Sadly the music of
Sir George Dyson is almost completely
absent from the concert halls these
days although his liturgical music does
retain a toehold, however tenuous, in
the repertoire of Anglican cathedral
choirs. In recent years, however, quite
a good selection of his music has become
available on CD, revealing that the
neglect of his music is by no means
justified.
The Chandos label and
Richard Hickox have led the way - as
they so often do - and Hickox has directed
Chandos recordings of all three works
under consideration here although until
recently all three were available only
on separate CDs. In the last few months,
however, the Hickox recordings of the
Symphony and of the overture, At
the Tabard Inn have been
reissued, coupled, at mid-price. It
is through Hickox’s fine recordings
that I came to know these and other
Dyson orchestral works.
Dyson’s solitary symphony
was completed in 1937. As Lewis Foreman
observes in his authoritative note,
it has been overshadowed by several
of its contemporaries in the British
symphonic canon. It was, perhaps, Dyson’s
misfortune that his symphony had to
compete for public attention with such
towering masterpieces as Walton’s First
symphony and the Vaughan Williams’ Fourth.
To compound the difficulty, within a
couple of years of the symphony’s première
Britain was at war.
The symphony has much
to commend it but it would be idle to
pretend that its profile is as strong
as those of the aforementioned works
by Walton and Vaughan Williams. Lewis
Foreman also mentions the first five
symphonies of Bax and up to now several
of those have made a deeper impact on
me than Dyson’s essay. Indeed, until
hearing this present recording I had
felt that Dyson’s Violin Concerto (superbly
recorded for Chandos by Lydia Mordkovitch
and Hickox) was a finer, deeper work.
It’s a tribute to this new recording
that now I’m not quite so sure.
The first movement
begins with an energetic flourish. Lewis
Foreman says that he finds this to be
"very much a movement of troubled
times and the distant rumble of war."
For all its excellence, I hadn’t made
this connection from the Hickox performance
but David Lloyd-Jones is powerfully
persuasive. There’s ample thrust to
his interpretation (for example around
6’00" into the first movement)
and he certainly conveys drama. There
are dark undertones to the second movement
as well. Quite a lot of the music is
restrained and lyrical but there are
some passages of passion as well, around
7’15", for instance. I like the
way Lloyd-Jones maintains a good sense
of forward momentum throughout.
Rather unusually the
third movement comprises a theme and
eight short variations. I particularly
warmed to the noble and generously phrased
fourth variation. In general the quicker
variants are light on their feet and
charming. Dyson’s use of variation form
is a cunning choice for it enables him
to pack a considerable amount of musical
variety into a short space of time.
This is a most entertaining movement
and it receives a winning performance
here. The finale follows without a break,
introduced by a warm, gently swelling
brass chord. After a brooding introduction
Dyson revisits material from the preceding
movements. The ending, marked andante
moto moderato, is particularly impressive.
It begins fairly quietly but builds
gradually and convincingly to what sounds
to my ears like an affirmative conclusion.
Here I may be at variance slightly with
Lewis Foreman’s view; listeners can
form their own judgement.
This may not be the
most eloquent or original of British
symphonies but it is expertly crafted
and orchestrated and it is built on
excellent thematic material. Its neglect
is hard to comprehend but, realistically,
opportunities to hear it in concert
are likely to be few and far between.
Regrettably that’s
also likely to be true of the Concerto
da Chiesa. This dates from 1949
and each movement is based on an old
hymn tune. I have no hesitation in saying
that it belongs very firmly in the fine
tradition of English string orchestral
masterpieces. It’s beautifully written
for strings and it contains some marvellously
effective interplay between a quartet
of solo strings and the ripieno
main orchestra. I wonder if part of
the trouble lies in the ordering of
the movements? The first movement, based
on ‘O come, o come, Emmanuel’ is impassioned
and dark. In fact, it’s the most troubled
music by Dyson that I’ve heard. It’s
almost forbidding, except that the writing
for strings is so fine. I think it’s
a superb movement but its gravity, almost
austerity, means that it’s not an easy
listen. By contrast the succeeding movement,
based on the tune ‘Of the Father’s heart
begotten’, is graceful and full of ease.
Where the textures of the first movement
were predominantly dark, here the music
is light and airy. Had this movement
opened the work I wonder if audiences
and conductors might more readily have
taken it to their hearts? The finale,
based on the old psalm tune, ‘Laetatus
sum’ opens in joyous confidence. This
is a lively movement, full of exuberance
and calling for virtuosity from the
players but, tellingly, Dyson ends the
work in a more reflective and peaceful
vein. This is a fine work and it is
done full justice here. The Concerto
deserves to be far better known and
perhaps the existence of a first class
recording at budget price will help.
To complete the disc
we are offered the overture, At the
Tabard Inn. This 1943 piece is a
sparkling pot-pourri of musical
ideas from Dyson’s fine 1930 choral
work, The Canterbury Pilgrims The
overture can stand alone as a concert
work, as is proved here. Richard Hickox’s
splendid Chandos recording of The
Canterbury Pilgrims included an
equally excellent reading of the overture.
I really wouldn’t care to choose between
that performance and this newcomer.
Both are warm, witty and winning, just
like the music itself. The Chandos recording
is perhaps the more opulent in terms
of sheer sound but no one buying this
newcomer will feel short changed on
sonic grounds. I just think we’re lucky
to have a choice between two first class
and very sympathetic readings, a comment
which is equally true of the competing
claims of the Lloyd-Jones and Hickox
recordings of the other two works under
discussion here.
The Naxos issue is
presented in good, musical and well-balanced
sound. Indeed, some may prefer the results
to the more opulent sound picture that
is characteristic of Chandos. (I enjoy
either.) Naxos has good notes, mainly
by Lewis Foreman. The performances by
the Bournemouth orchestra are full of
life, warmth and vitality. With this
issue David Lloyd-Jones proves himself
yet again to be a doughty and effective
champion of English music.
The merits of the Chandos
recordings are considerable and I suspect
that the Hickox recording of the Concerto
da Chiesa will also be reissued
at mid price before too long. However,
the Naxos release has the advantage
of offering all three works conveniently
coupled together and this combination
offers an inexpensive way to get a fine
introduction to Dyson’s orchestral music.
So this release is enthusiastically
recommended to those who don’t yet know
these works. And to those who, like
me, already have the Hickox recordings,
this newcomer is a first rate alternative
view. Either way, I strongly recommend
this disc.
John Quinn
see also review
by Rob Barnett
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/David Lloyd-Jones
