William Grant STILL (1895-1978)
Wood Notes (1947) [16:32] (world premiere recording)
Symphony No. 2 in G minor Song of a New Race (1937) [27:05]
Symphony No. 3 The Sunday Symphony (1958) [18:01]
Fort Smith Symphony/John Jeter
rec. Arkansas Best Corporation Performing Arts Center, Fort Smith, Arkansas,
17-18 April 2011. DDD
NAXOS 8.559676 [61:39]
For much of his life William Grant Still was invariably referred to as the
“Dean of African-American Composers”. Though his music partakes
of many African-American elements, it also demonstrates his varied training
under Chadwick and Varese and the many years he spent writing music for jazz
bands, radio, music and television. Today Still can be seen simply as one
of that number of American nationalist composers who came to maturity between
the wars.
In the late 1920s Still began a musical trilogy that would portray the African-American
experience in the U.S.: Africa, a tone poem describing the original
homeland; the Symphony No. 1 (African-American) describing the years
leading to the Emancipation Proclamation; and the Symphony No. 2 (Song
of a New Race) describing a future where African-Americans would take
equal part in the destiny of their country.
The Symphony No. 2 is a major work, blending jazz, blues and gospel elements
with a nationalist feeling akin to that of the Eastman School. All of the
movements are relatively slow (cf. Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No. 3).
The slow movement proper is the most beautiful and expressive, while the “moderately
slow” finale shows Still’s great technical skill as he joins thematic
elements of all four movements into an emotionally satisfying conclusion.
Wood Notes is a suite evocative of nature in the American South. Each
of the four pieces begins with simple, almost trivial material, which Still
then transforms into something far more poignant than one would have expected.
While numbered as the third, The Sunday Symphony was the last of Still’s
five symphonies to be written. It describes the typical Sunday of a churchgoer
(Still was quite devout) and while not as profound as the Symphony No. 2 it
is equally sincere and more compact in expression. The opening movement is
full of energy, somewhat reminiscent of Gershwin, but with modal elements
and scoring reminiscent of the Big Bands. In the Prayer movement Still
develops the main melody for English horn to a poetic coda in his best style.
Relaxation is very simple, while the last movement alternates resolution
worthy of an army going into battle with a lovely central section describing
twilight and the thoughts of the worshipper as he prepares for the coming
day.
The key to performing Still’s music is to concentrate on his obvious
sincerity and technical ability, while not letting his tendency towards sentimentality
to overwhelm all else. John Jeter realizes this and wisely brings out the
positive elements, demonstrating complete control of his players (especially
regarding rhythm) and deriving enthusiastic performances. The Fort Smith (Arkansas)
Symphony has some troubles with ensemble, but the overall sound is lush, as
much of the music requires. This disc completes the Naxos series of the Still
symphonies. While there are other impressive recordings of the first two symphonies,
Jeter faces no real competition with the last three, and the entire set can
be recommended to all fans of American music.
William Kreindler
William
Grant Still on Naxos American Classics
Committed recordings of works by a “golden age” American finally
coming into his own on disc.