Williamson: Orchestral Works, Vol 2 (incls Symphonies Nos 1 & 5)

"I suppose it is too much to hope that the parlous state of the Icelandic economy will not hobble this series. Fingers crossed that the series will not end in just two volumes; the first appeared in 2007."
(MusicWeb April 2009)

Williamson is a neglected composer, but these works with their memorable tunes, have the potential to become part of the standard repertoire.

Chandos is now engaged in an important recording project devoted to a comprehensive survey of the orchestral works of Malcolm Williamson, and this second release further helps to restore the reputation of the late Master of the Queen's Music. As International Record Review stated on the release of volume 1: 'he [Williamson] is a rather special composer.' He had a gift for composing memorable tunes and readily adopted elements of popular style, as demonstrated by the works on this disc, several of which have the potential to become repertoire works.

Arriving in London in 1950, Williamson suddenly discovered a new world of music - the emerging serial avant garde and the music of Messiaen - of which he had previously been ignorant. He embraced these new styles; however, he did not forget his love of popular music and jazz, which ensured he encompassed popular elements, both rhythmic and melodic. The two numbered symphonies both show the influence of Messiaen in the modal character of their material. The title Elevamini of his Symphony No.1 is a quotation from Psalm 24, and the symphony is a programmatic work, honouring the memory of his grandmother, that follows the progress of a soul, using a tone-row, and beginning with a beautiful mystical meditation of strings alone. Symphony No.5 Aquerò is a one-movement work, first performed in 1980 and receiving its first recording with this release. The composer wrote that the symphony 'is a broadly developing drama of ideas' and went on to point out various programmatic elements. Its title and the brief annotations that appear at intervals throughout the score make clear that this is in effect a symphonic poem on the life of Saint Bernadette.

Completing the disc are two shorter orchestral works, Lento for Strings - a touching elegiac tune for strings, written in 1985 and dedicated to the Australian comedian Paul McDermott - and Epitaphs for Edith Sitwell. Williamson had warm memories of Edith Sitwell and he needed little encouragement to reminisce about her at length. His first memorial work for her had been his Violin Concerto, and these two short pieces are based on a phrase from the slow movement of the concerto.

This second volume, of works spanning thirty years of compositional activity, demonstrates the eclectic quality of the music of Williamson, a composer who was able to absorb many influences without losing his own essential voice, and is an excellent follow-up to volume one.
Reviews

''The music here is really quite wonderful and is played with palpable affection and devotion and is recorded with clarity and dynamism…. This release confirms him as a rather special composer.'
International Record Review on Volume One