A disc of concerto-like
works from William Alwyn’s pen is to
be welcomed, especially when the harpist
in Lyra angelica is the supremely-talented
Osian Ellis. First, though, the Concerto
Grosso No. 2 in G of 1948 (the first
was written in 1943). The work is dedicated
to the conductor Muir Matheson and received
its première under Sir Malcolm
Sargent in May 1950. There is a solo
string quartet, although with the exception
of the first violin, the parts are not
overly exposed. There is certainly something
of the air of Handel about the first
movement, but filtered through twentieth-century
Britain. If the brimming-over energy
of the finale is enervating, it is the
second movement (Adagio ed espressivo)
that forms the work’s highlight. It
is delicate in the extreme, the LPO
realising the textures to perfection.
Autumn Legend
is inspired by a poem by the pre-Raphaelite
painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti (a painter
apparently extolled by Delacroix: in
fact the score is headed by a quotation
from Rossetti’s poem, The Blessed
Damozel **). Alwyn claims the Autumn
Legend to be a free improvisation
on his chosen text. The kinship with
Sibelius’s Swan of Tuonela suggested
by Lewis Foreman is a telling one. Atmospheric
this work certainly is, and it does
manage to sustain its twelve-minute
duration. Geoffrey Brown’s playing of
the solo part is beautifully moulded,
bringing out fully the melancholy contained
within.
Finally, Alwyn’s Concerto
for Harp and String Orchestra, called
Lyra Angelica. Dating from the
same period as the Autumn Legend
was similarly inspired by poetry, this
time that of the 17th-century
English metaphysicals. Quotations from
Giles Fletcher’s epic Christ’s Victorie
and Triumph (1610) head each of
the four movements (two Adagios, a Moderato
and an Allegro jubiloso-Andante con
moto). The première was given
by the legendary Sidonie Goossens with
the BBC Symphony Orchestra, again with
Sir Malcolm Sargent at the helm, on
the opening Promenade concert of the
1954 season.
There is a predominantly
meditational aspect to Lyra Angelica
that makes it appealing indeed. The
delicacy of the second movement is most
affecting, the intimacy very moving.
The Moderato provides contrast with
more determined lines from the strings,
the finale with its swirls of harp-inflected
colour. Osian Ellis is the perfect soloist,
the recording of the strings everything
one has come to expect from this company.
Of all the Alwyn discs from Lyrita,
this is surely the most special.
Colin Clarke
** Alwyn
collected paintings by Rossetti in the
50's when the painter was deeply unfashionable
and inexpensive. He was very much responsible
for re-establishing his reputation.
Try buying a Rossetti now! - Len M.
Session
photographs
Alwyn
web-site
The
Lyrita catalogue
aGeoffrey Browne (cor anglais); bOsian
Ellis (harp) 
