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It is perhaps difficult
to imagine two men who, during a friendship
of some thirty years, seem more different
in their philosophies. Alan Bush is
socially and politically aware; John
Ireland, twice Bush's age, a liberally
minded conservative and doubting Anglo-Catholic.
The younger man is shunned by the establishment
of the day for his Marxist beliefs;
the elder, the essential English composer,
popular - though he would protest this
- as seen by the continuous traffic
of his then publisher's sales ledgers.
A glance at the lists of compositions
provided in these pages would seem to
underline by their titles this divergence: Relinquishment (1),
Dialectic,
a Byron Symphony, Resolution
Overture on the one hand and on
the other Amberley Wild Brooks,
Equinox, Song of the Spring
Tides, Satyricon ...?
"The integration
of social and artistic conceptions
determined the choice of theme and
subject in Bush's work. The revolutionary struggle of the
people, the conflict of the individual in a hostile society
and his role in it, the striving for peace, the
anti-colonial struggle and friendship among nations became
his favourite themes." (2) wrote Boris Kotlyarov.
and further, Ronald
Stevenson:
"Alan Bush's
way out of the impasse which was
the no-man's land of post-Wagnerian
chromaticism was through what he
termed 'total thematization'. That
is to say that every bar, every
phrase in an entire movement is
derived from the theme." (3)
In complete contrast,
John Ireland, while sympathetic to the
aims of Bush's convictions - if not
the means of their delivery (4) - showed
little concern for politics. His preoccupations
were mystical, an awareness of Nature;
nothing at all of the week-end rurality
of the 'Georgian' poets. He was also conscious of the darkness
of pre-history that lay behind the scene - his inspiration
literary, influenced by the writings
of Arthur Machen (5). In the 1950s he
became sensitive to the writings of
the young Jocelyn Brooke (6)
And yet, through these letters there emerges a
fraternal bond between these two seemingly disparate personalities
that has nothing to do with Master and Pupil other than a common
interest in each others' creative work.(7)
When Bush came to study
composition with Ireland in 1922 he
had already established himself as a
RAM prize-winner with his early Piano
Sonata in B minor op.2 1921 (8) and
as a brilliant pianist. He later had
Schnabel as his teacher in Berlin where
he also studied philosophy and musicology.
On the evidence of this early work,
op 2, it seems clear that Bush must
have known and been influenced by, the
music of John Ireland whilst at the
RAM. Beyond the friendship that grew
between the two there are clear indications
of that influence. One has only to listen
to the third movement (Grave)
of Bush's Piano Concerto (op 18 1935-7)
- a long chordal string passage, underlined
by oboe - to hear echoes of John Ireland's
'dialect', especially from Ireland's Piano Concerto of 1930. It
is also strange to hear that influence in the unlikely conception of
'Voices of the Prophets'.
Despite the divergence
in viewpoint on other matters (9) Ireland
took a keen interest in Bush's progress while Bush diligently,
as pianist and conductor of the London Strings, promoted the music
of his mentor - "my revered
teacher" - especially the Piano
Sonata, and the Concertino Pastorale.
(10)
The 160 letters in
this volume cover the years 1927 to
1961, the first letter dated 26 January
1927 - (following on the five years
during which Bush was studying with
Ireland and in close contact. The last
is dated 30 November 1961, a few months
before Ireland's death. The bulk of
the letters are from the elder to the
younger, the former seemingly failing
to retain the letters; those quoted
here are from carbon copies kept by
Bush. Nevertheless there is a reasonable
continuity that, with the help of copious
footnotes paints a fascinating picture
not only of the two men, but also of
the underlying musical climate in this
country at the time pre- and post-War
England.
The correspondence
is divided into three sections - the
inter-war years: 1927-1938; The Gathering
Storm and War 1939-45; and the post-war
years 1946-61. With each of these sections
comes an Introductory survey, painting
the background picture. The book also
provides a helpful chronology, lists
of compositions and dates, biographical
notes of those personalities mentioned
in the course of the text, and some
ancillary material by way of essays
by Ireland on Bush as a student, and
by Bush on 'These Things shall be'. At first sight the plethora
of footnotes looks daunting - yet coming immediately
after each letter reference is rendered
easy since only one or two pages need
to be scrutinised unlike the practice
of notes being at the end.
We have come to expect
quality from this publisher in what
could without exaggeration be called
quality productions. This volume is
no exception, doing justice to the assiduous
research undertaken by Alan Bush's daughter
Rachel O'Higgins. The book is therefore
an obligatory volume for the shelves
of all interested in British music in
the 20th century.
Colin Scott-Sutherland
Notes:
1 In a radio interview with John
Amis, Bush was asked what he was relinquishing?
He replied "A certain course of action"
(adding sotto voce, "of an
amatory nature").
2 'Time Remembered' - an 80th
birthday Symposium ed. Ronald Stevenson
'Bravura', Kidderminster 1981, the
clearest expression being in his four
operas.
3 Ronald Stevenson, The Music
Review. Nov. 1964 Vol. xxx No. 4 p.332
4 Vide letters 62 and 63 - the only occasion when a disagreement
on political matters caused some forthright
language
- Ireland once said "How can
anyone understand my music if they
haven't read Machen?"
- Jocelyn Brooke, author of the 'Orchid' trilogy, 'The Scapegoat'
and 'The Dog at Clambercrown'.
In the latter Brooke described his
reaction to Ireland's music - "The
dominant image evoked is of a wooded
and remote countryside, silent and
frostbound in the early twilight of
a winter evening. It is the dead season
yet there is a subtle half-realized
feeling of Spring in the air: a stirring
of bird-life in the woods, the catkins
lengthening upon the hazels, the first
celandine, perhaps, gleaming precociously
in the sheltered hedgerow. After a
day of rain and unbroken cloud, the
western sky is suddenly clear, a broad
rift of brightness palely green over
the humped outline of the wood".
- Ireland told me once that he continued
to listen to all new music on the
radio whether or not he liked it in
the end.
- The Sonata, though printed, was never issued. Corder however hailed
it as a successor to the Sonata of
Benjamin Dale!
- The letters contain details also
of various financial transactions
between the two, with Bush giving
Ireland financial support and dealing
with mortgage charges over Gunter
Grove and latterly Rock Mill. The
reader will find these various matters
of only minor interest.
- In the radio interview with John
Amis mentioned above Bush explained
that in writing music for such events
as the 1974 Pageant of Labour, this
he considered music 'for use' whilst
not denigrating its sincerity or the
quality of this work, he considered
his more serious music as coming within
the 'professional'sphere.
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