Two viola concertos
written for Lionel Tertis during the
1900s, the Bowen receiving its world
premiere recording and the Forsyth probably
its second outing on CD. The first Forsyth
on LP was from Supraphon and this might
well have been reissued on CD. Interestingly
Tertis paid the Forsyth no heed whatsoever
leaving its premiere to Emile Ferir.
The work’s performances in Bournemouth
were taken by Siegfried Wertheim.
York Bowen has
been undergoing a steady but modest
revival over the last decade or so.
Works such as the sonatas for flute
and for clarinet have often been in
the catalogue. Lyrita recorded the composer
in some of his solo piano music. Marie-Catherine
Girod recorded the complete 24 Preludes
on Opès-3D in the late 1980s.
Then Stephen Hough gave us a selection
of the piano music for Hyperion. This
attracted some acclaim. Since then there
have been three chamber music CDs from
Dutton Epoch, one outstanding and unmissable
disc of the string quartets from the
British Music Society and two from Centaur
and Doris Lederer. Recently Ms Lederer
has given us a third which provides
some competition for the Bowen Viola
Concerto on Centaur CRC2786. ClassicO
have issued the Second Symphony conducted
by Douglas Bostock; now comes the present
disc. How long before we get recordings
of the other concertos: French Horn
(written for Dennis Brain and rumoured
to have been in the can with Lyrita
for upwards of two decades), four allegedly
Rachmaninovian piano concertos (1903-37),
a Violin Concerto (1923) and a Rhapsody
for cello and orchestra as well as the
Sinfonietta Concertante for brass and
orchestra (1957) and a Jig for two pianos
and orchestra.
The Bowen Viola Concerto
exudes an opulent grandiloquence. It’s
not quite Elgar although there are moments
in the finale of this three movement
work when Elgar is invoked. The first
movement sounds more like Korngold but
without his over-saturated melodic traits.
I also caught myself thinking of Tchaikovsky
in his violin concerto. The second movement
is more celtic and reflective, recalling
the Bax Viola Rhapsody (recorded by
Rivka Golani on Conifer) and Bruch's
Scottish Fantasy. The finale
had some disorientating references to
Massenet and Saint-Saëns but it
soon returns to the serious centre of
gravity asserted in the first movement.
The work ends in a shrieking golden
trumpet and the Straussian barking of
the horns. The abiding impression is
of a work of overpowering confidence.
This is another very
encouraging issue; valuable and deeply
enjoyable in itself. It prepares the
ground for future recordings in the
same late romantic vein as the Bowen.
Someone really should pick up the Bowen
Violin Concerto and couple it with the
Haydn Wood Violin Concerto - the latter
a superb and very successful concise
work of Tchaikovskian mood and manners.
I also hope that Hyperion have not forgotten
what they started with their superb
disc of Bortkiewicz's two symphonies.
The same composer's concertos for violin
and for cello - one each - are grateful
and melodically well endowed works that
deserve the attention of music-lovers
everywhere.
Cecil Forsyth
was born in Greenwich on 30 November
1870 and died in New York on 7 December
1941. He was a writer on music as well
as a composer. Educated at Edinburgh
University he then studied with Stanford
and Parry at the RCM. His connection
with the Savoy Theatre secured performances
of two of his comic operas: Westward
Ho! and Cinderella. In 1914
he left England for the U.S.A. where
he was to take up permanent residence
in New York working for the music publishers
H. W. Gray. He wrote various books:
a Manual on Orchestration in
1914 and Choral Orchestration in
1920. These joined his study of English
Opera, Music and Nationalism in
1911. His A History of Music dates
from 1916 and was written in conjunction
with Stanford. There is a collection
of essays titled Clashpans (1933).
His music includes The Last Supper
for baritone, chorus and orchestra;
Ode to a Nightingale for baritone
and orchestra after Keats, two Masses,
a Chant Celtique for viola and
orchestra, Four Studies from Victor
Hugo also songs, church choral music,
part-songs, piano music and other instrumental
pieces.
The Cecil Forsyth Viola
Concerto is shorter, darker and by no
means as outwardly brilliant as the
Bowen.
Dvořák, Mendelssohn (Italian
Symphony) and Brahms are the triangulation
points. There are no exotic asides or
adventures. There are some nice magical
faery moments at 8.38 as the viola emerges
from his cadenza. The funereal andante
has a Brucknerian darkness that
also reminded me of the liturgical moments
in Romeo and Juliet and the darker
reflections of Fibich in his Third Symphony.
These prepare the ground for a tender
monologue by the soloist. The movement
may have started in funereal weeds but
it ends in utter calm. The finale is
lively.
The piano reduction
of the Forsyth concerto was made by
none other than John Ireland.
Two painfully neglected
viola concertos brought out into the
sunlight
by Hyperion. If you enjoy your Dvořák,
Coleridge-Taylor and Tchaikovsky you
should snap up this disc without delay.
Rob Barnett
see also
Recording
session report from Lewis Foreman
SOME
THOUGHTS ON YORK BOWEN by John Lindsay
with discography and worklist.
Lawrence Power (viola) 
for
details
