Biographical Sketch Continued

Parallels with other composers are not always helpful however some lines of comparison and contrast may be revealing. Some of the music may remind us of the hedonistic side of Delius. Occasionally he does sound like Delius (e.g. in Summer Music, Romantic Overture and The Happy Forest ). Bax however conveys a greater sense of drama and urgency. His symphonies are not pastoral idylls and there is a chillier violence and a more intense beauty than the chaster accents of the VW symphonies. The faery music element could easily be off-putting but those who listen will immediately realise that there is nothing fake-fey about this material: if there are faerie people in the music they are not the tame domestic fairies at the bottom of the garden but more dangerous, unpredictable, sensual and libidinous creatures. They have more in common with Balakirev's Tamara than Enid Blyton. His music occasionally smacks of Rimsky-Korsakov (e.g. one passage in Symphony No. 3 with a brief but unmistakable echo of Russian Easter Festival Overture). Sibelius can be heard too but there is no plagiarism. The occasional and isolated use of the Finnish composer's musical idiom provides an ideal vehicle to convey a world that is Bax's alone.

Dukas' Poème Dansé La Péri could easily be mistaken for Bax. The sound world comparison is uncanny. There are similarities with certain passages in the music of Janis Ivanovs and Eduard Tubin. The influences can be felt far and wide and are not to be taken as critical either of Bax or the other composers mentioned. E.J. Moeran's music is less involved. Its clearer textures occasionally veer into Bax territory especially in the Symphony and Violin Concerto. Another brother in sound is the music of the American, Edward Burlinghame Hill - listen to his Prelude for Orchestra on the old Columbia/Bernstein LP. Philip Sainton's tone poem for orchestra The Island pays Bax a pretty direct compliment as well as being a most impressive score. It fully matches up to Bax's best. Occasional echoes of Bax (and Moeran) can be heard in the music of Patrick Hadley. Hadley's Symphonic Ballad The Trees So High is a fine, meltingly emotional piece perhaps nearer to Moeran than to Bax. Conveniently both the Sainton and the Hadley are on the same Chandos CD CHAN 9181. John Foulds' also has his Baxian moments. Do try out two magnificent CDs from Lyrita (SRCD 211 and 212) especially the Dynamic Triptych for piano and orchestra and two orchestral pieces: Three Mantras and April-England.

Arthur Benjamin's one and only Symphony (a Barbirolli favourite) is a Baxian canvas which I cannot recommend too highly. It has been recorded by Lyrita conducted by Vernon Handley. The recording awaits issue. When it comes out do buy it. The work is not a Bax copy: impressive, quite distinctive, violent, stormy and with quite a few hints of Bax, Prokofiev, Walton and even Roy Harris. Benjamin has a foot in both Bax and Delius camps in his marvellous Romantic Fantasy for violin, viola and orchestra. The work is dedicated to Bax. Eugene Goossens' two symphonies also have much in common though the language is slightly more astringent than Bax's. If only Unicorn would reissue the Symphony No. 1 (David Measham) which they issued on LP in the 1970s. Goossens Second is available on a difficult to get hold of Australian CD conducted by Vernon Handley (ABC442 364-2). Lastly you should also try the orchestral music of Joseph Holbrooke. The best introduction, in a not very crowded field, is the Marco Polo CD (8.223446) of various orchestral tone poems including Ulalume a piece fully deserving to stand beside the best of the Bax tone poems. Bernard Herrmann's Symphony has Baxian resonances. Try it on either Unicorn-Kanchana conducted by the composer (UKCD2063) or a newer recording from James Sedares conducting the Phoenix SO on Koch International Classics 3-7135-2H1.

Bax was extremely prolific. There is no room to mention everything. One thing though which becomes apparent after listening to Bax's music is that his voice is distinctive. The accent may have changed as the years went by but a Bax score is as recognisable as one by Sibelius, Shostakovich, VW, Walton or Moeran. If by any chance all the purple prose, talk about legends and faerie folk puts you off - just forget the literary effusions and listen to the music. It stands alone, needing no literary props. The only requirement is to listen and be willing to enter a world which has the rarest qualities of enchantment, beauty and strength.

© Rob Barnett, 88 Barrows Green Lane , WIDNES WA8 3JJ , United Kingdom , 0151 423 3783 

In addition to my own experience of Bax's music I have drawn heavily on the following books. The errors are my own. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to many people in widening my knowledge of the music. Above all though special thanks must go to Graham Parlett. (R.B.)

BOOK LIST (select)

Bax - A Composer and His Times, by Lewis Foreman, Scolar Press, 1983, second edition 1987. 506 pp. Music examples. Full biography. Full list of works. The authoritative biography. Hardback

Farewell, My Youth and other writings by Arnold Bax, ed. Lewis Foreman, Scolar Press, 1987. Bax's autobiography covering the years of childhood and youth up to circa 1916. Many of Bax's other writing are also included. 183pp. Hardback. Circa 100 illustrations.

Bax, by Colin Scott-Sutherland, Dent, 1972. (out of print)

Bax, by Christopher Whelen. A chapter (pp25-34) in Vol. 3 of "The Music Masters", Cassell, 1954. Long out of print but definitely worth borrowing or looking out for in second-hand bookshops.

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