York BOWEN (1884-1961)
Symphony No. 1 in G, Op. 4 (1902) (première recording) [29:58]
Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 31 (1909) [43:12]
BBC Philharmonic/Sir Andrew Davis
rec. 10-11 October 2010, Studio 7, New Broadcasting House, Manchester. DDD.
CHANDOS CHAN 10670 [73:23]
York Bowen’s music has been enjoying something of a renaissance in recent
years, at least on disc, thanks to the efforts of enterprising independent
labels such as Chandos, Dutton and Hyperion. This important issue brings us
the first-ever recording of his First Symphony and restores the Second Symphony
to the catalogue.
The First Symphony was penned while Bowen, then aged eighteen, was still a
student at the Royal Academy of Music. It appears that the work had to wait
until 2010 for its long-delayed first performance when it was at last revealed
thanks to the enterprise of the English
Music Festival. Cast in three movements and scored for a moderately sized
orchestra it makes an extremely pleasing impression. The first movement is
full of charm and ease – and precocious confidence – and the music is most
attractive, not least the lovely, graceful second subject, (first heard at
2:15). Throughout the movement the scoring is transparent and commendably
light; indeed, this is a feature of the whole work. In his excellent notes
Robert Matthew-Walker refers to “a natural warmth of direct expression” and
I’d say that’s particularly true of the second movement. This opens with a
beguiling theme on the clarinet and the whole movement just seems to sing
from start to finish. The finale is lively and engaging; its opening material
sounds scherzo-like. Later (at around 4:40 and again at 8:58) there’s a brief
passage that’s so reminiscent of Schumann that it sounds almost like a direct
quote.
This symphony may not be, perhaps, a work to set the world alight but it’s
charming and very skilfully fashioned and much too enjoyable to languish unplayed
on a library shelf somewhere. Sir Andrew Davis and the excellent BBC Philharmonic
make the best possible case for it.
Seven years separate the two symphonies and it would appear that this period
of time saw a step-change in Bowen’s compositional skills and confidence.
The First Symphony was assured but its successor is assertive, especially
in the first and last of its four movements. The scoring is much more expansive
in the later work, including a very resourceful and effective harp part and
a six-strong horn section – Bowen played the horn, as well as the viola,
to professional standard as well as being a prodigiously talented pianist.
The first movement of the Second lasts only about a minute longer than the
corresponding movement of the First but it feels more expansive and ambitious.
Bowen seems to me to handle his material with confidence and he scores the
music effectively and, indeed, with some flair. There’s an urgency and power
in the writing that wasn’t present in the previous symphony and Bowen’s readiness
to use the brass section is especially noticeable - arguably the brass writing
is a bit over-enthusiastic at times.
The second movement starts with a ripe horn solo – how Bowen must have enjoyed
allocating the melody to his own instrument! – underpinned by what Robert
Matthew-Walker rightly calls “a richly upholstered texture”. It’s an impressive
movement, containing a couple of passionate, though not overwrought climaxes.
My ear was caught particularly by Bowen’s evocative writing for the harp.
The scherzo, which comes next, is deft and light – one imagines an early twentieth-century
Mendelssohn. The music is expertly scored – note the effective and rather
unusual writing for the contrabassoon. The entire movement is a delight, right
up to the delicate final pay-off. The finale is sweeping and confident. Again,
Bowen’s scoring, if somewhat on the full side at times, is most interesting
and resourceful and the melodic impulse of the music is strong, as has been
the case throughout the symphony. The movement is given an ardent performance
by Davis and the BBC Philharmonic, who play with great conviction but, to
be honest, that statement is equally applicable to the entire performance.
The Second Symphony has been recorded before, by Douglas Bostock (review).
His version, through which I first got to know the piece, is a good one but
it’s no longer available, I believe, and it was not included in the recent
boxed set that contained many of Bostock’s recordings of English music (review).
In any case, the coupling of the First Symphony on this new Chandos is a more
logical one and this, plus the quality of Sir Andrew Davis’s performance,
would make it a clear first choice anyway. I learned from Brian Wilson’s review
of the download version of this release that Chandos originally planned to
invite the late Vernon Handley to conduct these recordings and that after
his death Rumon Gamba was mooted as a replacement. But while I’m sure either
of those conductors would have done Bowen’s music full justice by no stretch
of the imagination should Sir Andrew Davis be thought of as a third choice.
He conducts with great belief in the scores, both of which he invests with
life, energy and a strong lyrical impulse. His contribution to this release
is absolutely first class and further enhances his reputation as a formidable
champion of British music.
I’m sure Sir Andrew would be quick to acknowledge the superb, responsive and
committed playing by the BBC Philharmonic. So assured is their playing that
one might think these were repertoire pieces. They’re very far from that and
they’re never likely to be. My advice to admirers of York Bowen’s music and,
indeed, to anyone interested in British music of the twentieth century, would
be to snap up this excellent release without delay. These symphonies may not
quite rank with the great symphonies by Elgar, Vaughan Williams or Walton
but they have a great deal to offer and will reward careful listening.
The Chandos recordings are in the finest traditions of the house and, as I’ve
already indicated, the booklet notes are first class.
John Quinn
Anyone interested in British music of the twentieth century should snap up this excellent release without delay.