York Bowen (1884-1961)
Music for organ, viola, violin and harp
Sarah-Jane Bradley (viola): Lorraine McAslan (violin): Hugh Webb (harp): Christian Wilson (organ)
rec.31 July-3 August 2023, Temple Church, London
Dutton Epoch SACD CDLX7421 [75]
Until this disc arrived, I hadn’t been aware quite how much solo organ music York Bowen wrote, or for how long, given that the earliest example here dates from 1904 and the last from 1961, mere months before his death. He is remembered as a pianist and his body of 78 rpm recordings have been reissued on APR but he did study the organ at the Royal Academy of Music.
His first work in which the organ appears was composed in 1903 when he was 19, a Fantasia for viola and organ, edited by John White, which is expressive and attractive though a touch generic and not as convincing as the Fantasia for violin and organ, edited in 2018 by Christian Wilson. This is a fresh, attractive work, quite operatically conceived with declamatory sections encoding some rather proto-cinematic elements. The following year he wrote an Organ Fantasia in A minor, again edited by Wilson, which was never published and exists in manuscript at Bowen’s alma mater. It generates increasing amplitude becoming satisfyingly sonorous before subsiding quietly, only to restart and end with the vibrancy with which it began.
The Poem for viola, harp and organ followed in 1911, intended for Bowen’s great friend Lionel Tertis, and a leading harpist of the time, Miriam Timothy. Conceived for Tertis’ rich, romantic tone and expansive portamenti it offers a luxurious nine minutes of ardour, showing off the violist’s legato – superbly played by Sarah-Jane Bradley – as well as prowess in the instrument’s higher positions. Bradly, needless to say, maintains perfect intonation and tonal beauty. Harpist Hugh Webb provides eloquent support as does organist Christian Wilson. In 1948, Bowen wrote a slight but deft and attractive Melody in G minor soon followed by the Fantasia in G minor of 1951 which mixes the declamatory and the poetic to fine effect, fusing elegant melodic appeal through its nine-minute length. It was premiered alongside Elizabeth Lutyens’ Suite, which didn’t exactly appeal to Bowen, to put it mildly. His last organ work was a lusty little Wedding March in F major, written for friends.
There’s a Gallic Arabesque for solo harp (1922), conceived for Gwendolen Mason, another of the trinity of great women harpists in London – the third member was Maria Korchinska – seductively and evocatively played by Webb. Finally, there are Three Duos for violin and viola, dating stylistically from the late 1940s (the date is not known with certainty). They’re harmonically refined with a calm opening, lithe interplay in the central duo and athletic frolics in the finale. They sound order-made for performance by Frederick Grinke and Watson Forbes, leading players at the time, but I’ve no idea if they were. Lorraine McAslan and Sarah-Jane Bradley don their (assumed) mantle with great assurance. These two players are real ambassadors for British music.
Two of the pieces are heard in première recordings – the Organ Fantasia No.1 and the Fantasia for violin and organ in A flat major. Dutton can be pleased with this fine SACD. It’s resplendently recorded and beautifully played by all four musicians. No, there are no fireworks and it represents the fringes of Bowen’s worklist. It does, though, explore the more recondite areas of his compositional legacy and in style.
Jonathan Woolf
Contents
Fantasia for organ in G minor, Op.136 (1951)
Organ Fantasia No.1 in A minor (1904)
Wedding March for organ in F major (1961)
Melody for organ in G minor (1948)
Arabesque for solo harp in G flat major (1922)
Poem for viola, harp and organ, Op.27 (1911)
Fantasia for violin and organ in A flat major (c.1903)
Three Duos for violin and viola (c. late 1940s)
Fantasia for viola and organ in F (1903)
