Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848-1918)
Sonata No.1 in F major (1876)
Charakterbilder (Seven Ages of Mind), Studies for the Pianoforte (1872)
Sonata No.2 in A minor / A major (1876)
Five Miniatures (publ. posth.1926)
Richard Deering (piano)
rec. 2023, Wyastone Concert Hall, Monmouth, UK
Heritage Records HTGCD140-41 [2 CDs: 87

Several years ago, I heard Anthony Goldstone perform Hubert Parry’s two piano sonatas (Albany Records TROY 132, 1994). For better or worse, he played on the composer’s Hagspiel grand piano at Shulbrede Priory in Sussex. I was disappointed that he did not choose a modern instrument. It was listenable, but not particularly easy on the ear. Somehow, I never got around to engaging with that repertoire again until this disc arrived.

Parry is not particularly noted for his piano music. Enthusiasts may know best his charming Shulbrede Tunes (1914). He wrote his most significant piece for piano, the Theme and Nineteen Variations, between 1878 and 1885.

The liner notes – from which I will quote with thanks – suggest that Piano Sonata No.1 may have started life as a sonatina produced three years previously. It was also intended to be dedicated to Lady Pembroke, but that changed to George Grove, the then Director of the Royal School of Music. Parry’s relationship with the countess was “strained”.

The work is Beethovenian in its “classical approach to sonata form”. There are also reminiscences of Mendelssohn, Chopin and Schumann throughout the twenty-odd minutes. The “Arcadian” opening movement balances a warm first subject with something a little more pastoral. I loved the Scherzo, full of puckish delight. Unusually, it has three “unrelated sections arranged in an arch form”. The booklet remarks on the trio’s “plodding bass suggesting a ceremonial march rather like Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance” some 25 years in the future. The moving Barcarolle recalls Mendelssohn or Schubert, and is none the worse for that. It is profound, lyrical, and imaginative. The finale, a good old-fashioned rondo, begins slowly and introduces four themes. Christopher Howell (whose performance of the Sonata on Da Vinci label I also have under review) notes that it could well have come from the pen of Cramer or Dussek, and could have been called La Chasse. Certainly, there is an element of a huntsman’s galop in these pages. It may be “regressive” and derivative, but this Sonata works well, is always pleasing to the ear, and succeeds as a well-structured example of the genre.

The Piano Sonata No.2 was dedicated to Tora Gordon on her engagement to Victor Marshall. Tora was Parry’s close but platonic friend. The first movement is a kind of modified sonata form, really a rhapsody on two contrasting themes. The liner notes explain that this “flexible approach to form” and the “chromaticism” owes much to Brahms and Wagner. The slow movement, Adagio con sentimento, may nod to Weber and Schubert, but features Wagnerian harmonies. Romantic and reflective, it has a complex binary form, and each section has two themes. The Beethovian Scherzo is in a lively 6/8 time, with one or two novel twists and turns. The finale is a well-constructed rondo, with a genial “refrain” and two contrasting episodes, and has many splendid modulations in its progress. There are references to the first and the slow movements towards the end. Once again, if the listener enjoys Schumann and Schubert, they will love this pleasing sonata, replete with warmth and affection.

‘Hunt the influence’ is an easy game to play with Charakterbilder (Seven Ages of Mind). Yet despite echoes of earlier composers, Parry has created a delightfully charming take on romantic piano music. It may be that he was inspired by the soliloquy from Shakespeare’s As You Like It, the “Seven Ages of Man”, but he does not replicate the Bard’s sequence in these pieces. The titles were not included in the score, and only became known in Parry’s letter to the dedicatee, pianist Susan Stephenson.

The batting order here begins with the beautiful Dreaming, inspired by a reading of Tennyson’s Lotus Eaters. Learning uses the technical tool of strict canon – the young man understanding his trade? Yet there is lyricism here and no sense of the didactic. Passion, in binary form, develops from flirtation to urgency in mood. The Age of Striving can be seen in the context of “intellectual freedom”; much of its figuration centres on rising arpeggios in the “trio” section. There are also lots of octaves and thick chords. Things calm down with the lovely Longing. This acts as a foil to the sixth piece, Triumphing. Once again, Parry has deployed powerful octave figurations in the refrain, contrasting with more relaxed ‘dolce’ episodes. It concludes with a powerful and challenging coda. Charakterbilder end with a quiet and thoughtful Adagio con sentimento. It has been said that this may represent the 24-year-old composer’s “meditation on the far-off inevitability of old age”. Whatever the “programme” of these seven studies, Parry has created a distinctly engaging suite that deserves to be in the repertoire.

The Five Miniatures are a delightful addition to this programme; I think that they are premiere recordings. They were collected and published posthumously. Sleepy has all the hallmarks of Schumann. It is a delicious little “berceuse” or “romance”. A Little Christmas Piece is a brisk allegro; it was originally entitled Cosy. There is little to remind the listener of the Season in these subtly syncopated rhythms. The Capriccio, played Leggiero molto capriccioso, is really a little toccata with a gentle 6/8 movement. The lingering Pause is, as one commentator suggested, full of diminished sevenths, “of which certain of Parry’s admirers are getting a little tired”. The pensive number explores chromatic harmony and a dotted rhythm. The final Miniature, Envoi, may be the last piece that Parry wrote. It is gently optimistic. Little is known about their genesis, but Sleepy was probably written in 1917, and Cosy first appeared in the Girl’s Own Paper in 1892.

Lisa Hardy, the author of the commanding study The British Piano Sonata 1870-1945 (The Boydell Press, 2001), wrote the informative liner notes.

Pianist Richard Deering, an authority on British music, has been entrusted with premiere performances by a wide range of composers, including Malcolm Arnold, Malcolm Williamson, Thomas Wilson, Edward Gregson, Edward McGuire and Brian Chapple. Over the years, he has worked with Alan Rawsthorne, Elisabeth Lutyens, Bernard Stevens and William Alwyn. Besides concertising, Deering’s activities include lecturing, broadcasting, recording, teaching, adjudicating and authoring.

Deering’s current projects include the re-issue of the Pearl LP (SHE 537) taken live from Elisabeth Lutyens’s Birthday Recital in 1976; there are works by Lutyens, Michael Blake Watkins, Malcolm Williamson and Richard Rodney Bennett. Equally important is the remastering of a cassette (BMS 407) with the complete piano works of William Wordsworth plus pieces written for Deering by Thomas Wilson and Edward McGuire. His past catalogue includes a recital of English Piano Music on the Saga Label (SAGA 5445),which features York Bowen, Cyril Scott, Arnold Bax, Frank Bridge, Eugene Goossens and John Ireland.

This is a splendid new release of Charles Hubert Hastings Parry’s piano music. Richard Deering brings consummate skill to these varied works. He assimilates the influences of earlier composers with Parry’s personal skill, and creates a satisfying whole. The recording is outstanding, as is the CD documentation. I look forward to the subsequent issues on the Heritage label.

John France

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