Being unfamiliar with
Stephen Dodgson’s music and not by nature
drawn to the miniature as an art form
(with the exception of vocal music,)
I faced this review with mild trepidation.
By the time I had finished listening
though, I had ceased to worry. There’s
much to enjoy here and the composer’s
skill is obvious. His music has its
own sound-world for which my appreciation
grew with repeated hearing.
The disc is a commemoration
for Mr. Dodgson’s 80th birthday
this year, and comes with his own detailed
notes on the pieces presented. Mr Dodgson
trained at the Royal College of Music
in London and remained there for many
years as a teacher of music theory and
composition. Subsequently, he worked
as a part-time teacher in many different
schools and colleges and although he
is retired now, he is still actively
engaged in composing. Although writing
in many different genres, including
incidental music for the BBC, Mr. Dodgson
has made something of a speciality out
of writing for guitar, harpsichord and
recorders. The disc is representative
of his output for these instruments,
in various combinations, put together
with a soprano voice on the tracks Daphne
to Apollo, Venus to the Muses and
Quatre Rondeaux de Charles d’Orléans.
I found the Inventions
for Harpsichord and the Warbeck
Trio the most immediately appealing
pieces. The Inventions (Set 3,
1970) are part of a total of five sets
written between 1955 and 1993 and each
set contains six pieces which may be
performed either complete or as excerpts
(from all thirty) selected to suit a
particular performer’s programme. Each
of the Set 3 pieces presented on the
disc, illustrates something special
about the harpsichord or about compositional
style: vivace assai for instance,
is essentially a two-part piece
without a home key until the end, and
‘is always on the move with chords only
for dynamism and emphasis’ while allegramente
is written without bar-lines. Largamente
is designed as a contrast and emphasises
the harpsichord’s cantabile qualities
and spiritoso is a study in articulation
and rhythm full of ‘repetitions with
leaps.’ Altogether this is a most enjoyable
selection.
The Warbeck Trio
for recorder, bassoon and harpsichord
developed from some incidental music
that Mr. Dodgson wrote for a BBC play
in 1970, John Ford’s ‘Perkin Warbeck’
(1634.) While clearly developed from
illustrative music but the piece is
full of life and also eloquent drama
which reveals itself as the themes of
each movement are explored. The music
is given great sonority by the combined
instruments.
Recorder aficionados
will undoubtedly be impressed by John
Turner’s playing in both Shine and
Shade, a set of variations for recorder
and harpsichord and on the title track
High Barbaree, the Capriccio
in pursuit of an old Sea-Song for
recorders, guitar and harpsichord. Shine
and Shade was written for Richard
Harvey in 1975 and designed to show
both the virtuosity and the expressiveness
of the instrument. High Barbaree,
a short piece suggested by
John Turner on which he plays both tenor
and descant instruments to celebrate
Mr. Dodgson’s seventy-fifth birthday,
is surely a model of recorder technique
for all players.
The Duo Concertante
for guitar and harpsichord was written
for John Williams and Rafael Puyana.
Although Mr Dodgson’s notes say that
he had initial doubts about combining
two plucked instruments, he was persuaded
otherwise by the artists. It is certainly
an unusual combination but the composer’s
undoubted skill reveals its potential
fully.
Although Lesley-Jane
Rogers’ singing is ably suited to the
music, I found the songs Venus to
the Muses, Daphne to Apollo
and Quatre Rondeaux de Charles d’Orléans
the least engaging of the pieces on
the disc. This is clearly a matter of
personal taste however, and others may
well think differently.
Overall then, this
is a fine introduction to Stephen Dodgson’s
work which can be recommended, especially
to those interested in recorders, guitar
and harpsichord. It is well recorded
and contains much music of real interest.
Bill Kenny
Lesley-Jane Rogers (soprano) 