Frederick Septimus KELLY (1881-1916)
Twelve Studies, Op.9 (1907-13) [40:44]
24 Monographs, Op.11 (1914-16) [38:42]
Alex Wilson (piano)
rec. 2019, Wyastone Concert Hall, Monmouth, UK
TOCCATA CLASSICS TOCC0524 [79:30]
Of the two cycles in this disc, the Twelve Studies, Op.9 has never been recorded whilst only a selection from the 24 Monographs has been heard before on disc – ten to be precise. At a time when FS Kelly’s music is being recorded with a degree of dedication, from several quarters – such as ABC – it’s good to know that Toccata has shown dedication in presenting both cycles in full.
Both, in fact, occupied the Australian composer over a number of years. The Twelve Studies were written between 1907 and 1913. Though it’s not a question of arpeggios there is a similarity between the opening of this set and that of Chopin’s Etudes Op.10; what links the two is a dynamic intent, an ebullient confidence. Kelly was clearly influenced by Chopin and as a fine pianist himself would have had the works in his repertoire. He can also be refined and decorative, as in the fifth study, harmonically quite thick – sample No.7 – and technically challenging, as in the ninth etude, written in 1913. The Chopinesque and Mendelssohnian lineage is best, most markedly, exemplified in No.11, a study especially admired by Leonard Borwick, one of England’s leading pianists and a close friend of Kelly – the two lived together for some time. Happily, there’s an appendix of sorts, No.12a, which is a study discarded by the composer but appended here.
The Monographs, of which there are 24, are each brief, so that this cycle, in this recording, is actually shorter in length than the Twelve Studies. The two overlapped compositionally, Kelly working on the Monographs from 1911 until shortly before his death in military action in 1916. Like Chopin’s Op.28 set Kelly charts all 24 major and minor keys. It’s rare to find any antique elements in these two cycles – he certainly enjoyed baroque devices in some of his chamber and orchestral pieces – but there are hints of such, as in No.4 and in the courtly generosity of No.9. One of the most beautiful of all the pieces is the fifth Monograph, an Adagio sostenuto that, in its delicate songfulness, reminds the listener that Kelly was a more than proficient song composer. The Chorale has its place too as does the pastorale, set firmly in the British tradition. The most eruptive and emotively powerful moment comes in the funereal No.16, powerfully moving, whilst No.22 is a limpid, long and impressive exploration of introspection. It’s no surprise that this was one of the ten that has previously been recorded. Directions that Kelly didn’t live to pursue can be felt in hints of Scriabin, though it is fair to say that Schumann is also a pervasive influence and that this cycle, like its confrere, is more of case of musical consolidation than stylistic innovation.
Kelly’s piano music has been rather overshadowed by his orchestral works and in particular his Elegy in memoriam Rupert Brooke which makes this release valuable in extending appreciation of this area of his compositional life. The notes are everything one could want in a project of this kind; Christopher Latham deals largely with the biography and the context in which the pieces were composed whilst Alex Wilson focuses on the specifics of the pieces played. He plays with disarming candour and charm and, as one would expect of him – who has performed Butterworth, Gurney, Ernest Farrar, Cecil Coles and others – he is a stylish exponent and has been finely recorded.
Jonathan Woolf
