Nicholas Barton (b. 1950)
Accord: Symphony in One Movement (2018)
Christopher Wright (b. 1954)
Horn Concerto (2011)
Symphony (2015)
Richard Watkins (horn)
Royal Scottish National Orchestra/John Andrews
rec. 2021, RSNO Centre, Glasgow, Scotland
TOCCATA CLASSICS TOCC0466 [81]
Although some of his works have been recorded earlier, in a disc released on the University of Hertfordshire's label, this seems to be the very first commercial recording of any of Nicholas Barton's music. I must avow that Barton's name and music were completely unknown to me and I did welcome an opportunity to hear some of it. His Accord: Symphony in One Movement is a good place to start from. This fairly compact work lasting a little over a quarter of an hour is a well argued piece in which a limited number of gestures is given a maximum of variations travelling through a wide sound landscape in waves, sometimes rising up to some tremendous climaxes, though allowing for moments of calm, the whole suggesting some very impressive seascapes. I may be forgiven for being at times reminded of Britten, and it is none the worse for that, I hasten to add. However, the overall structure of Accord is tightly knit together and not a note is wasted. There is considerable interplay of motives that keeps the music moving until it reaches the coda, scored for harp and strings “unashamedly showing the influence of Mahler” (the composer's words). The composer also mentions that his mother died when he was composing Accord and that his father died just after it was completed. So it is clear that this very beautiful work has some deeply personal resonance for the composer. I for one was impressed by this finely crafted and sincere piece of music and I would really like to hear more of Barton's music. (Maybe someone might reissue the University of Hertfordshire disc for if the music is as fine as what is on display here, it should get wider exposure.)
Christopher Wright's music is now somewhat better known through a handful of fairly recent recordings. The works of his recorded here show two facets of his musical personality. The Horn Concerto composed in 2011 is a somewhat light-hearted work displaying the various instrumental registers of the soloist. It is in three movements in which the interplay between horn and orchestra is often quite intense, with the timpani playing an important part in the dialogue. The first movement Austere is not that austere whereas the second movement Lyric is exactly that, a beautifully lyrical outpouring without any sentimentality. The third movement Jazzy is more contrasted since the outer sections do make play of jazz (especially the rhythmic aspect of it) while the central section has a hymn-like quality. Wright's Horn Concerto is a fine work that deserves to be in any horn player's repertoire. Richard Watkins plays with assurance and impeccable technique while having the full measure of the music. A most welcome addition anyway.
Wright's Symphony completed in 2015 is a considerably weightier work. It is in four movements and plays for nearly three quarters of an hour. It is also a deeply personal statement that the composer seems to be reluctant to discuss. He obviously prefers that the listener should make his/her own mind about the music. “I realised that the music I was composing represented far more than the notes on a piece of paper; rather, it was a soundscape to which each listener will respond individually.” Wright also states that he was in doubt about the Symphony's formal layout and hesitated between a large-scale one movement structure or a traditional four movement one. The end result of these considerations eventually led to a formal hybrid in that “the first movement is the exposition followed by the Scherzo, the slow movement and coda” so that the Symphony as a whole may be experienced as a large scale sonata form. However, the composer's lapidary comments about the work do not prepare the listener for what the Symphony really is, namely a substantial, often imposing work that grabs one by the scruff of the neck from the very opening gesture until the brutally inconclusive end. “In the end, the music exhausts itself, and all that is left are tutti strings dying away a niente on the note A.” Christopher Wright's Symphony is a mighty, deeply felt and often beautiful piece of music that deserves to be heard and this superb recording is most welcome indeed.
John Andrews conducts superbly committed performances of these very fine, often gripping works and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra are their very best throughout. Excellent recording.
Hubert Culot
Previous review: Nick Barnard
