Orchestral Works

I knew nothing of Cyril Rootham until last week, when I heard his first symphony, which is on a multi-composer Lyrita CD. It was so captivating and beautiful that I immediately searched and found this other Lyrita CD, one of their BBC broadcast CDs. And I'm happy to tell you that the second symphony is even better than the first. It's truly beautiful, with gorgeous orchestrations (it was orchestrated by Rootham, who dictated the orchestration to his wife and son while on his deathbed), and sublime melodies and color. The sound is certainly decent, and Vernon Handley is the perfect conductor for this music (he also conducted the first symphony of Rootham). The choral piece is also beautiful, and I'm not much of a fan of choral music - but when it's this melodic, it's hard to resist. If you like Finzi, Holst, Elgar, or Vaughan Williams I can guarantee you'll love this. No other reviews here is shameful. Let's do something about it.

Well, seven years after the Lyrita CD release of Rootham's bracing and life-affirming First Symphony (recorded initially in 1976) comes the Symphony 2 from 1938 (recorded in 1984) completed a few days before the composer passed away. Compared to the bracing and dynamic First Symphony, the Second Symphony, unsurprisingly perhaps given the circumstances of its composition, is a comparatively tranquil and reflective, though characteristically melodic work, of three movements; a chorus, towards the end, movingly sings a passage from the Revelation of St. John the Divine ('Behold, there shall be no more death...') Rootham's was seriously ill and then dying when he completed the work ten days before he died with the loyal help of his friend and former pupil Patrick Hadley. Rootham had given the premier performance of Hadley's wonderful 'The Trees so High' (do listen to this if you don't know it). I have to say that I found the final section of Rootham's Second Symphony, where the music seems to enter a kind of ethereal/spiritual zone, with the strings playing a repeating eight note passage against the chorus, to be almost unbearably moving but maybe this was partly because I know that the composer was dying as he wrote/orchestrated this passage. The Symphony seems to end in a profound sense of peace and acceptance.Rootham was a great composer of choral music and Ode on the Morning of Christ's Nativity (1925-28) is another moving and powerful work of considerable depth. I would imagine that this would appeal, for example, to anyone who enjoys 'Quo Vadis' by Sir George Dyson or the choral works of Vaughan Williams. I have only listened to this work once and expect that it will give up more of its secrets with repeated listening. But it held my attention throughout and I can't wait to hear it again. This is a double CD set featuring excellent notes by Paul Conway and a fine photo of the pipe-smoking composer. Don't hesitate under any circumstances if you have any interest in British composers of the 20th century or in fine music generally. I suspect that this fine set will bring much pleasure. The recordings are not new. The Ode comes from 1975 and was performed in honour of the centenary of Rootham's birth and is in mono. The Symphony is from a BBC broadcast from 1984. However, don't let this put you off. Both performances sounded terrific to me and the recording caused no problems.

The music of Cyril Rootham ('Root-ham, as in Beethoven', he used to tell his students, who dubbed him 'Dr. Roothoven'!) has never earned the celebrity enjoyed by that of better-known contemporaries such as Elgar and Vaughan Williams (though it might be said there are traces of both in his music), but, on the evidence of his major works, the neglect is wholly undeserved. EMI issued a recording of some of his shorter orchestral pieces many years ago, and Lyrita recorded his First Symphony (LPO, Handley). For a long time I have wanted to hear his Second Symphony, and now, joy of joys, I can, thanks to this new Lyrita recording (Handley again, this time with the BBC Scottish SO).The Symphony No. 1 (1932), available on Lyrita SRCD 269), is a rather muscular affair with a slow, dignified second movement for contrast. The idiom is unmistakeably English. The Second Symphony (1938) is a product of the composer's final year; in fact he required help to complete it after suffering a stroke and progressive muscular atrophy. The setting in the finale of two brief texts from Revelation 21 and 22, speaking as they do of 'no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying', is particularly poignant, given the composer's personal circumstances.The symphony is cast in three movements, a relatively short central intermezzo, lightly scored, sandwiched between two much more substantial movements. The first contains some noble passages of which Elgar would have been proud, especially in the brass, and is slightly reminiscent of Bax at times. The finale is, by turns, dramatic, passionate, and tender - a remarkable achievement for a man who had to dictate much of the movement to chosen students (among them Patrick Hadley), and completed it, literally, on his death-bed. Much of the music here is a development of ideas taken up from the first movement, thus giving the work an inner cohesion.This generous Lyrita package also includes another substantial Rootham work, 'Ode on the Morning of Christ's Nativity', a setting of Milton's poem of 1629. The work is very much in the English choral tradition, reminiscent of the oratorios of Elgar, Dyson, and others - a big work to a Christian text of the kind much in vogue at the time (1935) The thirty-one stanzas are shared between the soprano (Teresa Cahill), tenor (Philip Langridge), bass-baritone (Michael Rippon), and choir (Trinity Boys and BBC Singers). The setting is admirably clear and direct, with little by way of thick, impenetrable textures or unnecessary repetition. We know exactly where we are going with this piece. A single trumpet note, and we are straight into the meat of the work - four introductory stanzas declaimed by the tenor, with relatively light orchestral scoring. The remaining twenty-seven stanzas - the 'hymn' - are given over to the other soloists and chorus (the tenor does not reappear). The lone trumpet note is heard again at the end of the piece, bringing things full-circle. Milton's text may not appeal to all in this day and age, but Rootham seems to have had an affinity with it, and handles his forces with considerable sensitivity.The performances are first class throughout, and the incomparable Vernon Handley is in his element with music of this kind. And two discs for the price of one! What more can one ask? Highly recommended.

Excellent product up to Lyrita's usual standards - Service by English post box also excellent