Thomas Pitfield (1903-1999)
Sinfonietta (1946)
Fantasia on an Old Staffordshire Tune (1950)
Lyric Waltz for String Orchestra (1988)
Bucolics: Folk Song Studies (undated)
Concerto Lirico for violin and orchestra (1958)
Epitaph for string orchestra (1981)
Emma McGrath (violin)
Liepaja Symphony Orchestra/Paul Mann
rec. 2025, Great Amber Concert Hall, Liepaja, Latvia
Toccata Classics TOCC0765 [75]
For over a decade now, the music of Thomas Pitfield is gradually being (re)discovered. One of the guiding lights has been recorder player John Turner, who has contributed fine booklet notes to this release, of much help with this review. He has also been responsible for the promotion and recording of Pitfield’s many other works (review ~ review ~ review).
The often infamous BBC Reading Panel had a tendency to reject Pitfield’s orchestral works. It is difficult now to really understand why; the problem may have been a perceived inconsistency of style. The Sinfonietta is a case in point. Its portentous introduction is very impressive, as if to lead to a serious symphonic statement, but the ensuing Dance-Variants seem to herald a lighter touch, as does the second movement, a fun-loving Polka. There follow a Pavan and a Jig. A slightly more serious mood returns at moments in the Finale marked Allegro risoluto. The work as a whole seems now to be perfectly balanced – and it is, after all, a Sinfonietta.
Pitfield clearly found the reading panel’s attitude very dispiriting. That may be why he continued to develop so many other artistic skills, such as calligraphy. Find his book A Song after Supper (the second volume of his autobiography, issued in 1990), and you will see these striking creations throughout its covers, including examples of his beautiful music manuscript work. But, regardless of criticism, he continued to compose.
Next on the disc comes the Fantasia on an Old Staffordshire Tune for violin and orchestra or, as Pitfield names it in his book, Fantasia on a Staffordshire Carol. He lived for a while in that much underrated county. It seems that he ‘discovered’ this melody himself, and immensely beautiful it is too.The work was first performed in 1951 at the Festival of Britain under Adrian Boult. But by that time works based on folk songs were more a thing of the past, and perhaps a little out of step with the new Britain. The Fantasia is allotted four tracks, including a brief Cadenza. A friend to whom I played the piece described it as even more RVW than RVW. That surely applies to the wonderfully atmospheric, utterly captivating last section.
Talking of folk tunes, we now move to Bucolics – described as Folk Song Studies for orchestra – in six movements. Here again we have definitely light-hearted arrangements, such as Carrion Crow, and the clever Comin’ through the Rye combined with another Scottish tune, Faithful Johnny. Often the music chugs along in an ear-catching 7/8 time but there are more serious moments, not least the fifth movement, The little room. It employs, we discover, the same Staffordshire folk melody, but this time it sounds dark, even funereal at times. So, how serious should we treat this work as a whole? It falls ‘between two stools’ but that dichotomy only adds to its fascination.
Perhaps Pitfield’s identification with folk music was via his love of the countryside, as he writes in Chapter 2 of A Song after Supper: “The Countryside is the backdrop of my most creative thoughts […] though it cannot be claimed that I am a country-dweller.”
The English Pastoral style in music is sometimes denigrated, so the next work might be so criticised, but I feel that in 2025 we have moved away from such denunciations. The Concerto Lirico for violin and orchestra, as its name implies, creates a wonderfully pastoral feel – in the moving second movement titled Requiem which features the saxophone, but also in what is really the second subject of the first movement and in much of the finale. The work opens with an aggressive military passage which recurs much later, and there are other moments where the lyricism is swept aside by strong rhythms and by dance episodes such as a Jig.
The first conductor of the work, George Hurst, seems not to have cared for the piece. Pitfield felt so dispirited that he destroyed at least half of it. John Turner found the manuscript on microfilm in the composer’s shed after his death. Peter Mountain, the original soloist, offered to typeset it. Violinist Lorraine McAslan made a fine recording (review), which divided the work into three tracks; this version quite sensibly puts the last movement on three tracks, including a separate one for the cadenza.
The disc has two works for strings. Lyric Waltz is a delicious piece of light music. Incredibly, it was composed in 1988 and not 1908 but it is none the worse for that. The programme ends with an absolute gem, Epitaph, a work perhaps in the language of Finzi or Elgar but arguably even more moving, I feel. Its marking of Lento contemplativo e tristo tells you everything.
All the works are superbly conveyed by the Latvian musicians under the sympathetic and supportive Paul Mann. He not only understands the music with his baton but has written a fascinating essay in the exemplary booklet. Violinist Emma Mc Grath adds a few words about how she has so enjoyed meeting Pitfield’s music for the first time. She plays like an angel, with a wonderfully rich and often achingly beautiful tone quality. I urge you to buy this disc as soon as possible: your money will be very well spent.
Previous reviews: Jonathan Woolf (June 2025) ~ John France (June 2025) ~ David Jennings (July 2025 Recording of the Month)
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