Support us financially by purchasing from

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, UK
TOCCATA CLASSICS TOCC0466 [81]

Toccata Classics continue apace to build their catalogue of substantial symphonic works by previously little-known composers. The presence of Christopher Wright on this new disc slightly bucks that trend since Wright will be known to collectors via a group of discs mainly released on the Dutton and Lyrita labels as well some string quartets on Nimbus Alliance. Here Wright shares the disc with his friend and colleague Nicholas Barton. This is the first recording of a work by Barton and indeed the first performance by a professional orchestra of his music. One thing to say straight away – the entire disc is very well played indeed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by John Andrews and the sound captured by engineer Phil Hardman under the direction of veteran producer Michael Ponder is equally first rate. I can only assume that both composers must be thrilled with the quality of the final product.

Lucky the composer – or more likely of independent financial means – who is able to devote themselves solely to writing music. Indeed the history of music is full of composers who had parallel careers often as teachers whether in schools, colleges, universities or conservatoires. Both Barton and Wright studied composition at degree level at the Colchester Institute and both of the hail from the East Anglian region of the UK. After graduation both followed a path into music education. Both composers contribute biographical and useful musical liner notes outlining their careers and compositions. The disc opens with Barton’s Symphony in One Movement ‘Accord’. This is a skilfully designed compact symphony running to just 16:26 in length. In the liner Barton characterises the work as “diverse elements seeking harmony and resolution”. He further details the harmonic/melodic cells from which the music derives as well as the relations of tempo and pulse in the work. The work is scored for a very standard Romantic orchestra with triple woodwind, standard brass, two percussion and harp alongside the expected strings. Barton explains his use of condensed symphonic form clearly and effectively which is a useful listening guide. The closing pages of the work were defined by the loss of his mother which resulted in an elegiac ending with a fairly explicit echo of the Adagietto from Mahler’s Symphony No.5. In many ways this is the most instantly engaging and effective section of the work – certainly in a listener’s early acquaintance with the work – because there is a sincerely emotional element added to the technical/intellectual construct of the work to that point.

Christopher Wright’s Horn Concerto was written as an adjunct to his Violin Concerto of 2010. This impressive string concerto – it can be heard on a fine Dutton disc – bears the subtitle “.... and then there was silence” and was written in response to the death of his wife. The horn concerto bears the title “after the silence” and was written the following year in 2011. Wright in his liner states that the work “seemed to compose itself, something extremely rare for me!” The concerto is in the traditional fast/slow/fast three movements with the titles; “Austere”, “Lyric” and “Jazzy” and runs for a total of 20:01. Neither the liner nor the composer’s website makes clear for whom the work was composed or gave the first performance – the dedication is to friend and fellow composer Elis Pehkonen. Here the solo part is played by the ever-excellent Richard Watkins. I am no horn player but this sounds like a very demanding solo part which Watkins plays with supreme almost nonchalant skill. Wright’s orchestration is very skilful – he uses in effect a classical orchestral with the brass represented by just a pair of trumpets. This neatly leaves a ‘hole’ in the orchestral timbre for the solo horn. The actual recording supports this by providing a very good sound stage for the entire instrumental group so the solo line integrates into the orchestral body with no sense of spot-lighting or contrived balance. The opening Austere is just that – muscular and athletic with the soloist given little respite. This has a Hindemithian energy and objectivity to the writing that is very engaging. Indeed it might well be this kind of absolute musical objectivity that Wright was seeking after the deeply personal engagement with the Violin Concerto. Certainly the second movement Lyric is beautiful but emotionally detached. The longest movement is the closing Jazzy. I must admit this did not work for me at all in spite of the excellence of the playing here. Simply because Wright cannot quite decide how or what to do to make the music ‘jazzy’. Sometimes its the chords he uses, sometimes its the techniques required, sometimes it swings, sometimes syncopates. But all the time it sounds like a composer not in his natural element imitating a style he does not naturally align with. He then introduces a secondary theme which in the liner he characterises as a “quasi-Sankey and Moody” hymn-like melody with the closing pages seeking to overlay the two contrasting elements – this is the kind of thing Malcolm Arnold could do to far greater effect. Which is a shame because I genuinely enjoyed the work up to this point and as I said I cannot imagine it being better performed than here.

The main work on this very generously filled (81:14) disc is Wright’s Symphony written in 2015. During the planning of the work Wright toyed with the idea of a single movement form. Ultimately he decided upon a traditional four movement structure but with one key/unusual difference. The opening Andante acts as the exposition with the three remaining movements; Molto Presto / Sempre lento e sostenuto / Allegro moderato e deciso functioning as the extended development of the first movement. In the liner Wright writes; “Much of my music has been composed... because I need to communicate ideas and comment on the world and life in the way that I see it. I am not fettered by fashion, style, ideology or gimmickry, or some insatiable desire to be original; I compose what I hear, to the best of my ability.” This strikes me as a fair and accurate artistic creed. Certainly in this symphony it is easy to hear the care and craft that has gone into its creation. This is a serious and large-scale work that does not seek to obviously ‘please’ the listener. For the purposes of this review I have listened several times to the work but I must admit to not really feeling that I have gained much understanding of the symphony or its composer. The moods and character of each movement are clearly defined and well-executed, the writing for the various sections of the orchestra is likewise effective. I enjoyed the closing Allegro moderato e deciso most – again quite brilliantly executed by the RSNO. The very ending itself is unusual and quite surprising. Just when the piece seems to be reaching a cathartically energetic conclusion a sustained high string chord abruptly stops the music progress after which the strings collapse down and the music slumps into silence just twenty or so seconds later.

A disc of definite interest and value to those keen to explore British composers of substance and stature but relatively little national fame. The quality of Toccata’s recording and presentation is genuinely first-class so hard to imagine a finer case for this music being made. If my personal response is relatively lukewarm, I think that is simply because in this case and in that inexplicable way these scores did not speak to me – for that the loss is mine I am sure.

Nick Barnard