Healey Willan

[gentile]

It seems that jpc is distributing now the CDs of the Canadian label CBC Records (which have been difficult to obtain here in Europe) at a good price. Among many interesting Canadian composers recorded in this label, I would like to highlight the figure of Healey Willan (1880-1968). He was a native British who emigrated to Canada where he got a job as a church musician. His choral works and organ pieces are relatively well known (even Naxos has issued a couple of CDs with them) but his short symphonic output is much less recorded and, in practice, restricted to this Canadian label. Among the issues are two major works: the second symphony and the piano Concerto, both in C minor. You may hear some bites:

http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Healey-Willan-Symphonie-Nr-2/hnum/4298136
http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Healey-Willan-Klavierkonzert/hnum/1119434

Both are full blooded romantic works of the best schooling. I specially like the Piano concerto, a rare specimen of the English-romantic style (something in between Rachmaninov and Elgar) with his charming Adagio and the Elgarian (almost Pomp and Circumstance March) melody of the third movement.
A pity are the much better known couplings (which surely will be already in your CD collection).

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, gentile, for the pointers. Duly ordered!

[Mark Thomas]

I've had, and admired, the Second Symphony for some time on a recording made from an old LP, but the piano Concerto is new to me. It sounds a real find.

[monafam]

Thanks for the review.  I did have a CD with some of his vocal Church music, which I really enjoyed.  If it wasn't for his picture on the CD itself, you might not realize he was a 20th century composer.

[JollyRoger]

I have this composers 2nd symphony.
I would say Willan's style is pastoral ala Vaughan Williams and the symphony is certainly something everyone should hear.
Very nice work indeed. I have not yet heard the piano concerto but am eager to hear it.

[thalbergmad]

This concerto is a superb find. Only listened to the first movement thus far, but my initial impression is that it is not out of place being coupled with the Rach 2.

Full bloodied romanticism as gentile said.

Thal

[JollyRoger]

Wilan's 2nd symphony was broadcast on BBC3 earlier this year.  It is an exceptionally beautiful and well-crafted symphony, serene, tonal, in the pastoral vein of Vaughan Williams but more personal. You will wish it had no end..

[Marcus]

Thanks for that information gentile.  Canada is another of those countries which does not have a large classical music base. While there are many modern composers, I have found it difficult to find any orchestral/instrumental music of quality pre 1900 - I hope someone will prove me wrong.
I have a Naxos 2CD set: "Introduction to Canadian Music" (Cd# 8.550171-20), which consists mainly of excerpts. I do not usually bother with excerpts, or "best of discs", but because I had no CDs of Canadian music, I bought it.
Willan is represented by a Christmas noel, and other excerpts  include Champagne -Piano concerto, Hetu - Smyphony no3, Schafer - Flute concerto, Lavalle - Marche indienne, with 33 composers represented with just enough music to whet the appetite. ( and in some cases to destroy the appetite).The booklet supplied with the Cd is excellent. (71 pages) (recorded under licence from CBC, SBC,SNE & Sackville records1955-1995). One would expect that excerpts would be followed by a series of discs, but as far as I know, this hasn't happened.Maybe CBC will soon remedy this.
I have a tape of the Claude Champagne (1891-1965) Symphonie gaspesienne, from the 1970's, and am amazed that this work & the Piano Concerto, has not been discovered by the recording companies. I have his brief (8'07")Symphonic Poem Hercule & Omphale on  Analekta #AN 2-9952, but apart from that, there is nothing in the catalogue.
Marcus.

[gentile]

Hello Marcus!

Thanks for your review of Canadian composers. I never heard the works of Claude Champagne that you mention and I would like to. Regarding your interest of finding Canadian composers writing in a romantic style, I dare to suggest you the name of André Mathieu (1929-1968). Apparently he was a "wunderkind"  pianist and composer who sadly died young. Despite being born well after 1900, his style is fully romantic (perhaps even too much so). The major works of him I have heard are piano concertos "a la Rachmaninov", like the Piano Concerto No.3 (also known as "Concerto de Québec" and "Symphonie Romantique") which has had a few CD recordings, and the recently discovered Piano Concerto No. 4 (recorded by Analekta on CD AN 2 9803). I usually have some prejudice against composers writing music in a bygone style but, in this case, Mathieu manages to come close enough to the real thing, probably because he was a truly romantic spirit.
Another Canadian composer that I would like to mention is Harry Somers (1925-1999) . He is definitely not romantic but, after hearing his piano music, i believe that he probably was one of the the most significant modernistic composers in Canada.

gentile

[Marcus]

Hello gentile,
Yes I have discs of Mathieu & Somers, and I agree with you about Mathieu, a pleasant dsicovery.
You would think that because of its proximity to the USA, that the Canadian romantic musical  development would have parallelled that of America, but I struggle to find any 18th/19th century Canadian composers of note, whereas America had many, Paine, Chadwick, Fry,Cadman,Beach,Hadley, Bird,Heinrich,Ives,Kelly,Hill, Allen,Mason, Oldberg, Hommann,Price, Zech, Strong etc etc. Could it be that Canadian musicians moved to & settled in America, where opportunities & teaching facilities were better known ?
There must be some 18th/19th century Canadian composers - any Canadian contributors to this forum ?
Marcus.

[gentile]

Hi Marcus,

You are right in that few Canadian composers of the older generations have been documented, let alone recorded. Perhaps, asking for composers of the 18th century is too much (there weren't too many in the US either) but surely during the 19th century there must have been a regular musical life in most cities. It is likely that Canadian composers of that age are simply "unsung". I have been searching my record collection for romantic Canadian music and found only a pleasant piano trio by Alexis Contant (1858-1918). You may see (and hear excerpts of) this record here:

http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Hertz-Trio/hnum/1238273

Other composers appearing in reference books are Calixa Lavallée (1842-1891), who composed the Canadian national anthem, and Guillaume Couture (1851-1915), a pupil of Theodore Dubois in Paris. Nevertheless, the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada on the web (http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=EMCSubjects&Params=U1) lists 561 entries of Canadian composers of all times that may be worth to examine.
Finally, I would like to mention Ernest MacMillan (1893-1973), a  major Canadian composer on the verge of Romanticism to Impressionism. His C minor string quartet made a deep impression on me. If you don't know this excellent work, you may hear some excerpts at this URL:

http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Glenn-Gould-Streichquartett-op-1/hnum/5307608

Unfortunately, the coupling is Glenn Gould's string quartet Op.1, an inflated work which has been aptly reviewed by Otto Joachim as: "Gould made all the mistakes a young composer can make. He did not know when and how to bring his work to an end".

[Marcus]

Thanks for the links gentile. I will search them. You would think that with the strong French connection in Canada, french composers would have been known & played, which in turn should have generated a few talented home-grown composers. I know some of the  composers you mention, with Lavalle represented on the Naxos disc previously mentioned by the Marche indienne. I have some of MacMillan's music on old tapes, but I do not know the String Quartet. I have heard of Couture but I have never heard Contant. I will have to search a little harder.
Marcus.

[JollyRoger]

I agree that the music of Healey Wilan needs to be heard much more often, symphony 2 is a real gem.
I was eager to get the piano concerto at the following link but Wilan's piano concerto is not in the JPC catalogue. Has JPC pulled it?
http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Healey-Willan-Klavierkonzert/hnum/1119434