Bantock Cello Sonatas
Another valuable rescue-act within Dutton’s nicely expanding Epoch series. First-rate performances of some appealing cello rarities
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Granville Bantock
Genre:
Chamber
Label: Dutton Laboratories
Magazine Review Date: 2/2001
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 75
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: CDLX7107
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 |
Granville Bantock, Composer
Andrew Fuller, Cello Granville Bantock, Composer Michael Dussek, Piano |
Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2 |
Granville Bantock, Composer
Andrew Fuller, Cello Granville Bantock, Composer Michael Dussek, Piano |
Sonata for Cello |
Granville Bantock, Composer
Andrew Fuller, Cello Granville Bantock, Composer |
Hamabdil |
Granville Bantock, Composer
Andrew Fuller, Cello Granville Bantock, Composer Lucy Wakefield, Harp |
Pibroch |
Granville Bantock, Composer
Andrew Fuller, Cello Granville Bantock, Composer Lucy Wakefield, Harp |
Elegiac Poem |
Granville Bantock, Composer
Andrew Fuller, Cello Granville Bantock, Composer Michael Dussek, Piano |
Author: Andrew Achenbach
There are some rewarding discoveries to be had here, not least the two sonatas for cello and piano. Both were penned during the first half of the 1940s (towards the end of Bantock’s life), though the sketches for the B minor Sonata originally date back to 1900. The latter is a finely sculpted, generously lyrical creation, boasting a particularly lovely slow movement. For the scherzo Bantock pressed into service his earlier Fantastic Poem of 1925, and the whole work ends in a mood of autumnal nostalgia. Annotator Lewis Foreman informs us that the piece was first heard in 1948 (two years after Bantock’s death), whereas its F sharp minor partner is receiving its first performance here. It was conceived over a seven-month period and finally completed in January 1945. Again, one is struck by the sweep, fluency and idiomatic craft of Bantock’s inspiration, though melodically it is perhaps not quite up to the standard of its predecessor.
It would appear that the initial impulse behind the unaccompanied G minor Sonata stems from Kodaly’s magnificent example in the genre (of which Bantock had heard Beatrice Harrison give the British premiere in 1924). Cast in four compact movements, it’s an uncommonly well-knit essay and a demanding workout for any aspiring virtuoso (as the giddy moto perpetuo of the finale attests). We also get two offerings for cello and harp: the plaintive ‘Hebrew melody’, Hamabdil, started out as a number from Bantock’s incidental music for Arnold Bennett’s drama, Judith, but even more striking is Pibroch, a wonderfully affecting ‘Highland lament’ from 1915 (a period when Bantock was infatuated with all things Scottish). Lastly, there’s the Elegiac Poem, a salon morsel that Bantock wrote in 1898 for the Dutch cellist, Marix Loevensohn.
Andrew Fuller is an accomplished artist, mellow of tone and technically secure, and he enjoys sympathetic support from pianist Michael Dussek. Harpist Lucy Wakeford, too, contributes most beautifully in Hamabdil and Pibroch. With eminently truthful sound and balance throughout, this enterprising collection deserves a warm welcome.'
It would appear that the initial impulse behind the unaccompanied G minor Sonata stems from Kodaly’s magnificent example in the genre (of which Bantock had heard Beatrice Harrison give the British premiere in 1924). Cast in four compact movements, it’s an uncommonly well-knit essay and a demanding workout for any aspiring virtuoso (as the giddy moto perpetuo of the finale attests). We also get two offerings for cello and harp: the plaintive ‘Hebrew melody’, Hamabdil, started out as a number from Bantock’s incidental music for Arnold Bennett’s drama, Judith, but even more striking is Pibroch, a wonderfully affecting ‘Highland lament’ from 1915 (a period when Bantock was infatuated with all things Scottish). Lastly, there’s the Elegiac Poem, a salon morsel that Bantock wrote in 1898 for the Dutch cellist, Marix Loevensohn.
Andrew Fuller is an accomplished artist, mellow of tone and technically secure, and he enjoys sympathetic support from pianist Michael Dussek. Harpist Lucy Wakeford, too, contributes most beautifully in Hamabdil and Pibroch. With eminently truthful sound and balance throughout, this enterprising collection deserves a warm welcome.'
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