Evocative and Quite Compelling
On the basis of the two works heard here, GEOFF PEARCE believes that Emily Howard's music will stand the test of time
'... the assembled forces have done a splendid job in delivering a rather startling performance.'
This is an interesting disc that showcases two works that are the result of a collaboration between composer Emily Howard (born 1979) and poet Michael Symmons Roberts (born 1963).
The first work, The Anvil (2019), commemorates a massacre, known as 'The Peterloo Massacre', which occurred on 16 August 1819, where a protest for universal suffrage took place and the authorities ordered it stopped and the leaders arrested. The result was that at least eighteen people were killed and over seven hundred injured. It was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and The Manchester International Festival to commemorate the bicentennial of this event.
The work comprises a large orchestra, with extra woodwind and brass and extra percussion even comprising of some scrap metal, two vocal soloists and four choirs. It is divided into sixteen tracks. At times it is discordant and mechanical, reminding the listener that this was an industrial town, and that there was a high percentage of weavers and textile workers in the crowd.
Listen — Emily Howard: The field turns inside out (The Anvil)
(DCD34285 track 12, 0:41-1:36)
℗ 2023 BBC under licence to Delphian Records Ltd :
There are other moments of great beauty, particularly the way the choral forces are sometimes used. In fact the first choral entry reminds me of the opening chorus of J S Bach's St John's Passion.
Listen — Emily Howard: Heavy stone harvest (The Anvil)
(DCD34285 track 1, 0:49-1:48)
℗ 2023 BBC under licence to Delphian Records Ltd :
The attached booklet gives information as to how the text is used, as the layout is far from conventional.
This is a very powerful work, and all the forces are used very effectively in this evocative and quite compelling piece. It is unashamedly contemporary music, but I have found it one of the most original and fascinating works I have listened to in some time. There is a lot of contrast, with hymns, slogans, marching tunes, industrial sound and rapid changes of mood, and the assembled forces have done a splendid job in delivering a rather startling performance.
Listen — Emily Howard: Our shibboleth (The Anvil)
(DCD34285 track 16, 1:56-2:50)
℗ 2023 BBC under licence to Delphian Records Ltd :
The other work on the disc, Elliptics, completed in 2021, was another collaboration between the same composer and poet. It was strongly influenced by the death of the poet's mother in 2021. It deals with love and death, and what will become of love, once the person dies. It is in fifteen parts and employs a soprano, a countertenor and orchestra. The singers, at times, are quite removed from each other but at other times, almost merge, and the composer exploits their full range, and the difference in tonal quality.
Listen — Emily Howard: The long-gone and the not-yet-here (Elliptics)
(DCD34285 track 21, 0:03-0:41)
℗ 2023 BBC under licence to Delphian Records Ltd :
Again the notes are very good at explaining how the work is structured and the emotional content. It is evocative and very effective. Each section is very short and I do wonder why it is not played as a single track. The work does not follow the layout of the poem but is selected in an order that reflects each section. The following quote from the booklet sums it up nicely:
Finally, Elliptics is a piece about a common and exceptional experience. Everyone loses people. Everyone ends up as the person being lost.
The final section, the longest, sums up the elegiac nature of this work.
Listen — Emily Howard: Dusk that never blossoms. Endless vespers (Elliptics)
(DCD34285 track 31, 2:00-2:42)
℗ 2023 BBC under licence to Delphian Records Ltd :
It ends very abruptly, as if posing a question.
Listen — Emily Howard: Dusk that never blossoms. Endless vespers (Elliptics)
(DCD34285 track 31, 5:17-5:49)
℗ 2023 BBC under licence to Delphian Records Ltd :
Both works are very effective and original. I had never heard of the music of Emily Howard before, but I am sure this won't be the last I hear of this most interesting and innovative composer. She also demonstrates that there is much to be gained from a close collaboration with a poet. The vocal soloists, orchestral and choral forces provide an exemplary recording of two works that would not be easy to perform. This is not a disc that everyone will enjoy, but for those that listen to it, it showcases a composer who is a powerful voice, and one whose music, I believe, will stand the test of time.
Copyright © 10 October 2023
Geoff Pearce,
Sydney, Australia
