The Life of the English Pastoral

English music in the early– to mid–20th century was characterised by what became known as the “English Pastoral”, with music by composers including Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams, and many others. The Pastoral School had several strong interests, such as English folk music, music that evoked the English countryside, choral music, and music setting English poetry, particularly on pastoral themes. In this new recording on SOMM Records, violinist Chu-Yu Yang and pianist Eric McElroy look at the music of four composers, Ivor Gurney, Gerald Finzi, Ian Venables, and Arthur Bliss, and how they had pivotal roles in the development and continuation of the English Pastoral tradition.

The recording opens with the music of a living composer, Ian Venables (b. 1955). He studied at Trinity College of Music and then at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Ian Venables

Venables’ Sonata for Violin and Piano, a reworking of his 1989 Sonata for Flute and Piano, was created at the suggestion of violinist Alexander Rozhdestvensky. It was given its public premiere in 2022. Though only two movements, each movement changes tempo for effect. The first movement (Lento—Andante—Lento) is a dialogue between the violin and piano, melancholic and introspective. The lighter second movement (Allegro scherzando—Andante—Allegro) is in a lively C major with both diatonic melodies and syncopated dance-like episodes. This is the modern Pastoral tradition – not necessarily tied to place or programme, but very English in its outlook.

Jumping back some 60 years, we next hear the Elegy for violin and piano by Gerald Finzi (1901–1956).

Angus McBean: Gerald Finzi

The Elegy came after Finzi lost his 3 brothers in WWII and had his teacher, Ernest Farrar, die prematurely. The surface of the work is calm, but there are dark undercurrents. The violin part is calm and idyllic, but the piano part tells a different story. The overall effect is rather like a melancholic longing.

Next follows the world premiere recordings of 7 pieces for violin and piano by Ivor Gurney (1890–1937). These are all early works before he went to London to study with Charles Villiers Stanford at the Royal College of Music. Stanford was also the teacher of Ralph Vaughan Williams, John Ireland, Marion Scott, Rebecca Clarke, Frank Bridge, Arthur Bliss, and Herbert Howells, many of whom defined the English Pastoral school. Each of the works, dating from 1908 and 1909, shows us Gurney’s ‘undeveloped’ voice, which is authoritative in itself.

Ivor Gurney at the Royal College of Music

Arthur Bliss (1891–1975) wrote his Violin Sonata between 1914 and 1919, spanning the beginning and end dates of World War I.

F. Sancha: Caricature of Arthur Bliss, 1921 (Fanfare Music Magaine)

Most probably it was written between 1914 and 1916, when he was wounded in the Battle of the Somme. The long gestation period for the work suggests the difficulties he encountered in completing it.

Arthur Bliss: Violin Sonata

Its creation problems aside, the work soon garnered praise from his contemporaries, with his friend Herbert Howells praising the work for its ‘fresh air and sweet-smelling earth’, its folk-inspired charm, and hearing it as a blend of the English tradition with French sophistication.

The album closes with a return to the very much living Ian Venables’ Three pieces for Violin and Piano, a programme work depicting the Severn Valley and its surrounding countryside.

Each of these composers broadened the idea of the English Pastoral tradition, whether in their reflections on the war and their losses in the battles or blending English with other traditions. Venables carries the tradition forward into the 21st century and shows how beautiful the English Pastoral, and England itself, can be in music.

Taiwanese violinist Joe Chu-Yu Yang first studied in Taiwan before continuing at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. He is now at the Royal Academy of Music, pursuing a Ph.D. on the performance practice of violin repertoire pertaining to the English Pastoral School in the early– to mid–20th century. He brings a life and thoughtfulness to his performance that supports the emotions and ideas of the music. His accompanist, American pianist Eric McElroy, has a side career as a composer. He did post-graduate work at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, studying with Mark Bebbington and Margaret Fingerhut. He was awarded a doctorate in musicology from the University of Oxford, and is editor of the Arthur Bliss Society Journal.