Williamson: Symphonies nr. 1 and nr. 5

Another first. Malcolm Williamson (1931-2003) was a hitherto totally unknown composer to me. Born in Australia, he settled permanently in Britain in 1953 and became a fixture of post-war British musical life. In 1975 he followed Arthur Bliss as Master of the Queen's Music but artistically he never really seemed to have risen to the challenge of this prestigious appointment. That was odd for a composer who had been a very fluent and rather successful writer up that point. Williamson produced three operas in the 1960s that were well received. His symphonic achievement includes seven numbered works and three others (a symphony for (unaccompanied voices, for organ and a Sinfonia Concertante for three trumpets, piano and strings).

Judging by the quality of the performances included on this Chandos disc we have been missing a very substantial chapter from the otherwise already opulent book of British post-war serious music. Because the two symphonies - nr. 1 and nr. 5 - are truly excellent and intriguing works and they certainly make me want to hear all seven of them.

Symphony nr. 1 was written in 1956-57 when Williamson was still a very young man. But his sure grasp on the musical material and its distinctive personality skillfully mask the composer's relatively tender age. The work carries the mysterious title 'Elevamini': a Latin quote from Psalm 24 that means 'Be ye lifted up'. In the early 1950s Williamson turned to Catholicism and the spiritual fervour that accompanied this late conversion is certainly something that can be picked up from the symphony. In this respect Williamson's musical language reminds me most strongly of Rubbra's. Lewis Foreman, author of the CD booklet notes, stresses Williamson's interest in Messiaen's music but if there is an influence it's not obvious from the music. It's more likely a matter of spiritual kinship. No, whilst there is a fair amount of Stravinsky in Elevamini (Symphony in C, Symphony in Three Movements), on the whole Williamson's idiom sounds thoroughly British. It brings to mind the rigour of Simpson and, occasionally the perkiness of Arnold. But it's the luminosity of Rubbra's work that I'm very happy to find in another incarnation. The symphony is a three movement work, with an Allegretto squeezed between two longer, slow movements. The work has a curious performance history. Allegedly Adrian Boult paid out of his own pocket for a private performance with the London Philarmonic. The first public performance took place only in 1963, in Melbourne. It was forgotten until 1977 when Sir Charles Groves, indefatigable champion of upcoming composers, performed and recorded it (still available on the Lyrita label). And now Chandos presents us with this very capably executed performance.

Williamson's Fifth Symphony dates from 1979-1980. Again it has an intriguing title: 'Acquero'. Supposedly it is a dialect word that Bernadette Soubirous used to describe what she saw ('that thing') in her vision of the Virgin Mary in the Grotto of Massabielle in the Pyrenees (1858). The whole work is a programmatic contemplation - dawn till dusk - on Bernadette's life and vision. It's a one movement piece that revolves over a continuous, slow pulse over its 24 minutes. The overall ambiente is pastoral and exalted. Formally it's not easy decode. In its seamless expansiveness and monumental, ever changing vistas it reminds me somewhat of Roy Harris' Third Symphony (1939). It strikes me certainly as a very idiosyncratic, rich work that invites repeated listening. Although Williamson was only 50 at the time of writing, it sounds like a late work by a composer who is beyond making a point and just writes for himself. As far as I am aware of there is no alternative recording available.

The performances by the Iceland SO led by Rumon Gamba seem to capture the spirit of these works to perfection. The recording dates from 2006 and is excellent too. Sadly, Chandos seems to have suspended this recording project and so it is totally unclear if and when Williamson's other major symphonic work will become available, if ever ...