My first experience
of a custom-made CD from the MaxOpus
website being highly favourable (see
link),
I ordered two further discs. As before,
they arrived promptly and accompanied
by customized booklets. Although I listened
to a fair amount of Maxwell Davies’s
music some years ago, all these works
except Lullaby for Lucy were
new to me and are the product of the
last fifteen years. Being able to choose
and order the programme to fill a disc
is a considerable attraction (see previous
review for practical details) and, if
this is the future, then it is one to
look forward to. How many versions of
Tragic Overture as fillers for various
Brahms symphony recordings can one’s
collection stand? What might we be missing
out on instead?
Lullaby for Lucy
was written to celebrate the birth of
Lucy Rendall, the first child born in
Radwick, on the Orkney island of Hoy
for 32 years. "Max" set himself
the task of "banishing all black
notes" i.e. using only those which
are white on the piano. Perhaps this
was an odd thing to do in a work for
unaccompanied chorus but it gives the
music a limpid feeling. The text by
George Mackay Brown spells out Lucy’s
name through the first letter of each
line and is given twice (because, Max
tells us, he liked the tune so much).
Lucy is a lucky person to have had such
a beautiful piece written for her –
the best possible start in life. It
is given a lovely performance by the
BBC singers and is a good opener for
the disc.
Surprisingly, the sextet
of solo woodwind instruments of
the Strathclyde Concerto No. 9
does not include the oboe but the combination
of piccolo, alto flute, cor anglais,
E flat clarinet, bass clarinet and contrabassoon
is most interesting. The work is described
as a descendant of Mozart’s Sinfonia
Concertante for wind K297b (very much
a favourite piece of Mozart for me)
and it seems that there was a specific
intention to give these "auxiliary
woodwinds" the chance to shine.
They frequently do so in "jazz
breaks", often in pairs. This inventive
and melodious work is in a single movement
and the string accompaniment is generally
lightly scored. Under the direction
of the composer, the Scottish Chamber
Orchestra, from whom the soloists are
drawn, weave its unusual textures most
effectively.
Max’s Antarctic
Symphony, his 8th,
is just three years old and is the best
demonstration I have yet heard that
the symphony is still alive and kicking
in the 21st century. Commissioned
jointly by the Philharmonia Orchestra
and the British Antarctic Survey, it
must have been quite a challenge to
follow Vaughan Williams’ inspiring take
on Antarctica. The composer’s first
step was to get on a boat (the RRS James
Clark Ross) and head south. His trip
seems to have been unusually easy until
they hit the ice. However, this is not
reflected in the music since the ice
is broken right away!
A single movement work
spanning 40 minutes, this is intended
to be mainly abstract music and has
some roots in Pentecost Plainsong. Nevertheless,
there are specific programmatic elements,
the breaking (and, ultimately, melting)
of ice, an avalanche, the rubbish left
by past explorers. The composer also
included in his calculations a "modified
concept of time". This is powerful
music and in a live performance the
composer inspires the Bremen orchestra
to a very convincing rendition. For
further information about this work
and some pictures of the trip, follow
the link below.
Maxwell’s Reel,
with Northern Lights opens the
second disc in mostly jaunty fashion.
In a rather similar vein to An Orkney
Wedding, with Sunrise, the composer
turns again to his adopted Scottish
heritage to excellent effect. The inspiration
comes from a particular occasion when
the composer saw the Northern lights
on Hoy outside a hall in which music
was being played. The reel is based
on a tune known as Maxwell’s Strathspey
which was published in 1824 as part
of a collection called the Scottish
Minstrel. As the reel ends, the
Northern Lights take over in dramatic
and contrasting fashion.
The Strathclyde
Concerto No. 3 is for the unusual
(although one should always hesitate
before using the word, perhaps even
unique?), pairing of horn and trumpet.
My prior prejudice was to be sceptical
of this combination but great imagination
has gone into balancing the soloists
against each other and full orchestral
accompaniment. Textures are kept fairly
light and the mood is generally buoyant.
There are three movements played without
a break, preceded by a long slow introduction.
After the first movement there is a
rather questioning cadenza which is
no mere showpiece but an integral part
of the structure.
The Trumpet Concerto
is an uncompromising and substantial
three movement work which was written
for the soloist on this recording, John
Wallace. The trumpet is clearly an important
instrument for the composer - his first
published work was a sonata for it.
A Plainsong for the feast of St. Francis
provides the musical and programmatic
basis for the work, with the trumpet
representing St. Francis. The slow introduction
to the first movement broods ominously
in the lower registers of the orchestra
for about three minutes before the soloist
enters and sets the scene for the allegro.
John Wallace’s instrument sounds heroic
in this movement and is most effectively
balanced with the orchestra. The mood
is more restful at the beginning of
the slow movement. Here the solo instrument
eventually takes flight in what has
been seen as a "sermon to the birds".
The finale is marked Presto and starts
in airy fashion before becoming more
serious. It concludes at a much slower
tempo with important parts for percussion
providing contrasts in a stark coda.
These two discs are
full of variety and contain some of
the most interesting contemporary music
around. The standards of playing, recording
and documentation are consistently high
and they represent very good value for
money (effectively they are at the lower
end of "mid-price"). Once
again, I would wholeheartedly recommend
a visit to the site. Don’t follow my
programming ideas, choose your own!
Patrick C Waller
Link to previous review:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2004/Nov04/Maxwell_Davies_compilation.htm
Link to further information on the
Antarctic Symphony:
http://www.maxopus.com/works/symph_8.htm
