RECORDING OF THE MONTH
A Forgotten English Romantic
Greville COOKE (1894-1989)
Piano works (see end of review for listing)
Gustav HOLST (1874-1934)
Nocturne (1930)
Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958)
A Little Piano Book (1934) (Valse Lente, Nocturne, Canon, Two-Part
Invention in F, Two-Part Invention in E flat, Two-Part Invention in G)
Duncan Honeybourne (piano)
rec. Turner Sims Concert Hall, University of Southampton, 14-15 February
2014
EM RECORDS EMRCD022 [76.42]
I have often related to anyone that would listen, that Greville Cooke’s
‘Cormorant Crag’ was a work I wanted to hear played by a fine pianist before
I leave this world. I first came across the piece in an advert on the back
of a now-forgotten piano album whilst sorting through a vast pile of music
at David Hughes second-hand bookshop in Llandudno. It was some time during
1972. I felt then, that this title was both evocative and picturesque. It
was some dozen years later that I found a complete printing of the sheet
music of ‘Cormorant Crag’ in the 1982 edition of the British Music
Society Journal. It was presented as part of an article by the late
Colin Scott-Sutherland on ‘Georgian Piano Music.’ Alas, it was well beyond
my ‘sight-reading’ or even ‘working very hard at it’ skills on the piano.
Yet, there was something about the figurations and patterns of the notes on
paper and the layout and structure of the chords that convinced me that my
earlier notions about this work were correct. I was able to ‘hear’ the music
in my head. I deemed it to be in the same genre as music by Frank Bridge,
John Ireland and Frank Bridge. I had to hear it performed.
I was delighted when Duncan Honeybourne e-mailed me to explain that he was
performing ‘Cormorant Crag’ at the 2014 English Music Festival. Other works
by Cooke were to be included. Unfortunately, (?) I was on a Baltic Cruise on
the day of his performance, but he assured me that the CD was being issued
at the same time. It was a dream come true. 42 years after first coming
across this piece, I sat down and listened. I was not disappointed: it is
everything I imagined - and much more. Cooke wrote a masterpiece of the
‘genre’ that is as good as, or even better than, many of his ‘rivals’.
Greville Cooke was born in 1894 and soon displayed an interest in music.
Throughout his life, his musical activities were conducted alongside a
career as a clergyman in the Church of England. He had good education at
Hamilton House, Ealing before going up to the Royal Academy of Music. After
studying with Tobias ‘Uncle Tobs’ Matthay, he went to Christ’s College,
Cambridge as an organ scholar. Following a succession of qualifications he
was ordained to the Anglican priesthood in 1918. There is no record of any
war service. In fact he seems to have been studying during the entire war.
Cooke received his B.A. and B.Mus. in 1916.
After ordination he had ‘livings’ in Tavistock, Ealing, St Paul’s Cransley
and Buxted. His final appointment, in 1955, was as a non-residential canon
of Peterborough Cathedral. His incumbencies could not have been too
stressful: he was concurrently a professor at the Royal Academy between 1925
and 1959 and was also in demand as an adjudicator at local music
festivals.
Cooke’s musical catalogue inevitably included a number of anthems and
hymns for ecclesiastical use: strangely no organ solos were written - as far
as I can tell. On the secular side, he wrote songs, incidental music, a
short Prelude for String Orchestra and a number of choral works. His main
contribution is a small number of well-crafted piano works which maintain a
subtle balance between being romantic and impressionistic.
Greville Cooke died in 1989 at a very convincing, and encouraging, 95
years old.
The present CD contains the majority of the piano music in Greville
Cooke’s catalogue. This is complemented by works written by Gustav Holst and
Ralph Vaughan Williams. I guess that Cooke’s piano works can be conveniently
classified into two groups. Firstly ‘didactic music’ designed to give
less-proficient players challenging and attractive pieces to play. The
second group are the artistically and technically demanding works that are
redolent of landscape: these represent some of the finest examples of
‘nature’ evocations in the literature.
The first piece of Cooke’s music that I actually heard was his haunting
‘High Marley Rest.’ This was named after Tobias Matthay’s house in Surrey, High Marley, which has extensive
views toward the English Channel. This residence became the focal point for
much entertaining and musical endeavour by Matthay. Honeybourne has quoted
some words by Tennyson that sum up the mood of this impressionistic
piece:-
This red flower, which on our terrace here
Glows in the blue of fifty miles away
Green Sussex, fading into blue
With one grey glimpse of the sea.
‘Whispering Willows’ has a rather banal title which belies the musical
quality of the piece. It was written for the composer-teacher-pianist York
Bowen. This is music that cleverly paints a picture of a river, dappled
trees and a warm day. The pianism is subtle and quite complex, yet never
obscuring the basic simplicity of the mood.
I am not too sure about Cooke’s ‘Gothic Prelude’. Duncan Honeybourne
considers it to be ‘… one of Greville Cooke’s most striking and original
creations.’ He notes the ‘dark colour’ and the ‘torrential passion.’ There
are some lyrical moments as well as a really ‘big tune’ that sounds as if it
were written for a film. However, I find it all a little over the top: a bit
too relentless. Why Gothic? I am not sure. It is possible that Honeybourne
is right in suggesting that it would ‘work’ as an orchestral piece; I feel
that there is too much intensity and too wide a disparity of musical styles
for it to be satisfying in such a short duration. I just need to hear it a
few more times.
On the other hand In the Cathedral is very different, even
introverted. It is very simply written with much imitation of themes and
phrases: the climax is well contrived, without being overbearing. It is
probably the least ‘romantic’ of Cooke’s works presented on this disc. There
is a magic here that offers up an almost meditative feel that would not be
out of place in a house of worship.
The ‘late’ Song Prelude (1955) is a little gem that wholly evokes the
English countryside. It was subtitled ‘Harvest-tide Cransley, 1954’, which
refers to the parish of Cooke’s incumbency at that time. This is an autumnal
piece that is perfectly stated and ideally catches the mood of the
season.
The temper of Haldon Hills is also largely pastoral and
reflective. Honeybourne notes the ‘rapt evocation of stillness’ that Cooke
creates. The score is prefaced by a poem written by the composer and
defining the mood. It is included in full in the liner notes. There is
nothing ‘out of place’ or ‘negative’ in these pages: just a contemplation of
‘the mists of gold and grey’ of Haldon Hills with their view towards the
sea. It is a miniature masterpiece.
Meadowsweet is a little character-piece composed in a
delightfully romantic style during the 1920s. It is reticent, largely
self-explanatory and quite beautiful.
Reef’s End is another hugely impressive piece of impressionistic
piano writing. It was composed in the early 1930s for the Matthay protégé
Vivian Langrish. The material of this complex sound-world is more chromatic
than much of Cooke’s music and is piquantly dissonant in it powerful
evocation of the scene. The technical devices that the composer uses to
create the seascape are tried and tested – arpeggios, a wide range of
dynamics, a shattering climax and chromatic figurations. Yet the piece is
totally successful at creating a haunting, musical picture of some lonely,
reef somewhere off the coast of the West Country.
I have noted Cormorant Crag above: this piece takes its title
from a novel by George Manville Fenn written in 1895 and subtitled A
Tale of Smuggling. It was dedicated to Egerton Tidmarsh, who was
another former pupil of Tobias Matthay.
Over the Hills – A Suite of Three Short Piano Pieces (1929) is a
charming example of a short collection with less-experienced players in
mind. This is not patronising music, but is a finely wrought set of musical
pictures which capture the innocence of childhood — whatever age we are. The
three pieces are well balanced with the thoughtful ‘So Fair a Field’ flanked
by a dance-like, but just a little sad, ‘Skip-Step’ and a heart-achingly
beautiful ‘Tree-Top Lullaby’ which opens the set.
The Bargain Basement Suite (1936), is hardly in the same league
as ‘Cormorant Crag’, nevertheless it is a fine set of ‘character-pieces’
that goes well beyond typical contributions by composers to this genre.
There is a dry wit and a sense of fun about these seven short pieces that is
wholly refreshing. Honeybourne suggests that we should not take these
numbers ‘too seriously.’ I agree. The quality of the workmanship of each
number is superb. Although this suite is not technically problematic, this
is not simply ‘teaching music’: it deserves to be heard in its entirety,
played by a professional pianist. Look out for the Scottish-flavoured
‘Genuine Reproduction’.
The final ‘suite’ by Greville Cooke presented on this CD is ‘Three Pieces’
dating from 1929. These, like Over the Hills, provide interesting
and challenging material for the less-experienced player. Duncan Honeybourne
notes that the ‘transcendental complexities’ of Cooke’s more ‘virtuosic’
pieces is not present in these suites. This was a feature of a number of
composers at this time. One need only think of the many suites and
individual pieces by Alec Rowley, Felix Swinstead and Thomas Dunhill. Yet
each of these composers also wrote works that are technically demanding and
containing deeper thoughts than the music for which they are best
remembered.
Gustav Holst’s ‘Nocturne’ was a relatively late piece, which along with
the ‘Jig’ was written for the composer’s daughter, Imogen. There are
precious few piano pieces by Holst, most of which are relatively minor works
within the canon. However, the present haunting ‘Nocturne’ is a
perfectly-written example of the composer’s art, which encompasses a wide
variety of emotions in a short form. The right hand figuration is supported
by a ‘tune’ in perfect fifths. The middle section is agitated and has
considerably more angst. Other versions of this work available on CD are by
Anthony Goldstone and John McCabe.
Ralph Vaughan Williams is not noted for his piano music. The Little
Piano Book was issued in 1934 and was originally entitled Six
Teaching Pieces for Pianoforte. This is clearly pedagogical material in
which the composer addressed a number of technical issues including
part-playing and ‘lively articulation and accentuation’. This is not dry
music: the quality of each piece belies its original title. Honeybourne
selects the beautiful ‘luminous’ ‘Nocturne’ for especial mention. Yet, for
me it is RVW’s approach to the ‘invention’ that catches the ear. These
contrapuntal forms are hardly regular features in the composer’s music, yet
he managed to imbue them with a magic that removes them from simple workaday
teaching pieces.
This CD is superbly presented in every way. The liner-notes, written by
Duncan Honeybourne are excellent, informative and interesting. The standard
of playing is of the highest order: the recording is outstanding. Even the
title of the CD – ‘A Forgotten Romantic’ – lends enchantment to this
project.
As for the music, Greville Cooke is everything I always imagined he would
be. The best of his music — ‘Cormorant Crag’, ‘High Marley Rest’, ‘Haldon
Hills’ and ‘Reef’s End’ — hold their own against any piano music
composed around the same time and in similar genre. This includes Ireland,
Bridge and Baines. This EM Records CD deserves to be a success: in spite of
this being a byway of British music there is so much to interest, entertain
and move in the pages of Greville Cooke’s piano works. The RVW and Holst
give ‘added value’.
I would love to think that Duncan Honeybourne, who is a considerable
champion for Cooke’s music, would turn his attention and skills to the likes
of Harry Farjeon, Leo and Evangeline Livens, Thomas Dunhill and Alec
Rowley.
John France
And a further review ...
John France alerted me to Duncan Honeybourne’s Greville Cooke
lecture-concert in Leominster earlier this year (27 April 2014). Before
attending that concert I had heard only a couple of Cooke’s works on
You-Tube courtesy of piano-hero, Philip Sear on You-Tube (Reef’s
End and High Marley Rest). I had known of Cooke through an
article on Georgian piano music in an early 1980s issue of the British Music
Society annual journal.
As with so many trajectories of musical discovery this one starts with a
name and a list of works. If you are fortunate you then get to hear one or
two works. So it was with me and Cooke. Cooke had a gift for making and
choosing titles quite apart from the music itself. Cormorant Crag
as a name certainly gripped my imagination and held it firm for some thirty
years before I heard the piece itself.
The present CD from Mr Honeybourne and EM records instantly claims an
eminent place in the annals of British recorded music. The performances
catch both the storm and crash of these pieces, their willowy poetry,
whimsical wit and flickering dappled fantasy. Cooke is fortunate in having
found such a champion. Likewise the recording is well up to standard; it has
to be because Cooke and Honeybourne are given to great startling climaxes as
well as lyrical rumination.
You might perhaps suspect that this is light music and that our
‘discovery’ is in the line of Billy Mayerl. It isn’t. The music belongs in
the company of that of other British musicians of the last century including
William Baines, Arnold Bax and John Ireland. The more dramatic pieces
including the Gothic Prelude take their place alongside the Chopin
Scherzos and the Rachmaninov Etudes-Tableaux. Even the
more relaxed pastoral vignettes have a well placed climax which Mr
Honeybourne times and weights with great good judgement.
It is good to have the Holst and the RVW but I could willingly have done
without those if we could have had more Greville Cooke. That would be my
only criticism.
Watch out for Duncan Honeybourne’s recitals. He has already presented
Cooke at this year’s English Music
Festival. I strongly suspect that there will be more from him. I hope
that his questing inclinations will continue. This is not his first CD for
EM Records. His wide-ranging Moeran (and others) double set is well worth
exploring too (review).
Rob Barnett
Track listing (Cooke)
‘Gothic Prelude’ (1952)
‘High Marley Rest’ (1933)
‘Whispering Willows’ (1952)
‘In the Cathedral’ (1929)
Over the Hills: A Suite of Three Short Pieces (1934) (Tree-Top
Lullaby, So Fair a Field, Skip-Step)
Song Prelude (1955)
‘Cormorant Crag’ (1934)
Bargain Basement : A Suite of Seven Pieces (1936) (Good Morning,
Mr Harridge, Oddment (Superior Quality), Throw-Out (Greatly Reduced),
Genuine Reproduction (Excellent Value), Cheap Line (Absolutely not to be
repeated), Going for a Song (Yours for a tenor, fiver, 3d), Remnant (Only
one left))
‘Haldon Hills’ (Devon) (1929)
‘Meadowsweet’ (1929)
Three Pieces (1929) (A Sunny Morning, In the Park (Afternoon), An Evening
Lullaby))
Sundown (1953)
‘Reef's End’ (1934)
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