Cyril Scott: Sonata Lirica & Other Works for Violin and Piano

Chronique

Dutton's attention to neglected composer Cyril Scott turns to his music for violin and piano in this program by Clare Howick and Sophia Rahman. A few of the pieces were arranged from Scott's popular salon music for piano, but the larger ones he wrote specifically for violin and piano. The disc is anchored by the Sonata Lirica, a work that was not lost, but rather undiscovered and, as of the recording date, had yet to be published. It is as representative of Scott's style as any of his best-known piano or orchestral works. There is formal structure and thematic cohesion in the three movements, but these are disguised in such a way as to give the impression of free-form improvisation. Constant shifts in tonality from minor to major to pentatonic modalities and the inward-looking feeling of the smooth, singing lines make the sonata easy to hear and draw the listener in, wondering what lies beneath the somewhat haunting music. A lot of this has to do with the way Howick and Rahman perform Scott's music. They take the seemingly simple music of the shorter works and imbue it with more meaningful feeling with great subtlety. Lotus Land, one of Scott's few really well-known works, can be so overdone in exoticism and sensuality, but the two let it have more mystery. True, there is a lack of great variety in terms of mood and most of the music is quiet and flowing, but whereas Scott's music could be merely lovely and charming with no depth and not much imagination, they reveal it to be more complex than that first glance would imply. There is also that cultural misattribution of specific musical ideas in the Tallahassee Suite and the Danse Nègre -- not even carried out very inventively, at that -- which is representative of the times and continues to detract from Scott's reputation as a serious composer. In that regard, the program might have benefited from a replacement of some of the shorter works with one of Scott's other violin sonatas. However, for those wanting tonal, twentieth century violin music, there is much to like and enjoy here, even in repeated hearings.

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