John Knowles PAINE (1839-1906)
Overture to Shakespeare's As You Like It, op.28 (1876)
[10:27]
Shakespeare's Tempest - Symphonic Poem, op.31 (1877)
[20:03]
Symphony no.1 in C minor, op.23 (1872-75) [40:08]
Ulster Orchestra/JoAnn Falletta
rec. Ulster Hall, Belfast, 15-16 October 2012.
NAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS 8.559747 [70:38]
I think I’ve heard most of the discs that JoAnn Falletta and
the Ulster Orchestra have made together for Naxos while she’s been
their Principal Conductor and I’ve enjoyed what I’ve heard.
There’s been a fine CD of less well-known music by Holst (review) and an important disc that includes an
excellent account of the Moeran Cello Concerto (review). On the strength of that disc I bought its companion,
which contains the three Rhapsodies (review). I think most, if not all, of
Falletta’s Ulster recordings to date have been of British music, which
is very pleasing, but it’s great to find her now breaking a lance in
Belfast for music by one of her compatriots,. John Knowles Paine.
I first came across Paine’s music a good few years ago when,
during a trip to the USA, I made a speculative purchase of the recordings of
his First Symphony (New World Records NW 374-2) and the Second Symphony ((NW
350-2) by the New York Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta. Those recordings were
made as long ago as 1989 and 1986 respectively. My enjoyment of those discs
led me to seek out a recording on the same label of Paine’s
substantial Mass in D (1872) (80262-2) and a recording on the GM label of
his oratorio St Peter (1873) (GM2027CD-2). Both of these were
conducted by Gunther Schuller. It’s been a while since I’ve
listened to either but my recollection is that the Mass is a work of no
little quality whereas I found St Peter rather harder going. The
truth is that, leaving aside issues of musical quality, the length of both
pieces probably works against them: the Mass plays - in Schuller’s
recording - for 101:18 and the oratorio is even longer at 125:17. Both works
require a solo quartet, chorus and orchestra. If, having sampled
Paine’s music through this new recording of his symphony, you are
inspired to investigate either of these choral works it seems from visiting
the websites of the respective labels that both of the aforementioned
recordings are still available, as are the Mehta recordings of the
symphonies. Some chamber works are also available.
Does Paine’s music repay further investigation? I think it
does. However, before considering the music it may be helpful to sketch in
some biographical background for which I’ve drawn not just on Frank K.
DeWald’s Naxos notes but also on the note by Steven Ledbetter that
accompanied the Mehta recording. Paine was born in Portland, Maine. His
father ran a music store and also made instruments. In 1858, after showing
early promise, Paine went to study in Berlin for three years. On his return
to the USA he first taught organ at Harvard University, becoming an
assistant professor at the university in 1873. Among his pupils over the
years were composers John Alden Carpenter, Arthur Foote, Daniel Gregory
Mason and the future critic, Olin Downes. Paine remained a highly respected
figure in American musical life for the rest of his life. His period of
study in Germany is significant for in the second half of the nineteenth
century American musical life was heavily influenced by German musicians who
had settled in the country and also by the Austro-German compositional
tradition. The music on this disc, all of which seems immaculately crafted,
is heavily - but beneficially - influenced by Mendelssohn, Schumann and
Beethoven.
Indeed, in his notes accompanying Mehta’s recording of the
First Symphony Steven Ledbetter includes a quotation from Gunther Schuller,
describing the work as ‘the best Beethoven symphony that Beethoven
didn’t write himself’. I understand what Schuller had in mind
but I’d suggest that the influences of Mendelssohn and Schumann are
greater in this score which has a valid claim to be the first American
symphony of any significance.
Mind you, Beethoven’s shadow looms large over the first
movement of Paine’s symphony if for no other reason than that he makes
great use of the dee-dee-dee-DAH rhythm that permeates
Beethoven’s opening movement, albeit the rhythm is not used in
anything like as dramatic and driving a fashion by Paine. There’s no
‘messing about’ with an introduction, either; Paine launches
into his Allegro con brio with great confidence. The music in this
movement is attractive and has no little character. It’s spirited
stuff and it’s played here with fine spirit. A dotted-note rhythm
predominates in the scherzo, and impels the music along nicely. The trio is
graceful and typifies the attractive way in which Paine writes for the
woodwind.
The Adagio is at the heart of this symphony. A nobly sung first
theme sets the tone for a warm and generously lyrical movement. This most
engaging music is played quite beautifully by the Ulster Orchestra. By
comparison, Mehta is sometimes more expansive in his pacing, though overall
his timing is virtually identical to Falletta’s; the younger
conductor, however, seems to me to impart a somewhat more natural flow. The
C major finale is outgoing and optimistic in tone. This is energetic,
confident music and it seems to me that JoAnn Falletta catches the mood
of the movement perfectly. Intriguingly Zubin Mehta’s account of the
movement takes some 2½ minutes less yet his core tempo doesn’t
seem significantly different. I don’t have access to a score but I
wonder if he makes any cuts. It’s this movement which mainly accounts
for the fact that Mehta’s performance of the symphony as a whole is
significantly shorter, coming in at 37:20 against Falletta’s 40:08.
Ms Falletta offers the Overture to Shakespeare's ‘As You
Like It’, as does Mehta. Although Paine called this an overture
to the play I don’t believe the piece was connected to any
performance or that it is programmatic in any way. The slow introduction
begins with a winning clarinet melody, in which the bassoon joins before
long, and the music soon gathers steam. The main body of the work (from
3:18) is a bracing allegro. This is a very likeable concert overture
and it gets a fine performance here.
Unlike Mehta, Miss Falletta offers a third work, which was
completely new to me. The Tempest symphonic poem is in four
continuous movements, though Naxos helpfully divide the work further, into
seven tracks in all. The second movement, ‘Calm and happy scene before
Prospero’s cell’, is most engaging; the music is calm and
contented and it’s expressively played. Immediately following is a
very short passage, ‘Ariel’, which features some delectable
writing for woodwind and harp. The finale is entitled ‘Episode with
Caliban’ and here Caliban sounds a pretty good-natured individual.
I’m not sure how this movement - or, indeed, quite a bit of the rest
of the work - relates to Shakespeare’s play. However, it’s a
well-written very attractive composition played here with great conviction.
None of the music on this disc is front-rank in quality but
it’s most definitely worth hearing. Paine’s music is unfailingly
attractive and he writes very well indeed for the orchestra.
German-influenced it may be, but there’s nothing wrong with that and
it’s fascinating to hear some of the music that was being written as
the USA began to find its musical feet as a nation. Indeed, John Knowles
Paine deserves a pace of honour as one of the important pioneers of American
music as teacher and composer. The performances here are very good indeed:
JoAnn Falletta and the Ulster Orchestra seem to relish the music and they
make an excellent case for it. This disc now supersedes the Mehta one. For
one thing it offers more music. Also, I find the playing rather more
spirited but that may be due, in part, to the sound of the two orchestras.
The Ulster Orchestra’s sound is leaner than the NYPO - though by that
I don’t mean it sounds thin - and the Ulster band seems to me to be
recorded with greater clarity; by the side of the Naxos recording the older
New World disc sounds a bit over-nourished.
It’s recently been announced that JoAnn Falletta will not be
continuing with the Ulster Orchestra when her contract expires at the end of
the current season - she will be replaced as Principal Conductor by Rafale
Payare. It’s rather surprising that her relationship with the
orchestra has been so short - just three years - and one wonders why it is
not to be extended. On the evidence of what I’ve heard on disc
conductor and orchestra seem to work well together. I believe I’m
right in saying that a recording of the Paine Second Symphony is already
safely ‘in the can’; I hope that’s true and that there
will be time for this team to set down one or two more recordings together -
perhaps the Moeran G minor Symphony? - before she departs from Belfast.
John Quinn
Previous reviews: Byzantion and Rob Maynard
Editor’s Note
The two Paine symphonies were included in LP recordings made by the
Society for the Promotion of the American Musical Heritage (SPAMH) in the
second half of the 1960s (MIA103 and MIA120). The conductor was Karl Krueger
and the orchestras were the American Arts Orchestra (1) and the RPO (2).
Krueger and the SPAMH, as part of the same enlightened project, also
recorded the other two works on this Naxos disc as well as the brief
Moorish Dance: Azara. These were spirited renditions but their
analogue origins no doubt tell against them. In any event Bridge, who have
reissued more than a few SPAMH LPs on CD, have to date left them on the
shelf. A more recent recording is of Paine’s Prelude Oedipus
Tyrannus by Kenneth Klein and the LSO as part of an “American
Pioneers” collection on EMI Classics. It’s well worth hearing.
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