Edward Gregson's music has already been fairly well served as far
as recordings are concerned. His works for brass or for wind band as well as
a goodly slice of his orchestral output are now generously represented. This
release is actually the fourth issued by Chandos entirely devoted to his
orchestral music. The earlier issues are
CHAN10478,
CHAN10105 and
CHAN10627.
The earliest work here, the
Horn Concerto of 1971, was
composed to a commission by the British Federation of Brass Bands. The
composer chose then to write it for Ifor James who was then well-known both
as a virtuoso horn player and a musician much involved in the world of brass
bands (see Doyen reviews
here and
here). The work thus gained popularity among horn
players who repeated teased Gregson to make an orchestral version, which he
eventually did in 2013. He scored it for what he describes as “a late
Haydn-sized orchestra with the addition of wind doublings and a
percussionist for further colour”. However, the composer remained faithful
to the original music text. The music of this early work already displays a
remarkable instrumental flair and unfolds with consummate ease. Some
'influences' may certainly be spotted here and there but the
music is already very much Gregson's own as heard in many of his
later works. The Horn Concerto is a splendid work full of energy in the
outer movements and of virile lyricism in the slow movement. It is thus to
be hoped that horn players will now be quick to seize upon it in its
orchestral guise.
The
Concerto for Orchestra has already been
recorded by ClassicO as part of their British Symphonic Collection. That
very disc grouped Gregson's works with Hoddinott's and
McCabe's own Concertos for Orchestra (
ClassicO CLASSCD 384). Later, this recording as well as most other
releases in that were re-issued in a 10 CD-set (
Membran 233316). So I may best refer anyone to either of
these earlier reviews for details concerning Gregson's
Concerto for Orchestra. Suffice to say that it
went through several revisions before reaching its final form. It started as
Greenwich Dances and was commissioned in 1983 to
create a showpiece for the graduate students of the National Centre for
Orchestral Studies. Six years later it was revised as
Contrasts for the National Youth Orchestra of
Great Britain. Finally it underwent a further – and probably last – revision
in 2001 for its first recording: that by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
Orchestra conducted by Douglas Bostock and released as part of
ClassicO's British Symphonic Collection. Incidentally the title
“Contrasts” had been retained then but seems to have been dropped now. One
inevitably thinks of the many concertos for orchestra composed during the
twentieth century by the likes of Hindemith, Kodaly, Bartók and Petrassi. It
is a clearly symphonic structure albeit allowing for some display episodes
either for solo instrument or groups of instruments. Although the earlier
title of the work (“Contrasts”) perfectly conveys the impression left by the
piece as a whole, the music is nevertheless strictly controlled and
worked-out. Gregson's
Concerto for
Orchestra is one of his finest achievements so far.
Dream Song was one of the six orchestral works
commissioned by the BBC to be performed by the BBC Philharmonic as companion
pieces to a Mahler symphony. Gregson's work was scheduled to sit
alongside a performance of Mahler's
Symphony No.6. Gregson
thus used some material from the Mahler and, as Paul Hindmarsh rightly
remarks in his excellent insert notes, “the essence of Mahler pervades the
whole work like a dream … Gregson's considerable achievement is to
suggest and evoke Mahler's world, but to remain entirely himself in
the way the material is manipulated and structured”. Indeed
Dream Song is another strongly symphonic and
tightly argued structure of substance. It packs a wealth of invention and of
deeply felt expression into its twenty minute span.
Dream
Song is yet another wonderful work in Gregson's
symphonic output and one that perfectly stands by itself. It does not need
the proximity of Mahler's Sixth to make its point as pure music. I
suppose that anyone with a close knowledge of Mahler's symphony may
derive enhanced enjoyment but I have been hooked by
Dream
Song although I must confess a very partial knowledge of
Mahler's Sixth.
In much the same way as the
Concerto for Orchestra,
Aztec Dances, too, went through various revisions
before reaching its final form as recorded here. It started as a substantial
work for recorder and piano first performed in 2010. A version for flute and
piano made at the request of the present soloist followed in 2011 and the
final version for flute and fourteen-piece chamber ensemble was completed in
2013. The music was triggered by a visit to an exhibition at the British
Museum, entitled
Moctezuma – Aztec Ruler. Gregson was especially
drawn to the part of the exhibition that explored the role of music and
dance in Aztec life.
Aztec Dances, subtitled
Concerto for Flute and Ensemble, falls into four contrasted movements in
which the composer subtly suggests an unusual sound-world without any
attempt at mimicking “Aztec music”, whatever this may be since one knows
precious little about it. This is yet another highly enjoyable work in
Gregson's orchestral output and it clearly deserves to be much better
known.
Bramwell Tovey conducts wonderfully committed readings of these superbly
crafted and often quite beautiful works. The soloists are excellent and the
BBC Philharmonic in top form is recorded in typically warm Chandos sound. I
have already mentioned Paul Hindmarsh's excellent insert notes. These
I have shamelessly plundered. They are yet another asset to this most
welcome release.
Hubert Culot
