Category Archives: Orchestral

On Record – Corelli Orchestra / Warwick Cole – William Hayes: Instrumental Music (Heritage Records)

Posted on by
Reply

William Hayes
Harpsichord Concerto in G major (c1740)
Harpsichord Concerto in D major (1755)
Concerto Grosso in D major (1758)
Concerto Grosso in G minor (1758)
Trio Sonata in E minor (1775)
The Fall of Jericho – Sinfonia (c1750)

Corelli Orchestra / Warwick Cole (harpsichord)

Heritage HTGCD134 [74’]
Producer Simon Heighes Engineer Paul Arden-Taylor

Recorded February 2010 at Prince Michael Hall, Dean Close School, Cheltenham; July 2018 at Church of St Philip and St James, Cheltenham

Reviewed by Richard Whitehouse

What’s the story?

The Heritage label adds yet another enterprising release to its expanding catalogue with this representative selection of instrumental music by William Hayes (1708-1777), idiomatically rendered by the Corelli Orchestra and its founder director, the harpsichordist Warwick Cole.

What’s the music like?

The most substantial works are two harpsichord concertos. That in G major is notable for the close-knit interplay between soloist and strings of its lively initial Allegro or the deft humour of its closing Minuetto, but it is the central Andante which leaves the strongest resonance – its intricate solo part (with two elaborate cadenzas) and its plangent expression both anticipating the ‘Sturm und Drang’ inclinations of a subsequent generation. That in D major (derived from an organ concerto) follows a not dissimilar trajectory, its buoyant and harmonically questing Allegro followed by a brief yet affecting Adagio for the soloist unaccompanied then a finale that takes in a wider expression than its Tempo di Menuetto marking might indicate. Equally effective are those transitions for soloist then strings as afford this work its overall continuity.

Taken overall, the six concerti grossi are Hayes’s most substantial legacy to the instrumental domain. That in D major duly alternates Andante movements of subdued pathos with Allegro movements in which this composer’s much-heralded contrapuntal facility is to the fore, while that in G minor owes its larger scale to the ruminative Larghetto which, preceded by a wistful Affetuoso and coursing Allegro then rounded off by a lilting Pastorale, is a sure pointer to the Classicism that lay ahead. It may be the shortest piece featured here, but the Trio Sonata in E minor (itself the final contribution to a set of six) is overall even more most forward-looking as it unfolds from a pathos-laden Adagio, via an incisive Allegro (which is pointedly marked ‘staccato’) followed by a gravely eloquent Largo, to the gracefully elegant closing Grattioso.

That just leaves the Sinfonia to the oratorio The Fall of Jericho which was likely the largest work Hayes completed. More than a mere curtain-raiser, this substantial piece begins with a purposeful Andante notable for trenchant oboe writing – as also the Largo into which it leads and whose plaintive melodic line makes it an aria in its own right. There follows an Allegro of deftly propelled impetus, then an Andante such as provides overall balance in terms of its undulating gait. A performance of the complete work can also be obtained at Fall of Jericho

Does it all work?

Yes, and not only viewed within its aesthetic remit. Acknowledged during his lifetime as one of the few English composers able to hold his own against Handel, Haynes (who dominated academic life at Oxford for three decades) left an output whose scope is evidently in advance of its size. Historically significant for being on the cusp between Baroque and Classical eras, his work is always appealing – not least given the poise and finesse of the Corelli Orchestra, an ensemble whose ‘authentic’ credentials never draw attention away from its music-making.

Is it recommended?

Indeed, and not least with annotations by Simon Heighes (no doubt recalled by some readers for his insightful reviews in International Record Review), whose book The Lives and Works of William and Philip Hayes (Garland Press: 1995) is the standard study about this composer.

Listen & Buy

For buying options, you can visit the Heritage Records website

Published post no.2,444 – Thursday 13 February 2025

In concert – Elizaveta Ivanova, BBC Symphony Orchestra / Vinay Parmeswaran @ Maida Vale: Carlos Simon, Ibert Flute Concerto & Prokofiev Seventh Symphony

Posted on by
Reply

Elizaveta Ivanova (flute, below), BBC Symphony Orchestra / Vinay Parameswaran (above)

Carlos Simon Fate Now Conquers (2020)
Ibert Flute Concerto (1932-33)
Prokofiev Symphony no.7 in C# minor Op.131 (1952)

Studio 1, BBC Maida Vale Studios, London
Tuesday 4 February 2025 (2:30pm)

by Ben Hogwood Photo of Vinay Parameswaran (c) Roger Mastroianni, courtesy of The Cleveland Orchestra

For this concert linking seventh symphonies, the BBC Symphony Orchestra made their first public appearance with conductor Vinay Parmeswaran.

They began with music from Vienna via America, Carlos Simon effectively remixing the second movement of Beethoven’s Symphony no.7 and applying some fresh paint of his own. The piece was inspired by an entry Beethoven made into his journal in 1815, and takes its lead from “the beautifully fluid harmonic structure” of the symphony’s second movement, Simon composing “musical gestures that are representative of the unpredictable ways of fate”. Though Beethoven’s structure could still be glimpsed, it was viewed through music incorporating the language of Sibelius, Copland and John Adams to create a relatively familiar but ultimately thrilling orchestral vista. Simon’s development of the material was enjoyable to witness, though the sudden end felt underpowered in context. Nonetheless, here is a composer to investigate further.

Ibert’s Flute Concerto is one of the instrument’s calling cards from the 20th century, though is heard in concert rather less than it could be. Here it was performed by Elizaveta Ivanova, a flautist recently recruited to the BBC New Generation Artists programme and making her first appearance with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. She brought to the piece a welcome freshness, rising to the challenge of Ibert’s virtuoso solo part while including stylish phrasing and thoughtful dialogue with the orchestra. The graceful second movement Andante is the emotional centre of the concerto, and recalls the equivalent movement in Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major in its beauty and softer-hearted sentiments. This was in vivid contrast to the outer movements, whose syncopations took the music closer to New York rather than Paris, Ibert’s cosmopolitan style enjoyed by the reduced BBC SO forces as much as by the athletic soloist. A fine performance, and a welcome revival for a composer whose colourful orchestral music and abundant melodies are a tonic.

Melodies, bittersweet or otherwise, are at the core of Prokofiev’s late Symphony no.7, written the year before his death. In a short interview section Parmeswaran implied the work was ‘softer’ than its predecessors, but there were no shrinking violets to be found as the second movement reached a juddering conclusion. Here Prokofiev’s attempts to write a competition winner, simultaneously pleasing Stalin, were affected by his own personal angst, for he was living in poverty at the time.

The weighty bass of the first movement and graceful cello theme of the third movement, marked Andante espressivo, were indicators of the emotional range of the symphony, but the biggest tune, heard from the full orchestra, was the second theme of the first movement, a soaring and winsome melody that returns to crown the final movement. Under Parmeswaran’s affectionate direction it was beautifully judged, though he was careful to ensure the final word in the symphony carried equal impact, the strange ticking of the percussion indicating the creeping passage of time. The symphony ended as it should, its smiling countenance compromised by a frown.

Listen

This concert was recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3. A link will appear here when that becomes available.

Published post no.2,433 – Wednesday 5 February 2025

Arcana @ 10… Musical moments: Christopher Rouse’s Organ Concerto

Posted on by
Reply
Credit: Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times via Getty

As part of Arcana’s 10th birthday celebrations, we invited our readers to contribute with some of their ‘watershed’ musical moments from the last 10 years.

David Gutman writes:

This is a peculiar time for music and politics but perhaps it’s been that way for longer than we think.

Christopher Rouse, my favourite ‘living composer’, has been dead since 2019 and is rarely played in the UK but we’re continuing to discover ‘new’ works by him online and on disc. Rouse began as an academic evangelist for rock music as it was understood in the 1970s but took his ‘classical’ calling seriously enough to take an unfashionable stand: “I’m not going to talk about rock ‘n’ roll any more. It doesn’t need my help. It’s not that I no longer like that music, but I feel the wagons have been circled, and I’m going to stick with my high-falutin’, élitist, dead white European male brethren and, if necessary, go down fighting.”

His Organ Concerto of 2014 appeared only last year in a Naxos collection of American Organ Concertos played by Paul Jacobs. The Rouse is the highlight, his usual wildly eclectic mix, only around 20-minutes in length and traditional in form but pugnacious in content, whether tonal or atonal. There is also drumming. Its central Lento, which hostile critics have already misheard as ‘sentimental’, is another of the composer’s heartfelt meditations on the nature and acceptance of grief. This matters as we age (this listener is 67 ½) while the finale’s return to consonance and affirmation despite noises off is not just for show. It moved me very much. Rouse wrote the piece ‘the old-fashioned way’ with pencil and paper, on a table.

You can listen to the whole piece on Tidal below – the Rouse is tracks 5 – 7:

Published post no.2,430 – Monday 3 February 2025

Roll out the bunting…Arcana is 10 years old today!

Posted on by
Reply

From Ben Hogwood, Arcana editor:

If you’ll forgive the indulgence…Happy Birthday to us!

Arcana is 10 years old today, a chance to celebrate a decade of sharing great music with our readers. I would like to thank you all for your encouragement and interaction with the site, to thank our guest writers – principally Richard Whitehouse and John Earls – for their excellent contributions and insights in recent years, and to thank my wife Sam Hogwood for her unerring support. This is an enterprise that run outside of working hours, so it is inevitably a balancing act where time is concerned!

As part of our birthday celebrations, we have invited readers to contribute with their ‘watershed’ musical moments from the last 10 years. I’m looking forward to sharing them with you over the next few days; there are some crackers! It’s not too late to share yours either, by contacting me on e-mail (editor@arcana.fm)

In the meantime, here is an appropriate piece of music to mark the occasion – while at the same time giving a clue to what is upcoming on Arcana in the coming months:

Image by Alexander Raths

Published post no.2,428 – Saturday 1 February 2025

On this day in 1905 – the world premiere of Schoenberg’s Pelleas und Melisande

Posted on by
Reply

by Ben Hogwood Picture by Richard Gerstl

On this day in 1905, the world premiere of Schoenberg’s orchestral piece Pelleas und Melisande took place, in Vienna’s Musikverein.

This is a remarkable piece, an example of Schoenberg’s ultra-intense style as he began to show signs of breaking with tonality. The story unfolds in an unbroken span of over 40 minutes, during which the large orchestra bathe in rich harmony and lush colouring on the part of the composer’s skilful instrumentation.

The piece can be heard here with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and David Markham: