ROBIN ORR
Italian Overture; From the Book of Philip Sparrow; Rhapsody for string orchestra;
Journeys and Places.
Pamela Helen Stephen
(mezzo-soprano)/ Northern Sinfonia/Howard Griffiths.
GUILD GMCD
7196.
Crotchet
AmazonUS
In spite of his numerous academic appointments Robin Orr steadily produced
a sizeable output including three operas, three symphonies and a good deal
of vocal and instrumental music. It all undoubtedly deserves to be better
known though it really never lacked for performances. Very little of Orr's
music has been available on records. His Symphony in One Movement (actually
his first symphony) was recorded many years ago (EMI ASD 2279 - nla). This
comparative neglect makes the present release the more welcome in that it
not only pays a well-deserved tribute to the composer on his ninetieth birthday
but also provides an excellent introduction to his varied output.
This intelligently planned CD has much to offer. It opens with a spirited
account of the brilliant Italian Overture. This delightful piece is
in the fast-slow-fast pattern. The central section is for strings only while
the outer movements are scored for small orchestra with a concertante harpsichord
part. The Rhapsody for String Orchestra is yet another fine work in
that long list of beautifully crafted string works by British composers who,
from Elgar onward, have always written most brilliantly and most efficiently
for strings. Orr's Rhapsody is certainly equal to other well-loved
pieces such as Elgar's Introduction and Allegro or Holst's and Vaughan
Williams' pieces for similar ensemble.
The other works in this release are both written for mezzo-soprano and strings.
The Book of Philip Sparrow, written for Janet Baker, sets parts of
Skelton's poem also set by RVW in his magnificent Five Tudor Portraits.
Both composers used excerpts from that long text. Orr's work is scored for
smaller forces than RVW's and is thus a more intimate setting evoking the
various feelings of the young nun at the death of her pet sparrow: dejection,
reminiscences both elegiac and joyful, fits of vengeance at the race of cats
and finally appeased resignation in the beautifully moving closing section.
A very fine work indeed.
Journeys and Places sets four poems by the late Edwin Muir. I know very little
of Muir's poetry and of the circumstances under which some of it was written,
but the four poems chosen by Orr evoke for me at least similar feelings as
those in Owen's or Sassoon's reflections on war and the futility of war.
I may be wrong, mind you, but I detect an elegiac mood in Orr's setting.
These words obviously mean a lot to him and he responds with a really magnificent
setting full of imagination, humanity and beautiful string writing sometimes
calling Britten to mind; none the worst for that. As far as I am concerned
I find Journeys and Places a piece deserving wider exposure. Pamela Helen
Stephen sings beautifully throughout and gets committed support from the
orchestra who also rise superbly to Orr's instrumental writing.
In short a well-planned, beautifully played and richly deserved tribute to
a distinguished composer who certainly merits wider recognition. A final
grumble though: this CD is a bit short in playing time and I wonder whether
another work by Orr could not have been thrown into the bargain. Anyway I
do not hesitate to recommend this most welcome release.
Hubert Culot
But Paul Conway has some reservations:
Robin Orr's Italian Overture was written in 1952 and is scored for
wind, strings and harpsichord. The "Italian" in the title refers not to any
programmatic element in the score but rather to the structure of the piece
itself: in three (fast - slow - fast) sections. The opening section is
reminiscent of 1920s Stravinsky. The harpsichord spices the textures and
acts as a concertante instrument rather than a soloist. It lends the piece
a distinctive, gritty neo-classical timbre and makes a palette-cleansing
start to the CD.
From the Book of Philip Sparrow (1969) is a setting for mezzo-soprano
and strings of verses by John Skelton who wrote this lament believed to have
been told by a nun at Carrow Abbey, whose tame sparrow was killed by her
cat. The words delve deeper than the loss of a cat into mortality itself
and each of the four sections contains a short Latin text sung to a plainchant:
the work's most moving passages. Alan Rawsthorne wrote a Lament for a
Sparrow (1962) which also contains a feeling of nostalgia and regret
for the transitory nature of life but is a setting of Catullus's 'Lugate
O veneres cupidinesque'. Pamela Helen Stephen invests the vocal part of Robin
Orr's sensitive writing with life and genuine personality.
The exhilarating Rhapsody for string orchestra, which dates from 1956,
livens up the disc considerably. Far from being unduly 'rhapsodic', it exudes
clean-cut, boisterous Bartókian energy. It contains passion, lyrical
repose and fugal rigour within its ten minute span and is, to my ears, the
most purely enjoyable work in this collection.
The final item on the CD is Journeys and Places for mezzo-soprano
and strings (1971) which was commissioned by the University of Glasgow. It
consists of affectionate settings of four songs from the Collected Poems
of Edwin Muir. Pamela Helen Stephen brings out its charm without any cloying
sentimentality and it makes an appealing end to the programme.
Any disc containing exclusively the music of Robin Orr is to be welcomed,
especially one so well played and recorded. However, the choice of pieces
in this programme disappoints. The severe Italian Overture makes an
acerbic opening piece and one can't help thinking that the jovial and attractive
Prospect of Whitby Overture would have been a more characteristically
entertaining and heart-warming start to the CD than the slightly impersonal,
dry neo-classicism of the Italian Overture. I would also gladly have
sacrificed one of the song cycles for a symphony (preferably either the Symphony
in one Movement (no 1) or the impressively cogent Third Symphony). At fifty
minutes the programme is not over generous and a more substantial orchestral
piece to give the Northern Sinfonia something to get their teeth into would
have made this release even more desirable. Nonetheless, the performance
of the Rhapsody for strings still contains enough power and individuality
to make a strong case for further exploration of this composer's orchestral
works. I hope Guild will turn their attention to the symphonies in due course.
Paul Conway
