Walter Leigh tends
to be seen as a one-work composer, in
this case the marvellous Concertino
for Harpsichord and Strings.
This was recorded back in the days of
78s (Kathleen Long playing piano on
Decca K.1832-3) and somewhat more recently
during the LP era (some may remember
Neville Dilkes on EMI CSD 3705, now
re-issued in CD format on EMI 5 67431
2 and Trevor Pinnock on Lyrita SRCS
126, n.l.a. and to date not re-issued).
A re-issue of the Lyrita record is long
overdue, for it was the only LP entirely
devoted to Leigh’s music. It included
the Harpsichord Concertino, Music
for String Orchestra, The
Frogs and the suite A
Midsummer Night’s Dream. Lyrita
also recorded his overture Jolly
Roger (SRCS 99, n.l.a.). I must
nevertheless mention a more recent disc
released a few years ago that has, I
am afraid, passed unnoticed. This CD
(Tremula TREM 101-2, published 1992
and presumably still available) included
piano music and several songs as well
as Music for Three Pianos
and Three Waltzes for
two pianos. This fine release is still
worth looking for, if you have any interest
in this composer’s attractive music.
Now, to the present
release. It is a varied selection of
chamber works written during Leigh’s
all too short composing life. Despite
his untimely death in 1942 his surviving
output is interesting enough to deserve
re-assessment, which this fine release
makes possible. As might be expected,
most pieces (indeed, all of them) are
quite short, but some, Music for
String Orchestra, Three
Movements for String Quartet,
Sonatina for Viola and Piano
and Sonatina for Recorder
and Piano, are substantial
in spite of their concision. As Calum
Mac Donald rightly remarks in his excellent
insert notes, "this is music with
a power far beyond its dimensions".
In fact, all these pieces are perfectly
balanced and never outstay their welcome,
also because the composer never felt
the need to "overwork" his
basic material.
Music for String
Orchestra, played here as a
string quintet, is in four short movements,
of which the second Vivo is particularly
short (0’42"). A solemn Adagio
leads into the Scherzo, actually a rustic
dance. This is followed by a concise,
but quite eloquent Chaconne. The whole
is capped by a lively hornpipe - a Leigh
trademark. This very fine work clearly
belongs to the best of British music
for strings. Holst’s Saint Paul’s
Suite and Bridge’s Suite
for Strings are not far away.
The Sonatina
for Viola and Piano, composed
at about the same time, may still be
indebted to Hindemith; but the music
sometimes hints at Rawsthorne (also
born in 1905). It is in three compact
movements again, of which the central
Andante tranquillo ed espressivo
is particularly beautiful. The Sonatina
ends with another lively hornpipe. It
is a fairly substantial achievement
and undoubtedly one of the finest British
pieces for viola; its neglect is difficult
to understand. The Three Movements
for String Quartet, also written
at about the same time, open with a
lively march (a bit à la Warlock).
The slow movement hints at an Elizabethan
viol fantasy, whereas the third dances
along, yet another hornpipe.
Leigh was a pupil of
Hindemith, as was his near-contemporary
Arnold Cooke; and this is often clearly
heard, although he obviously avoided
slavish imitation and succeeded in remaining
his own man. Some of his pieces breathe
a lighter, Gallic air, as heard in the
delightful Trio for Flute, Oboe
and Piano in which Hindemith
rubs shoulders with Poulenc, e.g. in
the lovely pastoral second movement.
The Sonatina for Recorder
and Piano, one of his last works,
composed in 1939, is another worthy
piece of some substance and considerable
charm. The exquisite Air
for recorder and piano was published
as recently as 1996. It has since been
recorded by John Turner (Forsyth FS001/2).
The early Reverie
for violin and piano as well as the
undated Romance for piano
quintet, both salon music of the highest
order such as Bridge might have written
in his early years, are also very attractive
and enjoyable.
One of the most
impressive pieces here is the Student
String Quartet written when
Leigh was a pupil of Hindemith in Berlin.
A free sonata, full of imaginative counterpoint,
still somewhat redolent of Leigh’s teacher,
is followed by a short bustling Scherzo.
The beautiful Lento espressivo
is another little gem characterised
by long-breathed melodic lines that
MacDonald rightly compares with the
melodic outpourings of another of Leigh’s
contemporaries, Michael Tippett. The
concluding Molto vivace brings
the piece to its lively close. As it
turns out, this is no prentice effort,
but an early, highly accomplished piece
that undoubtedly deserves to be heard.
I am sure that any budding composer
would be proud of such "student"
work.
In short, this well-filled
release is most welcome, filling important
gaps and shedding interesting light
on the output of a most distinguished
composer whose untimely death in tragic
circumstances deprived the British musical
scene of a highly personal, utterly
sincere and endearing composer. I wish
that this release might encourage Lyrita
to re-issue their excellent recordings,
were it only to mark the centenary of
Leigh’s birth. This is the loveliest
disc that I have heard recently.
Hubert Culot
Locrian Ensemble (Rita Manning, violinb;
Patrick Kiernan, violin; Philip Dukes, violac;
Justin Pearson, cello; Stacey Wotton, double
bass; Anna Noakes, fluted; John Anderson,
oboed; Martin Feinstein, recorderef;
Sophia Rahman, pianoabcdef) 
