The cruel neglect of
the music of Welsh composer Grace Williams,
a pupil of Egon Wellesz and Ralph Vaughan
Williams, seems inexplicable in the
light of the works on this disc. There
is an impassioned slant to her music,
partly through the dual influences of
Mahler and Shostakovich. Not only did
she study with Wellesz (in Vienna) and
RVW (at the RCM in London), but she
was on good terms with Britten, even
refusing an offer to become his assistant
at one point.
The four Ballads
date from 1968 and were written for
the National Eisteddfod (held in her
home town of Barry). There is an irresistible
warmth to the first (Allegro moderato,
alla canzone) that contrasts with the
spikier ‘Alla marcia solenne’ (definite
shades of Shostakovich here, although
the eerie high notes speak to me also
of Smetana’s impression of tinnitis
in his First String Quartet). Perhaps
it is the stillness of the third that
impresses the most, with its interruptive,
curiously Welsh-sounding fanfares. These
interruptions reach a height just over
three minutes in; immediately after
this is a short horn solo of the most
melting beauty which seems to try to
make amends. The finale, Allegro furioso,
is very, very busy but curiously never
over-laden.
The contrast of the
delicate string halos that open Fairest
of Stars could hardly be greater.
The text is taken from Book Five of
Milton’s Paradise Lost. The work
was actually composed specifically for
this recording (how often does this
sort of thing happen these days?) and
what a terrific discovery it is. The
winding, swooping vocal line oozes freedom.
Declamation from the soloist, Janet
Price, is exemplary (text is included
in the booklet). This is 14 minutes
of pure emotive outpouring. It grips
from first to last – as the latest of
the works on this disc (just four years
before Williams died), it speaks of
a wealth of experience. There is a real
power to the harmonic palette (listen
to the build-up to the voice’s climactic
entrance on the words, ‘Join voices,
all ye living souls’) as well as to
her registral sense (how the voice glows
at the poem’s final words, ‘as now light
dispels the dark’).
The Second Symphony
begins ‘Allegro marziale’ (indeed the
first sound one hears is a side-drum).
The melodic lines are jagged, but just
how serious of intent this music is
appears to be questionable. Actually,
the answer comes in the intense working-out
of thematic material, all of which puts
the English-pastoral element of the
Andante sostenuto in high relief (with
its yearning opening oboe solo played
incredibly expressively on this recording).
This is an extended (11’58), heart-felt
meditation.
The Scherzo is playful
in the extreme, although not without
undercurrents culled from the Allegro
marziale. Williams closes her Symphony
with a Largo. As annotator Malcolm Boyd
points out, there is Mahlerian poignancy
present in the opening bars. I heard
a Nielsen influence later on, but perhaps
that just stems from the sonic signpost
of an active side-drum part.
From the composer’s
letters, it would appear that the symphony’s
gestation was far from smooth. Perhaps
that accounts for my only real criticism
of this piece, that the ending is perfunctory,
a token gesture in lieu of real closure
as if she did not quite know how to
bring things to a halt. A great pity,
as the symphony taken as a whole is
worthy of the greatest respect.
The BBC Welsh SO play
superbly – they must have been allocated
a huge amount of rehearsal time to play
with such confidence. Having Vernon
Handley (so, to get on the bandwagon,
just when can I write ‘Sir Vernon’?)
at the helm, with his limitless enthusiasm
for this music and his keen ear for
line, surely only adds to the value
of this release.
Do explore this music.
Before handling this disc I personally
had not heard any of Grace Williams’
music, so all three pieces came as something
of a revelation. If her music is not
on the same exalted level as that of
John Foulds, it remains compelling Who
out of the currently active record companies
will now take up her cause?.
Colin Clarke
see also
GRACE
WILLIAMS Welsh Composer by Pamela
Blevins
GRACE
WILLIAMS by David C. F. Wright
The
Lyrita catalogue
bJanet Price (soprano); acBBC
Welsh Symphony Orchestra/Vernon Handley; bLondon
Symphony Orchestra/Sir Charles Groves. 