Hellawell’s music has been well served by Metronome. This is their
third release entirely devoted to his music. Each volume explores
a decade of his composing career. The titles of many of Hellawell’s
works give an idea of what might have triggered their composition
rather than suggesting any programmatic concern. An example is
his series of works sharing the title “sound carvings”. This applies
to all the works recorded here.
Drawn from a few
lines from a poem by Apollinaire, Cors de chasse (“Hunting
Horns”) is an apt title for a short double concerto for trumpet,
trombone and orchestra. It is in one movement falling into six
main sections. The piece opens with a brisk dialogue between
different orchestral groups. The second section introduces an
animated conversation between the soloists. A more lightly scored
section follows, succeeded by a long chaconne building-up to
the work’s main climax. An accompanied cadenza leads into a
fast coda restoring the tempo of the opening section.
Weaver of Grass
for piano quintet with double-bass instead of cello is a series
of fragments. These suggest the many artefacts made of grass
by Angus McPhee during years of mental illness. This eventually
becomes a short set of variations which at first tend to coalesce
and finally rise to a furious and jazzy coda.
Driftwood on
Sand is Hellawell’s second string quartet, the first being
The Still Dancers (1992) also recorded by the
Vanbrugh Quartet and available on Metronome MET CD 1059. The
piece is built around two movements, each framed by a short
prelude. The main movements are fixed whereas the preludes may
be played in any order. The preludes are the “driftwood” of
the title whereas the main movements are its “sand”. The first
main movement is a substantial Largo while the second is a fast
one marked “Volante”. Such ‘open’ works may pose a problem as
far as recordings are concerned. It is now possible to preset
the order of the preludes in order to experience some of the
possibilities. This recording, however, presents an ordering
often used by the Vanbrugh Quartet. I find it quite convincing
but I must tell you the truth: I did not try to preset the preludes
in a different order. Anyway, Driftwood on Sand is by
far the most substantial work here and undoubtedly one of the
most beautiful.
The piano quartet
The Building of Curves is in two sections “balancing
active and contemplative pieces”. The work is partly conceived
as a celebration of Frank Gehry’s elaborately curved Guggenheim
Museum in Bilbao. The composer also mentions that “the shape
of the work was [for me] connected to Andrew Wiles’ solution
to Fermat’s theorem”. Thanks, but I must admit that I am none
the wiser for that. By the way, is not music essentially a building
of curves? Let this not deter you in any way for The Building
of Curves is a really fine work that repays repeated hearings
on purely musical ground.
The title of Dogs
and Wolves comes from an eponymous poem by Sorley MacLean.
In many respects, the piece is not unlike Cors de chasse
in that it, too, implies an endless quest (or hunt) which unfolds
in a clear narration. In the case of Dogs and Wolves,
the narration may be more closely linked to that suggested by
the poem which, however, is more about the quest for beauty
and eternal love. The restless opening climbs to what the composer
describes as a plateau where smaller ensembles have their own
say. The climax is followed by a calmer, almost static section
after which the restless chase is resumed heading towards the
abrupt conclusion.
Hellawell’s music
may be complex in conception but the end result is never intractable.
It is often quite beautiful and accessible, especially when
played with zest and commitment as here. This is a splendid
release that does this very distinguished composer’s music full
justice.
Hubert Culot
Hellawell’s music
on Metronome
Sound Carvings - Metronome METCD1029
Inside Story - Metronome METCD1059
Schubert Ensembleb;
RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartetc; Mark O’Keeffe (trumpet)a;
Jonas Bylund (trombone)a 
