Robert Simpson(1921-1997)

[calyptorhynchus]

At the moment I am helping out Toccata with proof-reading their booklets and CD materials. So I have seem the proofs of the new Simpson CD booklet. There I saw a sentence that amused me a lot: the CD has a setting of A E Housman's The Cherry Tree, and in the booklet Matthew Taylor talks about the hearing the influence of Finzi on this song. Finzi's influence on Simpson: I never thought I'd read that thought!

And while I was typing that another strange conjunction occurred to me. In the late 1980s Simpson and his wife Angela moved to Ireland, to a house overlooking Dingle Bay. Simpson had a workroom looking out over the view and all his late compositions were composed there (Symphony No.10 and String Quartet 12 onwards). This put me in mind of Bax in the 1920s heading off to north Scotland and staying at a hotel where he could get Atlantic views and inspiration to compose his symphonies (and quality whisky). Again, another composer you wouldn't think of as having any similarities with Simpson.

[foxandpeng]

The Clarinet Trio (1967) about to be released on Toccata is for A Clarinet, Cello and Piano. (I know this because I have the score, and transcribed it and made a MIDI version for Youtube, but I have now taken this down).

Can someone with access to either the score or other information let me know if the Clarinet Quintet from the next year is also for A Clarinet, or is it for a Bflat instrument?

Thanks for this! Good old Toccata!

[calyptorhynchus]

News from the Robert Simpson Society. The unrecorded chamber works disc vol 1 is now sitting the warehouse, ready to be released in January.

If you would like a free copy of this disc you can get one by joining the Society (contact details on their webpage).

The unrecorded chamber works disc Vol 2 will consist of:

1. The Brass Quintet
2. The Sonata for Two Pianos
3. Simpson's arrangement of Nielsen's Commotio for two pianos

And performers are being lined up for this disc. If you would like to contribute to the costs of the disc you can do so via the RSS webpage.

Finally the Society has a list of unrecorded woks beyond these. These are

1. A piano trio version of the Haydn Variations for piano
2. Flute Concerto
3. Violin Concerto (as revised by Matthew Taylor after Simpson's instructions)
4. Variations and Fugue on a Theme of J S Bach
5. Orchestral Brass version of The Four Temperaments (originally for Brass Band)

As 2-5 of these are orchestral recording them will cost big bikkies and so the Society is looking for sponsorship to do it.

[foxandpeng]

News from the Robert Simpson Society. The unrecorded chamber works disc vol 1 is now sitting the warehouse, ready to be released in January.

If you would like a free copy of this disc you can get one by joining the Society (contact details on their webpage).

The unrecorded chamber works disc Vol 2 will consist of:

1. The Brass Quintet
2. The Sonata for Two Pianos
3. Simpson's arrangement of Nielsen's Commotio for two pianos

And performers are being lined up for this disc. If you would like to contribute to the costs of the disc you can do so via the RSS webpage.

Finally the Society has a list of unrecorded woks beyond these. These are

1. A piano trio version of the Haydn Variations for piano
2. Flute Concerto
3. Violin Concerto (as revised by Matthew Taylor after Simpson's instructions)
4. Variations and Fugue on a Theme of J S Bach
5. Orchestral Brass version of The Four Temperaments (originally for Brass Band)

As 2-5 of these are orchestral recording them will cost big bikkies and so the Society is looking for sponsorship to do it.

Thanks for the heads up

[calyptorhynchus]

OK, the "Chamber Music vol 1" Toccata disc landed today.

What a revelation! The String Quartet in D major is fine, early work, very consonant for Simpson; the influence of Beethoven, Brahms and even a bit of Tippett is in evidence, but the work gains in confidence until the finale which is awesome, and genuine Simpson.

The songs are very good and well-worth listening to.

The Clarinet Trio, I'd say this is the greatest chamber work of the C20 for clarinet... if Simpson himself hadn't written the Clarinet Quintet the next year. Having prepared a MIDI version I knew what it was going to sound like, but was unprepared for how good it sounds with real musicians of the calibre of Johnson, Wallfisch and Lenehan playing.

Finally the 2 Clarinet Quintet, the string trio version of this (already recorded by Hyperion) sounds cool and even a little sensuous (hints of cool jazz with the clarinet and bass clarinet sound a little saxophone-y in places). But the version with three basses here is like nothing else in chamber music, all of the above, plus much darker; the same work on a different plane.

[krummholz]

The Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano.

One of Simpson's finest chamber works, I think, full of wonderful counterpoint between the two stringed instruments, and also brilliant, hard-edged piano writing that shows the influence of Carl Nielsen's Three Piano Pieces, Op. 58 (I think, I could have the number wrong). The motivic development and interplay between the two strings and the piano is intricate and carefully thought-out, and rewards close listening. This is late Simpson, from 1988-9, so roughly contemporary with the 10th Symphony. By this point Simpson's music was (almost) never in a particular key, but he uses intervals in a way that, on short time scales, is familiar from the common practice era - but always in a context where the underlying key is ambiguous or unstable, or else bi- or polytonal. The result often sounds frankly atonal and yet very different from anything out of the Second Viennese School, which Simpson rejected early on. Such was Simpson's skill at spinning out a music argument that despite its length, I found this a thoroughly absorbing and compelling work.

[krummholz]

I haven't read all 30 pages of this thread, so apologies if this work has been posted before. I've recently become convinced that his Flute Concerto of 1989 is one of his very finest works. Playing time is about 29 minutes.

The work is in one movement, with three large sections that play without a break. The first is a rather restless Allegretto, that develops a sinuous melody introduced by the violins, the "rocking" figure familiar from the 10th and 11th symphonies, and the descending scales from the 2nd movement of the 10th symphony. It rises to two subdued, widely separated climaxes before giving way to a brilliant scherzo that never quite climaxes before subsiding in nervous pattering. This passage features some almost unbelievably virtuosic writing for the flute, but it's certainly not just "for show".

At length the heart of the work, a profound Adagio in two parts, ensues. The first part is a set of three variations, and part of a fourth, on a homophonic, almost chorale-like paragraph for strings that the flute embellishes with colourful, sometimes melismatic lines. The mood is contemplative yet enigmatic. The winds then bring about the work's main climax, an emphatic, tragedy-laden outcry. What remains is the second part, a tender elegy scored for the flute and solo strings only. Anyone who thinks Simpson did not know how to write with his heart should hear this music: it begins with a "verklempt" line for violin against an ascending viola phrase, repeated several times in various instrumental combinations, that morphs in steps into new forms that repeatedly cast new light on the material. At length the music rises to a passionate climax before subsiding radiantly. The quiet ending is poignant and unforgettable.

Recommended to anyone who loves 20th century "advanced" tonal music, even if they're not familiar with Simpson: I think this is one of his two or three most approachable works.

Robert Simpson's Flute Concerto

[lunar22]

Liz introduced me to this work and it made a most positive impression -- especially the adagio. In fact so much so that the string section in the elegy gave me the initial impetus for my recent String quartet no. 15. It's curious that although Simpson is not in general among my favourite composers, he's actually been the inspiration for two of my own chamber works (the other being the quintet for clarinet, bass clarinet and string trio where I copied the instrumentation and which is probably my favourite of all his works as I mentioned earlier in the thread)

[calyptorhynchus]

While this thread is high up the list I thought I'd mention a little project I'm doing at the moment for the RSS Society.

Simpson wrote two sets of incidental music, one, in 1965, for a production of Ibsen's play The Pretenders, a historical drama set in mediaeval Norway, and another in 1974 for a performance of Milton's Samson Agonistes.

I have photocopies of the manuscripts of the two sets and I'm typesetting them for the society. In due course I expect they will be published.

The later set is for orchestral brass (without horns) and percussion and consists of 19 numbers, the earlier set is for full orchestral brass, woodwind and percussion and has 29 numbers. I don't expect these will ever be recorded in their entirety because they wouldn't make much sense without the respective plays: they both are mainly very short flourishes, fanfares, processionals, sound effects &c. The longest piece in the Samson Agonistes set is only 46 bars long. I think only a couple of pieces from this set would make sense played as they stand.

With the music for The Pretenders there are a few pieces that are a little longer, and there's song for solo soprano. The longest piece of music you already know; it's the work Simpson recast for orchestral brass entitled Canzona (on the choral music and organ Hyperion disk). From this set the song and three or four pieces might be able to be recorded, including the original version of Canzona (it's titled Entr'acte).

Anyway, just to let you know a little more about these. As I said I some few of the pieces might be recorded in the future. But it is interesting for me to be going through them, even though they are short: they are all full of energy and Simpsonian grit.

[calyptorhynchus]

Two things:

1. The Robert Simpson Society had its AGM a few days ago and there isn't any new disc to appear immediately (:-( ), but the next Toccata disc will feature:
 
Haydn Variations (version for piano trio) (the 1949 piano work, not the String Quartet No.9)
Sonata for Two Pianos
Simpson's transcription of Nielsen's Commotio (can't remember whether this is for two pianos or for piano 4 hands)

Performers are yet to be found for these, so I'm guessing the disc won't emerge until early 2027.

2. As a footnote to my description of the incidental music for The Pretenders and Samson Agonistes, it seems that these were only ever radio plays, and they were produced in the UK for the Canadian Broadcasting Commission. We think that a recording of The Pretenders may exist in the RSS Archive, and this is being searched for, and we are hoping that Samson Agonistes will also surface. Otherwise we will approach the CBC to see if they preserved them.

Donations and memberships are eagerly sought by the RSS: RSS