Various Composers - 'Pastoral' British Clarinet Music [Johnson/Martineau]
A well played disc, one that i've had for nearly 20 years, and yet this is its first appearance in my Blog, it's great to have a recital of clarinet music that features one aspect of it, there's a cohesion here, however some of the shorter trifles could have been ejected [the Bliss and Vaughan Williams vocal stuff], and filled with something more appropriate, the silky tones of the clarinet are wonderful to behold, if i was to take up an instrument, apart from the piano, it would either be the clarinet or the soprano saxophone [very similar], it works in Classical and Jazz perfectly, plus it's so easily portable, and works as a satisfying solo instrument too, i love the clarinet.
Emma Johnson is English, she's now 48, she recorded this disc in 1994, the booklet front cover is a black & white portrait [by Robert Barber], a wood in the background out of focus, of course the focuses all the more on the foreground, a half body shot, with Johnson holding her clarinet.
The three pieces that really got to me on this listen were the two solo movement works, Ireland's Fantasy Sonata, and Bliss's Pastoral, but the work that moved me the most was the darling little suite of English Folk Song Studies by Vaughan Williams, six pieces here lasting a little over nine minutes, Vaughan Williams was a champion of folk songs of England, and here he chooses six to set to Cello and Piano, however Clarinet players seem to have hijacked the piece, i hardly ever hear it played by other instruments now, so here's a synopsis of these six little pieces, with the original folk song they came from,
1 Adagio / Lovely On The Water [1:48] - A slow piece as an introduction, using the deeper registers of the clarinet, while the piano slowly moves higher into the treble, towards the end there's a solo clarinet section.
2 Andante Sostenuto / Spurn Poin [1:30] - Something more tuneful, and achingly so, and it's a beautiful duet, the way first the piano plays the tune higher in the treble, then the clarinet [0:37 & 0:44], and the piece ends ever so gently on a long note, [where 'sostenuto' in the title comes from].
3 Larghetto / Van Diemans Land [1:51] - A more ancient sounding melody, and the longest piece of the six, kept within the lower registers in the first half, but the second half has a tendency to soar.
4 Lento / She Borrowed Some Of Her Mothers Gold [1:22] - A more complex use of the clarinet, and the piano explodes into action [0:33+], at the end a very high sustained note.
5 Andante Tranquillo / The Lady And The Dragoon [1:30] - The most easily lyrical of the six, and my personal favourite by miles, it has the most gorgeous melody ever, played simply at first, very Irish sounding, but then added all sorts of complexities to it in such a wonderful way [0:30+], and even the piano gets a little solo while the clarinet accompanies [1:00+].
6 Allegro Vivace / As I Walked Over London Bridge [0:51] - The shortest of the six, and a finale of sorts, marked 'vivace', a skippy little tune, it bounces along in both the clarinet and piano in a staccato way, and it comes to an abrupt end on a piano note.
Emma Johnson is English, she's now 48, she recorded this disc in 1994, the booklet front cover is a black & white portrait [by Robert Barber], a wood in the background out of focus, of course the focuses all the more on the foreground, a half body shot, with Johnson holding her clarinet.
The three pieces that really got to me on this listen were the two solo movement works, Ireland's Fantasy Sonata, and Bliss's Pastoral, but the work that moved me the most was the darling little suite of English Folk Song Studies by Vaughan Williams, six pieces here lasting a little over nine minutes, Vaughan Williams was a champion of folk songs of England, and here he chooses six to set to Cello and Piano, however Clarinet players seem to have hijacked the piece, i hardly ever hear it played by other instruments now, so here's a synopsis of these six little pieces, with the original folk song they came from,
1 Adagio / Lovely On The Water [1:48] - A slow piece as an introduction, using the deeper registers of the clarinet, while the piano slowly moves higher into the treble, towards the end there's a solo clarinet section.
2 Andante Sostenuto / Spurn Poin [1:30] - Something more tuneful, and achingly so, and it's a beautiful duet, the way first the piano plays the tune higher in the treble, then the clarinet [0:37 & 0:44], and the piece ends ever so gently on a long note, [where 'sostenuto' in the title comes from].
3 Larghetto / Van Diemans Land [1:51] - A more ancient sounding melody, and the longest piece of the six, kept within the lower registers in the first half, but the second half has a tendency to soar.
4 Lento / She Borrowed Some Of Her Mothers Gold [1:22] - A more complex use of the clarinet, and the piano explodes into action [0:33+], at the end a very high sustained note.
5 Andante Tranquillo / The Lady And The Dragoon [1:30] - The most easily lyrical of the six, and my personal favourite by miles, it has the most gorgeous melody ever, played simply at first, very Irish sounding, but then added all sorts of complexities to it in such a wonderful way [0:30+], and even the piano gets a little solo while the clarinet accompanies [1:00+].
6 Allegro Vivace / As I Walked Over London Bridge [0:51] - The shortest of the six, and a finale of sorts, marked 'vivace', a skippy little tune, it bounces along in both the clarinet and piano in a staccato way, and it comes to an abrupt end on a piano note.
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