The Music of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
MIKE WHEELER is impressed by a Sinfonia Viva event, presented by Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor has started to get his share of the limelight at last, and it was good to hear his work being celebrated in the latest of Sinfonia Viva's one-hour afternoon concerts - Museum of Making, Derby, UK, 1 May 2025. Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason, mother of the famous siblings, was on hand with an illustrated introduction, the first part of which led us through the composer's early life and career, before the unadvertised opener, 'Deep River', one of his 24 Negro Melodies, Op 59. Originally for piano, it was heard here in a transcription for violin and piano by Maud Powell, for whom he wrote his Violin Concerto. Sophie Rosa floated the violin's first entry beguilingly, sympathetically partnered by Ian Buckle, before they dug into the more strenuous central section.
Publicity for Sinfonia Viva's 'The Music of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor' with, pictured, presenter Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason
After Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason described some of Coleridge-Taylor's experiences in the US, Rosa and Buckle returned for his African Dances, Op 58. They caught the capricious nature of the first dance's opening, the elegance of the waltz-like central section, and the surge of energy at the end. The harp-like piano opening to No 2 established its gentle frame of mind, pointing up the contrast with the humorous No 3. The fast, driving final dance went at full pelt, pausing for a moment of relative stillness in the quiet central passage.
Sophie Rosa and Ian Buckle
Finally, Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason explored a little of Coleridge-Taylor's legacy, before Rosa and Buckle were joined by seven of their Sinfonia Viva colleagues – Maddy Aldis-Evans, oboe, Matt Dunn, clarinet, Gareth Humphreys, bassoon, Naomi Atherton, horn, Wenhan Jiang, viola, Deirdre Bencsik, cello, and Hannah Turnbull, bass, for his Nonet in F minor, Op 2. This astonishingly mature student work is marked by Coleridge-Taylor's confident handling of both his material and his instrumental resources. Deft key-changes that would have done credit to Schubert were expertly negotiated. In the second movement, the ensemble carefully balanced the music's active surface with its slower undercurrents. There was an engaging freshness to the Scherzo third movement, with nimble exchanges between the players, an attractive swaying lilt to the trio section, and a bold approach to the vigorous ending. The influence of both Brahms and Dvořák comes through in the finale's relaxed energy, also, more unexpectedly, occasional hints of Saint-Saëns. But none of that stuck out incongruously, and the players rounded off the performance with a conviction that matched the composer's own.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912)
One audience member I was talking to afterwards was astonished not to have come across such a fine work before. Let's hope it's not too long before we hear more.
Copyright © 9 May 2025
Mike Wheeler,
Derby UK
