A Wonderful CD that fills some important gaps in the Arnold repertoire
Orchid Classics have informed us that they intend to release an exciting new album of Malcolm’s music on 28th February 2025 . It features several of his relatively unknown choral works performed by the London Choral Sinfonia with their conductor Michael Waldron and it fills some important gaps in the Arnold repertoire as well as including the Organ and Double Violin Concertos and a rather intriguing arrangement of the Padstow Lifeboat.
Malcolm Arnold’s Concerto for Organ and Orchestra is one of 3 concertos written 1954 – the others being a Harmonica Concerto and the first of his two flute concertos. Each of these is under 12 minutes and follows the traditional 3 movement format. The short nature of Arnold’s concertos can lead to them being underappreciated but the Concerto for Organ and Orchestra is an exquisite piece that showcases both the composer’s mastery and the versatility of the organ. It is notable for its modest solo part, which can be likened more to an extensive obbligato than a traditional concerto showcase. The orchestration that accompanies the organ is worthy of note consisting of timpani, three trumpets, two of which are high, Baroque-style instruments, and strings.
The concerto opens with a movement characterized by loud open-air fanfares that have distinctly Baroque feel. Two Handelian trumpets suggests a piece written for a celebratory occasion. Arnold’s characteristic touches of brilliance are evident as these fanfares alternate with thoughtful, delicate moments played on the manuals. A theme on the violins later emerges, adding to the movement’s dynamic range and emotional depth. The following Lento movement offers a more introspective experience. The strings are initially muted, setting a tranquil backdrop against which the organ floats a simple, even sentimental melodic line. Few composers would have dared to write a slow movement of such simplicity, it demonstrates well Arnold’s ability to blend simplicity with profound emotionality, creating a meditative atmosphere that invites reflection. In the concerto’s finale marked allegretto the solo instrument takes the lead, playing music that demands both technical skill and artistic sensitivity from the performer. Near the end, we hear again the opening fanfares from the first movement, creating a satisfying end that ties the concerto together. The triumphant return of the trumpets signals a jubilant close, leaving the listener with upbeat sense of resolution to the piece.
John Clare’s Song of Praise: Imitation of the 148th Psalm provides the text of Arnold’s Song of Praise setting commissioned by Ruth Railton for the platinum jubilee of Wycombe Abbey School for Girls, where it was premiered on 6 July 1956. It’s a short piece, on this CD it is performed with organ accompaniment. The excellent notes in the CD booklet tell us “Like Arnold, Clare – sometimes known as ‘the Northamptonshire peasant poet’ – had strong links to the county. He was born in Helpston in 1793 and died in Northampton in 1864 as an inmate of what was then called the General Lunatic Asylum, later to become St Andrew’s Hospital, where Arnold himself would spend the years 1979-83. The composer was, of course, aware of this connection.”
Another piece on the album using text by Clare is The John Clare Cantata. Scored for the unusual combination of for Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass chorus and piano duet, which was commissioned by William Glock for the advanced music students of the 1955 Dartington Summer School. Consisting of settings of six poems that chart the year from one winter to the next. The opening movement Winter Snow Storm is bleak. Given their own motifs, insects start to appear in March which is lighter and more joyful than the first movement. Spring is next and is an easy going upbeat piece with a gentle melody. Summer is yet more joyous and buzzes once more with insects, reaching a climax of merrymaking. The ending of the year is musically painted in the descending lines of unaccompanied Autumn which once again becomes almost bleak. In the Epilogue we hear a repeat the music and the feel of the first movement. It is a piece of great charm.
Two Ceremonial Psalms for unaccompanied boys’ chorus were written for the wedding of Anne Mendoza to Philip Goldesgeyme at the Marble Arch Synagogue in January 1952. The words are the sung texts from Psalms 95 and 100. Anne’s brother Jo subsequently worked with Arnold on two operatic projects, The Dancing Master and Henri Christophe, the second was eventually abandoned. The first psalm O come let us sing unto the Lord is a bright lively piece featuring the female members of the choir. The second psalm Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands is also for female voices and its title just about describes it – it’s joyful but not so much a noise as a rather uplifting piece.
For Arnold, the commission for Psalm 150 came ‘at time when I was very down’ – something of an understatement. He completed it on April 9th 1950 and then in May of that year he had a serious mental breakdown, spending nearly six months in a private hospital. It was a commission by the Rev. Canon Walter Hussey who included works of many living artists in his religious services. Hussey’s other commissions included scores by Britten, Tippett, Rubbra, Finzi, Berkeley and Bernstein. In this piece the choir are joined by the organ, to create a grand, joyful song of worship. A very pleasing composition.
Arnold’s older sister Ruth had a profound influence on his work and she, a poet and artist herself, introduced him to the works of Edward Dowson. The results are the earliest pieces on the album Two Part Songs written during the summer holidays in 1939 while Arnold was a 17-year-old student at the Royal College of Music. The first song Spleen features a solo male voice along with the choir, the second Vitae Summa Brevis Spem Nos Vetat Incohare Longam continues the peaceful, relaxing nature of the music in this work. In fact a year earlier the composer had set one of his sister’s poems Beauty Haunts the Woods for soprano and piano.
In 1967 the Daily Telegraph invited Arnold to make a setting of a Christmas carol text by the poet Mary Wilson, wife of the then Prime Minister, Harold Wilson. The result This Christmas Night was first performed at 10 Downing Street on December 22, 1967. The poem begins with “How sweet and clear above the sounds of war the clamorous bells are pealing their delight!” It’s a charming poem set beautifully to music by Arnold.
In their biography of the composer, Rogue Genius, Anthony Meredith and Paul Harris call Song of Simeon a ‘jeu d’esprit.’ Simon Toyne, Musical Director of the Northampton Bach Choir, described it as ‘an unqualified success,’ and ‘utterly charming,’. We hear a short extract from the piece, The Pilgrim Caravan for Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass chorus and piano (here organ). It’s a charming, up beat and jolly piece.
To quote from the aforementioned book Malcolm Arnold: Rogue Genius “The Double Violin Concerto lacks many of Malcolm’s more usual traits. There are no abrupt modulations, changes of moods or catchy tunes. Like the famous Bach Double Concerto, it is full of serious contrapunctal dialogue between string orchestra and soloists”. The piece was commissioned by Yehudi Menuhin to play at the 1962 Bath International Music Festival, which Menuhin was then directing. Menuhin considered the piece “absolutely stunning, full of brilliance and not a little pathos … There is that element in the work of a teasing nature. To some extent it is mocking itself and mocking the sentiments – I mean the sentimentality and sweetness of the slow movement is handled in such a way that it is transparent, one feels that Malcolm was possibly hiding something from his depths.’”. The Rogue Genius book sheds light on Menuhin’s comment by telling us “He (Arnold) decided that, like the Fifth Symphony, the Double Violin Concerto would be commemorative, the two violins leading Malcolm to thoughts of his two brothers who had died the previous year”.
The first movement Allegro risoluto is tense initially but then more gentle and perhaps a little melancholic; the overall feel of the movement is slightly disturbing. Next we have Andantino in which two lyrical motifs are shared by the soloists, towards the middle we start to hear a typical Arnoldian beautiful melody but it’s over very soon and we return to more desolate music that is sombre, reflective and mournful. The final Vivace, though, is lively and more virtuosic, with a Baroque feel. Its progress is once again tense and brusque, ending suddenly with a jubilant finish.
Finally Padstow Lifeboat is a distinctive piece composed for brass band. As with many of his works the mood is ambiguous as the lively march is punctuated by the menacing sound of a foghorn emphasising the danger faced by lifeboat personnel in their daily and heroic work. The march’s first performance was given by the Black Dyke Mills Band and the BMC Concert Band at the Royal Festival Hall on 10 June 1967 as part of the BBC International Festival of Light Music. Its first Cornish performance took place at the inauguration of a new lifeboat near Trevose Head Lighthouse when the Saint Denis Silver Band played it in Padstow Harbour on 19 July 1968; both performances were conducted by the composer.
It was composed during Arnold’s time living in Cornwall and as the CD brochure tells us “the outlandish sound made by the Trevose Head Foghorn was a central inspiration. ‘The new lifeboat station’, Arnold explained, ‘is near Trevose lighthouse, whose foghorn varies in pitch between middle C and D. For the sake of musical unity, it remains in D throughout this March’ – making an indelible mark in the overall key of A flat”, the effect when played by brass band is a discordant sound from the lower instruments that adds to the sense of urgency and danger that the piece encapsulates. The arrangement on the CD is by Owain Park is for three trumpets, organ, strings and percussion. It’s an excellent arrangement, a real jaunty march, full of energy and typical of the way Arnold uses a mixture of musical styles to make entertaining and evocative music. It’s well played but the lack of “discordantness” means that I prefer versions played by brass bands.
The notes in the CD brochure written by George Hall really are excellent and they have been a great help to me in writing this review. The brochure also includes the texts to all the choral works. Virtuosic playing by all concerned make this an excellent release which fills some important gaps in the Arnold repertoire.
Ken Talbot
The CD can be purchased at Amazon
The CD can be pruchased from Amazon
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