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ROBERT CRAWFORD’S LUNULA

© David Wright Ph.D
This article, or any part of it, must not be reproduced in part or in whole in any way whatsoever without prior written consent of the author.

Robert Crawford’s Symphonic Study: Lunula was commissioned by Radio 3 for the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra who gave its first performance under Thierry Fischer at Ayr Town Hall on 26 March 1998. As the composer has explained, the title was chosen because he possesses a picture with that name by Robert T H Smith which he values highly. The picture of Robert T H Smith is not portrayed in terms of the music and, in any event, descriptive or programme music has little appeal for this composer. The word ‘lunula’ literally means small moon and has also come to imply crescent-shaped.

The music, while neither being atonal nor serial, develops from a compact theme, a twelve-note element which is heard at the outset by two trumpets in unison.

Michael Tumelty in The Herald refers to the ‘sheer brilliance of orchestral writing’ in Lunula, a ‘pellucid and deftly-crafted work with its alliance of expertise and imagination’. He continues that it is a ‘cracker of a piece having a purposeful tread, purity of texture and myriad delights of detail’. Kenneth Walton in The Scotsman spoke of the work’s ‘intelligent craftsmanship, burning intensity and that it is the artful work of a quiet man’.

While so much ‘modern’ music is savaged, this work has an approachable modernity. It is a vibrant, colourful work which maintains its allegro throughout giving the work a welcome continuity. There is nothing pompous about this piece; there are no grand empty gestures but a compelling energy. It is both eminently enjoyable and worthwhile. In fact, I played the cassette several times on the day it was received. Mr Crawford is an original voice and a composer whose work is meticulous in every detail, where every note and action counts. One cannot fault anything and that, in itself, is the honest acknowledgement of his work. There is no sentimentality in this stunning score; there is a genuine excitement and the moments of less activity are always full of interest. It is an absorbing piece and, to some extent, makes one regret that this composer has written so few works. But in that, perhaps, is his potential success since all his works are carefully thought out and of a very high standard. His two string quartets are especially fine. He had begun his String Quartet No. 3 but now has returned to the long-cherished project of his Viola Concerto. We await it eagerly.

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