Philip Sawyers: Double Concerto for Violin and Cello and other Works
Nimbus Alliance

Though five earlier titles featuring the music of British composer Philip Sawyers (b. 1951) have appeared on Nimbus Alliance, this sixth offers as fine a series entry-point as any. That the release's works are presented by the English Symphony Orchestra (ESO) under Kenneth Woods' unerring direction and with soloists such as violinist Daniel Rowland and cellist Maja Bogdanovic aboard makes the release an all the more attractive proposition. Woods' familiarity with Sawyers' music runs deep, the conductor having been involved in four earlier Nimbus Alliance recordings of his work, two involving the ESO and the others the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Orchestra of the Swan. The connection between Sawyers, Woods, and the ESO solidified even more when the orchestra appointed Sawyers “John McCabe Composer-in-Association” after McCabe's death in 2015 and until David Matthews assumed the role in 2018.

Adding to the appeal of the latest release, all four of the works are world premiere recordings. It's a move consistent with the forward-thinking sensibility of an orchestra and Artistic Director who seven years ago initiated their visionary '21st Century Symphony Project,' which was created to commission, premiere, and record nine new symphonies by leading composers. The new set follows the Double Concerto for Violin and Cello (Rowland, Bogdanovic, ESO) with Remembrance for Strings (English String Orchestra), the Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (Rowland, ESO), and Octet (ESO soloists).

Composed in 2020, the double concerto is an understandable high point of the seventy-one-minute release, both for the personnel involved and the quality of the writing. At twenty-five minutes, the three-movement travelogue covers ample ground and proves a sterling showcase for the soloists (if Rowland and Bogdanovic sound especially complementary, it might have something to do with the fact that they also earlier issued a duets album on Challenge Records). The opening “Allegro moderato” draws the listener in with a quiet intro before the soloists enter assertively. While indeterminate tonalities permeate the opening section, the music eventually establishes a clear shape, and a solid ground supports the lyrical expressions of soloists whose playing's marked by exceptional clarity and tonal beauty. Voiced in turn by the orchestra and soloists, a haunting motive emerges to lend the movement added definition. Horns and woodwinds infuse the introductory part of the “Andante” with dignity, after which the cello and violin deliver a series of supplicating, almost Wagner-esque expressions with consummate poise. Spearheaded by a cheeky violin figure and effervescent orchestra passages, the “Allegro vivo” provides a devilish ride and fittingly boisterous resolution.

Asked by a friend to compose something akin to Elgar's Elegy for Strings after the loss of his mother, Sawyers replied with Remembrance for Strings, as lovely and poignant an elegy as his friend could have hoped for. It certainly doesn't hurt that the English String Orchestra produces such a stirringly lustrous sound for the nine-minute piece, and the solo violin spotlight that arrives during the closing moments is particularly moving.

Rowland switches instruments for the release's other three-movement work, the Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (2020). A rather wry, even sardonic statement by the violist establishes the tone of the opening “Allegro,” which, like other pieces on the release, ventures into chromatic areas. Whereas serenity characterizes the tremulous mood of the “Andante” and the searching to-and-fro enacted by the soloist and orchestra, the vigorous “Allegro moderato” offers a youthful, radiant counterpoint. While their instrumentations slightly differ, the Double Concerto for Violin and Cello and Concerto for Viola and Orchestra are complementary in structure and overall tone.

At fifteen minutes, Octet is the release's longest setting, though its single movement does advance through four sections: “Adagio,”“Allegro," “Andante,” and “Allegro.” Blossoming slowly from a dark origin, the piece slowly defines the contours of its variegated shape. The musicians' strands gradually coalesce as the pace accelerates, and long tendrils collect into flowing polyphony as the elements organize into groupings of different sizes. Don't be surprised if your thoughts turn to Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony No. 1 now and then.

March 2023