Ireland - Piano Works Volume Two [Parkin]
Ireland is in a world all of his own, especially his piano music, it's his most prolific genre, these are not major statement like Beethoven, nor works of brilliance and beauty like Chopin, or even impressionist like Debussy and Ravel, rather he was quite plain, his music can sound amateurish, almost whimsical at times, as if he's composing for children, but there's also a depth there, some pieces come off better than others, but there's gems to be had for those that truly search, once you get a real taste for him, you can't put him down, this disc appeared in my Blog nearly five years ago [2nd May 2010].
Eric Parkin is English, now 91, he recorded this disc in 1992, Ireland was mainly a Londoner between the two World Wars, and had a tendency to compose with his surroundings in mind, one of the reasons for the booklet cover, showing a picture of the Thames upstream from Chelsea, a sepia toned black & white shot, love the haziness of it, the light on the river, and an almost silhouette of the boats and streetlight, this must have been shot from an open topped bus of the times, don't know how else you can get that high up near the pavement, the layout and lettering are fantastic, a wonderful series.
The two pieces i loved the most on this listening were Meridian [the second piece from 'In Those Days'], and The Darkened Valley, both hit the four minute mark, here's a synopsis of both,
Meridian [3:57] - An upbeat little tune, very simple tunewise at first, but there's always complexities with Ireland, and when Parkin starts to play the opening tune in a slower higher treble octave [0:28+ & 2:33+], the piece takes on its most revealing nature, and later the tune comes in full noble force [0:59+ & 3:05+], i love the way the opening tune reappears again and again, at the end there's a nice little nostalgic coda [3:36-3:55].
The Darkened Valley [4:03] - As the title suggests, this is a darker piece, again the tune is simple enough, there's an ominousness to the tune, then out of the blue there's a middle section which is brighter [1:27+], and yet even here there's subtle discord, Ireland weaves us back into the opening theme in a skillful way, there's no need for virtuoso piano playing, but the real skill is in conveying mood, and Parkin plays the piece slow enough to give it it's hesitating uneasiness, for instance Desmond Wright also plays this piece on an EMI disc i have, a lot quicker and louder [2:50], and it just misses the mystery and worry of the piece, his sounds quite happy!.
Eric Parkin is English, now 91, he recorded this disc in 1992, Ireland was mainly a Londoner between the two World Wars, and had a tendency to compose with his surroundings in mind, one of the reasons for the booklet cover, showing a picture of the Thames upstream from Chelsea, a sepia toned black & white shot, love the haziness of it, the light on the river, and an almost silhouette of the boats and streetlight, this must have been shot from an open topped bus of the times, don't know how else you can get that high up near the pavement, the layout and lettering are fantastic, a wonderful series.
The two pieces i loved the most on this listening were Meridian [the second piece from 'In Those Days'], and The Darkened Valley, both hit the four minute mark, here's a synopsis of both,
Meridian [3:57] - An upbeat little tune, very simple tunewise at first, but there's always complexities with Ireland, and when Parkin starts to play the opening tune in a slower higher treble octave [0:28+ & 2:33+], the piece takes on its most revealing nature, and later the tune comes in full noble force [0:59+ & 3:05+], i love the way the opening tune reappears again and again, at the end there's a nice little nostalgic coda [3:36-3:55].
The Darkened Valley [4:03] - As the title suggests, this is a darker piece, again the tune is simple enough, there's an ominousness to the tune, then out of the blue there's a middle section which is brighter [1:27+], and yet even here there's subtle discord, Ireland weaves us back into the opening theme in a skillful way, there's no need for virtuoso piano playing, but the real skill is in conveying mood, and Parkin plays the piece slow enough to give it it's hesitating uneasiness, for instance Desmond Wright also plays this piece on an EMI disc i have, a lot quicker and louder [2:50], and it just misses the mystery and worry of the piece, his sounds quite happy!.
