The virtues of Moeran’s
stunning Symphony in G minor
and his sprightly Sinfonietta
are well known to collectors, thanks
in no small measure to recordings by
Boult on Lyrita. More recently there
have been excellent versions by Vernon
Handley and David Lloyd-Jones, although
these works remain rarities in the concert
hall. Despite a fine Chandos recording
by Raphael Wallfisch and the Bournemouth
Sinfonietta under Norman del Mar, Moeran’s
Cello Concerto has remained one of his
least known pieces. A pity, for it contains
some of his most memorable invention.
The Concerto’s opening
Moderato is launched with brooding
figures - not unlike the beginning of
Bax’s Fifth Symphony - suggesting a
darkness that is rare in Moeran. For
all the music’s intensity, Moeran is
careful never to allow his soloist to
be swamped by the orchestral forces;
he was aware that Peers Coetmore was
essentially a chamber music player and
did not possess the big tone of a true
concert-hall cellist. The central section
is more stormy, and Boult and the LPO
grasp the nettle with a dynamic projection
of the music to contrast with the more
restrained opening. In the lyrical Adagio
the composer spins one of his most memorable
melodies, while the final Allegretto
takes as its inspiration the rhythms
of Moeran’s favourite Irish jigs.
Boult’s 1969 Lyrita
LP of the Concerto, coupled with the
Overture for a Masque and the
Second Rhapsody, might have propelled
the work to greater fame had the performance
not been hamstrung by the soloist’s
distinctly fallible traversal of the
solo part. It was a touching idea to
engage Coetmore to reprise her performance
of these works for posterity – she was,
after all, their dedicatee and first
performer – but in reality the performances
are technically imperfect, with frequent
intonation problems and difficulties
with passagework that any decent cello
student would have taken in their stride.
Moeran’s Cello Concerto is not a virtuoso
work by any means, but a greater degree
of assurance is needed to project the
music with maximum effect. Here and
there Coetmore does indeed phrase the
music with memorable affection (notably
in the slow movement) but overall one
is left feeling frustrated. Paul Conway’s
booklet note tells us that she had almost
given up performing in public, and I’m
afraid it shows. Boult and the LPO do
their best do provide an inspiring framework
for their wayward soloist.
The Cello Sonata
and Prelude originally appeared
coupled with several solo piano works
played by Eric Parkin; in Peers Coetmore’s
contributions we have the same mixture
of occasional insight and affectionate
phrasing set at naught by sub-standard
playing. A pity; the Sonata is one of
Moeran’s most finely-wrought works.
Commentators are agreed on the work’s
structural and thematic strengths; these
are also displayed to better advantage
by Raphael Wallfisch in his Chandos
recording.
Ewan McCormick
See also Reviews
by Rob Barnett and John
France (who has a quite different
view of this disc)
Also available:-
SRCD.247
Moeran Symphony; Overture for a Masque
SRCD.248
Moeran Violin Concerto
SRCD.266
Baines/Moeran Piano Music
for details
Peers Coetmore (cello) Eric Parkin (piano)
