Ernest John Moeran: Sketches for Symphony No.2 - John Ireland: Sarnia - An Island Sequence

Albumbeschreibung

Containing a "realized and completed" version of a partially sketched symphony by English-Irish composer E.J. Moeran and an orchestration of a little-known piano work by John Ireland, this release would seem to be aimed primarily at serious fans of British music. This may be so, but it raises some intriguing questions for general listeners. Given this example, might the reconstruction of Sibelius' lost Eighth Symphony now proceed? Moeran, a follower of Vaughan Williams and to an extent of Delius, worked on his Symphony No. 2 for some years, leaving it in fragmentary form, almost completely lacking a finale, at his death in 1950. His widow, Australian cellist Peers Coetmore, took the sketches back to her native country, where they still reside. In Melbourne they were examined by conductor and composer Martin Yates, who found substantial materials for three movements (connected without breaks) and made a reasonably succcessful stab at putting them together. He also found a stray theme that might have been intended as the basis for a finale. The resulting composition is probably more Yates than Moeran, and even Yates concedes that it cannot represent what Moeran would have written. Its lyrical slow movement, evocative of Irish landscapes, is the strongest part. The arrangement for orchestra of Ireland's Sarnia: An Island Sequence (Sarnia is a Latin name for Guernsey island) is quite lovely, with a mastery of the Impressionistic textures that seem to flow from Ireland's music, and Yates gets fine performances out of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in what was clearly a pet project. Certainly recommended for target audiences.

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