The Bliss of Solitude
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) On Wenlock Edge (1909)
[21:28]; Two Pieces for Piano: The Lake in the Mountains (1947) [4:02];
Prelude on Rhosymedre (arr. Bryan Kelly) (1920; ?) [3:51]
Andrew Wright (b. 1955) The Bliss of Solitude [17:28]
Roger Quilter (1877-1953) Three Pieces for Piano Op.16 (pub.
1915) [12:24]; Three Shakespeare Songs Op.6 First Set (1905) [7:28]; ‘Music,
when soft voices die’ Op.25 (1927) [1:36]; ‘June’ (1905)
[1:48]; Three Songs, Op.3 (publ. 1904, 1905) [5:45]
Richard Dowling (tenor); Joanna Smith (piano)
rec. 8, 11 August and 14, 15 October 2008, Brentwood Cathedral. DDD
HERALD HAVPCD 354 [74:13]
The first time I heard RVW’s On Wenlock Edge was on 12 October
1972. It was a radio broadcast as part of the composer’s centenary celebrations
and the RFH concert consisted of Job, the Eighth Symphony and the orchestral
incarnation of this great song-cycle. The London Philharmonic was conducted
by the venerable Sir Adrian Boult. (The tenor was Richard Lewis and a recording
of the Housman work was issued on a now-deleted Intaglio CD INCD7411 Ed.) I
was bowled over by all three works - but was, as they say in Yorkshire, ‘gob-smacked’ by On Wenlock
Edge. A wee bit later, I heard a performance of the version for piano and
string quartet. I rushed out and bought a copy of Housman’s poems as
well as the LP. Both have been treasures ever since. However, it has taken
nearly forty years to (consciously) hear this work in its setting for tenor
and piano only. I note that the score does suggest that the string quartet
is ‘optional’: it is a case of being seriously impressed once again.
Richard Dowling - a name I had not heard of before - and Joanna Smith bring
a delight to this work that is sometimes lacking in better known exponents.
From the opening bars of the eponymous song to the last notes of ‘Clun’ this
is a beautifully stated performance. If I were to sum it up in a word it would
be magical rather than histrionic. I cannot emphasise how
impressed I am with this performance.
Joanna Smith plays two lovely works by Vaughan Williams. The reflective The
Lake in the Mountains, which was a spin-off from the film music to the
wartime drama, set in Canada, The 49th Parallel.
The well known Prelude on Rhosymedre is heard in the piano arrangement
by Bryan Kelly. It is a restrained and ultimately near-perfect work.
I have not come across the music of Andrew Wright before. The Arkiv catalogue
does not give any listings for him: I cannot find a website or page devoted
to his works. However, The Bliss of Solitude is a little masterpiece
and well-deserves to be known to British - I assume he is British? - music
enthusiasts. Apparently, Wright has composed for the Church with a number of
liturgical works to his credit including his Requiem of 2005. The present
song-cycle is, for him, a step along a new path. The genesis of the work came
about when the composer was given a copy of Wordsworth’s poetical works.
He selected six of the poems to set to music. The poems chosen are some of
the most popular numbers - although the first song, 'A Sense Sublime' and the
fifth, ‘Nature’ are perhaps less well-known than they should be.
I hold my hand up and admit that I was sceptical when I received this disc
- for a composer to risk setting ‘To a Butterfly’, ‘Daffodils’, ‘She
Dwelt among th’ hidden ways’ and ‘To a Skylark’ is
a huge gamble. Yet it has worked well. Even the almost hackneyed popularity
of ‘Daffodils’ does not detract from the innocence of this setting:
the same can be said of the other three pot-boilers. This is a very well-balanced
song-cycle. If I were to try to give a ‘soundscape’ of these pieces
I would suggest that they are well and truly in the tradition of English Lieder
as established over the past century. I guess that Finzi is an influence, but
other composers such as Vaughan Williams and even Roger Quilter are never far
away. However the music rarely, if ever, has the darker tones of Peter Warlock
or Ivor Gurney. The words and the music are well wrought, with the lyrical
melodies largely deriving from the ‘declamation’ of the text. The
piano accompaniment is interesting and supportive without becoming overbearing.
One of the pleasures I had in recent years was the discovery that Roger Quilter
wrote piano pieces. Most often associated with his excellent corpus of songs,
there are very few recordings of his other music available. The Three Pieces for
Piano Op. 16 were composed between 1909 and 1916. Certainly the most accomplished
of them would seen to be Summer Evening. This is an impressionistic
work that manages to conjure up the mood of the title. John Ireland enthusiasts
will know the piano piece of the same title by that composer. Both works are
treasures and both deserve to be better known. The Dance in the Twilight and At
a Country Fair are perhaps a little more predictable in their salon music
roots, although all three works are worthy of their composer.
The remainder of the CD is devoted to some eight songs by Quilter. The two
groups, Three Shakespeare Songs Op.6 and Three Songs Op. 3 contain
some of the composer’s best loved works. They are not cycles, but collections
of songs. I was particularly impressed with Richard Dowling’s interpretation
of ‘Blow, blow, thou winter wind’ which is a well-poised song that
balances positive and negative thoughts in the poet’s mind. It ends with
a reference to ‘This life is most jolly’. The other two songs in
this set are ‘Come away, death’ and ‘Oh mistress mine’.
One of the most perfect Quilter settings has to be the Shelley poem ‘Music,
when soft voices die’: it is ever popular and has been recorded many
times. However Dowling makes it sound new and fresh. ‘June’ is
a setting of a poem by Nora Hooper and is a new discovery to me - although
it is on the Hyperion disc (CDA66878) by John Mark Ainsley and Malcolm Martineau.
It is good to have it here. The CD closes with the Three Songs Op.3
- Shelley’s ‘Love’s Philosophy’, Tennyson’s ‘Now
sleeps the crimson petal and finally Henley’s ‘Fill a glass with
golden wine’. This last song makes a fitting close to an excellent and
varied recital.
I do have three criticisms of this CD production: it has nothing to do with
the performance. Why, O why will CD companies not walk that extra mile and
provide full details of all the works presented. I had to search my reference
books, catalogues and biographies to enter the dates for composers and works.
It was easy (but time-consuming) for me - but not all listeners have internet
access or a large music library! Secondly, I know nothing of Andrew Wright
- there are no biographical notes here - so I still am none the wiser. Lastly,
there are no programme note references to the RVW piano pieces: neither are
the authors of the Quilter song texts given - apart from the Shakespeare.
This CD showcases the considerable talents of Richard Dowling. His North Country
credentials are clear for all to see! He studied at Manchester University,
sang at Chetham’s School of Music and for a time was a Lay Clark at Manchester
Cathedral. He is a long-standing member of the Manchester University Chamber
Choir. Joanna Smith is a talented and sympathetic accompanist: it is good to
hear her interpretation of the excellent piano solos on this CD.
This disc will be enjoyed by all enthusiasts of English Music. It is a fine
programme that balances older and more recent composers with some well-known
pieces and a few new or rediscovered works. All in all, it is a most satisfying
release.
John France