I recently had the
pleasure of reviewing
An English Renaissance published
by Oboe Classics (CC2009). That excellent
CD could perhaps be regarded as ‘Volume
1’ of a series of releases concentrating
on the contribution of English composers
to chamber music featuring the oboe
and strings. It introduced works by
Moeran, Britten, Maconchy, Bliss and
the unknown Dorothy Gow – who was actually
my ‘big discovery’. The latest of these
works was the Fantasy Quartet
by E.J. Moeran which was completed in
1946.
It is very easy to
regard this showcase of playing by the
late, great Janet Craxton as ‘Volume
2’. I accept that there is a chronological
hiatus between 1946 and 1968, which
was the date of the Quartet by
Lennox Berkeley so perhaps this should
be ‘Volume 3’ with a future release
covering works composed in the intervening
two decades? Elizabeth Maconchy is represented
by a work on both releases - by two
very contrasting pieces indeed!
I had to listen to
the Oboe Quartet by Francis
Routh three times before I could
say that I actually enjoyed it and began
to understand it. It reminded me yet
again of two contradictory facts about
music – firstly the listener’s need
to invest time and effort in understanding
a composer’s intention and secondly,
has a composer a right to expect a listener
to invest this effort? This is not the
forum to resolve this dilemma, save
to say that I am particularly pleased
to have made the effort in this case.
Routh said that he
wanted to compose a virtuosic piece
for Janet Craxton – ‘something that
showed off her artistry’. The work was
written in 1977 and had its first performance
in Cologne at a British Council concert.
It has the bearing of a concerto rather
than a chamber work – the soloist is
always prominent. The piece is conceived
as a set of twelve variations with the
theme being given in the introduction.
However it falls into a loose three
movement format with ‘traditional’ ‘fast-slow-fast’
tempo relationships. The ‘coda’ nods
back to the introduction giving the
work a cyclic quality.
In spite of the fact
that Routh was experimenting with a
‘new’ scale that had recently caught
his imagination, the melodic quality
of this Quartet is never in doubt.
This is challenging
music, both for the performer and for
the listener – it is most certainly
not the kind of piece to listen to in
order to ‘chill’ after a hard day at
the office. However, the argument of
the work is worthy and deserves perseverance.
Elizabeth Maconchy
is the only composer on this present
CD who was also represented on An
English Renaissance. Forty years
separate the present Oboe Quartet
from the Quintet for Oboe and Strings
which was entered for the 1932 Daily
Telegraph chamber music competition
(the latter just reissued by Dutton
in its original 1933 recording with
Helen Gaskell and the Grillers on CDBP9762.
Ed.) . There is a tremendous disparity
in style. Certainly the Quartet owes
a lot less to Vaughan Williams that
her earlier work did!
The Quartet lacks a
declared programme, yet Maconchy’s daughter
the composer Nicola LeFanu (also represented
on this CD) has said that there is a
close relationship between the composer’s
10th String Quartet,
the monodrama Ariadne and the
present work. Elizabeth Maconchy saw
Janet Craxton as being a kind of Ariadne
– deserted on Naxos by the feckless
Theseus. This music displays the emotions
of loss and anger of an abandoned woman.
We are not told if this music is in
any way autobiographical.
The accompanying sleeve-notes
give an excellent two page analysis
so it is not really necessary to elaborate
further! I will mention, however that
this piece is in four well-balanced
movements with the Scherzo placed second.
The scherzo has been
described as ‘playful’ – but bearing
in mind the legend that underlies this
work that seems highly unlikely. My
first thoughts were of a kind of suppressed
aggression. But whatever the emotion
the technical requirements are considerable.
The ‘poco lento, dolento’
is strange music. The text explains
that this is the most obviously ‘Ariadne-like’
music in the piece and further on that
this is the most ‘integrated movement’.
Perhaps some people hear music differently
– but if I was pressed I would say that,
in spite of the mournful playing – or
perhaps because of it there is more
meandering here than is good for it.
Maconchy was always
concerned that she should not become
a fully paid up member of the ‘pastoral’
school of English music: it is safe
to say that this work steers well clear
of that much pilloried cliché.
I have already written
at some length about Polemics
by Richard Stoker and this is
available on my WebPages
about the composer. However it is
worth making a few comments about the
work for this review.
Stoker was no stranger
to writing for the oboe - in fact he
produced An Oboe Method for the
beginner. Furthermore his catalogue
includes Chant & Danse for
the Associated Board, Aubade,
Three Pieces for solo instrumentalist
and last but certainly not least a Pastoral
for Oboe and Strings.
The genesis of Polemics
developed from his friendship with Janet
Craxton. It was conceived really as
a discussion or even argument between
the composer and player. Of course the
oboist was Janet and the other instruments
were the composer!
It is in three sections
that could quite easily be seen or heard
five. The composer explores various
styles of music – including nods to
Scarlatti and Mozart – however it is
never derivative. It bears certain hallmarks
of atonalism and perhaps even serialism
– however the constructional principles
certainly do not inhibit the composer’s
invention. This is a piece that moves
both the heart and the mind.
The only downside is
that this recording is in mono – for
what reason I do not understand as stereo
was well in use in 1971. Yet, although
a new recording would be desirable,
I doubt if it could completely replace
the version recorded here. The close
relationship between performer and composer
would be hard to replicate.
The Variations for
Oboe Quartet is the only work in
this CD that was not composed specifically
for Janet Craxton. In fact Nicola
LeFanu was asked by the Dutch oboist
Victor Swillens for a chamber work after
his success with an earlier Soliloquy
for solo instrument. LeFanu wrote the
piece in 1968 and subsequently it went
on to win both the BBC Composer’s Prize
and the Cobbett Prize.
LeFanu writes in the
booklet that this work is ‘not a strictly
serial work’ although the first oboe
solo is a 12-tone melody. It is a very
difficult work to describe in a few
words but I suppose it is best said
that it is very much a work of its time
-1967. Some of the variations are extremely
beautiful whereas others are perhaps
more a result of the progress of the
compositional technique. This is a fine
example of a quasi-serial work that
balances lyricism with the prevailing
style of the times.
The Lennox Berkeley
Quartet for Oboe and String Trio
is far and away my favourite piece on
this CD. And perhaps this is not surprising.
It is certainly the most traditional
work and does not have a ‘programme’
or rely on overt serialism. In fact
the prevailing ‘building blocks’ of
this work are nothing more avant-garde
than major and minor thirds.
The work is in three
movements. The first balances reflection
with angst and is in traditional sonata
form. Without the score it is quite
difficult to come to terms with all
that is happening in this intricate
music. The Scherzo is by far the most
exciting movement – lots of interesting
writing here - with pizzicato strings
and arpeggios for the oboe. The music
eases off into a kind of trio before
the movement finishes with a recap of
the ‘presto’ music. The last movement
is the heart of the work – even if it
is at the end! This is deeply thought-out
material and is in complete contrast
to the preceding scherzo. The music
just kind of fades but with the last
word being given to the cellist.
The Quartet was commissioned
by the Institute of Contemporary Arts
and although it is not dedicated to
Janet Craxton, she was certainly the
soloist that Berkeley had in mind. He
had already written an Oboe Sonatina
for her and was to write a Sinfonia
Concertante. It was to have been
given its first performance by the Oromonte
Trio, but unfortunately they folded
before they could play it. It fell to
the London Oboe Quartet to fill the
breech and this is the version we hear
on this CD. It was given at the Wigmore
Hall on 22 May 1968.
I must confess that
I am not a great fan of the music of
Elizabeth Lutyens. I was first
introduced to her music at a performance
of ‘O saisons, O Châteaux’
(1946). Since then I have managed to
avoid hearing very much by her. The
present piece is the first that I have
ever reviewed. ‘Driving out the Death’
for Oboe and String Trio Op.81 appeals
to me more than virtually everything
else I have heard by this composer –
with the exception of some film scores.
Perhaps it is an inescapable fact that
I do not relate to strict 12 tone works?
Perhaps it is just misfortune in the
nature of works presented to my musical
palate. But this work appears to me
to eschew some of the more rigorous
excesses of the style. There appears
to be a greater freedom and flexibility
in her use of the material.
This work is in fact
quite listenable – even to those whose
normal diet is not ‘serialism’. In fact
it is a moving and interesting piece
exploiting to the full the qualities
of the oboe and the string trio. This
strikes me as being much less hidebound
by musical dogma than other Lutyens
works I have heard.
I notice that commentators
use the work ‘lyrical’ about this piece
– presumably suggesting that somewhere
amongst the workings of the tone rows
there is a nice tune! Actually there
are moments at which even the most conservative
ear will recognise a truly memorable
phrase.
The work is based on
a Greek ritual about the progress of
the seasons where death and life are
presented in mime. There are six sections
to this fifteen minute work – really
three groups of two. They are played
without a noticeable break.
This is the second
CD production by Oboe Classics that
I have reviewed - I hope to be listening
to a third in the very near future.
I must say that I am totally impressed
by the quality of the production. For
a start there is a 22 page booklet which
has close written text about both works
and performers. The works are described
in great detail and allow a listener
to have virtually a complete understanding
of the ‘sitz in leben’ of each piece.
Furthermore there are two essays – one
on Janet Craxton and the second a detailed
discussion about the recordings themselves.
I do wish that all
CD companies could produce such comprehensive
notes with their release. Furthermore
the web page is excellent and deserves
to be well and truly surfed! Oboe
Classics Webpage
The sound quality is
generally excellent – bearing in mind
that these recordings date from the
nineteen-seventies - the Stoker is in
mono! This in no way interferes with
listening pleasure. Any glitches are
deemed irrelevant when balanced against
the quality of performance by soloist
and the London Oboe Quartet.
Basically this release
includes five works (plus LeFanu) that
were inspired by the playing of Janet
Craxton – each of the players knew her
personally and each composer was able
to compose a work that exploited her
unique talents. Some of these compositions
may not be to everyone’s taste but -
that notwithstanding - each of these
works are at least minor masterpieces
within a genre that is less represented
than it deserves.
All of these compositions
display a great understanding of the
technical abilities of players, instruments
and chamber music in general.
John France
see also
Francis
Routh
Elizabeth
Maconchy
Elizabeth
Lutyens
Lennox
Berkeley
Janet Craxton (oboe) 
