Finzi - Dies Natalis; Walton - String Sonata [CD]

This is a mixed program of string and vocal music, composed of works that few Americans will be familiar with. In fact, few will be familiar with Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) one of a handful of beloved pastoral-elegiac composers that the British specialize in. finzi's songs are his best-known works, but they too hardly ever travel beyond Land's End. Here we begin with a tenderly lyrical romance for string orchestra that is as lovely as any pastoral melody by Vaughan Williams. It leads to one of Finzi's major works, Dies natalis (Day of Brith) from 1938-39, which blends string interludes with songs for tenor or soprano based on texts by the metaphysical poet Thomas Traherne.

Here's the work's outline:
1. "Intrada"
2. "Rhapsody" (Recitativo stromentato)
3. "The Rapture" (Danza)
4. "Wonder" (Arioso)
5. "The Salutation" (Aria)

The idiom could be called "modest sublime," in keeping with Finzi's customary gentleness, yet reaching for the transcendent vision of the poet's ecstasies. The playing by the Scottish ensemble is completely sympathetic. Tenor Toby Spence had joined them in a very good Britten program, and he's just right here -- ardent, with clear diction and spiritual uplift that doesn't become mawkish. I can imagine a more inward reading, but Spence stands out as the best of this generation's English tenors. He began as the blond Young Thing on the scene but has matured into a real musician, a worthy successor to Philip Langridge and Anthony Rolfe-Johnson, both recently deceased and both sorely missed. Dies natalis isn't a masterpiece like RVW's On Wenlock Edge, but it, too, is a worthy successor.

William Walton wrote his String Quartet in 1947 when his wife was dying of cancer, a work he adapted for string orchestra as a commission from Neville Marriner and the Academy in 1972. It appears under the title, Sonata for String Orchestra, in four movements. The first movement harks back to its origins by using a string quartet to state the theme, after which the sonority opens up for string orchestra. The Scottish ensemble is small enough that the quartet feeling remains. Walton's idiom at tis time was marked by a jittery rhythmic sense that sounds like domesticated Bartok, and his melodic sense strikes the ear more as suggested melodies than memorable tunes. quite often the tight, repeated rhythmic cells are used as mottoes in place of melody. The first movement and Scherzo are both in this jittery style -- the style is effective, but I wish this performance were more anxious and less rounded off.

the slow movement, marked Lento, resorts to actual melody but a winding, ruminative one. It's unusually straightforward and lyrical for Walton -- his modernism was a revolt against the English pastoral. The most intriguing part is a central section led by solo viola against plucked accompaniment. A propulsive finale returns to agitated mottoes, close to Morse code, that speed along like a mobile perpetuo. The Scottish Ensemble plays this music with accuracy and panache. By the end I felt that Walton's writing was probably too simple for string quartet but just right for string orchestra. As with the Finzi, this isn't a masterpiece, but in the line of appealing music for those of us nostalgic about England, the whole CD is a treat.