Eclogue
Chamber Ensemble of London/Peter Fisher (violin)
rec. 2009-2020, Kingston University, UK; Henry Wood Hall, London, UK
SOMM RECORDINGS SOMMCD0653 [75:54]
Students of Latin will tell you that eclogue is a poem in the classical style, sometimes also known as bucolic poetry. It has invariably a pastoral subject and takes the form of a dialogue or even a singing competition between two shepherds or goatherds. This literary device helps appreciate much of this captivating but undemanding disc.
Shepherds often seemed to have played wind instruments – pan pipes and flutes – so it is appropriate that the opening work is written for that most pastoral instrument, the oboe. The Devon-born composer Clive Jenkins penned his Three Pieces for oboe and strings as recently as 2021 but there is a timelessness about this music that defies stylistic categorisation. The three contrasting movements are Pastorale (naturally!), Air and Scherzo.
The best known number here is Gerald Finzi’s eponymous Eclogue. Originally the slow movement of an abandoned piano concerto from 1927, it got its title from his friend, Howard Ferguson. A contemporary reviewer wrote that the Eclogue’s “[…] calm serenity [… was] typical of Finzi’s slow movements [...] there is a rare mood of tranquillity – it unfolds in a Bachian manner [an aria?]”. It is a perfect synthesis of English pastoralism with an older baroque style. The other movements of the “concerto” would appear in 1953 as the Grand Fantasia and Toccata op. 38.
I have not knowingly come across any music by Don Shearman. The two tracks here come from a charmingly titled, undated suite Eine Kleine Leichtmusik. Venice in the Rain celebrates the composer’s “favourite holiday destination”. The liner notes say that it is only a passing shower and not a downpour. The piece is presented as a gentle barcarolle, the song of the gondoliers, which is often used to evoke La Serenissima. Shearman’s other contribution is Seventeen going on Eighteen. This has nothing to do with celebrating the rite of passage from holding a driving license to being allowed to drink alcohol! It is to do with time signature mathematics. In the mould of 1950s light music, this is a delightful piece with all the hallmarks of that genre. There are obligato passages for solo violin and harp.
Alan Ridout’s Concertino for flute and strings, completed in 1978, is one of a series of concerted works that he wrote between 1974 and 1979. There are three movements with a Scherzo in the middle. The heart of the composition is the slow and pensive finale. It is the most “advanced” item on the programme, but there is nothing challenging. This is my big discovery on this album.
Two arrangements follow. In 1960, William Lloyd Webber wrote a series of six Country Impressions for a variety of wind instruments with piano accompaniment. Unfortunately, only two of them have been recorded – Frensham Pond and Mulberry Cottage. The former, for clarinet and piano, is one of the loveliest things that Lloyd Webber wrote, and even the title will inspire the lover of English music. Frensham, down near Farnham, is now a beautiful mix of woodland, heath and water. It is small wonder that Lloyd Webber was attracted to this place. Yet this is no rambling pastoral whimsy. It is controlled, economical and straight to the point. Peter Cigleris has provided the present arrangement for clarinet and string orchestra. It is a minor desideratum that someone issue the full set of Impressions.
No introduction is needed for Ronald Binge’s ubiquitous The Watermill from 1955. Readers of a certain vintage will recall its use as an interlude on TV. Slightly more recently it was heard in the BBC television adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s evergreen The Secret Garden (1975). This lovely pastoral piece makes an accomplished use of the solo oboe and strings. Included in the score is a harp, which lends weight to the cascading effects of the water. It is music to soothe even the most troubled mood.
The only piece from the nineteenth century on this disc is the surprisingly fresh and timeless Romance from the 1847 Concertino for Harp and Orchestra op. 34 by Elias Parish Alvars. He was regarded as one of the “greatest and certainly one of the most significant classical harpists of his day”. This slow movement is quite simply gorgeous in its gentle exposition of musical material. It would be ideal if SOMM could revisit this composer and record the entire work, with the present soloist and band. After all, it did get Hector Berlioz’s enthusiastic endorsement when published in Paris.
Cecilia McDowall wrote the poignant Y Deryn Pur in 2007 for that year’s Presteigne Festival of Music and the Arts. It was scored for oboe, violin, viola and cello. Souped up for full string band for this recording, it is an exquisite bit of impressionism. The title translates as The Gentle Dove. It is another of my big discoveries on this album.
Broadcasters and record companies surprisingly ignore Joseph Horowitz. Born in Vienna in 1926, he emigrated to Britain in 1938, and remained here until his death in February 2022. Not beholden to any particular school, he wrote much approachable music. The present Concertante for clarinet and strings, completed in 1948, was his first acknowledged orchestral work. This short piece encompasses many different moods, from infectious rhythms to moody introspection. It is grateful to the soloist and is balanced by effective string writing.
Originally one of a set of piano duets, Robin Milford’s Mr John Peel Passes By was arranged for string orchestra around 1930. It was the first of Two Orchestral Interludes. It is a short, subtle adaptation of the well-known Cumberland Hunting Song. The other Interlude was Ben Jonson’s Pleasure, an adaptation of the famous melody to his song, Drink to me Only. It is a pity that this could not have been included. But what to omit?
Clive Jenkins’s Piano Concertino concludes the programme. Finished in 2018, it was dedicated to the present soloist, Margaret Fingerhut. The liner notes are correct in celebrating the fact that Jenkins is “unafraid in the teeming world of contemporary art to write music that communicates itself to the […] listener”. It is certainly a gratifying score. The opening and closing movements are vivacious, and are balanced by a beguiling Moderato. The latter could easily become a Classic FM favourite.
This enjoyable album is well played in its entirety. The soloists and the Chamber Ensemble of London under Peter Fisher are clearly enthusiastic about this cornucopia of British music. Robert Matthew-Walker’s liner notes provide a satisfactory introduction to all this repertoire. The usual CVs of the performers are given. Best of all is the cover graphics: Wassily Kandinsky’s redolent Painting Impression III (Concert, 1913).
John France
Contents
Clive JENKINS (b. 1938)
Three Pieces for Oboe and strings (2021)
Gerald FINZI (1901-56)
Eclogue, op. 10 (1929)
Don SHEARMAN (b. 1932)
Venice in the Rain (Eine Kleine Leichtmusik)
Alan RIDOUT (1934-1996)
Concertino for flute and strings (1978)
William LLOYD WEBBER (1914–1982)
Frensham Pond (arr. Peter Cigleris (1960)
Ronald BINGE (1910–1979)
The Watermill (1955)
Elias Parish ALVARS (1808-1949)
Romance from concertino for harp and orchestra, op. 34 (1847)
Cecilia McDOWALL (b. 1951)
Y Deryn Pur (2007)
Don SHEARMAN
Seventeen Going on Eighteen (Eine Kleine Leichtmusik)
Joseph HOROVITZ (1926-2022)
Concertante (1948)
Robin MILFORD (1903–1959)
Mr John Peel Passes By (c.1930)
Clive JENKINS
Piano Concertino (2018)
Other performers
Margaret Fingerhut (piano), Gabriella Dall’Olio (harp), Peter Cigleris
(clarinet), Judith Hall (flute), Michael Stowe (oboe)
