Sally Beamish (b. 1956)
House of Wonders
Sally Beamish and Rosalind Ventri (violas)
Ryan Corbett (accordion), Joseph Haviat (piano), Stephanie Irvine (lever harp and voice), Peter Thomson (speaker), Imogen Whitehead (trumpet)
rec. 2024, The Menuhin Hall, Cobham, UK
Delphian DCD34333 [70]
The front cover tells you all you need to know about the musical contents of this CD. The composer, now having reached the venerable age of 70 years, is seated surrounded by many photographs of her family and close friends, both past and present, her doll’s house, a favourite from her childhood, an antique music stand, LPs and some books on a shelf and a viola on her lap. Thus, this disc features her family and friends and also her, as performers in music especially composed for or by them.
The work which in many ways sums up the disc is Crescent for Trumpet, Viola and Piano. Sally Beamish’s brother played the trumpet, and she played the viola and the piano, which, as heard in the second movement ‘Midnight Blue’, is reminiscent of the Bach transcriptions which her paternal grandmother played on the piano. There are five movements: ‘Swing’ is first, recalling a ‘rusting swing’ in the garden of their north London house, and later we hear ‘Canonbury’ in which the composer recalls her daily trudge to school through war-damaged Islington; at the end we have ‘Hide and Seek’ ‘which spins a melody based on Beamish’s name’ (quoting from Andrew Stewart’s excellent and detailed booklet notes).
Beamish now lives in Scotland and it’s clear that the Prelude and Canon for two violas has been much influenced by the Scottish fiddle music known as pibroch. In contrast, jazz, which she has been privately studying for some time, is also an influence not least in the unique Night Songs for speaker, actor friend Peter Thomson, viola, (of course) and piano. Listen especially to the first, Wilde Night with words by Carol Ann Duffy.
The first piece on the CD is Beamish’s wonderful April for viola and accordion. Her two sons and daughter have all composed something in honour of their mother’s seventieth. The two boys live in Scandinavia and are working professionally in what one might call the world of crossover. Laurie’s piece, Lurk, is also for viola and accordion and is a more angular version of Piazzolla. Tom’s more questing piece, Where are you, is for solo viola, but daughter Stephanie’s piece, House of Wonder, gives the CD its title. As a child, she would wander down to the summerhouse, her mother’s quiet, private space where she composed, and she realised that was where the wonders of music came alive. She sings it with harp and viola in her rather ‘folksy’ but clear tone.
Various friends, too, have written pieces for this special birthday disc; one such is the Swedish composer, Karin Rehnqvist. Like Beamish she is not only a mother but a grandmother and her Cradle Song is for speaker (again the flexible and versatile voice of Peter Thomson) and viola. One may sympathise with the subtitle a ‘lullaby drama’ which turns from tenderness to exasperation as the child refuses to go to sleep.
Beamish dreamed up the idea of this CD while playing in a concert with pianist Joseph Havlat, and happily he has contributed with an extraordinary work, Aquamarine Depths. It begins with excitable tremolandi on the piano and a steady viola line, but gradually the depths of the water take over, and the music slows and quietens to absolutely nothing as all ideas are drowned.
There is a family story behind Sally’s Tune, the contribution by Chris Stout and Catriona McKay. They are leading performers of the Celtic harp and viola and met Beamish in Scotland in 2004. Stephanie was so fascinated by Catriona’s harp she took lessons from her and plays it on this recording. The music is based on traditional Scottish dance melodies.
This disc offers a unique insight into the private world of a female composer, with a strong connection to family and home. I notice that Delphian call it a limited edition of just four hundred discs, so if you are curious and the rare mix interests you, grasp the opportunity to snap it up.
Gary Higginson
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Contents
Sally Beamish (b. 1956)
April for viola and accordion (2020)
Crescent for Trumpet, Viola and Piano (2023)
Gerropaedie for viola and harp (2008)
‘Night Songs’ No1 Wide Night (2020)
Laurie Irvine (b. 1989)
Lurk (2024)
Sally Beamish
Glanz for solo viola (2006)
Karin Rehnqvist (b. 1957)
Cradle Song for speaker and viola (2024)
Stephanie Irvine (b. 1995)
House of Wonder for voice, harp and viola (2024)
Sally Beamish
Night Song II Tread Softly
Joseph Havlat (b. 1954)
Aquamarine Depths for viol and piano (2024)
Tom Irvine (b. 1990)
Where are you for solo viola (2024)
Chris Stout and Catriona McKay (b. 1976)
Sally’s Tune for viola and harp (2024)
Sally Beamish
Prelude and Canon for 2 Violas (2006/2020)
Night Songs III Blues
First Peace for solo trumpet (2020)
