Madeleine Dring (1923-1977)
Complete Works for Oboe
Nicholas Daniel (oboe)
Antonio Oyarzábal (piano), Amy Harman (bassoon), Adam Walker (flute)
rec. 2024, Potton Hall, Dunwich, England
Chandos CHAN20344 [73]
A disc devoted wholly to the oboe music of Madeleine Dring might appear at first glance to be a niche project within a niche. Nobody, least of all Dring herself, one suspects, believes she is a major composer crying out for rediscovery. Interestingly the unsurprisingly excellent liner by Lewis Foreman liner points out that she was a student at the Royal College of Music around the same time as Elizabeth Lutyens, Elizabeth Maconchy, Grace Williams and Ruth Gipps without ever becoming one of that ‘gang’. Dring gained a place as a Junior Exhibitioner at the RCM aged 9 on violin so she clearly showed talent from an early age. That said, the liner includes a photograph of Dring and her violin at that age and she has the most awful wrist positions – hard not to imagine she soon realised her future lay away from the violin! Dring was a pupil of Howells, Jacob and Vaughan Williams but her professional path lay in a very different direction. Her career took her into the world of theatre as an actress and entertainer as well as writing music for theatrical productions, the BBC and revues. Even without having read that, the musical personality of the music is very clear – I found myself thinking of it as a kind of fusion of Noel Coward’s bittersweet deft wit and a Jean Francaix-like harmonic piquancy.
All of which requires a special kind of poise and precision to play which it received in abundance from all the performers on this disc led by oboist Nicholas Daniel. His elegantly fluent technique is just perfect for this repertoire especially when allied to his wholly natural but very subtle use of rubato. Important to remember Dring’s theatrical/vocal background. Some of the works offered here are song transcriptions, but even when conceived instrumentally her melodic lines have a vocal quality that require the gentle ebb and flow that Daniel effortlessly produces. Latterly she married the principal oboist of the LSO Roger Lord which in part explains why there is as much music as there is here. Not that she wrote works specifically for Lord but rather he arranged and adapted other pieces for oboe. Quite the degree of arrangement/transcription is not clear. The two very attractive Trios are original works as is the Italian Dance. Everything else appears to be either an arrangement or a piece that was conceived for “flute or oboe”.
Across the eighteen tracks of this CD none of the pieces are large scale either in duration or musical aspiration – they are miniatures in the very best sense; modestly scaled but quite beautifully executed. I really cannot praise the playing of Nicholas Daniel highly enough. His main colleague is pianist Antonio Oyarzábal and he is joined by bassoonist Amy Harman for the Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano and flautist Adam Walker for the earlier and slightly shorter Trio for Flute, Oboe and Piano. Neither of these works – the most substantial works here – make huge intellectual demands of players or listeners but there is a palpable sense of collegiate pleasure in the performances. A lovely opportunity for fine players to enjoy the musical company of friends and respected colleagues. Allied to this, Chandos have produced a beautifully natural balance in the supportive acoustic of Potton Hall – credit to Jonathan Cooper who acted as producer, engineer and editor for this collection.
Possibly listening to the entire collection in a single-sitting raises questions of a certain stylistic sameness but the planning of the programme helps mitigate this. The disc opens with two of the three Three Pieces for (Flute or) Oboe and Piano; Tango and Waltz. These set out the stall for Dring’s style of clear articulate piano writing over which the oboe ‘sings’. Wit and warmth are never far away – perhaps in the style of Walton’s Façade. I do not know how familiar the Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano [originally for harpsichord]is in woodwind playing circles – if it isn’t it should be. The three movements [Drammatico, Dialogues and Allegro con brio] run to 17:56 represent the most Francophone music here. I particularly liked the way Dring allows all three players to be equal partners especially in the central Dialogues which is the longest single movement [6:48]. The Danza Gaya was originally written for two pianos and in that version gave the title to an excellent Lyrita collection of music for 2 pianos by British Women Composers I reviewed here. Dring was the main contributor to that disc – the Italian Dance appears there too. Actually the 2 piano original works better than this version for oboe and piano perfectly played though it is – the equality of the 2 keyboards allows the interaction to be wittier – an impression a brighter basic tempo reinforces.
Nicholas Daniel acts as arranger for a couple of the pieces – most intriguingly Dring’s transcription of the Cole Porter song In the Still of the Night. The liner says that Dring transcribed this for oboe solo so what further arranging was required is unclear. Whatever the truth it sounds very effective in this version – not overheated or melodramatic just a lovely tune with lush harmonies expressively performed. The Three Piece Suite was written for harmonica virtuoso Douglas Tate but apparently he only played the work once hence Roger Lord stepping in to create a version for oboe. Certainly this version sounds so well-suited to the oboe that I would be curious to hear it as originally conceived. Again the three movements – Showpiece, Andante semplice and Finale – risoluto are very well balanced and clear in their music intention. The opening movement is spiky but playful with the alternation of mixed time signatures keeping the music unpredictable and engaging. Again Daniel’s elegance and easy virtuosity is just ideal and the musical and technical balance between him and Oyarzábal is perfect. Dring inserts a brief poignant molto dolce e calmo that shows she was more than just a ‘light’ composer – an impression reinforced by the gentle melancholy of the central Andante – a genuine highlight on a disc full of lovely moments.
A kind of twinkling slightly subversive humour is never far away in Dring’s music and this is certainly evident in the Trio for Flute, Oboe and Piano. There is also a feeling in this work of a conscious neo-classical pastiche and once again all three players fully engage with the playful essence of the music. The lilt and nostalgia of the early Idyll originally written for viola and piano is one of the few works here that seems to acknowledge the English Pastoral tradition. At the risk of repetition, Daniel’s poise and expressive sensitivity are exactly what this type of music requires – nothing exaggerated yet deeply felt. The programme ends with Polka – another example of Dring’s warmth and wit – which is probably the abiding feature of her polished and skilled craft.
All of this music was new to me. I see that the three suites have been collected before on a disc by oboist Jane Finch alongside some other works. Indeed there are other performances scattered across various recitals. I cannot make any comparisons but I can say that this new version has proved to be an unexpected and complete delight from first to last. The kind of unusual collection that Chandos excels at.
Nick Barnard
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Contents
3 Pieces for Oboe & Piano No.2 Tango, No.1 Waltz
Italian Dance
Trio for Oboe, Bassoon & Piano [Harpsichord]
Danza gaya (arr. oboe & piano by Roger Lord)
Cole Porter (1891-1964)
In the Still of the Night from Rosalie (arr. for Oboe & Piano by Madeleine Dring & Nicholas Daniel]
My Heart Is like a Singing Bird (Arr. For Oboe & Piano by Nicholas Daniel)
Three Piece Suite (arr. oboe & piano by Roger Lord)
Trio for Flute, Oboe & Piano
Idyll (arr. oboe & piano by Roger Lord)
3 Pieces for Oboe & Piano: No.3 Sarabande
Polka
