Emma McGrath violin
Liepaja Symphony Orchestra
Paul Mann conductor
Toccata Classics TOCC 0765
Pitfield supporters during his lifetime boasted Sir John Barbirolli, David Ellis (Head of Music for Radio 3 North), Leo Black (BBC Radio 3 producer), as well as many performers. It is fortunate for Pitfield that the latter category included the recorder player John Turner.
This CD testifies not only to John’s unquestionable loyalty, but his vision and ability to make ‘things happen’. Without his research and drive, two of the works on this disc may well have been lost after the composer suffered a crisis of confidence. In the case of the Sinfonietta, this was created by its rejection by the reading panel of the BBC and subsequent loss of a performance opportunity at the Cheltenham Festival despite Barbirolli’s support. In the second case, a lukewarm response from a conductor after a performance of Concerto Lirico for violin and orchestra (1958) resulted in the destruction of most of the manuscript, and it was only when Turner, as executor of the estate, discovered a microfilm copy that a new score was produced and recorded on this disc for posterity.
Pitfield’s gifts were considerable; his music displays craftsmanship, gracious writing for the instruments, as well as a strong sense of dance. If you need real drama in the music you listen to, however, this may not be the composer for you, as his style is light; he leans towards variation rather than serious development, and his natural affinity with the arts and crafts movement is perhaps reflected in the noticeable presence of filigree or arabesque-like ornamentation to create attractive, intricate sounding counterpoint.
When Barbirolli requested a Symphony for the Hallé, Pitfield opted for a Sinfonietta in a lighter vein. Plentiful dance driven scores take the form of a waltz, polka, pavane or jig, and his love of folk song finds expression in his Fantasia on an Old Staffordshire Tune (1950) and Bucolics: Folk Songs Studies. My personal favourite is the Concerto Lirico for violin and orchestra which captures the usual charm, but also a heartfelt ‘Requiem’.
The most testing times in Pitfield’s musical life seem to have been in the 40s and 50s when a harder, grimmer post-war reality dawned in Europe’s consciousness that began to sideline British light music (and perceived shades thereof) that had flourished throughout the 20s-40s.
It is the excellent performances by the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra that will play an important part in reassessing his work, with welcome additional text in the booklet contributed by the conductor Paul Mann and violin soloist Emma McGrath.
Review by Wendy Hiscocks