Paul Lewis is a versatile, prolific composer whose music has
already appeared, albeit in small quantity, on records (his English
Overture on ASV WHL 2126 and his English Suite for
strings on NAXOS 8.550070). This is – I think – the first disc entirely
devoted to his music, and particularly to his many TV scores. He has also
composed a good deal of so-called library music, such as the LP History
Book of Music featuring what is now apparently best referred to as
the Benny Hill Waltz. This delightfully ironic waltz, originally
titled Ballroom, is here recorded at its proper speed, so that
some may not recognise it (I did not!).
Some of his TV scores were quite substantial scores
from which sizeable suites have been drawn, e.g. the epic Arthur
of the Britons and the emotionally more complex The Dark
Angel based on Sheridan le Fanu’s Uncle Silas. Lewis’s
score for Arthur of the Britons successfully blends heroic
and dramatic episodes (e.g. Celtic Horns somewhat redolent of
Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man) and more peaceful
and tender ones, such as the beautifully lyrical Fair Rowena.
The suite is a quite substantial score in the best tradition of epic
film scores, and not unworthy the comparison with some similar scores
by Alwyn, Arnold or Kamen. The Dark Angel is a more complex
score allowing for a more richly varied approach. The Gothic Melodrama
drawn from the score is a remarkable tour de force in which waltz
tunes and rhythms are subtly varied according to the plot or the characters
they evoke.
Philip Lane, the producer of this disc, mentions Arnold
and Walton as Lewis’s models (he might have added Richard Rodney Bennett);
and, true to say, Malcolm Arnold’s shadow looms large over some of the
scores (and none the worse for that, as far as the present Arnold fan
is concerned). This is particularly evident in the rousing tune for
King’s Royal or the brilliant overture Wreckers
at Deadeye. But, in spite of some clear influences, Lewis manages
to remain his own man as in the delightful short fantasy Woof!
(one of the most enjoyable items here) and the superb Mood Picture
The Island for wordless soprano and orchestra which is, as
far as I am concerned, the finest work in this selection. This is a
real tone-poem in all but the name, that may sometimes recall Bax’s
seascapes. A really beautiful piece.
I suppose that British music lovers are likely to respond
heartily to this release, the more so that these TV serials have been
quite popular. I, as a foreigner, have to react to the music’s own merits;
and I am happy to report that it is beautifully crafted, superbly scored
and quite appealing. This generous selection of some of Lewis’s finest
TV scores is a joy from first to last. Excellent playing from all concerned,
fine recorded sound and well-documented presentation. Incidental music
of the highest quality (and The Island is much more than
that), maybe, but well worth hearing (after all, Mendelssohn’s Midsummer
Night’s Dream started its life as incidental music).
Hubert Culot