I once wrote Antony Hopkins a letter about his association with
the violinist Isolde Menges and he wrote a most charming reply.
Hopkins was by then long established as a lecturer, broadcaster,
composer, pianist and writer. His self-description as an ‘odd
job man’ was, at least, quadruply modest.
This 2-CD selection of works attests to the high level of his
compositional achievement which was invariably spiced with wit
and self-deprecation. It’s been a delight to encounter and to
discover so many works of his that I had never previously heard,
and in such first class performances too. Take the Viola Sonata
of 1945 for instance. He knows how to subvert a March theme
but also employs the very English Ground in the second movement.
There’s an intense Scherzo and a quizzical and quiet
close to the concluding Epilogue. The sonata was dedicated
to Jean Stewart, viola player in the Menges Quartet, and a player
much admired in the profession, not least by Vaughan Williams.
The Second Piano Sonata may be in Hopkins’s own words a Tippett
imitation but its Rondo, which is all that we hear,
is a folksy and delicious bit of writing fully deserving preservation.
Isn’t the rest as equally deserving?
The ingenious cantata A Humble Song to the Birds
reveals Hopkins’s sensitive word setting prowess whilst the
Partita in G minor for solo violin is cut from a terser and
tougher cloth. Dedicated to Neville Marriner, it was written
for Max Salpeter’s Wigmore Hall debut. This is an outstanding
discovery. The Partita isn’t especially reflective of Bartók
or Ysa˙e, though in its concision and technical address it strikes
me as being as interesting as Enescu’s violin works: I’d rate
it that high. At only ten minutes in length it makes an urgent
appeal to questing fiddle players.
The Third Piano Sonata absorbs folk elements and plenty of drama,
whilst occupying that uneasy post-war corridor of testing, emotionally
complex contingency and ambiguity. The 1952 Suite for descant
recorder and piano has affectionate warmth and is very well
written for the instruments. The Pastiche Suite somehow
ended up in Thomas Beecham’s library, a strange one to fathom
considering it was written for treble recorder and piano. The
first disc ends with Three French Folksongs which were
written for Sophie Wyss, for whom Britten famously wrote. The
central song, Gail on la is especially delightful.
There’s no let-up in disc two which starts with the gorgeous
1948 Tango. We hear I’ve Lost My Love, an
operatic aria and Four Dances from Back to Methusalah
with some amusing baroquerie. Hopkins himself reads three poems
of his that marry fun with knowing wit. One takes as its subject
Jack Nicklaus (a parody of Good King Wenceslas) and
another Charlie’s Revenge, the tale of an avenging
cellist. Surely Charlie isn’t...Anthony Pini, known in the profession
as ‘Charlie’? There are also bonus tracks which consist of some
music from Hopkins’s musical Johnny the Priest (1960).
The track features Jeremy Brett (of Sherlock Holmes fame), Stephanie
Voss and Phillada Sewell, a full six and a half minutes, light
music with choice percussion. Recorded in 1953 for Argo we also
have the Trio from his opera Three’s Company
for which Hopkins plays piano. Most attractive, if boxily recorded.
There is a series of works written specifically for Hopkins’s
90th birthday. They range from a playlet by Andrew
Plant through an ardent setting by David Dubery, an attractive
Pastoral by David Matthews, a rather more astringent piece by
Anthony Gilbert, a wordless setting by Gordon Crosse and a gentle
one from David Ellis. There are other tributes too, just as
good.
Let me finally commend all the performers whose ardent playing
contributes so materially to the success of this well-annotated
disc. It is indeed a Portrait, and a very well deserved one
too.
Jonathan Woolf
See
also a review by John France
Track-listing
CD 1
Sonata for Viola and Piano (1945) [14:15]
Rondo from Piano Sonata No. 2 in F sharp minor (1945) [2:59]
A Humble Song to the Birds-cantata, for high voice
and piano (1945) [8:02]
Partita in G minor for solo violin (1947) [10:10]
Piano Sonata No. 3 in C sharp minor (1946-48) [15:54]
Suite, for descant recorder and piano (1952) [6:06]
Pastiche Suite, for treble recorder and piano (1944) [3:44]
Three French Folksongs, for soprano, recorder and piano) (1947)
[6:20]
CD 2
Tango for piano (1948) [2:35]
Three Seductions for recorder and piano (1949) [3:59]
First Love from Early One Morning, for soprano
and piano (1980) [3:32]
I've Lost my Love from Hands Across the
Sky for soprano, recorder and piano (1953) [3:31]
A Melancholy Song, for soprano, recorder and piano
(1945) [1:04]
Four Dances from Back to Methuselah, for recorder and
piano (1946) [4:03]
Three Poems (?) [7:58] read by the author.
Eight Tributes (2011):-
Andrew PLANT On How to Sing, for soprano, recorder
and piano [2:03]
David MATTHEWS (b.1943) A Little Pastoral, for
solo recorder [1:46]
David DUBERY (b.1948) Evening in April, for
soprano, recorder and piano [3:28]
Anthony GILBERT (b.1934) Above all That, for
recorder and piano [2:52]
Gordon CROSSE (b.1937) CantAHta, for soprano,
recorder and piano [3:07]
David ELLIS (b.1933) Head Music, for recorder
and piano [1:53]
Joseph PHIBBS (b.1974) Pierrot, for soprano,
recorder and piano [3:43]
Elis PEHKONEN (b.1942) Pieds en l'air,
for recorder and piano [1:57]
Bonus Tracks:
Two extracts from Johnny the Priest starring Jeremy
Brett (1960) [6:35]
Trio from Three's Company, an opera by Antony
Hopkins, libretto by Michael Flanders. OBE (1953) [3:38]
Lesley-Jane Rogers (soprano), James Gilchrist (tenor), John
Turner (recorders), Paul Barritt (violin), Matthew Jones (viola),
Philip Fowke (piano), Michael Hampton (piano), Janet Simpson
(piano), Antony Hopkins (speaker); Jeremy Brett, Stephanie Voss
and Phillida Sewell (vocals) (Johnny the Priest); Elizabeth
Boyd, Stephen Manton, Eric Shilling (vocals) and Antony Hopkins
(piano) (Three’s Company)
rec. 24 January 2011 Bedford School (A Humble Song); 27 October
2011 St Thomas’ Church Stockport (Partita); 17 December 2011
Whiteley Hall, Chethams School, Manchester (Piano Sonata No.3
and Tango); 12-13 November 2011 Purcell School, Bushey (All
other tracks)
alternatively
CD: MDT
AmazonUK
AmazonUS
DIVINE ART DDA21217 [67:37 + 57:52] 