Week Two - Gerald Finzi: Now Let Us Garlands Bring

Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956) is a composer I'm only marginally familiar with, having played a few of his chamber works and songs, so I'm really looking forward to getting to know more of his work.
First off, Let Us Garlands Bring: Five Shakespeare Songs Op. 18, for baritone and piano or baritone and strings. The two recordings I'm listening to is Stephen Varcoe and the City of London Sinfonia conducted by Richard Hickox and Roderick Williams partnered with pianist Iain Burnside.

1. Come Away, Death. A terribly beautiful setting; stately with muted melancholy. Both performances are very well done but what a difference tempo makes! Varcoe takes this faster, at 2:59, whereas Williams is at 3:30. The slower performance with piano seems to me to be much more effective in expressing the sadness and resignation of the text, plus there is a sense of intimacy that the string version misses. I do not have the score and would be very interested to know what Finzi marks for the tempo.

2. Who is Silvia? is a total change of character from the proceeding song; joyful and in love! Both performances convey the happiness and celebratory meaning of the text. Finzi's setting is imaginative, using syncopation and modulation to great effect. I especially enjoy that the piano/strings are full partners in expressing the text, no mere accompaniments here!

3. Fear No More the Heat o' the Sun is a profound setting of a profound text.

Fear no more the heat o' the sun,

        Nor the furious winter's rages;

Thou thy worldly task hast done,

        Home art done, and ta'en thy wages:

Golden lads and girls all must,

As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.

Fear no more the frown o' the great;

        Thou art past the tyrant's stroke;

Care no more to clothe and eat;

        To thee the reed is as the oak:

The Sceptre, Learning, Physic, must

All follow this, and come to dust.

Fear no more the lightning-flash,

Nor the'all-dreaded thunder-stone;

Fear not slander, censure rash;

Thou hast finished joy and moan:

All lovers young, all lovers must

Consign to thee, and come to dust.

No exorciser harm thee!

Nor no witchcraft charm thee!

Ghost unlaid forbear thee!

Nothing ill come near thee!

Quiet consummation have,

And renownèd by thy grave!

I have listened to this song now three times and have been brought to tears twice. Why just twice? Once again the choice of tempo is so important regarding the effect on the listener! Varcoe takes 4:19 while Williams takes 5:43! That's a huge difference! This time the Varcoe is the performance that I prefer. The music moves along in a slow triple meter but never loses it's forward momentum while the Williams plods along and is in danger of falling apart. It could be also that the strings, with their ability to sustain notes, serve to hold things together better than the decaying notes of the piano, but the choice of tempo here is the main factor. Regardless of all that, this is a great song which I find profoundly moving.

4. O Mistress Mine is fabulously set by Finzi. Starting off all merry and carefree, using detached notes for 'Trip no further pretty sweeting', but then listen to what he does for 'Journeys end in lovers' meeting/Every wise man's son doth know', slowing down, going to a minor V chord (usually would be major) on 'lovers' meeting' and then suspending the rhythmic flow for 'Every wise man's son doth know', in essence questioning musically the assumption of those two lines of text, like when a person says something but you know they mean something else. Then it's back to carefree for a few lines until 'What's to come is still unsure:' where some slightly menacing dissonances make an appearance. Finzi sets the last two lines 'Then come kiss me, sweet and twenty/Youth's a stuff will not endure' with the same music as the first verse, giving them an extra poignancy. In sum: A happy song with a twist or two of wistfullness. Both versions are beautifully done.

5. It was a Lover and His Lass is another wonderful setting. More keys changes than in the previous songs and, just as in O Mistress Mine, highlighting the importance of a line by slowing way down and setting it off from the others; 'How that life was but a flower'. Also you can hear 'When birds do sing, hey ding a ding a ding' in the strings/piano. 

So to sum up, though these songs were originally composed separately and were only later put together as a group to celebrate Vaughan Williams 70th birthday, I think they work wonderfully well together, juxtaposing as they do Death, Love and the fleetingness of Youth. I'm really looking forward to listening to more of Finzi's music. I only have today and tomorrow before week three starts (been busy!) but because of a major snowstorm outside I should have some time to listen to more! Now, you go listen too!!