Unlike most of Lyrita’s
2007 issues this one is derived from
recordings of performances that have
never previously been available in any
form. In this it can be grouped with
January’s Coates-Wordsworth disc SRCD.213
and the Holst Whitman SRCD.210,
February’s Arthur Benjamin Symphony
SRCD.314 and March’s Arnold Cooke Symphony
No. 1 SRCD.203. More to come including
some new Sterndale Bennett overtures,
Coleridge Taylor’s violin concerto,
Julius Harrison’s Bredon Hill and
the William Busch concertos.
Unlike a number of
the truly new Lyrita discs the present
recordings made some thirteen years
ago have not – with the exception of
the Arnold - been pipped at the post.
The French horn is
the most romantic instrument in the
brass family; not that it does not have
other facets: buffoon and hero are in
there too. Its bloom, its range, its
supple agility in the right hands and
its warmth - all contribute to the image.
British composers have been quick to
capitalise on the instrument. Examples
of concertos, sonatas and ensemble pieces
for the instrument are plentiful. This
valuable anthology draws on that heritage
and largely from the bountiful 1950s.
A decade later and various horn concertos
by British composers were plumbing the
deeps of dodecaphony and atonality but
the present concertos are stalwarts
who naturally looked to the springs
of tonality and melody.
David Pyatt makes the
most of his opportunities. These are
not works for shrinking lilies and he
is assertively recorded with a potent
sound image catching every nuance of
horn tone.
The disc opens with
the Jacob concerto which instantly
refutes any suggestions that this phenomenally
industrious composer was a purveyor
only of gebrauchsmusik. There
are said to be nineteen concertos in
total. Of the ones I have heard a number
fall into this romantic category which
in this case slots neatly into the blended
Moeran-RVW style. The First Viola Concerto
is also deeply moving. The present three
movement work is a delight with the
first chatteringly vigorous with chansonnier
asides, the second ruminative in a faintly
bleached Sibelian way and the finale
rollicking and explosive without being
at all beery.
This makes a persuasive
prelude to the appearance in April 2007
of SRCD.315 with Gordon Jacob’s two
war-time Symphonies in recordings by
LPO/Barry Wordsworth. Comparisons will
then need to be made with a ClassicO
CD of Symphony No. 2.
The Arnold was
written for Dennis Brain and is stylistically
more personal – a definite identity
profile is asserted. David Pyatt’s horn
is given unmistakable prominence and
the playing and artistry stands up well
to the unflinchingly close focus. The
horn tone is in fruity and forwardly
full bloom. A second movement Andantino
Grazioso has those sinuously slalom
slides in the strings as well as a characteristically
romantic Pavane-style lament of a tune
– in fact the Ravel Pavane could
easily have been part of the inspiration.
There’s plenty of competition for Pyatt
but nothing untoward especially as the
no other CD offers such a coupling or
anything like it. There’s Alan Civil
on a long deleted composer-conducted
radio broadcast (3 March 1969, 75th
Birthday release - BBC Radio Classics
1 565691817) where his sound is squat,
moist and fruity as it is in his late-1980s
re-recording for EMI 0946 3 70563 2
5. Richard Watkins in the Decca Universal
Arnold Edition box on 4765343 is a shade
drier of tone than Civil or Pyatt.
Like the other three
horn concertos here the York Bowen
is in three movements. Bowen was
a student of the Royal Academy which
found more in the Russian Nationalist
and French schools than the students
of the RCM. Bowen’s swooning romanticism
is most effective and clearly sincere.
The Tchaikovskian manner may be familiar
but the inspiration is genuine and most
eloquent and there are high spirits
such as we know from the bubbling Strauss
Horn Concerto in the finale.
The Gipps
is a known and very poetic work.
It had been revived by the BBC in a
studio performance by Frank Lloyd with
the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra conducted
by George Tzipine. The broadcast took
place on 20 January 1983. Both the Moeran
and RVW haunt the pastoral pages of
the first movement and the central movement
is blithe blown by warm sweet-breathed
zephyrs. The finale is vigorous, chattery
and delightfully ingratiating.
It’s also well worth
looking out Gipps’ Symphony No. 2 on
ClassicO.
Such a pity that Lyrita did not offer
John Pritchard the chance to record
Gipps’ Fourth Symphony when he was active
recording Rawsthorne for them with the
LPO. He was one of the few conductors
other than Gipps who was prepared to
tackle the Gipps symphonies and he did
so with the BBCSO in May 1983 for her
Fourth Symphony. It is way past time
that we had a complete cycle of her
concertos and symphonies.
Vinter’s name is not
widely known in classical circles. He
was born at Peaslake, near Guildford
in Surrey on 4 May 1909. He began his
musical education as a chorister at
Lincoln Cathedral then attended the
Royal Military School of Music at Kneller
Hall and the Royal Academy where he
was appointed professor (bassoon) in
1938. He joined the BBC Military Band
in 1930 and served as a bassoonist in
the BBC Wireless Military Band and the
LPO. He enlisted in RAF in 1940 as member
of the RAF Central Band and from 1941
to 1945 he became Bandmaster, Flying
Training Command. Released from RAF
in November 1945, he formed the International
Light Orchestra. He succeeded Rae Jenkins
as Conductor of the BBC Midland Light
Orchestra based at Birmingham in 1946
and guest conducted with various European
radio orchestras. He was well respected
in the field of light music and was
also an authority on folk music. His
works include forty original compositions
spanning opera through to film music,
and about two hundred arrangements.
Perhaps the finest of the works is the
powerful and dramatic cantata The
Trumpets drawing on trumpet references
in the Bible. The movements are Blazon,
Destruction, Dedication and
Revelation. The work has been
commercially recorded twice. The first
came from HMV in November 1966 with
Owen Brannigan and the All Star Brass
conducted by the composer. Pye recorded
it in March 1969 conducted by Geoffrey
Brand with Michael Langdon and the Black
Dyke Mills. The work receives performances
still and in the 1980s it was conducted
by Maurice Handford. Vinter's recreations
included country life and natural history.
He spent his last years at St. Mabyn,
Trethevy, Tintagel, Cornwall where he
died on 10 October 1969.
Quite apart from a
single opera of which I have no details
there are the ballet: Krakov Legend
(1965), the Concertino for clarinet
and orchestra; Spring Carol,
Symphonic Suite for piano and orchestra;
Concerto Burlando for saxophone
and orchestra (1964); Piaculum for
soprano and orchestra (1963). Among
the orchestral works: Suite, Latin
America; Celtic Lilt; Divertimento
for string orchestra; Tularecito
(Little Frog); Overture,
Mr Knowall (1960); Grecian
Impressions (1962); Overture, The
Tearaway (1963); Brazilian Rhapsody
(1965); Overture, To A New Venture
(1965); English Rhapsody (1965);
Fête Basque (1965); Little
Island Rhapsody; Suite, New Lamps
for Old. He was much better known
in the brass band world and the following
brass band works should be noted: The
Dover Coach; Salute to Youth;
TUC Centenary March; Vizcaya;
Symphony of Marches (1963); Rhapsody,
Simon Called Peter (1963); Variation
on a Ninth (1964, National championship,
GUS Footwear/Stanley Boddington); Triumphant
Rhapsody (1965, National championship,
Fairey Band/Leonard Lamb); John O'Gaunt
(1968, British Open Championship,
Black Dyke Mills/Geoffrey Brand) James
Cook, Circumnavigator (1969, first
perf. British Open Championship 1974,
Black Dyke Mills/Roy Newsome); Spectrum
(1969, British Open Championship,
Grimethorpe Colliery/George Thompson).
For small brass ensembles there are
an Elegy and Rondo for brass
quartet; Fancy's Knell for brass
quartet; Alla Burlesca for brass
quartet;
Gilbert Vinter’s poetic
lollipop Hunter’s Moon was
written while the composer was in Torquay
as a member of the wartime Torquay Municipal
Orchestra. It was originally to have
been called Diana of the Chase but
this title was felt to be too ponderous.
The work was premiered by John Burden
– for whom it was written - in Torquay
in 1942. It’s a compact and mercurial
work. The chase can be fairly sedate
at times. A harp-underpinned romantic
interlude allows time for revelling
in reflection before a Delian sigh takes
us back to the humorously determined
march. If not half-cut we know from
the juicy virtuosic slides that the
Tam-Beckus hero-player has had a drop
or two. The stuff of Classic FM and
only 6:22. Let’s have some more Vinter.
How about that Concerto Burlando?
The very full and fluent
notes are by British music doyen Lewis
Foreman – always very good value.
Rob Barnett
From Jeffrey Davis (Bulletin Board):-
Have just been reading this very informative review of British Horn Concertos on Lyrita, in which Rob mentions Ruth Gipps Symphony No 4. Through a kindly contact via this Bulletin Board I have a copy of John Pritchard performing this with the BBC SO, although the work, as far as I know, has never been released on LP or CD. Frankly, the work is stunning - a wonderfully life-affirming and inspiriting score. All the works by this composer that I have been heard have been great (ie Symphony No 2 on Classico) but Symphony No 4 is, by all accounts, her masterpiece. I find myself playing it over and over again. Dutton are you listening? As Rob said, we need a complete cycle of symphonic works by this fine and largely unknown composer.
The
Lyrita Catalogue
for
details
David Pyatt (horn) 
