Raphael Wallfisch cello
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Kenneth Woods conductor
SIGNUM SIGCD1007
This is a major release. McCabe’s cello concerto, a work of extraordinary construction and beauty, is one of his most important and compelling works. Premiered by Truls Mørk in 2007, its recording by the equally accomplished Wallfisch is long overdue. The subtitle indicates its indebtedness to Bruce Chatwin’s philosophical novel, The Songlines (1981).
In the long Adagio of the second movement, the soloist traces the physical and psychological pathways of Australian Aboriginal creationist myths, encountering small instrumental combinations that reflect the totemic beings who sang the world into existence.
This profound culture is rich soil for a composer – Britten’s proposed collaboration with Sidney Nolan on a ballet based on the ‘Dreamtimes’ never materialised, alas – but did McCabe know Michael Finnissy’s Red Earth, Peter Sculthorpe’s lyrical Cello Dreaming, or Alan Garner’s superb novel, Strandloper?
One might consider that there is something of the roughness of Finnissy’s scorched landscape, and even a few brief nods to Sculthorpe’s trademark bird-like descending glissandos here (listen, for example, halfway through the second movement after the cello’s mesmeric dialogue with a solo vibraphone).
McCabe’s large orchestra is deployed in variegated chamber-like ensembles whose timbres are very carefully calculated (there is also a prominent part for xylophone), allowing his consistently fresh and intriguing landscape to unfold with a sense of wonder and delight.
The two symphonies have equally intriguing undertones. The main impulse of No. 2 was suggested by Sam Peckinpah’s 1969 film The Wild Bunch – not, the composer was anxious to emphasise, its synopsis, action or inherent violence – but the overall shape of the drama, which McCabe considered to possess a distinctly satisfying sonata-like arch. The five movements follow each other without a break.
Once again, the instrumentation is large, including oboe d’amore, piano, celesta and a large percussion assembly. It is a captivating score, lively and poignant by turns, and is given an authoritative reading. The homages of Symphony no. 3 are not immediately evident, but the slow movement from Haydn’s String Quartet op. 76, no. 6 underpins the Adagio, and two chords from Nielsen’s Suite for Piano are important structural components throughout. Tippett’s The Midsummer Marriage is also not far from this sound-world, particularly in the writing for percussion, and the breathtaking sunburst that concludes this gripping work.
The BBC SSO play with huge commitment under Kenneth Woods, the recording is exceptionally clear, and all instrumental spotlighting has been achieved subtly and naturally. McCabe has been finely served, and it is to be hoped that another issue is on the way.
Review by Andrew Plant