Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor Rob Barnett Editor in Chief
John Quinn Contributing Editor Ralph Moore Webmaster
David Barker Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf MusicWeb Founder Len Mullenger
William ALWYN (1905-1985) Elizabethan Dances (1956-7) [17:33] The Innumerable Dance – An English Overture (1933)
[10:37] Concerto for Oboe, Harp and Strings (1943-44) [18:51] Aphrodite in Aulis – An Eclogue for Small Orchestra
after George Moore (1932) [5:09] Symphonic Prelude “The Magic Island” (1952) [10:53] Festival March (1951) [8:05]
Jonathan
Small (oboe) Eleanor Hudson (harp)
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/David Lloyd-Jones
rec. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, 19-22 January 2006. DDD NAXOS 8.570144 [71:08]
The
fruits of the partnership between Naxos and David Lloyd-Jones
have surely developed into something way beyond the early
expectations of either record company or listener. Whilst
the breadth and technical quality of the Naxos catalogue
have continued to grow apace, in Lloyd –Jones we have found
a conductor that could be said to rival Vernon Handley in
both his championship and interpretation of British music.
The
Lloyd-Jones Alwyn orchestral cycle here reaches its fifth
instalment and in doing so turns away from the symphonies
and concertos to an intriguing blend of familiarity in the
form of the Elizabethan Dances and The Magic Island,
allied with the unfamiliar in The Innumerable Dance and Aphrodite
in Aulis. The latter two works have not seen the light
of day in over seventy years.
The
suite of six Elizabethan Dances has long been one
of Alwyn’s most popular pieces, although to describe this
as light music would be potentially to trivialise the quality
of the composer’s work. The pieces were however commissioned
by the BBC for its Light Music Festival of 1957. As with
all of Alwyn’s music they are beautifully crafted, both in
terms of the inspiration and the orchestration, alternating
music that calls on the times of Elizabeth I and Elizabeth
II for its contrasting moods. It is the slower of the dances
that truly lingers in the mind, the wonderfully languid waltz
that sits second in the suite and the penultimate dance,
a beautiful Poco Allegretto e semplice that distantly
and hauntingly echoes the earlier waltz. Many will be familiar
with Alwyn’s own recording of the Elizabethan Dances on
Lyrita, and a fine recording it is, although Lloyd-Jones
and the RLPO here provide a very viable alternative at bargain
price.
The
Innumerable Dance – An English Overture, dates
from Alwyn’s twenty-eighth year and as such reflects a
less individual though no less finely honed compositional
voice. Drawing its title and inspiration from the second
book of William Blake’s Milton, the work is an evocation
of spring in which the influence of several composers flits
across the surface of the music. Not that this fact detracts
from the overall result, which is both beautifully orchestrated
and charming. It is hard to believe that this is music
that has gathered dust for so long and entirely fitting
that the RLPO give it a thoroughly convincing premiere
recording.
In
the Concerto for Oboe, Harp and String Orchestra of
ten years later there is still the occasional reminder of
the origins of Alwyn’s stylistic language - Delius is the
most prominent voice - but there is also a sense of refinement
of that language. In two substantial movements, the first
a pastoral Andante e rubato and the second a lively Vivace, it
is the oboe that figures most prominently whilst Alwyn’s
writing for the instrument is exquisite in its nuance and
subtlety.
By
the time of the Symphonic Prelude “The Magic Island” Alwyn
was at the height of his powers and it is immediately obvious
why. From the opening bars the composer creates a gripping
sense of drama in what is effectively a tone poem based on
Shakespeare’s immortal passage from The Tempest commencing “the
isle is full of noises”. Alwyn quotes the complete passage
at the head of the score. The work easily ranks alongside
the finest of the Bax tone poems and although Lloyd-Jones
and the RLPO cannot quite eclipse the power of the composer’s
own recording on Lyrita, it runs it pretty close.
That
leaves two relative miniatures in the form of Aphrodite
in Aulis – An Eclogue forSmall Orchestra after George
Moore, and the Festival March of 1951. The Eclogue predates The
Innumerable Dance by only twelve months and is another
charmingly engaging if brief work that is utterly undeserving
of its neglect. In many ways the Festival March is
less successful. Written on a grand scale for the 1951 Festival
of Britain and very much in the manner of Elgar, or perhaps
more fittingly Walton’s Crown Imperial and Orb
and Sceptre, the piece does not possess the thematic
clout to have kept it in the repertoire to the degree of
either the Elgar or the Walton. It does however provide a
rousing conclusion to the disc.
With
two premiere recordings included, Alwyn enthusiasts cannot
afford to be without this disc, which represents another
notable success in Naxos’s championship of a still underrated
composer. Roll on the chamber music later in the year.
Christopher Thomas
Reviews
from previous months Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the
discs reviewed. details We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin
Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to
which you refer.