Richard Blackford (b. 1954)
La Sagrada Familia Symphony (2022)
Babel. A Cantata (2022)
Rebecca Bottone (soprano); Alessandro Fisher (tenor); Stephen Gadd (baritone)
Ikon Singers and Ensemble/David Hill (cantata)
BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Richard Blackford (symphony)
rec. 2022, Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff (symphony); 2023, St George’s Headstone, Harrow, UK (cantata)
Text included
Lyrita SRCD432 [64]
This CD brings together two recent and quite different works by Richard Blackford. One is a symphony – his second – written for what sounds like a large orchestra while the other is scored for voices and a much more modest instrumental ensemble.
The symphony is inspired by the truly remarkable La Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926). Construction of the building, initially the design work of another architect, was begun in 1882 and is still not complete. I visited La Sagrada Familia for the first time in autumn 2023. I had seen many pictures of it but nothing had prepared me for what I saw in reality. I confess that, based on images I had seen, my expectation had been that the basilica would be a vastly over-elaborate, confusing building. Fortunately, my wife and I had booked a place on an English-language guided tour. The young lady who showed us and a small group of fellow tourists round the exterior and interior was superb: her knowledge was formidable and she explained very well not only the myriad symbolism of the building but also the many innovative architectural features that Gaudi deployed in order to realise his vision. Having experienced this truly unique building, I was more than intrigued to hear Richard Blackford’s musical response to it. In the booklet he says this: “Whereas my symphony is inspired by that monumental building, I hope that my musical structure can stand alone as an homage to Gaudi in its own right”.
Wisely, Blackford has not sought to paint a musical picture of the entire building; that would be an impossible and probably self-defeating task. Instead, he has focused on a crucial aspect of Gaudi’s design: the three great façades which encompass the access points to the basilica. These façades depict Nativity, Passion and Glory and each of Blackford’s three movements is inspired by one of them. The symphony lasts for 26:22 in this performance.
‘Nativity’ is a sonata-form movement. A dotted-rhythm trumpet fanfare, heard at the outset, is thematically very important, as is the more lyrical second subject, introduced by the cor anglais (2:59). The music in this, the longest of the three movements, is consistently interesting and colourfully scored. As you would expect, ‘Passion’ is much darker and more dramatic. Various aspects of Christ’s Passion are referenced in the music. One such is a calm cello theme (1:06) which, the composer tells us, is associated with the Last Supper. Brutal music, including the deployment of a snare drum and a whip, depict the scourging of Christ (2:53). Christ’s last agony on the cross is illustrated by a sparsely accompanied solo clarinet, playing at the top end of its register. Throughout the movement, the music and scoring are dramatic – even graphic – and powerful.
The main entrance to La Sagrada Familia is surrounded by the most elaborate of the façades, entitled ‘Glory’; the façade includes the words of the Lord’s Prayer inscribed in 50 different languages. Since this movement is Blackford’s finale and, moreover, is inspired by the most important of the façades, you might be forgiven for expecting that this would be the longest movement and, furthermore, a full-on expression of Glory. However, Blackford is more subtle than that. His finale is actually the shortest movement and though it includes some majestic orchestral tuttis, these are peaks in the musical structure. Blackford writes that much of the instrumental writing “evokes a blurred effect, with soft chord cycles constantly shifting as instruments shine through the texture by crescendo and diminuendo. The music appears suspended in time, without pulse…” I thought all this was very effective and rather than “simply” depicting Glory, I felt that Blackford’s music expresses a sense of wonder at Glory. All this means that when the music moves into a majestic, sonorous vein, the effect is heightened. The very end has an organ added to the very full orchestral scoring and the symphony achieves an imposing conclusion.
I was impressed by the invention and also by the imaginative scoring of the La Sagrada Familia Symphony. It strikes me as a successful, imposing homage both to a unique building and to its architect. The BBC National Orchestra of Wales plays excellently under the composer’s direction.
The cantata Babel was commissioned by The Camden Choir to celebrate their 50th anniversary; the composer conducted them in the first performance in March 2022. It’s a rather longer work than the symphony – here, it plays for some 38 minutes – but it’s much less fully scored. I think it’s worth mentioning that at the outset because the economy of means is important. In the current economic, post-Covid climate, few amateur choirs can afford to put on many concerts that involve elaborate – and expensive – orchestral forces. I don’t know whether the terms of the commission stipulated the instrumental forces or whether Blackford himself determined them but the accompanying ensemble consists of piano duet, organ and percussion (two players). Therefore, even though three excellent vocal soloists are also required, putting on a performance of Babel shouldn’t break the bank. That pragmatic decision plus the quality of the music should mean that other choirs will be attracted to the piece.
I presume that Blackford devised his own libretto for the cantata. He combines the Bible story of the Flood and Noah’s ark with the story of the Tower of Babel. In a surprising twist, he breaks off the Noah story after the rain which caused the flood had ceased. At that point, the Babel myth is inserted before Blackford reverts to the conclusion of the Noah story and God’s promise not to flood the earth again. The composer explains that he did this so that, after the destruction of the Babel tower, he could end the cantata with a message of hope. Indeed, he reinforces this positivity by concluding the work with a most effective setting of three verses of the hymn ‘Praise my soul, the King of heaven’. The cantata is divided into two Parts and an Epilogue (the latter being the conclusion of the Noah story) and plays without a break.
In discussing the scoring of the cantata, Blackford comments that “[t]his sound world is redolent of those Britten masterpieces for amateur choirs, ensembles and audiences….to which I too am greatly indebted”. It seems to me that the Britten indebtedness is well absorbed and Babel sits firmly in that tradition, not least in concluding with a hymn (in which I presume the audience can join); in that respect, I was especially put in mind of Saint Nicholas and in particular the wonderfully effective use of ‘God moves in a mysterious way’ right at the end.
The choir (here a group of 20, who are professionals, I think) carry much of the narrative thread in the cantata. The soloists have a lesser narrative function; their principal responsibility is to voice the words of God and to comment on the story in a small number of short solos. The music is attractive and speaks directly to the listener; at all times, the story is clearly and concisely communicated. All three soloists are excellent; though it may be unfair to single out one of them, I especially enjoyed Rebecca Bottone’s singing of the calm, reassuring solo in Part I, ‘Do not fear the largeness of the showers’. The choir is also very good; their singing is consistently clear and animated. All the singers, both solo and choral, offer very clear diction; I had little need to refer to the libretto.
The playing of the instrumental ensemble is crisp and incisive; one would expect nothing less when artists of the calibre of the pianists Anna Tilbrook and Iain Farrington are involved. David Hill, who has already conducted recordings of other compositions by Richard Blackford (review ~ review ), directs the performance with energy and an evident sense of dramatic pacing.
I liked Babel; it’s an inventive piece. I’ve already referred to the economy of the scoring: one could use the word ‘economy’ of the writing as well since there are no wasted notes; the piece communicates directly and I’m sure The Camden Choir enjoyed learning and performing their anniversary commission. I can imagine the cantata would appeal to amateur choirs – and to their audiences – and I hope this excellent first recording will draw it to the attention of many other choral societies.
This CD presents two very different, attractive recent works by Richard Blackford; both are given excellent performances. The same technical team of producer Andrew Walton and engineer Deborah Spanton were responsible for both recordings. The symphony was set down in the BBC’s purpose-built studio-cum-hall in Cardiff and the venue for the cantata sessions was a church; in these two very different acoustics, excellent, clear results have been achieved.
John Quinn
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