The recent flurry of
interest in Chisholm's music is due
in no small part to the enterprising
Dunelm Records label. As well as the
Piano Concerto No. 1 and solo piano
music, (DRD
0174), Dunelm has also produced
the excellent CD, 'Piano Music of Eric
Chisholm and his friends', including
much of the music played by Murray McLachlan
in his Wigmore Hall Chisholm centenary
recital in January 2004, (DRD0219).
This new CD includes a new recording
of the Sonata in A (1939) 'An Riobain
Dearg'. When I reviewed the January
concert I described how impressive this
work was in live performance. Now that
there are two recordings of the Sonata
on CD I am able to confirm my opinion
that this is a major example of 20th
century piano writing. The new CD also
contains the Straloch Suite and
the Scottish Airs.
The Straloch Suite
exists in several versions ranging from
an early piano version in 1923 to a
later version in 1933. It is the later
version that is recorded here. An interesting
combination of influences are revealed.
There are elements of Liszt and Brahms
in the piano writing. This is not surprising,
especially in the case of Brahms, since
Chisholm was a pupil of Brahms enthusiast,
Sir Donald Tovey. However, Chisholm’s
harmonies are quite unusual and respond
to the modal nature of the tunes he
chose for the building blocks of his
suite. The influence of Bartók
can also be felt, particularly in the
long second movement. There are one
or two passages that are reminiscent
of Bartók's Suite for
Piano written in 1916. It is likely
that Chisholm knew this work as he was
a personal friend of the Hungarian composer.
The melodic material
for the Straloch Suite is taken
from the Robert Gordon of Straloch
lute book of 1627 . McLachlan captures
the contrast between the first movement's
portentous introduction and the mischievous
Allegro con spirito that follows
it. Chisholm makes significant use of
counterpoint but with a light touch
that avoids the merely academic. The
substantial second movement combines
further tunes from the Straloch lute
book. The Finale contains some remarkable
accents across the beat in the left-hand
under running quavers in the right.
The lyrical middle section is based
on I long for thy virginity, a
tune which bears a passing resemblance
to the Londonderry Air. This
is an exciting suite and it would be
good to hear the five-movement version
as well.
The 22 tunes used in
the Scottish Airs for Children are
taken from Patrick MacDonald's A
Collection of Highland Vocal Airs
published in 1784. Chisholm’s work ought
to become a classic of the teaching
repertoire as it shows all the ingenuity
and economy of means required to create
music for young performers that is without
any hint of the patronising or banal.
Chisholm's approach bears comparison
with Bartók's two volumes of
music For Children and
similar excellent volumes by Kabalevsky
and Nielsen. I was put in mind of Nielsen's
collection of piano music For Young
and Old, opus 53. Chisholm and Nielsen
share a similar approach to the keyboard
in their respective works. Simplicity
is the key throughout although the tunes
are often given interesting modal or
polymodal accompaniments by Chisholm.
Some of the pieces are obviously for
more advanced students; the composer
intended to group the airs in three
books for different standards of pianistic
ability. If published in this form they
would make a valuable resource for teachers
and a fascinating mine of compositional
skills in miniature for students of
composition. McLachlan plays these charming
pieces with an alertness to their different
moods and colours.
The final work on the
CD is the Sonata in A (1939) 'An
Riobain Dearg'. This version differs
from that on the of DRD 0219 as substantial
cuts had been made for this new recording.
It is not clear whether these are the
composer's own cuts or whether they
have been made by Murray McLachlan.
This new version is about six minutes
shorter than the earlier recording.
The cuts seem mainly related to repetitious
sections in the scherzo, slow movement
and finale. Nothing thematic seems to
have been omitted. Both versions are
superbly played and very exciting. The
full version benefits by creating the
impression of an even more weighty work.
The scherzo particularly in its long
version seems almost demonic, whereas
in the short version it assumes a more
classical aspect. Some of the grinding
sequences in the multi-terraced middle
section of the slow movement seemed
to be missing in the short version.
In the long version their effect is
almost overwhelming. Those interested
in Chisholm need not exercise themselves
over which version to buy as both CDs
should be purchased simply on the strength
of the excellent music contained as
companion pieces to each version of
the Sonata. This new CD is very well
recorded and the booklet contains informative
liner notes by John Purser. In my view
a Chisholm CD is self recommending;
for those still doubting the composer’s
worth this review merely urges exploration
without delay.
David Hackbridge
Johnson
see also
ERIK
CHISHOLM Piano Music Murray McLachlan
Piano. Olympia OCD 639 MusicWeb SPECIAL
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Murray McLachlan, piano