Come to explore the music of Howard Ferguson

 

Stay for Finzi's Eclogue

And that is just what I did. While it is fun to find a composer like Ferguson, the obvious masterpiece here lays with Gerald Finzi.

I think I especially like Eclogue's simple Classicisms. Yet, it also bears a certain cinematic, Romantic sweep which easily takes the listener away with its underlying power.

Eclogue is only 10 minutes in length, so the focus on this recording primarily lies with the music of Ferguson.

The Irish composer follows in the English Pastoral School footsteps, perhaps leaning towards Neo- or Late-Romanticism. While listening, my thoughts ventured to the music of George Dyson, another British composer, but one who was mainly regarded for his gentle lyricism. Ferguson on the other hand, is not afraid to let out a victorious yawp or two comparatively.

It must be the cantata Amore Langueo which reminds me of Dyson, for the latter composer had a love of Medieval and Renaissance verse, and sometimes unusual choral settings at that. So too is Ferguson's I Languish for Love, with the text coming from the 15th Century in the form of Christ's Complaint to Man, set as one long, 30-minute swathe of metaphorical religious musical storytelling.

The opening portion has just a tiny hint of the exotic, with strains of ambivalent harmonic motion, before its first joyous climax.

Otherwise, the work waxes and wanes, ebbs and flows with long lyrical portions occasionally bolstered by dramatic climaxes. In the end, I think I find it an unremarkable piece, but rare cantatas like this are so much fun to find and explore, and Hickox obviously has a love of Ferguson's music.

Those who don't take to singing will probably be here for the concertante works, but Ferguson writes some lovely orchestral passages to set the various scenes of the cantata. The majority of the work is dedicated to the chorus, and what luck to have the London Symphony Chorus at Hickox's disposal.

Really, the only problem I have with this performance of Ferguson's cantata is Martyn Hill. He sounds overtaxed, strained, and uncomfortable at times, not something I remember of this British tenor in his singing of Peter Warlock.

Ferguson's Piano Concerto is where I part ways with my thoughts of George Dyson, for while the latter composer's Violin Concerto ambles and wends beautifully, it does so endlessly, with not much to grab on to. Ferguson's concertante profile is much more firmly etched, with a strong, well-structured vision.

I really enjoy the solid rhythmic underlay of the opening movement, set against fairly sizeable solo piano features. The haunting harmonic movement of its middle movement theme and variations is also quite captivating, including a terrific early variation set aside solo strings. Again, I am reminded of a certain Rachmaninov sweep, even if the harmonies are more curious than the Russian master composer. The finale is a bit of filigree jolliness, which sends off the work in fine fashion, and not without a lyrical twist here and there.

The playing from Richard Hickox's pick-up orchestra, the City of London Sinfonia, does so with spirit, beauty, and determination. Having guests such as British pianist Howard Shelley, only raise the profile of this recording. Shelley's may be my favorite outing of Finzi's Eclogue on record, although I have hardly broached its countless available recordings.

While I still own this original 1987 EMI recording, it was reissued on EMI's British Composer's series in 1993 as well. I tend to like that series better, sometimes coming with a remastering, although I don't think that was the case here.

 

Listen on YouTube

 

Work
Amore Langueo (30.23)
Piano Concerto (26.00)
Eclogue (9.56)

Soloists
Martyn Hill, tenor
Howard Shelley, piano

Ensembles
London Symphony Chorus
City of London Sinfonia
Richard Hickox, conductor

Label: EMI
Year: 1987
Timing: 66.21

 

 

I was tempted to give this recording the Oozy Channel top honors, for we are all about exploration at The Keep, and this recording fits the bill.

But despite having a rare British cantata, it failed to rouse much within me.

The two concertante pieces, however, are hits out of the ballpark, with Finzi's Eclogue the crown jewel.

 

 

 

 

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