There was a time when Peter Dickinson’s
music was reasonably well served, as
far as commercial recordings were concerned.
Those EMI and Conifer discs fell out
of the catalogue but were eventually
rescued by Albany. The remaining refugee
is Mass of the Apocalypse
- previously on Conifer CDCF 167. These
reissues have been reviewed here some
time ago. The present release, again
from Albany, aptly fills gaps in Dickinson’s
current discography with new recordings
of piano works played by the composer,
two reissues and a sizeable bonus in
the shape of a BBC recording of a substantial
work never released commercially before.
The most recent work here, Bach
in Blue (2004) was composed
as a tribute to Michael Berkeley, but
also pays homage to Lennox Berkeley
and – of course – to JSB. It is a beautiful
meditative piece that repays repeated
hearings. It should be in every pianist’s
repertoire.
Winter Afternoons, written
for The King’s Singers, sets three poems
by Emily Dickinson. All deal more or
less directly with death. The settings
are framed by a prelude and a coda for
double-bass, and are linked by short
interludes for the same instrument.
The first song, One dignity delays
for all evokes funeral rituals,
with bittersweet irony. A short interlude
leads into the second song There’s
a certain Slant of light, a slow
lament introducing a hymn tune. Another
interlude ushers in the final song Departed.
This opens with energy but ends calmly,
if unappeased with bell-like chords
from the double-bass. I had not heard
this piece before, although it was recorded
by EMI some time ago; but this is a
very fine piece that deserves to be
heard, especially in as fine a performance
as this. The 1974 recording still sounds
remarkably well.
Five Diversions were originally
written for clavichord, but may also
be played on any keyboard instruments:
harpsichord or piano. They also exist
in a scoring for chamber orchestra by
the composer. They have much in common
with their near-contemporary Four
Easy Pieces (1965) and
the somewhat later Eight Very
Easy Pieces (1979), in that
they are all short, neatly characterised
miniatures of great charm. These three
sets bear the mark of a true master
who can devise short, fairly uncomplicated
pieces for beginners or able amateurs,
but with enough musical substance and
technical challenge to make it all worth
the effort. All these pieces share clarity
of line, form and texture, lively rhythms
often tinged with jazzy or bluesy harmonies.
Sonatas for Piano with Tape Playback
is a quite different proposition. This
substantial work is undoubtedly the
major work here. Do not be put off by
the phrase “Tape playback” which might
suggest some avant-garde experimentation
of the sort experienced in the radical
Post-serial era. In fact, the live pianist
dialogues with pre-recorded material
on tape. This is particularly clear
in the opening Prelude in which the
pianist is echoed in the tape, which
creates a fascinating multi-layered
texture. It leads directly into the
longest section of the work (Trance).
Here the taped material includes an
early piano piece by Dickinson (Dirge
from Four Short Piano Pieces
from 1955) and “a quasi-Mozart piece
dreamed by the composer”. These undergo
a series of transformations, the playback
allowing the superimposition of the
various sound layers, be they on tape
or live. The music builds up a climax
in the highly decorated third section
(Confrontations). In the final section
(Epilogue), the tapes are silent, leaving
the pianist on his own, and Sonatas
ends quietly with the Dirge and the
Dream piece superimposed. This recording
by the work’s dedicatee Eric Parkin
was made by the BBC as far back as 1988.
Curious that we have had to wait that
long before being able to hear this
major piece. Now, here it is in a superb
performance and a very fine recording.
The present recording of The Unicorns
here enjoys its third reincarnation.
It was originally released on a Swedish
LP (Bluebell BELL 153) many years ago,
as part of an all-British programme
of works for brass. It was then re-issued
as part of Conifer CDCF 167. It was
commissioned by the Solna Brass who
recorded it soon after the first performance.
For this piece for soprano and brass,
Dickinson drew on an opera libretto
by John Heath-Stubbs which he had commissioned
but that had come to nothing. He thus
used three songs from the opera libretto,
preceded by an orchestral introduction
and all interspersed with two orchestral
sections. The work opens with vigorous
fanfares (Fanfares and Choruses evoking
“the rival teams going off in search
of unicorns”). The Westland girl tries
to lure a unicorn with a tender Lullaby,
whereas the Eastland dancer opts for
an energetic dance. However, the Westland
girl and the Eastland boy fall in love,
although they know that their love is
impossible. The girl sings a bittersweet
Interrupted Love Song. The capture
of a unicorn is celebrated by a brilliant
Celebration Fugue - again for brass
only. The lovers finally decide to escape
to the island of St Brendan. The work
thus ends with The Ballad of St Brendan
evoking an idyllic paradise where the
lovers might for all their differences
eventually be happy. A very fine work
cast in a quite accessible idiom. Elisabeth
Söderström sings beautifully throughout,
and the 25-year old recording wears
well.
Peter Dickinson’s music has been neglected
for too long, so these Albany releases
are all most welcome, putting his music
firmly on the map again. It is good
too to have some hitherto unrecorded
works, particularly the masterly Sonatas.
Dickinson’s admirers have thus many
good reasons to rejoice; and I hope
that some of his large-scale works such
as Transformations and
the Violin Concerto will soon be available
in commercial recordings. In the meantime
this is a most welcome selection.
Hubert Culot
see also
Peter
DICKINSON (b.
1934)
A Feature Review: Three Dickinson
CDs on ALBANY
By Rob Barnett
BUY
NOW
AmazonUK ArkivMusic
Elisabeth
Söderström (soprano)d; Peter Dickinson
(piano)a; Eric Parkin (piano)c; The
King’s Singersb; Rodney Slatford (double bass)b;
Solna Brassd; Lars-Gunnar Björklundd 
