RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Benjamin DALE (1885-1943)
Sonata in D minor (1905) [47:48]
William HURLSTONE (1876-1906)
Sonata in F minor (1895) [31:34]
Mark Bebbington (piano)
rec. CBSO Centre, Birmingham, 5-6 January 2006. DDD
SOMM SOMMCD 097 [79:30]
I have long known that William Hurlstone wrote a Piano Sonata: Katherine Hurlstone
mentioned it in her book about her brother, but like many such pieces I imagined
that it had disappeared into oblivion. However, four or five years ago, I
heard Mark Bebbington play this Sonata at a recital at St. John’s Smith Square.
I was bowled over and looked forward to the day when it would be recorded.
The other works played at that recital were the present massive Sonata by
Benjamin Dale and the well-known masterpiece by Frank Bridge.
Hurlstone
has been reasonably well served by the recording industry. Many years ago
Lyrita issued the Piano Concerto and the Swedish Variations (SRCS 100/SRCD
2286). A number of years later they surprised many people with the Variations
on an Original Theme, Variations on a Hungarian Air and The Magic Mirror
Suite (SRCD
208). A number of chamber pieces have also been released, including the
Four
Characteristic Pieces for clarinet and piano, the sonatas for bassoon
and for violin.
However it was the Piano Sonata that was my desideratum. And what a great
work it turned out to be. If this had been written by a German or a Russian
it would be in the repertoire of every pianist in the land. Yet, Mark Bebbington
has claimed it for his own and has made himself a powerful advocate of this
great romantic work.
William Hurlstone’s Sonata was composed in 1895, when the composer was 19
years old. It is written in the traditional three movements: fast-slow-fast.
However, the present recording has the short ‘bridge’ andante between
the second and third movements as a separate track
A story that Katherine Hurlstone relates is worth repeating. She writes that
‘Sir Charles Stanford always said that he [Hurlstone] was his best pupil.’
Hurlstone ‘had submitted to the professor a piano sonata, and Sir Charles
was so pleased with the work that he called Pauer –the well known pianist,
who happened to be at the Royal College of Music at the time, that he might
hear it and pass his opinion on its merits. Pauer liked the sonata but thought
that it was too much on one key - a view which Stanford did not share. Hurlstone
was dismissed to the common room whilst the two professors discussed his efforts
in private. Now the threshold of the common room is never crossed by a professor,
but on this occasion, Stanford managed to put his head round the door whispering
defiantly “Stick to your key, my boy – stick to your key.”
Lisa Hardy has noticed in her book The British Piano Sonata 1870-1945
that Hurlstone makes use of cyclic themes, insofar as elements of the first
two movements appear in the final allegro vivace. Interestingly she
points out that Hurlstone’s Piano Sonata is a ‘showy piece, containing frequent
changes of metre, cross-rhythms, extended fast sections in octaves and frequent
modulations. It would seem the Pauer was listening to a different piece of
music!
It would be easy to write this sonata off as a parody, but this would be unfair.
Hurlstone has managed successfully and seamlessly to fuse a variety of styles
and moods, including an absorption of Schumann and Brahms. The heart of the
work is the very beautiful ‘andante ma non troppo’ with its ‘Chopinesque poetry’
and ‘rapid decorative chromatic scales’.
Finally, it would be helpful if an edition of this Sonata could be published
for study purposes. I accept that it is unlikely to be engraved or copied
onto Sibelius, but a facsimile of the holograph would be a great asset to
English music studies.
In 1992 Peter Jacobs issued a recording of the Benjamin Dale Sonata in D minor
on the Continuum label (CCD 1044). It was coupled with Prunella and
Night Fancies. This was a great enterprise which introduced British
music enthusiasts to one of the greatest and longest examples of the form
in the literature.
The Benjamin Dale Sonata is of epic proportions with only those by Kaikhosru
Shapurji Sorabji being longer. [Sorabji’s Sonata No.3 is some 83 minutes long!]
As Frederic Corder pointed out in the Musical Times, what ‘publisher in his
senses would dream of undertaking as a business proposition the production
of a Sonata, let alone one of over sixty pages in length and of extreme difficulty,
by a totally unknown writer?’ Yet the work was published as a part of the
Avison Edition, printed by Breitkopf and Härtel, through the auspices of the
Society of British Composers. It was subsequently published by Cary and Co,
which later became part of Novello.
The genesis of Dale’s Sonata is interesting. The work was begun in 1902 whilst
the composer was studying at the Royal Academy of Music. It was probably written
under the tutelage of Frederick Corder. However the Sonata was given to the
world in instalments, with the first movement being heard at the Royal Academy
of Music on 22 February 1905 by its dedicatee, York Bowen. Jeremy Dibble notes
that the work was first played in its entirety on 14 November 1905.
After this, Dale decided to submit the Sonata for a competition. Quoting Arthur
Hervey from The Musical Times (1 June 1919): ‘In 1906 the pianist Mark Hambourg
offered three prizes of twenty, ten and five guineas each for pianoforte works
of a serious character by British composers ... No fewer than sixty compositions
were received, and the first prize was awarded to Mr. Benjamin Dale for his
... sonata.’ As a matter of interest the second prize went to Percy Pitt and
his Fantasia Appassionato and Miss Emmeline Brook with a Scherzo.
However it was a disaster for Dale. Hambourg gave a truncated performance
– only the variations were played and the pianist interpreted these in a cavalier
way. The composer was furious and refused to join Hambourg on the stage and
even returned the prize money. Jeremy Dibble, in his excellent liner-notes,
reports that the work did have a subsequent success, being played by York
Bowen, John Tobin, Moura Lympany and Frank Merrick. It was highly regarded
by Cyril Scott and Joseph Holbrooke. However, in spite of two pianola rolls
of the work, it disappeared from view until the Jacobs recording in 1992.
Dale’s Piano Sonata is usually regarded as an extremely eclectic work. It
requires a considerable effort by the listener although its undoubted romantic
credentials make it a work that never repels or causes the listener to switch
off. The technical challenges of this work are huge. I have studied the score
and am amazed at just how involved and complex some of this piano writing
is. The form of the work is rather unusual. It is in four movements, or is
it only two? The opening ‘allegro deciso’ is fairly standard with some really
gorgeous pianism. However the subsequent slow movement, scherzo and finale
are all part of a grand set of theme and variations. (Slow Movement: Theme
and Variations 1-4, Scherzo: variations 5-7 and the Finale is the long last
variation.) Yet the balance and integrity of the work is never in doubt: however
it must be a difficult task for the pianist to make the work cohere and to
give attention to the constantly changing dynamics and moods.
What does the work actually sound like? Well, Lisa Hardy notes that it is
in the tradition of Liszt and his Sonata in B minor. Jeremy Dibble suggests
that Dale was “receptive to Brahms and Wagner as well as the Russians such
as Rachmaninov and Glazunov. Strauss has also been suggested as an influence.
However, I do want to insist that this Sonata is not a pastiche or a set of
variations in the style of a composer X, Y and Z. Benjamin Dale has managed
to absorb these influences and produce a credible, demanding and ultimately
successful tour de force. And let us not forget that he was only 18
or 19 when this work was penned.
I enjoyed this music: it is stunningly played by Mark Bebbington who brings
insight and inspiration to this truly gorgeous music – be it the intense dramatic
passages or those places where Dale is indulging in ‘heart’s-ease.’ This is
truly wonderful and demands our respect and our admiration. It will always
reveal something new to us and will never disappoint. It is truly a work of
genius. I love every single bar!
I guess that many readers of this review will have their list of ‘priorities’
amongst the many unrecorded piano sonatas. However, I will stick my neck out
and mention a few that I hope will attract Mark Bebbington’s attention. Top
of my list would be the impressive, if a little immature work, by Leo Livens.
The Sonata by Harry Farjeon is certainly worthy of the occasional outing even
if it does not appear to be on a par with the present two works. Many people
associate Alec Rowley with pedagogical music; however his two piano sonatas
are not ‘teaching’ music and deserve revival. And lastly it would be good
to have a recording of the unknown quantities of Benjamin Burrows, Lawrence
Collingwood and Richard Hall.
Finally, as a matter of interest, Benjamin Dale composed a major orchestral
tone poem called The
Flowing Tide: it is a work that surely demands to be released on CD.
Meanwhile listeners can enjoy two of the greatest twentieth century British
piano sonatas that are stunningly played by Mark Bebbington and are beautifully
recorded by Somm. And lastly, listeners should not forget Peter Jacobs’ pioneering
recording of the Dale Sonata. I would not want to make a decision between
these two recordings and ultimately believe that all enthusiasts of the British
Piano Sonata will demand both.
John France
Two of the greatest twentieth century British piano sonatas stunningly played
and beautifully recorded.