Some Random Jottings
about Montague Phillips’ "Dance
Revels."
Any new release of
music by Montague Phillips is more than
welcome (i). It is especially so when
this is a work that is not in the catalogues
(ii) and, from my point of view at least,
is a first ‘lifetime’ opportunity to
hear the entire piece.
I have written elsewhere
in these pages about the dichotomy at
the heart of Montague Phillips’ musical
compositions. His most famous work is
probably the Rebel Maid, an operetta
that had a great vogue in the middle
of the twentieth century. Some songs
were popular and have remained in the
‘soirée recital’ for many years.
Yet Phillips composed a wide variety
of music. For example, there is a fine
Phantasy for Violin and Orchestra
in the spirit of the Cobbett Chamber
Music Competition. Enthusiasts of the
romantic piano concerto eagerly await
a well known CD company releasing Phillips’
two essays in this form. Dutton CDs
have published a wide conspectus of
his music, ranging from the two surviving
movements of his Symphony in C minor
through to the Four Dances from the
Rebel Maid. Between these two we
encounter some fine overtures, marches
and tone poems. Perhaps the most substantial
work currently available is the Sinfonietta
in C Op.70. Yet Phillips is by and
large regarded as a ‘light’ music composer.
And to many people this is thought of
in a pejorative sense. It is true that
after his marriage to the soprano Clara
Butterworth he tended to concentrate
on songs for her to sing - he wrote
over a hundred. However, there were
still some serious works to come from
his pen.
Philip Scowcroft notes
that Phillips’ orchestral work shows
an ambivalence between light and serious
music. The composer eschewed the use
of jazz idioms or even syncopation to
any extent. In this he did not follow
the path of his near contemporary Eric
Coates. Montague Phillips was of the
view that there "was a place for
light music for the great majority of
people who lie between the ‘ultra highbrows’
and the ‘irredeemable lowbrows’ and
can appreciate music which is melodious
and well written but not too advanced."
It is into this category that the Dance
Revels falls. This work is quite
simply attractive ‘end of the pier’
music that captivates but does not necessarily
climb Parnassus. It is extremely well
written and displays a fine understanding
of orchestration.
A Mazurka can
be defined as a Polish Folk Dance from
the Warsaw region: it is written in
triple time. However the form itself
is a later definition of an ancient
dance. In the nineteenth century Chopin
developed the Mazurka into an
art form, which is often ‘seductive
and sultry.’ Of course, it is in this
incarnation that most people relate
to this particular dance.
Montague Phillips’
contribution is what might be described
as an ‘English Mazurka. It owes more
to Edward German than to Frederic Chopin.
The dance opens with
a lively classic theme that, typically
of Phillips, has no syncopation. The
second ‘subject’ certainly has something
of Arthur Sullivan about it. Each section
of this Mazurka is well balanced:
this is quite definitely a unified composition.
Soon the movement develops with an attractive
woodwind cadenza before continuing with
a slightly less frenetic version of
the principal melody. After a short
episode there is a final statement of
the ‘mazurka’ theme with the brass well
to the fore.
Interestingly mazurkas
can express many different emotions
and shades of mood. And this is in spite
of the rather predictable musical structure.
Montague Phillips manages to bring a
sort of ‘Home Counties’ feel to this
music that truly belies its Polish origins.
The second movement
is a Minuet. This opens with
a delicate tune on the strings. This
is not the four square music that we
may associate with this dance. Yet the
next theme is heavier and gives greater
stability. There is a magical reprise
of the opening music before an enchanting
flute solo followed by a delicious figure
for French horn prepares us for the
closing pages. Phillips cleverly integrates
the lighter opening theme with the stately
music before bringing the dance to a
quiet close. The Minuet reflects
the classic balance between nobility
of purpose and grace of orchestration,
The last movement,
the Valse, is by the far the
most successful. The opening bars comprise
a little woodwind cadenza quickly leading
into the main waltz theme initially
played on the woodwind. Soon the strings
join in. There is a little swirling
string figure before the pace becomes
more relaxed. The violins take up the
main tune and progressively become more
romantic in its tone. There is a delightful
counter melody that throws snippets
of the main theme around the orchestra.
Chirruping oboes and flutes lead to
a glorious romantic presentation of
the main tune on low strings. This is
pure ‘happy days’ type of music. Yet
suddenly there is a change. The music
becomes a little bit hard edged. The
tension builds up, brass takes the lead
and then as expected we hear the last
reprise of the waltz theme in all its
splendour.
It is a well written
waltz with incisive instrumentation
that exploits especially the woodwind
section. Whether it could be classified
as an ‘English Waltz’ is a matter of
debate.
Dance Revels
may not be the most vital piece to be
released on CD this year. But it is
good that ‘light music’ is so well established
that Naxos can consider anthologising
this on their latest CD. There are a
number of other character pieces by
the composer that deserve to be presented
to the public – perhaps The Village
Sketches and the Three Country
Pictures could be considered? And
of course there are the two outer movements
of the Symphony!
All of Montague Phillips’
works are well written, beautifully
scored and have a wealth of attractive
tunes. It is great that most of his
orchestral works are on CD (or about
to appear).
John France
(i) NAXOS | 8570332 | CD | 747313033270
British
Light Miniatures Vintage TV and Radio
Classics
Andrew Vinter (piano), Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra, Paul Murphy, Gavin Sutherland
(conductors)
(ii) Dutton Vocalion CDEA 6061
The Queen's Hall Light Orchestra
VOLUME 2 [Valse only] [review]
see also SERIOUS
OR LIGHT The Experience of Montague
Phillips by Philip L. Scowcroft
