This enterprising release
brings together works by three composers
united by their association with the
musical life of Cape Town. Erik Chisholm
although born in Glasgow took up a post
in 1946 at the University of Cape Town
where he remained for the rest of his
life. Victor Hely-Hutchinson was the
youngest son of the last Governor of
the Cape whilst Thomas Rajna has worked
as composer and pianist at the university
for over 30 years. Chisholm and Hely-Hutchinson
are of particular interest to British
music lovers.
Chisholm was a tireless
advocate of new music as evinced by
his formation of The Active Society
for the Propagation of Contemporary
Music, perhaps modelled on Schoenberg's
example; the society for private musical
performances. The Scottish composers
works are only now beginning to be heard,
the disc of piano music played by Murray
McLachlan (on Olympia OCD 639) being
a revelation. Although some of his works
reflect his attraction to Scottish folk
forms much of his music displays a cosmopolitan
outlook, drawing inspiration from the
examples of Bartok and Szymanowski,
and also from Indian ragas. His responsiveness
to contemporary composers and receptiveness
to influences beyond Britain are qualities
shared by Havergal Brian whose writings
for the magazine Musical Opinion are
most wide ranging. In the two groups
of Chisholm songs offered here the Scottish
element is to the fore. Seven songs
are set to Scots poems by Lillias Scott
who was the composers second wife. They
range from the saucy temptations of
Love's Reward to the desolate
landscape of Fragment;
'Naethin' is left
in the land
But the reek an' the rain o' the
years'
Chisholm sets the poems
to often folk-like melodies. Whether
actual folk tunes are used is not certain.
The influence of folk music in the Lillias
Scott settings might bare comparison
to that contained in the nine Scottish
Airs for piano where, as Murray
McLachlan has stated in the liner notes
in the Olympia CD, Chisholm evokes the
spirit of Scottish folk songs and at
time seems 'close to literal quotation'.
This evocative approach is similar to
that used by Villa Lobos whose use of
actual Brazilian folk music was quite
small, yet whose works are often shot
through with folk elements. The accompaniments
to these songs show Chisholm's skill
in creating often quite elaborate layers
of sound, but without ever overwhelming
the voice. The second group of Chisholm
songs consists of a setting of a poem
by Randall Swingler and three songs
from the Patrick MacDonald Collection
published in 1784. Like much of the
poets work, Swingler's Sixty Cubic
Feet shows his deep sympathy with
the privations suffered by working class
Britain;
'In sixty feet of
dust and gas
He lay and hacked the coal.'
Chisholm provides declamatory
music that is both defiant and sympathetic.
There are many subtle twists in the
harmony and the false triumphalism adopted
by Chisholm at the words;
'They buried him
with honour
The bugle blew Retreat,
And now he claims of English earth
Some sixty cubic feet.'
makes for uncomfortable
listening. The three folk songs from
the MacDonald collection include one
called Ossian's Soliloquy but
since Ossian was later exposed as an
elaborate literary hoax it is difficult
to ascertain the folk authenticity of
the words or melody. Indeed it is not
clear from the notes whether the collection
from which the words are taken also
included associated melodies. Any readers
of Dave Harker's book, Fakesong,
will be aware of the pitfalls of making
assumptions regarding early sources
of Scottish folk music and poetry. However,
Chisholm's rendering of whatever this
particular source offered him are powerful
and dramatic. Once more the accompaniments
are interesting in themselves and do
not serve as merely functional backgrounds
to the melodies. The harmonies of Ossian's
Soliloquy are particularly spicy.
The rather swaggering complaints of
the poet in The Chailleach - My Spiteful
Old Woman are marvellous. I Arose
One Morning Early has some unusual
cadences and a lolloping, eager momentum
as if to underline the words;
'Sights new and exciting,
Sounds often surprising.'
Victor Hely-Hutchinson
was well known as a conductor mainly
in the employ of the B.B.C. His compositions
are less familiar and this CD offers
a chance to sample his gifts. The three
settings of Edward Lear poems may be
familiar to listeners. They are charming
and melodious and may, as they did with
this reviewer, bring back cherished
memories of childhood. The Owl and
the Pussycat is suitably lyrical
while the mock seriousness of The
Table and the Chair perfectly portrays
the ludicrous escapades of the talking
and dancing furniture. The prancing
accompaniment of The Duck and the
Kangaroo affords further jollity.
Hely-Hutchinson is also represented
by The Song of Soldiers to words
by Walter de la Mere. A march like tread
evokes the poets vision of a ghostly
army marching over the fen. The mock
Handelian Old Mother Hubbard
is a shear delight and is reminiscent
of similar fun had at the great composers
expense by Stanford in his pastiche
settings of Lear poems published as
Nonsense Rhymes op.365. In Lavender
Ann the composer returns to the
world of a certain type of childhood
with it's fairies and elves. Both this
poem and Cradle Song are by anonymous
authors, the latter being a simple song
with a gently chiming accompaniment.
Dreamland is a setting of a poem
by Christina Rossetti. Here Hely-Hutchinson
calls upon an overtly romantic language
that recalls Somervell. The sweeping
piano part supports the voices dramatic
phrases. Rossetti also provides the
words of A Birthday which is
conventional in style but not without
a certain charm. Auld Robin Grey
sets a poem in the style of a Scottish
ballad by Lady Anne Barnard. The style
here again is more conventional and
rather anonymous compared to the Lear
settings. All these songs would sit
well in a recital especially where light
relief is required.
Although Thomas Rajna
was born in Budapest in 1928 he
does have an some connections with British
music as he was appointed Professor
of Piano at the Guildhall School of
Music and Drama in 1963. He is represented
on this CD by four settings of poems
by W.H. Auden. Stop all the Clocks
receives a large scale and highly dramatic
setting. The piano follows the descriptive
elements of the poem very closely in
the manner of Britten but without seeking
to emulate the syntax of that fellow
Auden setter. In The Composer,
a poem that Auden may have written with
Britten in mind, Rajna finds a searching
harmonic language with which to probe
the poets more abstract train of thought.
The piano arabesques that pervade Their
Lonely Betters, provide a
thread for Auden's thoughts on language
and it's meaning. In Refugee Blues,
Rajna evokes the spirit of Weill or
Eisler in a heartfelt setting of a poem
that has fresh resonance today when
the current plight of asylum seekers
is considered;
'Went to a committee;
they offered me a chair;
Asked me politely to return next
year.'
All four songs are big
in every way and clearly require the
advocacy of committed performers, which
they duly receive. They should be a
must for any ambitious Baritone/Piano
duo.
I recommend this CD
to anyone wishing to explore less familiar
songs in English or Scots. The performances
by Brad Liebl, baritone; Aviva Pelham,
soprano and Thomas Rajna, piano are
good. The musicians capture the variety
of moods and styles offered by the three
composers with aplomb. As a compilation
it is a good introduction to the vocal
works of these composers and will leave
the listener desirous of dedicated releases
for all three - perhaps the next step
for Claremont Records.
David Hackbridge
Johnson
Erik
Chisholm Website
Brad Liebl (Baritone) Nos. 1-5, 13-16, 22-25,
Aviva Pelham (Soprano) Nos. 6-12, 17-21;