I well remember where
I bought the original 1959 Lyrita release
of the Alwyn piano music – it was at
pre-Fayed Harrods in about 1976. Quite
why they had copies of this ‘specialist’
LP in their record browsers has always
been a minor mystery to me! But to compound
the situation, I had great pressure
put on my laddish wallet – for next
to this album were those other Lyrita
gems- piano music by William Wordsworth
and Franz Riezenstein. It ended up quite
a haul and I could not possess myself
in patience to get back to Glasgow to
spin them on the turntable. I cannot
now quite recall my reaction – though
I do remember being seriously impressed
by Wordsworth’s Cheesecombe Suite.
But that is another story and another
review.
I had discovered William
Alwyn a few months earlier when I had
heard the Symphonic Prelude: The
Magic Isle. Even after all these
years I can recall what impressed me
about that work – it was the perfect
equilibrium between ‘modern’ music and
an almost ‘film-like’ romanticism. The
Fantasy Waltzes are full of this
balance between contemporary and retro.
It was written after Alwyn had visited
Grieg’s lakeside home at Troldhaugen
near Bergen. Originally the intention
was to compose a short suite of ‘salon’
style pieces rather in the manner of
one of the Norwegian master’s collections
of Lyric Pieces. However it soon
became much greater than the sum of
the parts: it is a long work, lasting
some 33 minutes.
Unusually for Alwyn
at this period the Waltzes are
not based on a tone row – they are written
in a ‘free and virtuosic’ style. Listening
to these pieces once again I am impressed
by their ‘unity in diversity’. It would
be easy to play spot the allusion or
hunt the genre. Most of the work is
written in an approachable ‘romantic’
style – but there are nods to earlier
more classical based models. The ghosts
of Ravel, Rachmaninov, Chopin and Johann
Strauss are never too far away. Interestingly
Rob Barnett notes some affiliation with
Leopold Godowsky. This is surely appropriate.
This is a great work:
it deserves to be seen as one of the
more important British solo works for
piano. The original mono tapes from
1959 have been ‘re-pristinated’ well.
There are other versions of this work
available – including Ashley Wass on
Naxos 8570359,
John Ogdon on CHAN8399 and Julian Milford
on CHAN9825.
I never quite took
to the Sonata alla Toccata. It
is one of those pieces that challenge
me to state why it is not a ‘favourite.’
I suppose I am led to the opinion of
the late Harold Truscott who wrote that
"this work is neither a sonata
nor a toccata. It is all that can be
expected from the stylised conventions
of the Modern English School. I am afraid
its heart is as synthetic as its title."
Alwyn himself claimed
that he wrote this work for pure enjoyment
– it was not a commission. It has been
suggested that this piece, composed
in 1946 was a ‘thanksgiving’ for the
cessation of hostilities, yet the intense
and beautiful middle ‘andante’ is surely
an elegy – perhaps lamenting those who
did not survive. The first and last
movements are full of life and fun and
power and strength.
One last point – whatever
happened to Sheila Randell? Nothing
shows up on Google: perhaps this was
her one recording?
Turning to the first
but chronologically later CD I have
to admit that these three works have
never been in my list of favourites.
Naturally I bought the original ‘vinyl’
thirty odd years ago – but somehow I
never quite ‘got into’ these pieces.
It is often the case that music for
solo wind instruments is devised simply
to prove how good the player is as opposed
to creating a work of art and maintaining
interest. The Divertimento falls
into this category. Yet there is much
in this ‘pastoral’ - in a Theocritan
sense - that rises above the purely
technical. There are four movements
each exploiting a feature of flute playing
including pseudo-part writing and what
sometimes appears to be double-stopping!
It was composed in 1939 and represents
one of the relatively few works by Alwyn
to survive from before the Second World
War.
Revisiting Naiades
- Fantasy Sonata has been an interesting
experience. I first encountered it before
I had heard music by Poulenc and Malcolm
Arnold. I am not suggesting that these
composers are models or even influences.
But there is a ‘Francophile’ feel about
the piece and also certain turns of
phrase that seem to nod to that other
Northampton composer! I imagine that
way back then I was looking for an English
pastoral work. What Alwyn has written
is a ‘Greek pastoral’ seen through French
eyes with Ravel’s shadow in the background.
As such it is entirely successful. It
was written for the husband and wife
team of Christopher Hyde-Smith and Marisa
Robles who perform it well here.
Benjamin Luxon’s voice
is just perfect for these attractive
and imaginative songs. There is little
here that challenges the ear. Written
in 1970 these songs were and remain
quite conservative in their musical
language. The texts – which are printed
in the ‘sleeve-notes’- were written
by the composer. Those that know about
Alwyn will realise that he was a composer,
a poet and an artist so it is no surprise
that these songs are a good balance
of words and music. The poems were actually
written as ‘literature in their own
right’ – being published in a ‘slim
volume’ – and illustrated by the author’s
own line-drawings.
The first poem, Undine,
is ‘watery’ and perhaps suggests Ravel’s
Gaspard de la Nuit. This is a
long setting – running to some ten pages
of music. Aquarium is very slow
and deliberate. Honeysuckle is
another love poem – it has been well
described as having an ‘erotic passion’.
In this sense it relates to the first
song yet the vocal line and the piano
accompaniment are totally different
in style to Undine. Metronome
is a dark reflection on death and the
passing of time: ‘When I am gone, will
time still beat or will the metronome
run down’. The last line is particularly
depressing: "Unthinkable that I
should die and let the works live on.’
Not music to listen to after a bad day
at the office! Paradise is exciting
music yet it is a continuation of the
preceding song. This is the shortest
in the cycle, lasting just over a minute.
The proceedings are brought to a close
with Portrait in a Mirror. It
is the poem of an old man looking at
himself in the mirror and wondering
just who that person is with "lips
drawn back from dog-eared teeth."
Yet all is not despair – the poem ends
with the optimistic view that "the
face that peers back at me/so old –
so very old- with eyes innocent as a
child." This is another long song
with a considerable piano prelude and
postlude. Rob Barnett suggests that
this song is a different ‘take’ on the
Hardy poem "I look into my glass."
The song cycle Mirages is one
of those pieces that I do not like –
but I recognise it as a masterpiece.
The singing here is perfect in every
detail.
It is great that Lyrita
have re-issued this fine music. All
five works are important and vital to
any understanding of William Alwyn’s
musical and poetic career. I tend to
listen to his symphonies and chamber
works on a regular basis – yet, from
time to time it is good to consider
other works from his catalogue.
John France
see
also review from Rob Barnett
The
Alwyn Website
for details
Benjamin Luxon (baritone); David Willison
(piano); Christopher Hyde-Smith (flute);
Marisa Robles (harp); * Sheila Randell
(piano) 
