It is somewhat surprising
that in this, his 85th year, one
of England’s finest living composers is absent
from this year’s BBC Proms. Here is a man
who completed his Ninth Symphony over
twenty years ago, hoping that it would be
the last composition that he wrote. Surely
some kind of celebration could have been possible?
Given the lack of attention granted to Arnold
recently, it is doubly welcome to have the
current set of recordings back in circulation.
The CD couples the sets of English,
Scottish and Cornish dances
recorded in 1979 with the later set of Irish
dances recorded in 1990 although the booklet
does not give recording dates or venues. Arnold
had a long relationship with the London Philharmonic,
having been appointed principal trumpet in
1942, at the tender age of 21. It comes as
no surprise then that the results of these
recordings are very happy indeed.
Arnold is a composer with
an extraordinary grasp of orchestration and
a great facility for integrating popular idioms
and rather more modernist techniques. However,
whereas many composers would take less care
over ‘light music’ miniatures, Arnold in the
sets of regional dances on this disc, lavished
just as much attention to detail as can be
found in his symphonies.
The disc opens with the two
sets of English Dances. These, amongst
Arnold’s most popular works, were composed
in the early 1950s at the suggestion of his
publisher to ‘try his hand at something like
Dvořák’s
Slavonic Dances. There are similarities
between the two sets of works in that both
composers, whilst certainly influenced by
local dance forms, managed to evoke the spirit
of their respective countries without resorting
to pre-existing folk tunes.
Each of the eight (in total)
English Dances is distinct from the
others. The opening Andantino is a
graceful waltz with a pleasing melody initially
played by strings that contrasts with rather
more craggy brass sonorities in the central
section. extract
Exuberant brass fanfares open the Vivace,
displaying the rhythmic dexterity of the LPO
trumpets of the day and featuring some excellent
horn playing elsewhere. extract
Arnold’s own distinctive interpretation of
his own works is evident in the ensuing Mesto,
substantially slower than most rivals (a full
fifty per-cent longer than Groves for EMI
in 1976, EMI British Composers CDZ5747802).
He gives his players extra space to phrase
and nuance the material in a more vocal way.
Whilst the result is very beautiful, some
may miss an element of folk-song that is present
when played at a more flowing tempo. extract
The concluding movement of the first set,
Allegro risoluto finds its numerous
hemiolae and syncopations dispatched with
great élan. extract
It was here, however, that I first noticed
how the otherwise excellent recorded sound
is a little too reverberant for this music,
giving the orchestra a big, beefy sound that
some might find inappropriate.
The generally excellent standard
of playing continues in the second set of
English Dances. [Number 1 Allegro
con brio extract]
Number 2, Con brio, features some particularly
perky wind playing and some nicely characterised
brass band-esque passages.extract
The conclusion is hugely exciting and uplifting.
The following grazioso once again takes
the form of a waltz, its wistfulness enhanced
by the modal inflections and harmonic pedals.
After a more positive brass climax the music
subsides to the accompaniment of evocative
bells. extract
The last of these English Dances
is an absolute joy, Arnold using numerous
rhythmic tricks to generate excitement. The
spectacular conclusion (lento e maestoso)
finds trombones declaiming a folk-like melody
against the rest of the orchestra. However,
this does highlight the fact that trombones
and trumpets are far too prominent in the
recorded balance in comparison to the wind
and horns. extract
The two sets of English
Dances proved so popular that the choreographer
Kenneth MacMillan decided to utilise them
for a ballet, Solitaire, at Sadler’s
Wells in 1956. To the existing eight movements
Arnold added another two, a Sarabande
and Polka. The former is a melancholy
piece, highly lyrical yet with an occasional
moment of dissonance. The performance here
is outstandingly beautiful, sensitive and
restrained. Wind solos are exquisitely taken
and the strings soar as if one instrument.
extract The
witty Polka comes as a complete contrast.
Its cheeky opening melody (for two piccolos)
will stay with you (against your will, no
doubt) for days. extract
The brass are suitably raucous at times with
many a clichéd trombone slide. Indeed,
it is an immensely humorous performance, generally
dead-pan but with the occasional witty moment.
However, it is definitely one of the lesser
pieces on the disc.
In contrast to the exuberant,
charming and always melodious English Dances,
the Irish Dances of 1986 show a new
toughness and astringency to the musical language
far more in keeping with the roughly contemporaneous
Ninth Symphony. Arnold himself has
said of that troubled, despairing work that
it came after a five year period during which
he had ‘been through Hell’ (from an interview
with Andrew Penny on Naxos’ recording of the
symphony, Naxos 8.553540, 1996). Sonorities
are often of a far darker hue and textures
starker. This is immediately noticeable in
the opening Allegro con energico with
its driving tenor drum extract
and in the dissonant string counterpoint in
the following Commodo. Despite a brief
interjection of a wind quartet, the latter
piece is written entirely for strings, and
elegiac lament that is a far cry from the
grace and/or wistfulness of the slower numbers
of the English Dances. extract
Number three, Piacevole is built almost
entirely on a descending sequence of yearning
dissonances heard at the outset extract
and, whilst the concluding Vivace
is in the form of a jig, it also is highly
dissonant. extract
Given the decade between these recordings
and the other items on the disc, the results
are remarkably consistent in terms of both
sound and level of orchestral polish.
The remaining two sets of
dances, the Scottish and Cornish,
predictably fall between the extremes of the
English and Irish. The Pesante
opening dance of the Scottish set contains
the typical elements of ‘Scottish’ music -
bagpipes are imitated by drone trombones and
the ubiquitous ‘Scotch snap’ - elements similar
to those of Hungarian folk-music, explaining
why the opening is more than a little reminiscent
of Bartók extract.
That said, it is not long before the music
acquires some of Arnold’s typical rhythmic
drive and harmonic signature. The Scottish
dance-form of the ‘reel’ is employed for the
Vivace, a repeating melody that constantly
rises in pitch. extract
The (excellent) booklet notes how ‘the
bassoonist seems to be drunk’ in one variation.
All credit to the LPO’s principal bassoon
for conveying this vividly without a hint
of vulgarity. After a sweet, romantic Allegretto
- lovely flute playing extract
- Arnold concocts a typically exuberant
Con brio, performed with all the verve
and excitement that one has come to expect
from this disc. extract
It may have occurred to the
reader that the order of programming on this
disc makes no chronological sense in terms
of composition date or recording date. But
there could be no better way to end this disc
than with the fabulous Cornish Dances.
Arnold lived in Cornwall for a number of years
in the 1960s and was apparently very happy
there. That is borne out in these four affectionately
witty, sometimes slyly parodic miniatures.
The opening Vivace takes a pastiche
sea-song theme and cycles it through too many
keys to mention, the orchestration dominated
by horns and brass, who play with boisterous
excitement. extract
The Andantino that follows is perhaps
the most extraordinary track on the disc.
The mysteriously shimmering strings and bells
that accompany the chromatically winding wind
lines at the outset suggest perhaps a mist
shrouded fishing trawler at sea; the effect
is certainly eerie and the immense cymbal
rolls at the heart of the movement would certainly
suggest something nautical. Arnold creates
a peculiar air of stasis at this point with
use of dissonant note clusters. The playing
in this movement is extremely delicate and
the balance immaculate. extract
As a point of interest, Arnold himself with
the CBSO in 1972 (EMI British Composers CDZ5747802)
took a full minute less than he does here,
and the same can be said of the following
con moto. Labelled sempre parodia,
this movement provides some light relief,
a parody of a sentimental sea song or hymn
as played by an increasingly blatant brass
band. extract
The tambourine player even gets ‘lost’
at the end, resulting in an impromptu solo
before the final chord. The final allegro
ma non troppo juxtaposes two distinct
ideas, both building in intensity before a
suitably noisy climax. extract
All in all, then, a superb
disc. The quality of playing throughout is
magnificent, the orchestra obviously responding
to the authority of the composer. The sound
quality is frequently spectacular - sometimes
a little too much - certainly finer than much
of the competition. A first choice for this
repertoire then? Yes and, indeed, no. Since
this disc’s original release in 1990, Arnold
has added a set of Welsh Dances. These
can be found on a single Naxos CD (Naxos 8.553526)
along with the English, Irish, Scottish
and Welsh sets. If you want all of
them, you have little choice. If you can do
without the Welsh Dances, then this
Lyrita CD is without question the one to have.
Owen E. Walton
see also review
by Colin Clarke
London Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Malcolm Arnold.