This is one of the
"new" Lyritas, in the sense
that the recordings on this CD have
never been issued before, even though
they were made thirteen years ago. Though
it’s a matter for regret that the recordings
have lain in the vaults for so long
it’s cause for unqualified rejoicing
that such a delightful collection, all
in sparkling performances, should now
be available.
David Pyatt is an outstanding
young British musician. I recall his
victory in the BBC Young Musician of
the year competition in 1988. At that
time he was aged only 14 – he’d only
taken up the horn six years earlier,
I believe. He has since gone on to build
a highly successful solo career, combining
that with the post of Principal Horn
in the London Philharmonic Orchestra,
an assignment that he took up in the
1998/9 season.
All the works included
here, with the exception of Ruth Gipps’s
concerto were closely associated with
the great Dennis Brain. I’m sure he
played all of them superbly – he gave
the premières of the Jacob, Arnold
and Bowen works - but it’s hard to imagine
stronger advocacy than all the pieces
receive from David Pyatt. He’s recorded
relatively closely, though not aggressively
so, and not in such a way as to eclipse
the consistently interesting orchestral
parts. The closeness of the balance
allows us to appreciate to the full
his rich, round, golden tone as well
as his seemingly effortless technique.
This is, in short a superb demonstration
of horn playing. There are other links
within the programme too, besides the
"Brain factor". For example,
both Malcolm Arnold and Ruth Gipps were
pupils of Gordon Jacob and the first
broadcast performance of the Gipps concerto
was given, in 1982, by Frank Lloyd,
David Pyatt’s own teacher.
The concerto by Ruth
Gipps seems to me to be the most serious
of the pieces on this disc – not that
any of them is exactly frivolous. She
wrote it for her son, who gave the first
performance. The first movement offers
the soloist frequent opportunities for
virtuosity but it’s predominantly a
thoughtful movement. Unusually the middle
movement is not slow in tempo; instead
it’s a scherzo, featuring what Lewis
Foreman memorably describes as a "thistledown
tune". There’s a vivacious start
to the finale but before long we reach
a more lyrical and pensive section and
this music alternates thereafter with
livelier episodes. The accompaniment
to this concerto features the fullest
orchestration of the four and the scoring
is consistently resourceful and interesting.
Nowhere is this more apparent that in
the short passage in the finale that
Lewis Foreman highlights in his notes.
Here, beginning at 4:30, the soloist
duets with the celesta in a most imaginative
and unusual piece of scoring. Like its
companions on the disc this concerto
cries out to be heard more often and
David Pyatt is a splendid advocate for
it.
He’s no less admirable
in the splendid concerto by York Bowen,
himself a horn player. The more I hear
of Bowen’s music the more I like it
and the more I marvel at its neglect.
This is an inventive and tremendously
enjoyable work in which a short, reflective
slow movement catches the listener’s
attention. The finale is cast mainly
in a lively frame of mind but the romantic
in York Bowen can’t resist pausing along
the way for a lovely middle section
in a slower tempo – and thank goodness
for it.
Malcolm Arnold’s concerto
is probably the best known of these
concertos. Another work inspired by
Dennis Brain, he gave its first performance
at the Cheltenham Festival in July 1957,
just a matter of weeks before his tragic
and untimely death. Arnold, himself
an orchestral trumpeter and therefore
well versed in brass instruments, appears
to write with complete understanding
not just of the solo instrument but
of the personality for whom he had written
the work. The main material of the central
slow movement is a nostalgic slow waltz
that David Pyatt clearly relishes and
which offers a few moments of relative
repose before the headlong virtuosity
of the finale.
The Gordon Jacob concerto
is a delight from start to finish. The
first movement frequently has the strings
playing in motor rhythms but over the
top of this material the soloist has
interesting and lively music. There’s
a substantial and lovely lyrical core
to this movement and a demanding cadenza
(from 7:20). The slow movement is a
wonderfully atmospheric nocturne, which
is imbued with a fine sense of lyrical
repose. Pyatt is most eloquent here.
Most of the time the finale dances along
giving the soloist ample opportunity
for display but there are some disarming
lyrical stretches too.
This generously filled
disc concludes with an encore in the
shape of Hunter’s Moon. by Gilbert
Vinter. This wasn’t written for Dennis
Brain but he took it up towards the
end of his life as something of a party
piece. I hadn’t encountered it before
and I found it most engaging. The outer
sections, which contain a bouncy little
march, frame a gorgeous cantabile
central section. The whole piece breathes
the atmosphere of A Midsummer Night’s
Dream.
I enjoyed the Vinter
piece, but then I enjoyed the whole
disc immensely. The music is of high
quality and the standard of performance
is consistently superb. In this last
comment I include not just the marvellous
solo playing of David Pyatt but also
the fine support given to him by Nicholas
Braithwaite and the LPO. The recorded
sound is first rate and Lewis Foreman’s
authoritative and enthusiastic notes
are a model of their kind. For sheer
listening pleasure this is one of the
best discs to have come my way for a
long time.
John Quinn
See also review by Rob
Barnett
The
Lyrita Catalogue
for
details
David Pyatt (horn) 
