Virgil THOMSON (1896–1989)
Complete Chamber Works
Monadnock Music/Gil Rose (artistic director)
rec. 18 and 19 September, 23 October, and 27 November 2012; Fraser Performance Studio, WGBH, Boston
EVERBEST 1001 [80:59 + 79:33]
Was there ever a stylistic curveball more misunderstood in the history of music than Igor Stravinsky’s shift from avant-garde sauvage to seemingly mild-mannered neoclassicist? Supporters and detractors both largely accepted it and his music at face value, mistaking its fundamental subversiveness for reverence. Perhaps no greater figure was taken in by this sleight-of-hand than the redoubtable Nadia Boulanger, who sincerely believed that Stravinsky had come to revive rather than bury tradition. No wonder she took his late embrace of Webern almost as a personal affront.
During the West’s turbulent interwar years, Boulanger reigned supreme as the high priestess of neoclassicism. Yet her particular interpretation of the Gospel of St. Igor found the greatest favor not in her native France—where neoclassicism was treated with irreverence by composers like Francis Poulenc and Darius Milhaud and was coming under increasing attack from the younger composers of “La jeune France”—but among the “lost generation” of composers from the comparatively buttoned-down United States, where the return to order promised by her brand of neoclassicism appealed to sober Prohibition-era sensibilities. Out of all of them, arguably none remained more steadfast in their adherence to Boulanger’s vision than Virgil Thomson.
Although born in Kansas City, Missouri, one of the early 20th century nodal points in the emergence of jazz music, Thomson’s own aesthetic roots lay elsewhere. His musical development was overseen by the descendants of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church, which tempts speculation as to whether its abnegative “Word of Wisdom” may have influenced the budding composer’s aesthetics. His music was fastidiously neat and well-proportioned, carefully hewing away from excess, yet ever lacking in that indefinable spark that distinguishes great music from the merely good.
Listeners can hear it for themselves on this beautifully produced collection of Thomson’s chamber music from the Everbest label, the first-ever integral recording. Made under the auspices of the Virgil Thomson Society by the members of New Hampshire-based Monadnock Music in 2012, but issued only this month, these performances make as fine a case for Thomson’s chamber music as can ever be hoped, although even they cannot dispel the impression of stylistic sameness that quickly sets in. One would hardly guess a half-century divides the earliest (Sonata da chiesa) and latest (Stockton Fanfare) works on this set.
A little goes a long way with Thomson and, heard individually, his best works can be pleasant and occasionally charming. His fine Sonata for Flute Alone, played here with rich tone and suave phrasing by flautist Sarah Brady, is one of the loveliest works on this set. It also establishes the key facets of Thomson’s narrow expressive compass: brevity, winsome lyricism, discreet irony, and clearly defined architecture.
The limitations of his idiom become clear in his Max Jacob setting, “Stabat Mater.” Confronted with its ecstatic anguish, Thomson is only capable of rendering it into a sweet if foursquare hymn that would not be out of place in any mainline Protestant service. Better is his Four Songs to Poems of Thomas Campion, which more comfortably fit his native inclination to musical chastity.
Thomson was well known in his lifetime for his musical “portraits,” a number of which are included in this collection. It is hard to discern the individual qualities that he sought to convey in each “portrait,” so alike do they often sound. His best ones are the Five Portraits for Four Clarinets, whose instrumentation imparts a subtle and welcome goofiness.
With his two String Quartets, both composed in 1931 and revised in 1957, one begins to suspect that all of Thomson’s music was “portraiture” in that they framed his ideals for display, rather than being “music” to be enjoyed in and of themselves. Heard that way, it is not difficult to understand his greater success as a music critic, an occupation wherein he could more aptly channel his didactic tendencies.
These performances by Monadnock Music are well attuned to Thomson’s essential gracefulness. It is hard to imagine these performances being bettered. The production, by the group’s former music director Gilbert Rose, better known for his association with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, with engineering by Antonio Oliart, is sumptuous. The soundstage is boldly defined, but never exaggerated. Individual instruments are delineated cleanly without coming apart from the ensemble, which is enveloped in a complementary acoustic that imparts warmth to Thomson’s music. The excellent liner notes are by Zoe Kammerling, a sympathetic and knowledgeable guide.
For American music completists, this set is worth investigating. Others unfamiliar with Thomson, but who seek acquaintance with his music ought to seek out the recordings of the more immediately appealing Ragtime Bass by Andor Földes (DG and Eloquence), The Plow That Broke the Plains and The River under Leopold Stokowski (Vanguard), and Louisiana Story under Eugene Ormandy (Sony).
Néstor Castiglione
Contents
A Short Fanfare (1981) [:08]
Terry Everson, Eric Berlin, and Richard Watson (trumpets); Robert Schulz and Nicholas Tolle (percussion)
Five Ladies (1930; rev. 1940 and 1984) [8:04]
Irina Muresanu (violin), Rob Auler (piano)
Stabat Mater (1931; rev. 1981) [5:20]
Teresa Wakim (soprano), Charles Dimmick and Gabriela Diaz (violins), Noriko Futagami (viola), Rafael Popper-Kaizer (cello)
Family Portrait (1974) [9:57]
Terry Everson and Eric Berlin (trumpets), Whitacre Hill (French horn), Hans Bohn (trombone), Takatsugu Hagiwara (tuba)
Sonata for Violin and Piano (1930) [13:04]
Irina Muresanu (violin), Rob Auler (piano)
Sonata da chiesa (1926) [16:27]
Gary Gorczyca (clarinet), Whitacre Hill (French horn), Terry Everson (trumpet), Hans Bohn (trombone), Noriko Futagami (viola)
Lili Hastings (1983) [1:12]
Irina Muresanu (violin), Rob Auler (piano)
At the Beach (1940; arr. from Le Bains-bar) [4:39]
Terry Everson (trumpet), Linda Osborn (piano)
Le Bains-bar (1929) [3:53]
Irina Muresanu (violin), Rob Auler (piano)
String Quartet No. 1 (1931; rev. 1957) [18:15]
Gabriela Diaz and Charles Dimmick (violins), Wenting Kang (viola), Rafael Popper-Kaizer (cello)
Stockton Fanfare (1985) [:40]
Terry Everson, Eric Berlin, and Richard Watson (trumpets); Robert Schulz and Nicholas Tolle (percussion)
Sonata for Flute Alone (1943) [9:08]
Sarah Brady (flute)
Jay Rozen: Portrait and Fugue (1983–1985) [3:01]
Kenneth Amis (tuba), Linda Osborn (tuba)
Portraits for Violin Alone (1928–1940) [13:51]
Charles Dimmick (violin)
A Portrait of Two (Joell Amar and Dr. Benjamin Zifkin) [1984] [6:13]
Jennifer Slowik (oboe), Adrian Morejon (bassoon), Linda Osborn (piano)
Four Songs to Poems of Thomas Campion (1951) [8:26]
Krista River (mezzo-soprano), Amy Advocat (clarinet), Noriko Futagami (viola), Amanda Romano (harp)
Five Portraits for Four Clarinets (1929) [7:57]
Jan Halloran, Michael Norsworthy, Rane Moore, and Gary Gorczyca (clarinets)
Etude for Cello and Piano: A Portrait of Frederic James (1966) [2:11]
Rafael Popper-Kaizer (cello), Linda Osborn (piano)
Serenade for Flute and Violin (1931) [4:48]
Sarah Brady (flute), Charles Dimmick (violin)
Barcarolle for Woodwinds (Georges Hugnet) (1940; arr. 1944) [1:51]
Sarah Brady (flute), Jennifer Slowik (oboe), Laura Pardee Schaefer (English horn), Gary Gorczyca (bass clarinet), Adrian Morejon (bassoon)
String Quartet No. 2 (1931; rev. 1957) [21:25]
Gabriela Diaz and Charles Dimmick (violins), Wenting Kang (viola), Rafael Popper-Kaizer (cello)
