Monthly Archives: August 2022

Screen Grab: The music of Marriage – new BBC drama brings composer Caroline Shaw to the fore

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This week the BBC have started showing the intriguing drama Marriage, which has superstar quality from its two lead characters, Sean Bean and Nicola Walker.

The series has split opinion in its accurate portrayal of every life in a marriage lasting 27 years – largely played out in real time. As the series has developed the many subtleties have combined to a plot that is gathering substance and meaning as time goes on, rather like life itself.

One of the most striking elements of the drama is its bold choice of signature tune, which again has divided opinion sharply. The chosen music is by composer Caroline Shaw (above) – the first couple of minutes of her Partita for unaccompanied choir, specifically the first movement Allemande.

Initially the voices sound like an extra part of Marriage, especially as the plot continues to play out, but as the voices come together in a firm pitch so too do the images, and the end credits roll.

You can listen to the full movement, which lasts six minutes, below – and enjoy Shaw’s wonderful layering of the voices, with spicy harmonic clashes and some vibrant writing for the small choir:

The Partita continues with three further movements, each based on an old dance form. The Sarabande is initially soothing and enchanting, before really letting rip with primal power halfway through. The Courante, the most substantial of the four movements, has a number of hypnotic effects and fresh faced harmonies, especially halfway through as it soars to unexpected heights.

Finally the Passacaglia has a lilting base to its music, and a spoken word commentary resumes as it did at the start of the piece, before the voices end powerfully in unison.

Here is a live performance, given by the dedicatees Roomful of Teeth – with whom the composer sings:

Aside from this high profile appearance, Shaw has been making quite a name for herself in recent years. In 2021, Nonesuch released the album Let The Soil Play Its Simple Part, written and performed with Sō Percussion:

Meanwhile the choral piece And the Swallow lingers particularly long in the memory:

You can discover more of Caroline’s music at her website

In appreciation – Lamont Dozier

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Lamont Dozier in 1969. (c) Michael Ochs Archives, via Getty Images

Last week we heard the sad news of the death of Lamont Dozier, one of Motown’s chief songwriters. If you have listening to British radio stations over the last week you may well have heard a tribute or two in his honour – and even if you haven’t heard the tributes, the chances are you have heard a song in which Lamont had a vested writing interest.

The shower of tributes from artists in the wake of his death says everything about the quality of his songwriting. Carole King, in a Twitter post, said this:

As a member of that fabled Holland-Dozier-Holland trio (with Brian and Eddie Holland) he helped form something of a production line of quality Motown hits, a trio of songwriters the label could turn to at incredibly short notice, and who thought nothing of challenging their star vocalists.

First in this tribute is an appropriate one for this website – The Supremes’ I Hear A Symphony, from 1965. Here it is on an episode of Hullabaloo, introduced in a classical context:

Some of Holland-Dozier-Holland’s finest songs were written for The Four Tops – and it would be hard to top Reach Out, I’ll Be There, exploiting the incredibly powerful voice of lead singer Levi Stubbs to give the song its strongest possible impact:

Meanwhile another recipient of the trio’s fruits were Martha & the Vandellas, whose Heatwave remains one of Motown’s most powerful and affirmative calling cards:

Back to The Supremes, and the feverish You Keep Me Hangin’ On – not just for the pleading Diana Ross vocal but for the insistent guitar line that just will not go away:

Another Martha & the Vandellas track, Jimmy Mack, written in the wake of the death of the songwriter Ronnie Mack at the age of only 23, asks ‘when are you comin’ back?’

Another UK chart topper for Dozier and the Hollands was Band of Gold by Freda Payne, released in 1970 and a radio staple to this day:

Finally here is a wonderful song Lamont wrote for the imperious Alison Moyet in 1984. Invisible is surely one of her finest vocal achievements:

For a full list of songs in which Lamont was involved, you can go to the SecondHandSongs website

On record: Sinfonia of London / John Wilson – John Ireland: Orchestral Works (Chandos)

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John Ireland
Satyricon Overture (1946)
A Downland Suite [1941, arr. Ireland (movements 2 & 3), Geoffrey Bush (1 & 4)]
Mai-Dun (1920-21)
The Forgotten Rite (1913)
A London Overture (1936)
The Holy Boy (1941, Ireland’s string orchestra arrangement)
Epic March (1941-42)

Sinfonia of London / John Wilson

Chandos CHAN 5293 [67’16”]
Producer Brian Pidgeon
Engineer Ralph Couzens

Recorded 26-28 August 2021, Church of St. Augustine, Kilburn, London, UK

Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

John Ireland is a well-respected composer in the scope of early 20th century British music. Often writing in shorter forms, his songs and piano music present a fine body of work and enable the listener to get to know this bittersweet musical personality. Meanwhile the more substantial chamber music shows Ireland was capable of handling larger structures.

A good way in to the composer’s output is through his orchestral music, and there are several attractive anthologies already available – from Sir Adrian Boult and from John Wilson himself, conducting the Halle Orchestra. Wilson returns to the composer here in the company of the Sinfonia of London to give us a collection of suites, tone poems and pictorial overtures. Perhaps inevitably, The Holy Boy – Ireland’s best-known song – is also included, in its arrangement for string orchestra.

What’s the music like?

Ireland’s music is simultaneously elusive, heartfelt, melodic and elegiac – and these fine performances get right to the heart of his thinking.

Wilson and his charges begin with a good-natured account of the overture Satyricon, enjoying its syncopations before a smooth and elegant second theme from the strings, who impress with their command of the longer phrases. They come to the fore in a co-arranged version of A Downland Suite, two movements each recast from the brass band original by Ireland himself an Geoffrey Bush. This is music of silvery tone and generous melodic content, with an incisive Prelude, solemn Elegy, poised Minuet and a crisp, upward looking Rondo. Contrasting this with Mai-Dun is a good move, revealing Ireland’s colourful orchestrations and some lavish harmonies while digging deep emotionally.

The Forgotten Rite, a prelude serving as Ireland’s first published orchestral work. also has deep underlying emotion, while The Holy Boy – Ireland’s favoured song – is more sentimental but not excessively so. Bigger sounds are promised by the Epic March, which certainly lives up to its billing and stature, and A London Overture, which may have less bustle than its Elgarian counterpart (Cockaigne) but creates a studied portrait of the English capital city.

Does it all work?

Yes. Wilson has an innate understanding of this music, and with top class performances and clarity of recording there is little if anything to dispute here. The bigger pieces fare particularly well, with a crisply deployed Epic March and a detailed account of A London Overture that has particular insight in the work’s quieter moment. The Sinfonia’s account of A Downland Suite is subtle but affecting, with a gently dancing Minuet and a thoughtful Elegy that tugs softly but insistently at the heartstrings.

Perhaps the most successful piece is Mai-Dun, exploring some glorious shades of colour and texture, while the dappled sunlight of The Forgotten Rite is also exquisitely painted.

Is it recommended?

Yes – even in comparison with the Halle anthology, which shares much of the repertoire recorded here – though that one includes the suite The Overlanders rather than A Downland Suite. Either are very fine collections, but this Sinfonia of London set of recordings is extremely well recorded and performed with rare insight, capturing the composer’s personality to a tee.

Listen

Buy

You can view buying options for this release – on download or SACD – on the Chandos website

Switched On – Arthur King: Changing Landscapes (Mina Las Pintadas) (AKP Recordings)

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Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

The Changing Landscapes series has already reaped handsome sonic rewards for Arthur King, the multimedia project spearheaded by electronic craftsman Peter Walker.

He has already given us dispatches from the Utah desert, a farm in Iowa and the Isle of Eigg, but for this latest instalment King heads underground to a copper mine in Chile.

What’s the music like?

Descriptive and compelling. As in previous instalments, Arthur King uses field recordings of the mine’s machinery and environment, looking to get to the heart of its workings.

The mechanical processes are the ideal foil to a plethora of interesting melodic ideas, presented in rich and evocative colours. Because of the dark subject matter a lot of this music feels nocturnal, with the colour added by ticking machinery or sonorous brass instruments.

There is easy ambience to start with, and the machinery of the mine can be heard supporting the soft timbres of Gracias a San Lorenzo. Tierra Amarilla has evocative, nocturnal brass and scratchy, turntable derived percussion, the brass drawing a few parallels towards Jóhann Jóhannsson’s The Miner’s Hymns.

La Farola has a steady drip drip of percussion, but also operates on a wider sonic scope, allowing the ear to choose between the two – a familiar characteristic of this music Soon some solemn brass intonation can be heard, taking on a mournful discourse towards the end. A substantial track, it is compelling from start to finish. Caminando has soft tones but the ticking clock adds urgency and momentum.

Does it all work?

Consistently. Headphones reveal the wide range of sounds and textures, while the longer musical structures are very satisfying in the way they evolve and stretch out. The range of colours and breadth of imagination are also deeply impressive.

Is it recommended?

Yes – a fascinating aural portrait but also a powerful and evocative sequence of music. Once youve spent time in the Chilean mine, a deep dive into the rest of Arthur King’s output is highly recommended.

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Listening to Beethoven #212 – Allemande in A major, WoO 81

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Entwurf Beethoven-Gedenkmünze 1970 (5 Deutsche Mark)

Draft for a Beethoven commemorative coin for 5 Deutsche Mark, 1969 – Photograph of an unmarked model (picture courtesy of the Beethovenhaus, Bonn)

Allemande in A major WoO 81 for piano (1793-1822)

Dedication not known
Duration 1’30”

Listen

written by Ben Hogwood

Background and Critical Reception

Some of Beethoven’s smaller pieces for piano have a very broad date margin. This Allemande is a case in point, given a composition date of 1793-1822 – the final date indicating a possible revision in his attempt to place it in the set of 11 Bagatelles Op.119. It is placed here to complement the Bagatelle we explored yesterday.

Writing the booklet notes for Ronald Brautigam’s recording, Roeland Hazeldonk talks of the ‘vast number of sketches he (Beethoven) had accumulated since before his arrival in Vienna’. There are many more of those for us to enjoy over the coming instalments.

Thoughts

The Allemande is a flowing piece with an easy temperament. Its florid right hand and relatively static left suggests a kind of etude, though the mood changes with Beethoven slips seamlessly into the minor key, and a more obvious dancing rhythm. After this brief shadow, the flowing music returns and all is well again.

Recordings used and Spotify playlist

Ronald Brautigam (BIS)
Gianluca Cascioli (Deutsche Grammophon)
Martino Tirimo (Hänssler)

Ronald Brautigam enjoys the expanse of the major key section, while Gianluca Cascioli is very brisk indeed with his tempo choice, wrapping everything up in just over a minute. Martino Tirimo is very easy going, and in his hands the minor-key central section becomes an elegant dance.

You can chart the Arcana Beethoven playlist as it grows, with one recommended version of each piece we listen to. Catch up here!

Next up Piano Sonata no.21 in C major Op.53 ‘Waldstein’