Tournament for Twenty Fingers
Lennox Berkeley (1903-1989)
Palm Court Waltz, Op 81 No 2 (1971)
Sonatina in E-flat major for piano four hands, Op 39 (1954)
Theme and Variations for piano four hands, Op 73 (1968)
Richard Arnell (1917-2009)
Sonatina for piano duet, Op 61 (1950)
Stephen Dodgson (1924-2013)
Tournament for Twenty Fingers (1952, 1954)
Sonata for piano duet (1949)
Constant Lambert (1905-1951)
Trois Pièces nègres pour les touches blanches (1949)
Emma Abbate, Julian Perkins (piano four hands)
rec. 2020, St George’s Bristol, England
BIS BIS-2578 SACD [70]
The concept here is to present the “complete” works for piano duet four hands by four British composers. No pieces for two pianos are included.
Lennox Berkeley’s Palm Court Waltz for piano duet was originally devised for orchestra and named the Diana and Actaeon Waltz. The liner notes do not mention that it was written at the request of Richard Buckle for The Greatest Show on Earth, held in aid of the “Save the Titian” fund. It is difficult to know if this is a pastiche of the Viennese valse or just a bit of fun. Erik Satie’s Je te veux may be another model. After an overblown introduction, the rather Poulencian main waltz theme is introduced. As the liner notes expialn, a characteristic of this number is the tendency for the progress of the work to suggest that the performers have “lost their way” or are going back to the beginning of the score; even so, the steady 3/4 time is not lost for a moment.
Alec Rowley in Musical Times of December 1954 succinctly summed up Lennox Berkeley’s Sonatina: “a minimum of notes, [and] refinement of taste […] in texture, it is a true Sonatina, and in appearance, ingenuous and stark in outline.” This bleakness becomes less fearsome on repeated hearings. In fact, there is significant warmth and elegance in much of this refreshing music. The three nicely contrasted movements feature lively syncopation in the opening Allegro moderato, well-considered lyricism in the Andante, and a conclusion with a definite nod to Poulenc in the Allegro finale.
It is the first time I have consciously listened to Berkeley’s Theme and Variations, dedicated to Annie Alt and Gerald Stofsky. For many years it remained unpublished. Stylistically, this is a serial composition that never quite avoids a sense of tonality. For some tastes, the harmonies will be considered astringent but, as the notes say, the “Gallic sensibility of Ravel and Poulenc is still very much in evidence.” This is serious music but infused with a sense of humour. There are seven contrasting variations, based on a largely “in key” arpeggio theme.
The disc includes the premiere recording of Richard Arnell’s Sonatina for piano duet. Neither the liner notes nor the track list give the composion date of 1950. Like many other sonatinas for piano – consider Ireland or Ravel – this is not technically easy: it was not designed for pianists learning their trade. There are four short, concentrated movements. It would be easy to define this work as neo-classical, yet there are moments of romance in these pages. The booklet suggest the influence of Prokofiev and Stravinsky, but the overall effect is very much of Arnell’s own devising.
The clever thing about Stephen Dodgson’s Tournament for Twenty Finger is that it sounds more difficult than it is! It is written in two parts or volumes. Part One majors on a selection of dances which include a Gavotte, a Romance, a Fantasia, a Cradle Song and the unusually titled Hill-Billy (which now may be derogatory, but Dodgson meant no offence). Part Two also has a Cradle Song, preceded by a brief Allegretto; it concludes with A Bohemian Entertainment inscribed “To the memory of Antonín Dvořák”. It is certainly a celebration of Czech music, which – as the liner notes explain – was particularly important to the composer.
I found Dodgson’s Sonata for piano duet rewarding. This single-movement work is constructed as a central Allegro moderato framed by two Maestoso sections. There is much interest here. The piece is not a particularly dissonant but extremely flexible in tonality, and it makes much use of chromaticism. The entire sonata is always entertaining. It reflects Hugo Cole’s opinion, quoted in the notes, that Dodgson’s music was “designed to divert and charm, rather than edify or promulgate great truths.”
The final offering is Constant Lambert’s crossover Trois Pièces nègres pour les touches blanches. The work was commissioned by the London Contemporary Music Centre and dedicated to that organisation’s president, Edward Clark. Mary and Geraldine Peppin gave the premiere on 17 May 1949. There are three movements: Aubade, Siesta and Nocturne. Various influences seem to appear. This includes Lambert’s own jazz cantata from 1929 The Rio Grande, and Dave Brubeck’s cool pianism. Strangely, the gorgeous Siesta nods more to Francis Poulenc than to any bop musician.
The work’s title may seem inappropriate in the 21st century. To be sure, Lambert’s use of the word nègres would seem to embrace Afro-Caribbean and Latin-American cultures. Then, there is the conceit of “Black” music played on the “White” keys only. This was one of the last pieces that Constant Lambert had written before his early death, and surely one of his most characteristic.
The performances by Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins are thoroughly enjoyable, committed, and technically sound. The BIS recording is excellent. There are analytical notes by Stephen Johnson, with an introduction by Julian Perkins, and brief bios of the performers. It would have been helpful to put the dates of all the pieces in the track listing. The booklet is written in English, German and French. I appreciated the humorous cover design, based on illustrations by Dresden artist Friedrich Martin von Reibisch, and realised by David Kornfield.
I suggest a careful exploration of this programme. Each work is worthy of due attention and concentration. It is my guess that few of these duets will ever become popular but these important contributions to the genre all deserve to be in the repertoire of piano duet players.
John France
