Highways and Byways: Rarities for Recorder
John Turner (recorder), Stephen Bettaney (piano), Laura Robinson (recorder), Catherine Yates (viola), Alex Mitchell (viola)
rec. 2008-23, recording locations after review below
Divine Art DDX21245 [2 CDs: 105]
This fine two-disc release comes with an informative booklet. The notes, written or assembled by recorderist John Turner, were very helpful in the present review.
The programme gets off to a great start with Lennox Berkeley’s Sonatina. Typical of his style, it is a successful fusion of baroque and neo-classical sensibilities, with a touch of Gallic charm. The three movements entertain with lovely melodies and alluring harmonies.
Sheffield-born Wilfred Heaton is best recalled for his contribution to the brass band repertoire, but he wrote in many other genres. The Little Suite for recorder and piano, five “contrasting cameos”, was premiered in 2001 at the Royal Northern College of Music. The notes say: “Heaton’s models are the dance-based instrumental suites of Bach and Bartok.” A vibrant Courante, a lugubrious Cantabile and a humorous Bourée are bookended by a brilliant Toccata and a will-o’-the-wisp Gigue.
The booklet tells us that Peter Pope composed the Sonatina No.2 in Croydon in April-May 1980, but there is no information on early performances. The piece is gentle and thoughtful throughout its three complementary movements. Gary Higginson’s review on this site notes that Pope was a pupil of John Ireland, and that Ireland’s influence can be heard in the sad slow movement.
David Butler’s The Summer Triangle by was inspired by three stars seen in the night sky: Vega, Altair and Deneb. And is The Eagle (mentioned in the notes) a fourth? The CD cover is meant to illustrate this phenomenon, but I am not sure I can quite see it. This attractive and absorbing composition was inspired by Butler’s nighttime exploration of the beaches around Lowestoft and by witnessing a rising moon. But the piece does not need the astronomical programme to be enjoyed.
Igor Stravinsky’s Lullaby for two recorders is an arrangement of Ann’s Lullaby from The Rake’s Progress (1951). The notes say: “It involved an ingenious reduction of both song and chorus throughout to just two parts.” All I will say it that would not send anyone off to sleep – it is just too piercing.
John Locke dedicated the brief Sonatina to the present soloist, John Turner. It comes as a gentle relief after the astringency of the Stravinsky. Even so, this is no pastoral ramble, but an exploration of some complex chromatic phrases. The central Adagio is particularly redolent. The final movement, played on the descant recorder, has a brighter, bouncy conclusion.
The disc concludes with Thomas Pitfield’s Dancery, a suite inspired by Tielman Susato’s collection of dance tunes made popular by early music expert David Munrow. Pitfield has formulated five contrasting melodies, short but always musically significant. My favourite is the smoky Pavan in Three Notes (Hommage à Poulenc). Equally attractive is the Finzian second Pavan. Altogether a delightful work fit to be in the recorderists’ repertoire.
The second disc contains a pot-pourri of miniatures. John Turner’s A Sad Pavane was part of a collection designed for a video in support of the Ukrainian people. It is sad but ultimately positive. The second of Two Pieces is a rumbustious little Hopscotch (in Scotland, we call this game peevers).
John McCabe’s Domestic Life, the notes say, is “an arrangement of tunes from an ‘entertainment’, This Town’s a Corporation Full of Crooked Streets, for voice and ensemble”. The texts of the original, not shown in the booklet, were derived from poems by the Mersey Sound poets, Adrian Henri, Roger McGough and Brian Patten, and included children’s rhymes. McCabe’s contribution is a fascinating little selection of tunes, played without a break. He referred to it as a “pièce d’occasion”. It would make a splendid encore at any recorder and piano recital.
McCabe’s Sam’s Tune, penned for a Granada TV production, is not typical of his style but quite catchy.
According to the notes, Christopher Ball “was a musical polymath, being a clarinettist, conductor, composer, arranger, publisher, recorder virtuoso, teacher and photographer”. Two Pieces for recorder and piano were intended to be part of a sonatina which never materialised. A Cheerful Little Piece, with a few neat twists and turns, does what it says on the tin. The Homage to Dvořák is slower, thoughtful and has hints of Grandmother’s Songs and Hovis.
For a railway enthusiast, memories of Stockport Edgeley with it signal boxes, large station, and impressive viaduct may bring back happy memories. Peter Hope has evoked The Edgeley Tram in his short contribution. It presents musical onomatopoeia of a journey from Mersey Square in the centre of town up the hill to the suburb of Edgeley. Sadly, the network of trams closed in 1951. Fortunately, Mersey Square has remained very much the same, despite town council planning.
David Jepson also recalls the locality with his bewitching Edgeley Fold. The notes inform us: “It is a meditation on an excerpt from a poem by the Edgeley poet Anthony Warren Bardsley”. It balances wistful reflection with, as the poem says, “memories […] of a darker hue” created by wartime memories. A lovely little creation.
I am not sure why Alexander Gretchaninov’s Concertino has been included in this collection of largely British music. It is a “short and happy” number for two recorders and piano which is fun, but in my view not essential.
American composer William Bergsma’s Pastorale and Scherzo brings a touch of variety to the prevailing instrumentation on this programme. He has devised them for recorder and two violas. The Pastorale is a little too profound, whilst the Scherzo lets zip. A good encore.
Conversation Piece for two recorders by Dorothy Pilling is a pleasant little exercise, full of summery delight. My only criticism is that it is too short!
David Ellis’s Mount Street Blues is “in memory of his friend from childhood John McCabe”. Mount Street is the location of the Liverpool Institute where they both studied. There is only a hint of the blues in this exquisite tribute. Also by Ellis is Fipple-Baguette: Three Encores for Solo Recorder. The titles are Round Dance, Sarabande with Doubles and End-Piece. He dedicated these exceedingly difficult miniatures to John Turner. I do not know why “Baguette”, but “Fipple” is the mouthpiece of a recorder.
The recital ends with Thomas Pitfield’s A Little Caribbean, originally scored for clarinet and piano. This charming miniature has a memorable melody and clever rhythmic patterning.
The liner notes are clear and legible. The playing is outstanding. Most of the burden falls on John Turner and on pianist Stephen Bettaney. There are fine contributions by recorderist Laura Robinson and violists Catherine Yates and Alex Mitchell. Brief biographies of the performers are included for all performers. Cover art by Divine Arts’ James Cardell-Oliver shows a starry sky at night.
All the music here is of interest. The listener will decide what are their favourites and what they can live without. What is clear is that this production, overseen by the eminent recorderist John Turner, reveals a wonderful treasure chest of music in the repertoire’s Highways and Byways. Long may these explorations continue.
John France
Previous review: Gary Higginson (July 2024)
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Contents
Lennox Berkeley (1903-1989)
Sonatina op. 13 (1939)
Wilfred Heaton (1918-2000)
Little Suite (f.p.2001)
Peter Pope (1917-1991)
Sonatina No. 2 (1980)
David Butler (b. 1953)
The Summer Triangle
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Lullaby (arr. 1960)
John Locke (1907-1980)
Sonatina (1978)
Thomas Pitfield (1903-1999)
Dancery (1974)
John Turner (b. 1943)
Two Pieces (2022 and 2012)
John McCabe (1939-2015)
Domestic Life (1969/2000)
Sam’s Tune (1973)
Christopher Ball (1936-2022)
Two Pieces
Peter Hope (b. 1930)
The Edgeley Tram (2019)
David Jepson (1941-2021)
Edgeley Fold (c.2020)
Alexander Grechaninov (1864-1956)
Concertino op. 171 (1941)
William Bergsma (1921-1994)
Pastorale and Scherzo (1943)
Dorothy Pilling (1910-1998)
Conversation Piece (1996)
David Ellis (1933-2023)
Mount Street Blues (2015)
Fipple-Baguette: Three Encores for Solo Recorder op. 76 (2004)
Thomas Pitfield
A Little Caribbean
Recording details
16 September 2008, St. Thomas’s Church, Stockport, UK (Fipple-Baguette)
11 October 2023, St. Paul’s Church, Heaton Moor, Stockport, UK (Pastorale and Scherzo)
22-23 May 2023, St. Elizabeth’s Church, Ashley, UK (everything else)
