Robert Simpson(1921-1997)

Started by Dundonnell, March 25, 2008, 02:09:14 PM

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J.Z. Herrenberg

Simpson is all process and development, very organic. Brian's music is also very 'natural', but full of emotion too, presented objectively. He is not 'confessional' in the way Mahler is.


I simplify, of course, but still...
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

Dundonnell

Some people think in the bath. I think whilst driving (which I know is probably not advisable ;D). During a 90 mile car journey this evening I listened to Simpson's 2nd, 4th and 10th symphonies and tried to determine in my own mind why I admire the composer and his music so much. I also pondered on the question of the relationship between Simpson and Havergal Brian.

To take the second point first: Simpson admired Brian's music intensely and did his utmost over many years as a BBC Music producer to promote Brian. HB sent many of his symphonies to Simpson for comment soon after their composition. Simpson dedicated his Third Symphony to Brian and there can be little doubt that the latter regarded the younger man as a composer of great talent and musical ability. On the other hand, Brian died in November 1972 and therefore did not live to hear any of Simpson's later music (from Symphony No.4 onwards). But what about the obverse of the relationship? How much, if at all, did Brian influence Simpson's music?  I really don't know and am still searching for an answer.

Simpson's nine symphonies are, in my judgment, a towering achievement, amongst the most important and significant symphonic cycles of any British composer of the post Vaughan Williams, post Bax generations. But why?

Simpson seems to me to be the most Scandinavian of British symphonists, not least, of course, because of his huge admiration for and expert knowledge of the music of Carl Nielsen. There is frequently a quite terrifying grimness about Simpson's symphonies. They contain some of the angriest music I know and some of the grandest, most imposing, most formidable climaxes in music, greater I think at times than anything I know in Havergal Brian's music. There are passages in the Second and Fourth symphonies-the most recent in my listening experience-where the snarling, rasping brass fanfares cut through the orchestral sound with a ferocity which raises the hairs on my neck. The timpani shatter the firmament of sound like an artillery barrage across a battlefield. Using relatively modest orchestral resources-the Second Symphony, after all, is scored for the same size of orchestra as used by Beethoven in his early symphonies-Simpson can make a classical orchestra sound enormous in the volume of sound actually created.
The slow movement of the 2nd Symphony contains-to my ears-amongst the most thunderously, shatteringly terrifying passages in all music and yet achieved with only double woodwind, two horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings.

Simpson's quieter, more peaceful, tranquil music has a beauty which is quite distinctive. The beauty is that of a classical purity. If the sun shines then it seems to glisten on a crystalline, icy surface. There is an absence of warmth. Indeed 'warmth' seems to be absent-I do not use the word 'missing'-from Simpson's music. This is not music which, like that of British composers such as  Arnold or Arnell, wears emotion on its sleeve, or, like Rubbra, is based on a modal religious spirituality.

The music is based on a precise and extremely carefully and expertly built symphonic structure. Thus the parallels with Beethovenian classicism. That makes it music which may well, for many people, make it difficult to 'love'. I would not like to claim that Simpson's music is easy to listen to. In a sense it is very difficult music because it demands a ferocious degree of concentration if one is to appreciate the structural precision.

I am the most amateur of musical amateurs. I claim no deep knowledge of musical processes. Yet Simpson's music, more than any other I know, demands of me the concentrated effort to try to appreciate what exactly Simpson is doing and trying to achieve. It is no accident that the other symphonist who makes similar demands of my listening is the Dane Vagn Holmboe.

Critics accuse Simpson of being a composer of enormous technical facility, of having tremendous intellectual capacity, but of lacking the ability to inject into the impeccable logic of his composition any real element of surprise or an emotional imagination to bring real life to his music.I can understand that criticism. Is there the same or even a comparable fascination of fresh discovery which fires enthusiasts for the music of Havergal Brian? Possibly not. Is Simpson's music possessed of an essential memorability which would qualify it as 'great music'? I am not sure. And yet............when I listen to the Fourth Symphony or the Ninth I hear a master craftsman at work, composing music of such adamantine brilliance and clarity and of such overwhelming power that I am quite swept away. The music may be without some intrinsic emotional core yet it is more than capable of producing an extremely powerful emotional reaction. And when I listen to the Fourth Symphony I am struck by the soaring self-confidence of a master craftsman in the art of symphonic development and orchestration. This is music of such driven power that I am awe-struck in admiration. And for those who argue that Simpson has no capacity to surprise: the extraordinary scherzo of the Fourth Symphony is indeed, as Matthew Taylor, wrote a quite astonishing tour de force. The quite amazing alternation of the quote from Haydn's Symphony No.76 with the ferocious rasping brass and hammering timpani and percussion is not the creation of a composer without imagination ;D

(Anyway and however...it is now very late at night and my own thought-processes are probably becoming dimmed by tiredness ;D)

J.Z. Herrenberg

I appreciate your musings, Colin. There is no doubt in my mind that Simpson is a master, both of the orchestra and of symphonic logic. He's a frighteningly 'bright' composer, and you can hear his intellect in everything he writes. To appreciate, yes, even love his music, you must approach it dispassionately and with total concentration. If you do that, Simpson can offer you an aesthetic enjoyment that is quite unlike any other composer. That his musical universe seems to partake of both the cosmos and a laboratory is only a weakness when you're not susceptible to its particular charms. I admire Simpson's music enormously and his cycle of symphonies, for me too, stand as one of the greatest achievements in 20th century symphonism. The fact that I don't love Simpson as much as I do Brian is because in Brian you get the frail but tenacious human figure, too, etched against the cosmos. This gives you a means to feel and measure the world Brian's music explores.
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

J.Z. Herrenberg

Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

UB

Quote from: J. Z. Herrenberg on February 29, 2012, 11:27:23 PM
Always interesting - Malcolm MacDonald about Robert Simpson:


http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2004/Mar04/Simpson_Macdonald.htm

Thank for the link...I had forgotten about this very informative article about Simpson. I am one of those who loves his symphonies - especially 9 - but think his soul is in his string quartets.
I am not in the entertainment business. Harrison Birtwistle 2010

Dundonnell


madaboutmahler

Thank you for the post which included your thoughts on Simpson, Colin. A really fascinating, enjoyable read. I agreed with your opinions, and cannot believe that some critics believe Simpson lacks the ability to surprise! The scherzo of the 4th symphony gave me one of the most incredible musical surprises of my life!

Today, at the academy, Matthew played me Simpson's 9th symphony. I was absolutely amazed by it. Such a powerful, beautiful piece. I was speechless after that heavenly final chord died away... amazing piece.
"Music is ... A higher revelation than all Wisdom & Philosophy"
— Ludwig van Beethoven

Archaic Torso of Apollo

Quote from: madaboutmahler on March 03, 2012, 08:46:00 AM
The scherzo of the 4th symphony gave me one of the most incredible musical surprises of my life!

Coincidentally, I just got finished listening to the 4th Symphony. That scherzo is awesome, one of the greatest ever written. It also struck me how rarely it happens that a scherzo is the "heaviest" movement in a symphony. The only other example I can think of right now is Mahler's 5th.

I was also struck again at how innovative the symphony is within its classical format. Not just the weird trio with that snippet of Haydn under bombardment, but also the way the scherzo is developed with various material (including from that trio) on its reprise, and how the finale is basically a hyperactive variation on the material from the first movement. And then that coda just blows the roof off. What an awesome piece.
formerly VELIMIR (before that, Spitvalve)

"Who knows not strict counterpoint, lives and dies an ignoramus" - CPE Bach

madaboutmahler

Quote from: Velimir on March 03, 2012, 09:47:20 AM
Coincidentally, I just got finished listening to the 4th Symphony. That scherzo is awesome, one of the greatest ever written. It also struck me how rarely it happens that a scherzo is the "heaviest" movement in a symphony. The only other example I can think of right now is Mahler's 5th.

I was also struck again at how innovative the symphony is within its classical format. Not just the weird trio with that snippet of Haydn under bombardment, but also the way the scherzo is developed with various material (including from that trio) on its reprise, and how the finale is basically a hyperactive variation on the material from the first movement. And then that coda just blows the roof off. What an awesome piece.

Interesting point about Mahler 5 - I would actually view that as the least 'heavy' of the movements... ;)

But anyway, in agreement with everything you say about Simpson 4. It certainly is an awesome piece. And I don't use that word that often! ;)
"Music is ... A higher revelation than all Wisdom & Philosophy"
— Ludwig van Beethoven

Dundonnell

I asked Malcolm MacDonald, who knew Simpson well, to comment on my lengthy post above and, in particular, about the issue of emotion and warmth in Simpson's music.
Malcolm confirmed that Simpson was extremely wary of demonstrating in music the emotion which he in reality felt and that 'warmth' was frequently turned into the 'heat' of his louder
music.

Most fascinating however was Malcolm's information that the reason Simpson revised the glorious slow movement of the Fourth Symphony and changed the time signature from Adagio to Andante was because he thought that at the slower speed the movement tended to 'wallow' in the very emotion he was so wary of. I heard the first performance of the 4th and indeed (once :() had it on tape. I must admit that I preferred the movement at the slower speed. At the time of his death Simpson was, apparently, working on the possibility of restoring the movement to its original tempo. How interesting it would be if Matthew Taylor was to complete this work and we were to hear the symphony again as Simpson originally intended it :)

madaboutmahler

Quote from: Dundonnell on March 03, 2012, 02:53:54 PM
How interesting it would be if Matthew Taylor was to complete this work and we were to hear the symphony again as Simpson originally intended it :)

I'll try and sneak in that suggestion into one of our conversations. ;)
"Music is ... A higher revelation than all Wisdom & Philosophy"
— Ludwig van Beethoven

Dundonnell

Quote from: madaboutmahler on March 04, 2012, 03:36:25 AM
I'll try and sneak in that suggestion into one of our conversations. ;)

;D :)

Archaic Torso of Apollo

Quote from: Dundonnell on March 03, 2012, 02:53:54 PM
I asked Malcolm MacDonald, who knew Simpson well, to comment on my lengthy post above and, in particular, about the issue of emotion and warmth in Simpson's music.
Malcolm confirmed that Simpson was extremely wary of demonstrating in music the emotion which he in reality felt and that 'warmth' was frequently turned into the 'heat' of his louder
music.

It is fascinating to hear of a composer suppressing emotion in music rather than fostering it. I think he was right to do so; it gives his music an "edge". Cool and powerful, like a skyscraper or a mountain range.

QuoteAt the time of his death Simpson was, apparently, working on the possibility of restoring the movement to its original tempo. How interesting it would be if Matthew Taylor was to complete this work and we were to hear the symphony again as Simpson originally intended it :)

Why would anyone have to "complete" it? Does the original score no longer exist?
formerly VELIMIR (before that, Spitvalve)

"Who knows not strict counterpoint, lives and dies an ignoramus" - CPE Bach

Dundonnell

The information about this comes from 'Leading Notes' the journal published by The Robert Simpson Society. In 1998 the writer and critic Stephen Johnson wrote that at his death Simpson was working on "a possible revision/restoration of the slow movement". So he may have been contemplating something further than simply restoring the original time signature. Obviously others will know more about this ;D

Simpson was also working on a Symphony No.12 for chorus and orchestra. Given that he wrote almost nothing which included voices this would have been a remarkable addition to his canon.

Archaic Torso of Apollo

It is interesting to read that he was starting to compose again when he died. A 12th symphony would have been a major effort, obviously. I had thought that the effects of his stroke (which partially paralyzed him and stuck him with a more or less permanent headache, according to a source I read) would have made large-scale composition impossible.
formerly VELIMIR (before that, Spitvalve)

"Who knows not strict counterpoint, lives and dies an ignoramus" - CPE Bach

calyptorhynchus

I remember reading this quote from RS: "If words are good enough to set, they don't need music".

This is pretty much my feeling about vocal music too ;)
'Many men are melancholy by hearing music, but it is a pleasing melancholy that it causeth.' Robert Burton

J

Quote from: calyptorhynchus on March 04, 2012, 01:14:28 PM
I remember reading this quote from RS: "If words are good enough to set, they don't need music".

This is pretty much my feeling about vocal music too ;)

Given that music likely originated in song or "the setting of words" this lame idea of Simpson is consistent
with the sterile and alienated character of his compositions.

calyptorhynchus

"Given that music likely originated in song or "the setting of words" this lame idea of Simpson is consistent
with the sterile and alienated character of his compositions."

That's one theory, the other is that it arose from dance music. Take your pick.
'Many men are melancholy by hearing music, but it is a pleasing melancholy that it causeth.' Robert Burton

Lisztianwagner

I listened to some of Simpson's symphonies, plus the Violin Concerto, and I was quite impressed by their huge beauty and brilliance, absolutely stunning music! It's very expressive and dynamic, very powerful, but at the same time, also logical and well-structured.
He certainly became one of my favourite contemporary composers. :)
"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler

Dundonnell

Good for you, Ilaria ;D

It is certainly refreshing to hear something like that. Positive comment, unlike "sterile and alienated" :(