, Jennifer Vyvyan as the Countess de
Serindan and Owen Brannigan as the Count de Serindan. The Sadlers
Wells Orchestra was conducted by Vilem Tausky. The opera tells
the story of the Island of Saint Jacques in the Carribean which
was destroyed with all its inhabitants by a volcanic eruption
at the start of the 20th century. The score is one
of its composer's most enjoyably eclectic, ranging from Brittenesque
seascapes and Bergian Expressionism to Sullivan-like melodies.
There is also a presage of Andrew Lloyd Webber in the arias
"I have another world to show you" and "Each afternoon when
the cooling breezes swoon and die". Coincidentally, more than
twenty five years after the opera was first performed, Malcolm
Williamson would sing the praises of Lloyd Webber's "Sunset
Boulevard" - perhaps the songs in that musical triggered memories
of his own operatic melodies. The opera encompasses many changes
of mood from the tropical suppressed passion of the first Act
to the Candide-like wit and charm of the second Act with its
lilting rhythms. The atmosphere a Savoy operetta at this point
is highlighted by the character of Captain Henri Joubert, an
over-dressed foppish dandy. One can imagine John Reed playing
such a character with little difficulty. Of the composer's many
operas, none deserves revival more than this one. Its abundance
of drama and good tunes should endear it to a wide audience.
The Pas de Quatre of 1967 was commissioned
by the New York Metropolitan Opera for their summer festival
at Newport, Rhode Island. The piece is scored for flute, oboe,
clarinet, bassoon and piano and adheres to the structure of
a classical Pas de Quatre. The opening sonata is scored for
full ensemble. There follows a variation for flute and piano,
a slow, intense Pas de Trio for bassoon and piano, a variation
for flute and oboe and a seduction Pas de Deux for clarinet
and piano. The concluding coda is virtuosic and culminatory,
referring fleetingly to previous themes. The Argo LP
ZRG 682 includes a performance of the Pas de Quatre by
the Nash Ensemble and the composer at the piano.
The three-movement Piano Quintet (1968)
for piano and strings was commissioned by the Birmingham Chamber
Music Society. It is cast in three movements of unequal proportion:
an extended Allegro molto is topped and tailed by brief Adagio
movements which anticipate and reflect on, respectively, the
material of the central movement. The first Adagio is chilling,
on the edge of audibility, inhabiting the same unearthly soundworld
as the Finale of Vaughan Williams' Sixth Symphony. Acerbic and
joyous by turn, its brevity only serves to heighten its capacity
to disconcert. The central Allegro molto is the substantial
heart of the work. It displays some of the characteristics of
both scherzo and rondo in that each passage spawns succeeding
variants of itself. Successive writhing chromatic lines in the
strings are broken up by wide-ranging figurations in the piano.
The tonal gamut is traversed throughout the movement. The concluding
Adagio returns to the slow-moving progress of the first movement,
though here the atmosphere is one of serenity rather than unease.
The Quintet ends in peace, drained of energy, though the unsettling
mood established by the start of the piece is not entirely vanquished.
The Nash Ensemble and the composer recorded the work for Argo
(ZRG 682).
The song cycle 'From a Child's Garden'
for high voice and piano to words by Robert Louis Stevenson
was commissioned by the Cardiff Festival of 20th
Century Music and first performed by Robert Tear and John Ogdon
on 24th April 1968. The onomatopoeic sound of the
'birdie with a yellow bill' dominates the opening song 'Time
to Rise' and this fleeting figure recurs as a leitmotif in the
fifth song 'While Duty of Children' and the final 'Happy Thought'.
Four of the songs are written in a melodic, tonal idiom, 'The
Flowers', 'My Bed is a Boat', 'A Good Boy' and 'The Lamplighter'.
Some of the songs have onomatopoeic piano parts: as well as
the bird-like phrases of 'Time to Rise', other examples include
'Marching Song' with its stomping piano line, 'Where go the
Boats?' with flowing piano phrases suggesting an idyllic sunlit
river. 'Rain' is suggested by staccato droplets in contrasting
speeds in the piano part and 'From a Railway Carriage' (Allegro
molto) has quick alternating chords suggesting the regular movement
of the train with the scenery flashing by. A prime example of
Malcolm Williamson's gifts as a sympathetic setter of words,
'From a Child's Garden' is a charming song cycle. As I well
remember, it was a set work in the 1980 'O' Level Joint Matriculation
Board syllabus. Soprano April Cantelo recorded the work with
Malcolm Williamson as piano accompanist (ARGO ZRG 682).
The Second Symphony of 1969 was commissioned
by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra on the occasion of their
75th anniversary and first performed at the Colston
Hall, Bristol on 29th October 1969, conducted by
George Hurst. The symphony is scored for 3 flutes (piccolo),
3 oboes (cor anglais), 3 clarinets (bass clarinet), 3 bassoons,
4 horns, trumpet in D, 2 trumpets in B flat, 3 trombones, tuba,
harp, timpani, percussion (3 players: side drum, tenor drum,
suspended cymbal, tam tam, anvil, 2 pairs of bongos, tubular
bells, glockenspiel, vibraphone, celesta) and strings. Apart
from brief minor fluctuations and a couple of short allargando
passages, the initial tempo of lento moderato con rubato
is maintained throughout this concise 20-minute one movement
symphony. The long breathed first subject begins the work, falling
like droplets from the piccolos and flute, harp and divided
first violins over the bubbling stream of the nonuplets in the
strings. This 'droplet' theme is answered by an equally important
motto theme for brass incorporating a dotted rhythm. At letter
C of the score, the second subject begins. A theme for brass
with an accompanying descending figure in the woodwind initiates
an arc-like figure for tutti strings. If the first subject is
like water droplets in the calm before the storm, then this
is the storm itself. It is cut short at figure D when the first
subject returns, then breaks out again, this time in the woodwind
section. The first subject is speeded up. All these elements
are developed in the second half of the symphony. A climax is
reached at figure HH and in its aftermath the initial figure
returns. The work ends abruptly, the last droplet having landed.
Compact and closely argued, the Symphony no 2 is unquestionably
as individual as its predecessor yet as unlike that work as
one could possibly imagine.
The Icy Mirror is the title of Malcolm
Williamson's Third Symphony of 1972. It is scored for soprano,
mezzo soprano, 2 baritones, SATB chorus and orchestra (2 flutes,
piccolo, 2 oboes, cor anglais, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon,
double bassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, three trombones, tuba,
percussion (glockenspiel, xylophone, temple block, suspended
cymbal, tenor drum and side drum), harp, piano and strings).
A setting of a dramatic poem by Ursula Vaughan Williams, the
symphony was commissioned by Sir Arthur Bliss for the Cheltenham
Festival, where it was premiered on the 9th July
1972. The opening Adagio movement makes effective use
of a descending figure for harp which eerily depicts the Icy
Mirror of the title: "All history shows an icy mirror to man's
intellect". The central Presto movement is literally
a Dance of Death with swirling upper woodwinds sounding like
teeming maggots. The Adagio Finale is a moving threnody
in a post-nuclear age which builds to a powerful climax before
the work closes with ominous taps from the temple block. As
an example of the composer's gift for word setting this could
hardly be bettered: at the words "trumpets in the sky" in the
Finale, for example, the composer avoids the obvious and uses
a staccato figure in the woodwinds creating the appropriate
effect of celestial distance. The forces taking part in the
world première included Jennifer Vyvyan (soprano), the
Cheltenham Bach Choir, the Cheltenham Festival Chorus and the
BBC Northern SO with conductor John Hopkins.
The Fourth Symphony was written in 1977.
It was commissioned by the London Philharmonic Orchestra to
celebrate the Queen's Silver Jubilee. Unfortunately it has never
been performed. The symphony is a substantial twenty-eight minute
work for large orchestra: three flutes, piccolo, three oboes,
cor anglais, three clarinets, bass clarinet, three bassoons,
double bassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones,
tuba, timpani, three percussion players, harp and strings. There
are three movements: The Birth of the World (Largo); Eagle (Allegro
vivo) and The Prayer of the Waters (Lento). The score is dedicated
to Her Majesty the Queen. Along with this year's fellow 70th
birthday celebrant Anthony Hedges' second symphony of 1997,
this work desperately warrants performance and recording.
Of the composer's large scale choral works,
none is more impressive than his Mass of Christ the King
(1978). The piece was jointly commissioned by the Three Choirs
Festival and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to celebrate The
Queens' Silver Jubilee and the mark the 250th Three Choirs Festival.
The whole work is dedicated to The Queen but as Benjamin Britten
died on the day the composer began the Agnus Dei, Williamson
asked if that movement could be dedicated to Britten. The work
had a long gestation: sketches for a setting of the Feast of
Christ the King were begun in 1953 and the composer returned
to the idea from time to time until the Three Choirs Commission
urged him on to complete the setting as a large scale work.
The first notes were written at the end of 1975 and the full
orchestral score was finished two and a half years later. The
Latin text is taken from the Old and New Testaments as well
as from the early years of Christianity. The composer has said
that when composing it, he was less aware of the music of his
own time than that to Hebrew music and that of the Middle Ages.
It is this archaic quality this which gives the Mass its special
character. The work takes the form of a continuously evolving
symphonic movement in sixteen parts with set pieces in the structure
finally finding their place in the apotheosis that concludes
the Mass. The piece calls for two sopranos, lyric and dramatic
as well as tenor and baritone soloists. There is an echo choir
interlocked with a large chorus. The Ordinary of the Mass is
interspersed with the hymns, psalms and other texts proper to
the Feast of Christ the King in the manner of the poems set
within Britten's War Requiem. Some of the settings, such as
the Introitus, are quite operatic, illustrating the composer's
admirable lack of distinction between the secular and the sacred,
the "highbrow" and the instantly communicative. This one of
several works by Malcolm Williamson which is absurdly overdue
for a CD release.
Commissioned from Malcolm Williamson by the
Old Creightonians (Kilburn Grammar School Old Boys' Association)
for the Brent Youth Orchestra for its tenth anniversary year,
the Fifth Symphony was completed early in 1980 and first
performed at a St George's Day Concert on Wednesday 23rd
April of that year. The première took place at Brent
Town Hall with the Brent Youth Orchestra conducted by John Michael
East. The symphony was the result of a dual inspiration: the
composer's association with Youth orchestras and the story of
Saint Bernadette and the Apparitions in the grotto at Lourdes.
In her local dialect, the uneducated Bernadette Soubirous could
only describe what she saw as AQUERÒ, meaning approximately
the same as 'çela' in French or 'that thing' in English.
The symphony may be seen as a hymn to the importance of education:
as a result of St Bernadette's account of events she was found
to be highly intelligent and given a school education. The Fifth
Symphony is written for young players with due regard for their
varying skill but also stretching them in matters of technique
and general musicianship. The twenty-four minute work is scored
for 2 flutes (piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4
horns, 3 trumpets, 2 tenor trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani,
percussion (4 players: side drum, tenor drum, bass drum, 2 pairs
of bongos, triangle, small and medium suspended cymbals, tam
tam, high, middle and low gongs, tubular bells, xylophone, vibraphone,
glockenspiel) and strings.
The Symphony no 5 was originally cast in two
movements, the first a Credo, a statement or commitment, and
the second a meditation on the Apparitions. As the work progressed,
Malcolm Williamson realised that the ideas of commitment and
meditation were implicit, each in the other. Thus, the piece
became a one-movement symphony in the fashion of his Second
Symphony. The time signature of 5/8 is unwavering, but complex
rhythmic patterns contradict its pulse. The time signature,
therefore becomes more of a point of reference whilst encouraging
a degree or flexibility from the orchestra and conductor in
performance. The work begins and ends in F sharp, more the tonal
centre than a traditional tonic note. The symphony is an organically
developing drama of ideas. The start of the work with its soft
high strings suggests a sunrise in the Pyrexes. The horns play
a long chant-like melody. After these forward-looking elements
is a circular figure for flutes and glockenspiel and another
for clarinets and vibraphone, characterising the eternal and
celestial revolving above the earthly dynamic. Two further elements
constitute the main material of the symphony: a sequence of
rich, slow chords suggesting the Apparition and a long wide-ranging
melody which refuses to fall conveniently into a harmonic cradle.
The first oboe intones a plainchant-like line suggesting the
praying Bernadette: 'Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison'. The string
section is frequently divided with parts of varying difficulty.
Every section is highlighted at one time of another. If the
symphony does not demand individual virtuosity, it does call
for more than usually precise sense of community from the players,
an appropriate demand from a work which celebrates the community
of shared musicianship rather than empty technical display.
1980 also saw two important works written as
a result of the composer's Royal title: Ode for Queen
Elizabeth and Lament in Memory for Lord Mountbatten
of Burma. The Ode was commissioned by the Scottish Baroque
Ensemble who gave the first performance at a private concert
in the presence of the Royal Family on 3rd July 1980
at the Palace of Hollyrood House. The public première,
also given by the Scottish Baroque Ensemble, took place on 25th
August 1980 at Hopetoun House, Edinburgh. The work is dedicated
to Her Majesty the Queen Mother on the occasion of her 80th
birthday. It is divided into five movements: Act of Homage;
Alleluia; Ecossaise; Majesty in Beauty and Scottish Dance. The
eleven-minute Lament is dedicated to Leonard Friedman and the
Scottish Baroque Ensemble who gave the first performance on
5th May 1980.
The Sixth Symphony (1981-1982) is a massive
one-movement work, divided into fourteen sections, written for
the orchestras of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. An
Australian musical journey, each section bears an inscription
from the text of the Mass, making the symphony a liturgical
as well as a geographical odyssey. The symphony was originally
played by seven Australian orchestras to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of the ABC. Each of the fourteen sections was recorded
separately and broadcast complete throughout Australia. Future
performances could use just a single orchestra and Christopher
Austin of the Brunel Ensemble has already indicated his interest
in such a project. The Symphony no 6 is scored for a massive
orchestra: four flutes, piccolo, four oboes, cor anglais, four
clarinets, bass clarinet, four bassoons, double bassoon, six
horns, four trumpets, four trombones, two tubas, timpani, six
percussion players, harp, piano, organ and strings. At nearly
forty-five minutes, this is one of the composer's most substantial
orchestral works from the 1980s. It reminds the listener that
Stravinsky and Messiaen were formative influences on Malcolm
Williamson since the soundworlds of both the Rite of Spring
and the Turangalila Symphony are recalled near the end of the
symphony.
The Seventh Symphony (1984) was commissioned
by Alexandra E Cameron for the 150th Anniversary
of the State of Victoria. Dedicated to Derek Goldfoot, it is
written for string orchestra and, like its predecessor, takes
Australian landscape and history for its inspiration. The Symphony
no 7 received its première on 12th August
1985 by the Chamber Strings of Melbourne under Christopher Martin
at Irving Hall, Lauriston Girls' School, Melbourne. It is cast
in four movements: a tightly argued Andante-Allegro vivo-Andante
is followed by an Allegro Molto, obsessed with its woozy
opening theme. An extended Andante juxtaposes string
quartet textures with tuttis in the manner of the Tallis Fantasia
(the tuttis sound remarkably Straussian in their amplitude)
and the symphony ends with a brief but upbeat Allegro maestoso
ma non troppo. The Symphony has been recorded by the
Brunel Ensemble under Christopher Austin in a committed and
characterful performance (Cala CACD 77005).
The beautiful five-minute Lento for Strings
was written in 1985 and dedicated to Paul McDermott. It was
first performed by The Philharmonia of Melbourne in the year
of its composition and has been recorded by the Mastersingers
and Alan Simmons on Carlton Classics (3036601172).
This valuable disc also includes the composer's Procession
of Psalms, Easter Choice, Agnus Dei, Jesu,
Lover of My Soul, Love's Redeeming Work is Done,
Harvest Thanksgiving, The World at the Manger
and Epiphany Carol.
1988 was Australian Bicentennial Year and Malcolm
Williamson wrote two big works to mark this anniversary. The
True Endeavour for speaker, chorus and orchestra is substantially
based on texts by Australian historian Manning Clark, whilst
The Dawn is at Hand is a five-movement choral symphony
derived from poems by Oodgeroo of the Aboriginal tribe Noonuccal.
Written to celebrate 50 years of the United
Nations Organisation, With Proud Thanksgiving had its
first performances in Geneva and Britain in 1995. A brief but
impassioned orchestral work, it consists of two main themes,
the first deeply troubled, sounding like a hymn tune half-remembered
in agitation, the second a triumphant brass fanfare. As the
composer was completing the work, news reached him of the death
of his old friend Lord Wilson of Rievaulx. The score is dedicated
simply "for Harold Wilson".
The sum of these diverse compositions is a considerable
body of work from a strong and individual voice. Initially concentrating
on piano works, mainly with himself as soloist, Malcolm Williamson
has gone on to prove himself adept in every genre from light
music to church music, from chamber music to opera. Such prolixity
has meant the very occasional dud, but of which composer of
similarly prolific output from Telemann to Sir Peter Maxwell
Davies can this not also be said?
Though Malcolm Williamson has lived in England
for the best part of fifty years, a glance at the titles and
first performance venues of many of his works serves to confirm
that he is at heart an Australian. His last two symphonies are
steeped in Australian culture, to say nothing of the works for
Australian Bicentennial Year, 1988. As far back as 1965, he
spoke about his nationality at the Conference on Music and Education
in the Commonwealth held in the University of Liverpool, "…when
I think about it I am certain that my music is characteristically
Australian although I have never tried to make it so. We Australians
have to offer the world a persona compounded of forcefulness,
brashness, a direct warmth of approach, sincerity which is not
ashamed, and more of what the Americans call 'get-up-and-go'
than the Americans themselves possess." Certainly there is an
ebullience and a directness about Malcolm Williamson's writing
which sets him apart from most British composers.
The use of melodies in most of his compositions
bespeaks an artist who wants to communicate directly with his
audience. How tragic then, that, apart from regular performances
by Christopher Austin and the Bristol-based Brunel Ensemble,
his vast catalogue of works has been so rarely encountered in
this country's concert halls over the last couple of decades.
Recordings of his compositions are also pitifully few considering
the wealth of material to be found in his output. It is hard
to offer an explanation for this except that his champions,
apart from Christopher Austin, appear to have all died out and
no new ones taken their place. Nonetheless, I am convinced his
time will come. Composers who write genuine melodies and convey
some of the joy of living are rare and if they are not cherished
today may well be so in the future. In the meantime, I trust
the occasion of the composer's seventieth birthday year will
provide the necessary springboard for more performances and
recordings: they will reveal a deeply humane and life affirming
voice.
©Paul Conway 04/01
