Herbert SUMSION (1899-1995)
The Complete Organ Works - Volume 1
Daniel Cook (organ)
rec. Organ of Salisbury Cathedral, 30-31 August and 1 September 2011
PRIORY PRCD1075 [71:16]
The Complete Organ Works -Volume 2
Daniel Cook (organ)
rec. Organ of St. David’s Cathedral, 12-14 November 2012
PRIORY PRCD1093 [75:47]
I first became properly aware of Herbert Sumsion –
or ‘John’ Sumsion as friends and family called him –
when I moved to live in Gloucester in the late 1980s. To a large extent
this increased awareness on my part occurred because the then conductor
of the choir I joined was a past pupil of Sumsion and they had stayed
in touch. From Sumsion he had learned not only the organ but also much
about conducting, in particular the music of Elgar. Sumsion’s
long life was drawing to a close at that time but he remained highly
respected in Gloucestershire.
That should not be a surprise for he had given a lifetime of service
to the musical life of the county and in particular to the musical and
liturgical life of Gloucester Cathedral. Born in Gloucester, he was
a chorister at the cathedral (1908-14) and then became an articled pupil
of the cathedral Organist, Sir Herbert Brewer. After war service he
was Brewer’s assistant (1919-22). However, his musical education
was not parochial for he then took posts in London and studied at the
Royal College of Music. In 1926, impressed by his talent, R O Morris,
who had just accepted a senior post at the prestigious Curtis Institute,
invited Sumsion to accompany him to Philadelphia as an assistant instructor.
Sumsion was about to return to England in 1928 to become Organist of
Coventry Cathedral when a more pressing invitation arrived: Brewer had
died suddenly and the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester asked Sumsion to
succeed him. He took up the post – I wonder what they thought
about that in Coventry – and retained it for an astonishingly
long period, retiring in 1967.
In a long and busy career as a teacher, conductor and cathedral organist
it must have been difficult to find time for composition but Sumsion
composed in a variety of genres, not least choral and organ music. On
these two CDs Daniel Cook presents a survey of all Sumsion’s organ
music though there isn’t quite enough to fill two discs so the
second volume also contains two Elgar arrangements by Brewer. Cook uses
two organs. The first is the organ of Salisbury Cathedral, where he
was Assistant Organist until 2011, leaving just after the sessions for
Volume I. He then moved to be Organist of St David’s Cathedral
and Volume II was recorded there just over a year after his arrival.
So he’s playing two instruments with which he’s very familiar
and in acoustics to which he’s accustomed. Part of me regrets
that the recordings weren’t made on the Gloucester Cathedral organ
– on which Sumsion made his very fine recording of the Elgar Organ
Sonata in 1965 (review)
– however it was surely right for Daniel Cook to play on organs
that he knows well. In any case the Gloucester instrument is not quite
the organ that Sumsion knew; it has been remodelled and its magnificent
sound now has a somewhat French accent which was not the case in Sumsion’s
day.
Though I enjoyed both the music on these discs and Daniel Cook’s
performances I think it is fair to say that while there’s a lot
of very good music here, all of it skilfully crafted, there’s
no great music. The strongest piece in Volume 1
is Introduction and Theme. In her admirable notes Diane Nolan
Cooke describes this as “an ambitiously conceived recital piece.”
I found it interesting, varied and impressive though the quiet end,
while beautiful in its own right, was a slight let-down. Quite a lot
of the music on this disc is essentially gentle in tone. In this category
comes Variations on a Folk Tune, which is based on I Will
Give My Love an Apple. I liked this very much. Apparently Sumsion
had previously composed a set of 15 variations for piano on this tune
and from that work he later extracted five for this organ piece. The
Elegy is modest in tone and tranquil while the fluent and tranquil
Pastoral is, as its title suggests, very much of that English
tradition.
In contrast I liked the uncomplicated and extrovert Ceremonial March.
This is affectionately described as “splashy” in the notes
but it’s none the worse for that. Also in a more extrovert vein
is Toccata on ‘University’ which provides a striking
opening to the recital.
Mention should also be made of the Four Preludes on Well-Known Carols.
The first and last of these are extrovert pieces but the middle two
are more gentle in tone; the treatment of 'The Holly and the
Ivy’ in that way is mildly surprising. When I listened to the
Prelude on 'Unto Us is Born a Son' I could readily imagine
that being played as a cheerful voluntary while the congregation streamed
out of Gloucester Cathedral after Christmas Morning Eucharist.
Volume 2 also ends with a substantial work in the shape
of Air, Berceuse and Procession. In fact the three movements
can be played independently. The first movement is light-footed and
rather jolly. The Berceuse (track 13 from 4:21) is well described
by Diane Nolan Cooke as an elegant lullaby. The concluding Procession
(from 9:27) is a confident, quintessentially English march. The other
original pieces on this disc are less significant. Prelude and Aria
takes material from an orchestral overture, In the Cotswolds,
first heard in 1930. From the title of the overture you won’t
be surprised to learn that the subsequent organ piece is very English
in tone. The material is good and I enjoyed the piece. Cradle Song
is charming, if subdued. Saraband and Interlude is a work that’s
modest in scale and scope but very pleasing.
Vaughan Williams was a big influence on Sumsion; his Chorale Prelude
on ' Down Ampney’, which is included in Volume 1,
was a homage to VW and in this companion volume Daniel Cook offers four
arrangements of pieces by Vaughan Williams. The first two are movements
from VW’s Suite for Viola and Small Orchestra, which
Sumsion made in 1938, only four years after the original appeared. The
second pair are arrangements of the Two Hymn-Tune Preludes
for orchestra, unveiled in their orchestral guise at the 1936 Three
Choirs Festival. All these arrangements seem to me to be very successful.
Daniel Cook concludes his survey by including two Elgar arrangements
by Sumsion’s first mentor, Sir Herbert Brewer. It may be wondered
why Brewer should have yoked together the start and conclusion of The
Dream of Gerontius. Until 1910 the then Dean of Gloucester, Donald
Spence-Jones (Dean from 1887 to 1917) refused to allow performances
of Elgar’s new work at Gloucester Three Choirs Festivals on account
of what he believed was the overt Roman Catholicism of Newman’s
text. (It’s remarkable how much power Deans wielded in those days.)
The most that Brewer was able to manage prior to 1910 was to perform
the Prelude and the Angel’s Farewell, which Elgar himself conducted
at the Opening Service of the 1901 Gloucester Festival. Brewer’s
organ arrangement of the Prelude works quite well though it must be
the very devil for an organist to try to convey Elgar’s complex
music with a ‘mere’ ten fingers and two feet. The Farewell
is less successful, I think, because the organ simply can’t do
justice to all the many vocal and orchestral layers of Elgar’s
score.
As I indicated earlier, there are no masterpieces here but these two
discs contain some very enjoyable, technically expert and worthwhile
music. Herbert Sumsion knew what he was about when it came to organ
composition. He is splendidly served here by Daniel Cook whose sympathy
with the music and understanding of it is readily apparent. He’s
imaginative in his registrations and colourings and his playing is a
constant delight. Both organs suit the music very well and Neil Collier
has recorded both instruments impressively; the sound is spacious yet
detailed. The documentation is excellent and includes full specifications
of both organs. The notes by Diane Nolan Cooke are highly readable and
informative both about the composer and the music.
John
Quinn
Previous reviews: John France Volume
1 ~ Volume
2
Contents
Volume 1
Toccata on ‘University’ (1987) [2:52]
Variations on a Folk Tune (pub.1989) [8:03]
Quiet Postlude (1957) [6:18]
Four Preludes on Well-Known Carols (1955): Prelude on 'Adeste
Fideles' [3:39] Prelude on 'The Coventry Carol'
[2:53] Prelude on 'The Holly and the Ivy' [4:29] Prelude
on 'Unto Us is Born a Son' [5:01]
Canzona for Organ (1957) [4:24]
Elegy (1955) [5:04]
Ceremonial March (posth. 1998) [3:56]
Prelude (1977) [2:02]
Chorale Prelude on 'Dundee' (1977) [2:54]
Pastoral (1949) [2:54]
Chorale Prelude 'Liebster Immanuel' (1977) [2:01]
Chorale Prelude on ' Down Ampney’ (posth. 2000) [4:54]
Introduction and Theme (1936) [8:02]
Volume 2
Prelude and Aria (1940) [4:54]
Cradle Song (1954) [5:36]
Allegretto (1954) [3:22]
Intermezzo (1955) [5:31]
Saraband and Interlude (pub.1975) [4:24]
Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958)
Carol (arr. Sumsion, 1934/38) [2:31]
Musette (arr. Sumsion, 1934/38) [3:35]
Eventide (arr. Sumsion, 1936/38) [2:44]
Dominus Regit Me (arr. Sumsion, 1936/38) [3:00]
Johann SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750)
Aria ‘Komm Süsser Tod’ (arr. Sumsion) [3:01]
Sir Edward ELGAR (1862-1934)
Prelude and Angel’s Farewell from ‘The Dream of Gerontius’
(arr. Herbert Brewer, 1900/03) [15:36]
Chanson de Matin (arr. Brewer, 1889/1904) [3:47]
Herbert SUMSION
Air, Berceuse and Procession (1960) [16:16]
