Enoch Arden Richard Strauss Lucy Parham - Piano Henry Goodman - Narrator
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Enoch Arden Richard Strauss Lucy Parham - piano Henry Goodman - narrator Richard Strauss’ setting of Tennyson’s epic and tragic narrative poem Enoch Arden is a narrative poem published After Enoch and Annie have married, Enoch day with a desperate longing and a true belief Composed in two halves (presumably to allow in 1864 by Alfred, Lord Tennyson during his leaves his new wife and their three children to that one day he will come back to her. It is this for an interval in performance), Strauss weaves tenure as the Poet Laureate. Richard Strauss go to sea with his old Captain. Enoch’s decision belief that forces her to delay Philip’s marriage the music around the narrative and he uses three admired and was highly influenced by Enoch to leave his beloved Annie and his young family proposal by a year. But finally, under pressure, individual “leitmotifs” to portray Enoch, Annie Arden, in its German translation. He subse- is a tortuous one for him. After much deliberat- she relents. and Philip. quently wrote a solo piano part to accompany ing, and driven by financial worries, Enoch feels the poem to unite spoken word with music, in their future as a family would be better served if Upon his return from sea, Enoch is unrecognis- At the climax of the Part One, these three the form of a melodrama. It was originally com- he accepts the offer of work from the Captain; able from his former self. He discovers to his themes collide, with Enoch’s theme ever menac- posed for the actor Ernst von Possart who, in and hence he sells his fishing boat and leaves horror that after his long absence, Annie is now ingly present in the background. Then, at the 1896, had assisted Strauss in being appointed as Annie to embark on the long voyage to China. married happily to Philip. What Enoch doesn’t climax of Part Two (and this is at the heart of Chief Conductor of the Bavarian State Opera. He begs the distraught Annie to wave him know is that she resisted Philip’s advances for the whole work), when a heartbroken Enoch During this time, these melodramas were a way goodbye from the cliff but when the ship sails many years, hoping and praying that Enoch looks unseen through the window of his cottage of bringing theatre, music and poetry into the she cannot see him and it disappears from view. would return home to her. Enoch then discovers at this new, happy family, and sees his children home. There are several others, notably by Liszt that Philip and Annie now have a child together. (now grown up) with their new father, all three and Schumann; they were all highly popular in In the interim years Philip spends a lot of time On seeing this new “happy family” in domestic themes are once again intertwined. The con- their day but they have now fallen out of fashion. with Annie and her children. He pays for their bliss, through the window of their cottage, tinuous G minor scales with which the Prelude schooling and over time he becomes known Enoch is heartbroken. One of his children is to this melodrama begins, suggest the swelling Written in 1897, Strauss and Possart toured to them as “Father Philip”. Yet not a day goes now dead, and his wife and remaining children of the sea. This theme then returns frequently, widely with this acclaimed version of Enoch past when Annie does not think of Enoch. She are now being cared for by his best friend - and constantly reinforcing Enoch’s presence to the Arden and it brought them both a substantial dreams about him, with a whole section of the rival in love. listener. amount of recognition. poem (“Annie’s Dream”) devoted to her dream in which she prophetically sees Enoch on a Enoch resolves there and then never to reveal to I have greatly enjoyed working on this master- In the narrative of the poem, set in a village desert island. The piano “becomes” the dream his wife and children that he is alive; he loves her piece with Henry Goodman. Its challenges for on the Scottish coast, the young fisherman, at this point, with its rippling arpeggios and too deeply to spoil her new happiness. Finally both performers are considerable, but the power (“the sailor’s lad”) an orphaned Enoch Arden, repeated high right hand chords representing confiding the truth to another villager, an old of the musical language in combination with has courted and then married Annie Lee, his the ethereal nature of the dream. lady, he dies alone of a broken heart. Tennyson’s poem are highly dramatic and, par- childhood sweetheart. Philip Ray (“the miller’s ticularly at the final climax, extremely moving. only son”) is Enoch’s best friend, and he too “And, what of Enoch?” asks the poem. Whilst Enoch Arden is almost live theatre; the solo loves Annie. The three children have grown up at sea, Enoch becomes ship-wrecked on a piano assumes vital importance as it becomes together and Philip has watched Annie from a desert island and he remains lost and missing the set, the sea and the island, as well as all the © 2015 Lucy Parham distance; quietly longing to be with her. for twelve years. Annie awaits his return every characters in the poem. Page 1 Page 2 Also available: Leading British actor Henry Goodman is a two-time winner of the Olivier Best Actor Award, winner of the Critics’ Circle and TMA awards, multiple award nominee for Evening Standard, NOCTURNE Critics Circle, WhatsonStage and TMA awards. He received a The Romantic Life of Frédéric Chopin best actor award in 2012 for The Rise and Fall of Arturo Ui at DXL 1152 the Chichester Festival Theatre and in the West End (Duchess Theatre 2013). The music of Chopin and the story of his turbulent affair with He starred in Rattigan’s The Winslow Boy (Arthur Winslow) at George Sand the Old Vic and as Sir Humphrey in Yes Minister at Chichester “Indeed, no matter how many times one has heard these captivating Festival Theatre and in the West End. miniatures, Parham’s velvet-gloved sonority and rare ability to impart a poetic coherence to Chopin’s stream-of-consciousness Other major West End, Broadway, RSC and Royal National Theatre roles include: Duet for One (Dr Feldman/Almeida and flights of inspiration has one listening afresh.” Sven Arnstein - BBC Music Magazine, April 2014 Vaudeville), Richard III (RSC), Angels in America (Roy Cohn), Shylock (RNT), Fiddler on Roof (Tevye/Crucible, Sheffield photo & Savoy), City of Angels (Buddy/ Prince of Wales), Feelgood ODYSSEY OF LOVE (Garrick), Theatre of Angels (Buddy/Prince of Wales), Assassins (Guiteau/Donmar), The Holy Rosenbergs Liszt and His Women (David/RNT), Chicago (Billy Flynn/West End), Art (Marc/Wyndhams), Broken Glass (RNT), Guys and Dolls (Nathan Detroit/RNT). Henry Goodman has also appeared on Broadway in title roles in Tartuffe, DXL 1156 The Producers and Art (Serge). The music of Franz Liszt and the story of his two greatest He also appears regularly on BBC Radio and is a Sony Award winner. He was heard in Book of the Week romances Mitterand and Ivanhoe series, The Radetsky March (Joseph Roth) as Leopold Bloom on Bloomsday Radio, Priestley’s Angel Pavement (Golspie) and Henry James’ The Ambassadors (Lambert). “Henry Goodman and Juliet Stevenson excel in their spoken por- trayals of the man himself and the two high-octane ladies in his life. Parham’s playing searches out a memorable strand of lyrical artistry His TV appearances include Penny Dreadful (Adrian/ TV Sky Atlantic), Nixon (Henry Kissinger), The and tonal loveliness.” Making of Coronation Street (Sky Arts), New Tricks & Challenger (BBC Four), Alan Turing (Channel 4 - BBC Music Magazine, July 2015 Docudrama), Midsommer Murders and New Tricks. Page 3 Page 4 Acknowledged as one of Britain’s finest pianists, She came to public attention as the Piano Lucy Parham applies her sensitivity and imagi- Winner of the 1984 BBC Young Musician of nation not only to concertos and recitals, but also the Year. Since her Royal Festival Hall concerto to portraits in words and music of such compos- debut at age 16, she has played throughout the ers as Schumann, Chopin, Liszt and Debussy. UK as concerto soloist with most of the major Her life-long passion for the music of Schumann British orchestras and is a frequent recitalist at inspired the original concept of the words and the Wigmore Hall. She also toured the USA music evening, Beloved Clara. The CD of Beloved with the BBC Concert Orchestra on their 50th Clara (ASV) was released to critical acclaim. Two anniversary, as well as Mexico and Turkey with further evenings, Liszt - An Odyssey of Love and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Abroad, she has Nocturne - The Romantic Life of Frédéric Chopin toured with the Russian State Symphony, Sofia also premiered in the London Pianoforte Series Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Polish at the Wigmore Hall. These musical portraits National Radio SO and L’Orchestre National de have toured the UK and abroad, also making Lille. their US debuts in Los Angeles and subsequently Lucy Parham is a regular contributor to broadcast on NPR across the USA. Her most BBC Music Magazine, Pianist Magazine and recent programme, Rêverie – The life and loves of the Guardian. She also appears frequently as Claude Debussy, was performed at the Wigmore a broadcast presenter and guest on BBC Radio Hall London Piano Series in December 2102 to 3 and 4 on CD Review, Proms Plus, The Essay, critical acclaim.