Brian EASDALE (1909-1995)
The Red Shoes - Ballet (1948) [15:39]
Kew Gardens - Suite for Chamber Orchestra (1936) [6:49]
Black Narcissus - Suite for Chorus and Orchestra (1947) [13:55]
The Battle of the River Plate - Prelude and March for Orchestra (1956)
[5:44]
Adventure On! - Suite for Orchestra - A musical progress for Sir John
Barbirolli and the Hallé Orchestra (1957) [19:00]
Gone to Earth - Suite for Chorus and Orchestra (1950) [14:49]
BBC National Chorus of Wales/Adrian Partington
BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Rumon Gamba
Cynthia Millar (ondes martenot) (Red Shoes)
rec. BBC Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, Wales, 8-10 March 2010
CHANDOS CHAN 10636 [76:42]
As a teenager I was much more impressed by The Battle of the River Plate
than with The Red Shoes. In those days television regularly showed
old black-and-white films on the three channels then available. Certainly
the high-paced action of John Gregson, Anthony Quayle and Patrick Macnee was
infinitely preferable to Moira Shearer and Leonide Massine in a movie about
‘ballet.’ As a youngster I wanted to join the Navy: I never wanted
to be a ballet dancer. However, I must confess that I do not recall the music
as being an integral part of either these films.
Life moves on: I never did join the Navy: however I have come to enjoy ballet.
With the advent of video and DVD it is possible to watch these two films any
time I choose. Ever since discovering that Alan Rawsthorne wrote the music
for The Cruel Sea I have read the film credits looking to see who the
composer of the score was. As an aside, the number of times British films
involve Muir Mathieson is unbelievable. It was only quite recently I noticed
that Brian Easdale had written the score for The Red Shoes.
It is no part of a review of film music to discuss the plots and sub-plots
of the film, if for no other reason than many listeners may not have seen
the movie. Plot spoilers are not helpful. However four things need to be said
about the score to The Red Shoes.
Firstly, this is superb music that should be in the repertoire of all orchestras
alongside British ballet scores by Lord Berners, Constant Lambert and William
Walton. Secondly the score as realised by John Wilson is actually quite short:
some of the individual elements are between one and two minutes long. Yet
there is a lot of musical activity packed into these nine sections. Thirdly
it is possible to play ‘hunt the influence’ here to one’s
heart’s content. Apart from the three above-mentioned composers one
can detect the sound-world of Arthur Bliss, Maurice Ravel and Arnold Bax.
However this is no criticism. These were all composers of ballet masterworks
and would surely have been the stylistic model of any composer writing a film
score about a troupe of ballet dancers.
Finally, I have to make the only negative comment about this entire CD. I
wish Easdale had not used the ondes martenot. It is an instrument that (for
me) gives any music a kind of ‘Star Trek’ feel that is
unwarranted. I know that mine will probably be a minority view on this issue.
Yet, it does not detract too much from what is a sumptuous and well ordered
piece of music. The mood is typically romantic with a sinister undertow. The
orchestration (ondes martenot notwithstanding) is totally brilliant.
One of my discoveries of 2011 has been the short suite based on music derived
from the film Secrets of Kew Gardens. This was one of Brian Easdale’s
earliest contributions to the world of film music. This documentary charts
the course of the seasons in the context of the work at the Royal Botanical
Gardens. Philip Lane has taken the original score which was for chamber ensemble
and has slightly expanded the orchestration. The Suite is in four movements
- an Introduction and Allegro, Spring Flowers, Summer Sequence
and a Finale.
The music is extremely attractive albeit short - it all seems to be over far
too soon. Easdale has managed to create an impressionistic mood that is wholly
English - without falling into Delian clichés. This is especially evident
in the shimmering Summer Sequence. Neither has he succumbed to the
temptation of folk-song. This short suite is a superb standalone miniature
that portrays one of the most magical places in London with equally imaginative
and magical music.
Black Narcissus is not a film I would choose to watch, although I concede
that it was something of a hit when it appeared on screens in 1947. I guess
stories about ‘religious’ orders in faraway locations struggling
with their sexuality is just not my bag. However the music is a totally different
matter. The present suite has been realised for chorus and orchestra and presents
music taken from a number of key scenes from the film. Easdale has created
an exquisite score that reflects the vastness and remoteness of the Himalayas
where the action is largely set. However two of the movements are actually
flashbacks to a time before one of the leading protagonists took holy orders.
The choral music in the Irish Song certainly pushes towards an almost
John Tavener-esque sound-world. It is heart-breakingly beautiful. The interlude
depicting Sister Ruth and Mr. Dean is reflective. I did love the wild
Hunting Song which once again looks back to days spent in Ireland.
This is impressive choral writing of an almost Orffian kind! The final ‘death
scene’ is scary, but ultimately effective music.
Stylistically this music is an Aladdin’s cave of allusion. The Editor
notices Bax, Delius and Ravel. One could add a fair few more. However, Easdale
never writes pastiche or parodies. Certainly it could have been a dangerous
temptation to have written some tacky music in the style of Albert Ketèlbey’s
In a Monastery Garden or In a Chinese Garden. For the time it
was composed, this was an advanced score: it well deserves it place on this
CD.
Although I accept that the music for The Battle of the River Plate
is not quite as impressive as Walton’s music for The Battle of Britain,
I find something quite dark and menacing in both the Prelude and the March
that is perhaps less romantically overblown but has a touch of seriousness
that is entirely appropriate to the story the Graf Spee and its scuttling.
Great stuff!
The Suite from Adventure On! is an absolute treat. This is an impressionistic
trip around the world that is both satisfying and totally evocative of the
places visited - without ever becoming ‘kitsch’. Phillip Lane
in the liner-notes likens this work to Jacques Ibert’s fine orchestral
work Escales. Its origins lay in a musical score for a documentary
about Massey Ferguson tractors. This trade-film naturally showed their machines
in operation in all corners of the world. Easdale recycled some of this music
and created a suite which was subtitled ‘A musical progress for Sir
John Barbirolli and the Halle Orchestra’. Places taken in on the tour
include Africa, Aden, India and a final progress from Malaya to Fiji. This
is a long (20 minutes) work that at times become almost symphonic in its scale
and scope: the orchestration is vivid and sensitive. All in all, this is a
wonderful discovery.
Perhaps it is better to lay the rather trivial plot of the film Gone to
Earth aside when listening to the suite derived from the score. This is
not always easy music to listen to. For example The Hunt of the Death Pack
is not a bucolic idyll of huntsmen dressed in pink on a jolly. It is a man
or woman being chased to a literal death. Certainly the choral writing in
this piece at times nods towards a minimalistic mood which is certainly surprising
for a score written in 1950! There is a little bit of sweetness and light
in this music, yet most of it is deep, profound and troubled. Listening to
this suite makes me wish that Easdale had contributed a symphony to the repertoire.
There is something inherently beautiful (in spite of its troublesome nature)
about much of this music that seems to defy analysis and probably transcends
the film for which it was originally composed.
Like every other CD in the Chandos Film Music series, the quality of production
is excellent. The BBC National Orchestra of Wales plays these scores with
huge enthusiasm under conductor Rumon Gamba. The programme notes are helpful,
in spite of some hard-to-read white text superimposed on grey photographs.
However, the selection of historical photographs of the composer and also
a number of stills from the films make this an attractive all-round production.
Finally, all British music enthusiasts owe a tremendous debt to Philip Lane
for his sterling work in producing performing editions of these film scores.
Without his sheer hard work most of this music would go unheard, except on
rare re-runs of these films on TV or in DVD players. However, John Wilson
must also be congratulated on preparing the score for The Red Shoes.
All in all, this is a tremendous achievement.
And finally, what of Manchester-born Brian Easdale (1909-1995)? It would be
easy to assume that he was merely a film-music composer. Yet his catalogue
covers a wide range of interesting and tantalising pieces. There are the three
operas, Rapunzel, The Corn King and The Sleeping Children.
Certainly his orchestral music could make an attractive Dutton Epoch release
and would include Five Pieces for Orchestra, Six Poems and Tone Poem. And
then there is the Concerto Lyrico for piano and orchestra. There are
also chamber works, songs, organ and piano pieces. Finally, one major desideratum
must be the Missa Coventriensis.
This present excellent CD must surely act as a catalyst for a deeper exploration
of Easdale’s music.
John France
This present excellent CD must surely act as a catalyst for a deeper exploration
of Easdale’s music.
see also review by Rob Barnett and the article by Philip Scowcroft