Jack Brymer (clarinet)
David Lloyd (piano)
rec. 1-2 October 1973, Handsworth Wood Studio, Birmingham (Brahms 1, Weber); 29-30 April 1992, Wyastone Leys Concert Hall (remainder)
Nimbus NI7121 [2 CDs: 124]
This is the latest release in Nimbus’ artist-led retrospective of ‘Rediscovered Recordings’. Brahms’s First Sonata and the Weber Grand duo first appeared on LP on Nimbus NI2108 in 1979 but the remainder of this twofer has never been released before now, thus admirably fulfilling the series’ brief.
It also serves to reintroduce listeners to the art of Jack Brymer (1915-2003) and indeed to his sonata partner David Lloyd (1937-2010). A number of Brymer’s Concerto recordings are available as well as his famous Mozart recordings with the London Wind Soloists. You can find his Mozart Clarinet Quintet and Brahms’s Clarinet trio without too much difficulty and if you dig around you can find Bartók’s Contrasts with Frederick Grinke and Wilfrid Parry. However, for so eminent a musician, and one moreover who retired from performance in 1997, there’s not that much chamber music available, which makes this twofer that much more valuable.
Nimbus’ Birmingham Studios in 1973 offered a rather ‘recital’ perspective, with Brymer audibly in front, and Lloyd a little recessed in the balance. I didn’t find it problematic given that Brymer’s tone is excellently caught. That mellifluous rounded tone, beautifully calibrated, always generated a very personal sense of warmth and in the Brahms F minor Sonata it’s indivisible from an elegance and fluidity of phrasing. Nothing is hectored or rushed and even in the finale, which some might find a touch slow, he remains imperturbable, admirably cogent, and technically impeccable. Weber’s Grand duo concertant shows the Brymer-Lloyd team’s control of rhythmic buoyancy and vivacity. One never feels the ‘con fuoco’ indication in the first movement forces them to hurry so adept is their rhythm, and in the slow movement Brymer phrases with vocalised lyricism, a warmly textured and beautiful example of his art. The witty and vivacious finale is littered with playful drollery.
The remainder of the set comes from recordings made over a two-day period in April 1992 at Wyastone Leys Concert Hall. Though both men received edited tapes of these sessions for some reason they were never released. The balance here is more equitable though both men are aurally distanced in the concert hall. It’s a somewhat swimmy acoustic but you get used to it. Brymer was now 77. Fortunately, they recorded Brahms’ companion E flat sonata, with affectionate warmth, Brymer showing little degradation of technique or tone. In the slow movement Lloyd’s chording is resonant and rich and they prove assured guides in the finale, where co-ordination questions can trip up an unwary duo. No such concerns here. I’m not sure I’ve come across Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata arranged for clarinet but this is very adroitly done, plangent and droll when required, but very light on repeats.
Schumann’s Fantasiestücke proves fertile ground for this rock-steady ensemble, with long-breathed lyric lines marking out a performance of real distinction. The Characteristic Pieces of William Hurlstone had by this time become staples of the British clarinet book, alongside Finzi’s Five Bagatelles. The Brymer-Lloyd team certainly extract the full quotient of contrast and charm here and are no less communicative than Thea King and Clifford Benson in their highly regarded recording. Which leaves just Stanford’s Sonata, a Brahmsian study that again is reminiscent of Thea King’s recording, though their tonal qualities are very different. The most famous movement is the central Caoine which Brymer plays admirably.
Adrian Farmer’s notes outline the recording background of these sessions and he has the advantage of having been David Lloyd’s student in Manchester between 1977-79. This is a valuable release.
Jonathan Woolf
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Contents
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Clarinet Sonata No.1 in F minor, Op.120 No.1 (1894)
Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
Grand duo concertant, Op.48 (1815-1816)
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Clarinet Sonata No.2 in E flat, Op.120 No.2 (1894)
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Sonata in A minor, D.821 ‘Arpeggione’ (1824)
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Fantasiestücke, Op.73 (1837, arr. clarinet, 1849)
William Hurlstone (1876-1906)
Characteristic Pieces for clarinet and piano (1899)
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)
Clarinet Sonata, Op.129 (1911)
