Arnold: Chamber Wind Bits 'n Bobs

 

Sir Malcolm Arnold composed a multitude of pieces for chamber winds, both large and small. In this entry of Bits 'n Bobs, I listen to his larger works, mostly written or arranged for wind quintet.


Wind Quintet, op. 2
Three Shanties, op. 4
Dream City
Suite Bourgeoise
Overture

All of this music is fairly light, although leave it to Malcolm Arnold to never approach anything in a straight-forward manner. Take the delightful Three Shanties. Each movement is a short fantasy on a Sea Shanty, where I believe I heard What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor? in the first, and another which sounds like Blow the Man Down in the second; the third I couldn't identify. The tune is never easy to spot, but Arnold winningly keeps the harmonic progression identifiable to the listener, while using his own brand of light dissonance and musical wit. Only at the very end of the first movement, where the flute carries the melody, is the rest of the ensemble over-loud, covering up the important part, but that is an exception across the numbers I heard.

Dream City is a light, lyrical piece of short measure with French overtones, while the Overture for wind octet is equally brief, yet jazzier. In the five movement Suite Bourgeoise, Arnold tackles populous dance and music forms in his own peculiar manner, with the rather craggy Prelude the only bit of seriousness. It is rather hard to gauge whether or not the composer truly enjoys these disparate popular music styles, or if there is an element of irony in his musical portrayal. Either way, it ends up a good time for the listener.

The opused Wind Quintet is purely original, but is also more lighthearted than others, although its conclusion is oddly understated for a movement entitled March. I enjoyed this recording from the East Winds. They might not be the tightest ensemble, but they plow through the music with great color and energy. There are another 12 pieces on this recording of various wind duets and solos, and I imagine from the ensemble playing I heard, they should be equally delightful.

Quintet, op. 7

This recording with the boat cover above is actually a reissue of a 2000s Hyperion release originally issued in the 80s. I believe Volume 3 was the label's last entry in the series. For those interested, I will post the original cover art at the bottom of this blog post.

The Quintet for flute, violin, viola, horn, and bassoon finds the composer at his most serious. Compared to the other Bits 'n Bobs, this could make for difficult listening, as Arnold imbues no lack of dissonance and austerity here. If it weren't for the unusual combination of instruments, this might have been a loss for me.

Only some witty rhythms and a Hispanic-flecked final movement offers shafts of light in the work. I do enjoy the rougher presence of the French Horn from the Nash Ensemble, plus the string pizzicatos and glissandos add a lot of varied textures compared to the other wind pieces I am covering here.

HRH Duke of Cambridge March

The Duke of Cambridge March is not a chamber piece, but I hadn't heard its music previously, so I thought I would include it here. I don't know if this march was originally conceived so, but it is played by a wind ensemble here, not an orchestra or brass band.

I have forgotten what a marvelous ensemble the Dallas Wind Symphony is! Smooth and cohesive to a fault, with the bass drum sounding out particularly impactfully, I wonder if I would find their traversal of Arnold's Dances more convincing than the Brass Band ones I heard recently.

I guess it is past time I peruse the Dallas Wind Symphony catalog...

Bits 'n Bobs

Wind Quintet, op. 2
Three Shanties, op. 4
Overture
Dream City
Suite Bourgeoise
  East Winds
  Naxos; 2007

Quintet, op. 7
  Nash Ensemble
  BIS; 1988, 2001

HRH Duke of Cambridge March
  Dallas Wind Symphony
  Jerry Junkin, conductor
  Reference Recordings; 1995

 

 

Find more Arnold recordings HERE!