Gathering Peascods for the Old Gray Mare Some Unusual Harpsichord Music Before Aliénor

Harpsichord

By Larry Palmer Violet Gordon Woodhouse Pearl CD cover The 2012 inaugural meeting of the equally charming, though perhaps less the University of California, Berkeley new Historical Keyboard Society of historically informed, when performed in 196110 and Igor Kipnis recorded it North America (HKSNA), formed by without the ambient sound track. in 1976.11 I have occasionally enjoyed the merger of the Southeastern Histori- playing Delius’s purple-plush harmonies cal Keyboard Society (SEHKS, founded Thomé in a shortened version arranged by Bal- 1980) and its slightly younger sibling, New harpsichord music composed timore harpsichordist Joseph Stephens. the Midwestern Historical Keyboard for the earliest Revival harpsichords4 Each time I play the work I find fewer Society (MHKS, organized 1984), actually predates any recording of the notes to be necessary, and decide to was an historic event in itself. The instrument: Francis Thomé’s Rigodon, omit more and more of them, often an late March gathering in Cincinnati opus 97, a pièce de claveçin, was writ- approach that best serves these piano- included both the seventh iteration of ten for the fleet-fingered French pianist centric harpsichord refugees from the the Jurow Harpsichord Playing Com- Louis Diémer, and published in Paris by early Revival years. Since Delius surely petition and the eighth occurrence of Henry Lemoine and Company in 1892.5 ranks among the better-known compos- the International Aliénor Composition ers who attempted to write anything at Competition, plus scores of scholarly The first 20th-century all for the harpsichord, it seems worth presentations and short recitals, loosely harpsichord piece? the effort to forge an individual version organized into ten sessions, each with a There are currently two contenders for that serves to bring this quite lovely general connecting theme. “first place” in the 20th-century modern piece to the public. For my contribution to Session Seven harpsichord composition sweepstakes. (The Old Made New) I attempted to The first may be Mario Castelnuovo- Grainger craft a title enigmatic enough that Tedesco’s English Suite, originally com- Inspired by the recent anniversary it might pique the curiosity of a few mitted to paper in 1909 during his stu- year (2011) of the beloved eccentric Cover of Sharp’s Country Dance Tunes, potential auditors, but with the higher dent years in Florence, then recreated in Percy Grainger (he died in 1961), it arranged for piano goal of providing information about 1939 shortly after the Italian composer’s some of the earliest and relatively immigration to the United States. That obscure “new” compositions for harp- version, sent to prominent harpsichord- sichord from the early 20th-century. I ist Ralph Kirkpatrick in 1940, seems to hoped, as well, to underscore, at least have been ignored by the artist, but it by implication, the major stimulus for was ultimately published by Mills Music a continuing creation of new repertoire in New York in 1962.6 that has been provided by the Aliénor’s A second contender (dare we call it a prizes, performances, and publications “co-first”?), which is, thus far, the earli- since its inception in 1980. est published 20th-century harpsichord work, is Henri Mulet’s tender and Woodhouse plays Cecil Sharp charming miniature Petit Lied. Mulet is As early as July 1920, Violet Gordon most often remembered, if at all, for his Woodhouse, the most prominent and ten Byzantine Sketches for Organ, a set gifted of early 20th-century British harp- that ends with the sometimes-popular sichordists, recorded three of folksong toccata Tu es Petrus (Thou art the rock). collector Cecil Sharp’s Country Dance Comprising a brief seventeen measures, Tunes. Thus Sharp’s 1911 piano versions Mulet’s “Little Song” is dedicated to of the tunes Newcastle, Heddon of Faws- fellow organist Albert Périlhou, who ley, and Step Back serve as the earliest was characterized by his more famous “contemporary” music for harpsichord contemporary Louis Vierne, as “a com- committed to disc.1 poser of the 18th century.” So perhaps These were followed, in 1922, by this delicate, nostalgic work, published recorded performances of two more in 1910 “pour claveçin [ou piano]” was Cecil Sharp transcriptions, Bryhton intended to pay homage to Périlhou’s Camp and the evocatively titled Gath- antiquarian tendencies.7 ering Peascods.2 While the 1920 record- ings were already available in digital Busoni format, courtesy of Pearl Records’ 1916 saw the publication of Ferruc- Violet Gordon Woodhouse compact cio Busoni’s 1915 Sonatina ad usum disc,3 I had never heard the 1922 offer- infantis Madeline M.* Americanae pro ings. Peter Adamson, an avid collector Clavicimbalo composita8—a strange, but of these earliest discs, assured me that ultimately satisfying keyboard work that, he could provide the eponymous work with some imaginative editing, is play- listed in the title of this article. Both of able on a two-manual harpsichord, which us were surprised to find that Gathering one assumes the composer did, since he Peascods was never issued in the United was also the proud owner of such a 1911 Kingdom, but Peter was able to send Dolmetsch-Chickering instrument.9 me some superior dubs from the original 1920 discs, as well as a few seconds Delius of authentic 78-rpm needle scratching. Often described as “unplayable,” the Combining this acoustic noise with very original Dance for Harpsichord (for Sharp’s keyboard arrangement, quickly piano) by Frederick Delius came into located online via Google search, made being in 1919, inspired by the artistry of possible the restoration of Peascods to Violet Gordon Woodhouse. Kirkpatrick the roster of earliest recorded “con- included it in a unique program of 20th- temporary” harpsichord literature. It is century harpsichord music presented at

WWW.THEDIAPASON.COM THE DIAPASON n NOVEMBER 2012 n 27 Harpsichord

Francis Thomé, Oeuvres pour Piano Castelnuovo-Tedesco, English Suite Ferruccio Busoni at his Dolmetsch- Delius, Dance for Harpsichord Chickering harpsichord seemed fitting to rework another of my So why not present Grainger’s Handelian included on Kirkpatrick’s contemporary the dance music offends sensibility. It own arrangements, that of his “Room- romp edited for one player, ten fingers, music disc.14 sounds wrong; it is a breach. Prokofiev Music Tit-Bits,” the clog dance Handel and two manuals? Grainger’s own scores the dance (No. 25) for two pro- in the Strand, particularly after coming arrangement (“dished-up for piano solo, Duke Ellington vincial, out-of-tune harpsichords, the across Grainger’s own mention of the March 25, 1930, [in] Denton, Texas” For aficionados of jazz, the 44 mea- invisible performers carelessly barreling through the five-measure phrases at an in- harpsichord’s influence on his compo- according to the composer’s annotation sures of Duke Ellington’s A Single Petal of sane tempo—a comical comment on the sitional career. In a letter to the pianist in the printed score) provides a good a Rose comprise three manuscript pages hullabaloo that greets the arrival . . . of 13 Harold Bauer, Grainger wrote: starting place. now housed in the Paul Sacher Founda- a pompous regimental commander. There tion (Basel, Switzerland), available only ensues an enigmatic waltz (No. 26), which . . . the music [of my] Kipling Settings Persichetti and Powell as a facsimile in Ule Troxler’s invaluable Prokofiev scores first for string quintet . . . [is] an outcome of the influence Two major solo works from the volume documenting the many commis- and then, in a jarring contrast, for the two emanating from the vocal-solo numbers- 1950s composed for the harpsichordist sions bestowed on contemporary com- harpsichords . . .17 with-accompaniment-of-solo-instru- Fernando Valenti deserve more perfor- posers by the wealthy Swiss harpsichord- ments in Bach’s Matthew-Passion, as I mances than they currently receive: Vin- ist Antoinette Vischer.15 About Ellington’s One wonders just how many pro- heard it when a boy of 12, 13, or 14 in cent Persichetti’s Sonata for Harpsichord unique work, Mme. Vischer wrote to the vincial harpsichords there were in Frankfurt. These sounds (two flutes and harpsichord . . .) sounded so exquisite (now known as that prolific composer’s composer late in 1965: mid-1930s Russia, but this Polka from to my ears . . . that I became convinced Sonata No. One), still, to my ears, his Eugene Onegin, played at a slightly more that larger chamber music (from 8-25 most pleasing work for our instrument, Just on Christmas Eve I received your moderate pace, has served as a delight- performers) was, for me, an ideal back- and Mel Powell’s Recitative and Toc- marvelous piece . . . I am very happy ful encore for performances of Francis ground for single voices . . .12 cata Percossa—another wonderful work about your composition and I want to as- Poulenc’s Concert Champêtre when that sure you of my greatest thanks. . . . could I ask you the favour to give me the man- enchanting work is performed as a duo uscript with the dedication to my name with piano standing in for the orchestral as all other composers are doing for me, parts, just as it was presented by Wanda with a photo from you who always belong Landowska and Poulenc in the very first, to my collection . . .16 pre-premiere hearing of Poulenc’s out- standing score.18 When Igor Kipnis asked whether I had any idea as to where he might find The Old Gray Mare, at last this score, I shared the citation infor- Having fêted a pompous general with mation with him. Some years later he Prokofiev’s Polka, it is time to explain reciprocated by sending an arrangement the reference to The Old Gray Mare. made in collaboration with jazz great American composer and academic Dave Brubeck. A damper pedal would Douglas Moore composed a short varia- certainly make playing even this some- tion set based on the popular folk tune what more idiomatic keyboard arrange- to demonstrate the culminating ami- ment easier, but the gentle beauties cable musical collaboration between the of Ellington’s only “harpsichord” work previously antagonistic harpsichord and deserve to find their place in our reper- piano, a duet that concludes the mid- toire. In the spirit of jazz improvisation, 20th-century recording Said the Piano to I suggest adapting the written notes to the Harpsichord. This educational pro- fit one’s individual finger span, as well as duction has had a somewhat unique cul- assuming a free approach both to some tural significance as the medium through of the notated rhythms and repeats, and which quite a number of persons first not being afraid to toy with the tessitura encountered our plucked instrument. by changing the octave of some notes While Moore’s variation-finale remains in order to achieve a more lyrical legato unpublished, it is possible to transcribe line on our pedal-less instrument. the notes from the record, and thus regale live concert audiences with this Prokofiev (for two) charming entertainment for listeners In 1936 Sergey Prokofiev surprised “from three to ninety-plus.” the western musical world by forsaking Other musical examples utilized in Paris and returning to live out the rest this clever skit include a preludial move- of his days in his native Russia. One of ment, the mournful Le Gemisante from his first Soviet musical projects was the Jean-François Dandrieu’s 1èr Livre de composition of incidental music for a Claveçin [1724]; the violently contrast- centenary production of Pushkin’s play ing Military Polonaise in A Major, opus Eugene Onegin. In this dramatic and 40/1 by Fréderic Chopin, in which the colorful orchestral score a dream scene piano demonstrates its preferred athletic is integrated with the house party of the and happy music and then goads the heroine, Tatyana. harpsichord into a ridiculous attempt In his recent book, The People’s Artist, at playing the same excerpt, sans pedal. music historian Simon Morrison writes, That confrontation is followed by Jean- Philippe Rameau’s ever-popular Tam- The party scene opens with the strains bourin, which manages to sound nearly of a . . . polka emanating from a distant as ridiculous when the piano tries to hall. Aberrant dance music represents ab- show that it “can play your music better errant events: much like Onegin himself, than you can play mine!”—an attempt

28 n THE DIAPASON n NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.THEDIAPASON.COM Grainger, Handel in the Strand Persichetti, Sonata for Harpsichord Cover of Troxler’s book on Vischer Cover, Simon Morrison book on Prokofiev heard to be futile when the harpsichord puts that notion to rest by playing it “the way it ought to sound.”

The 2012 Aliénor winners chosen by judges Tracy Richardson, David Schrader, and Alex Shapiro from some 70 submitted scores: Solo harpsichord (works required to emulate in some way the Mikrokosmos pieces by Béla Bartók): composers Ivan Božičevič (Micro- grooves), Janine Johnson (Night Vision), Kent Holliday (Mikrokosmicals), Thomas Donahue (Four Iota Pieces), Mark Janello Said the Piano to the Harpsichord (Six Harpsichord Miniatures), and Glenn album cover Spring (Bela Bagatelles). Vocal chamber music with one obbligato instrument and 10. The list of included composers is given in Palmer, Harpsichord in America, harpsichord: Jeremy Beck (Songs of Love p. 146. Kirkpatrick also recorded this program & Remembrance), Ivan Božičevič (Alié- in 1961. nor Courante), and Asako Hirabayashi 11. “Bach Goes to Town,” Angel/EMI (Al que ingrate me deja).19 ■ S-36095. 12. http://www.percygrainger.org/prog not5. Notes htm (accessed 20 October 2011). 1. Jessica Douglas-Home, The Life and 13. Published by G. Schirmer. Loves of Violet Gordon Woodhouse (London: 14. Persichetti’s ten sonatas for harpsichord The Harvill Press, 1996). Discography (by are published by Elkan-Vogel, Inc., a subsid- Alan Vicat), p. 329. iary of the Theodore Presser Company, Bryn 2. Ibid. Matrices issued in France with the Mawr, PA 19010; the First Sonata, opus 52 catalogue number P484. (1951), was published in 1973. The Powell 3. Great Virtuosi of the Harpsichord, vol- work remains unpublished. ume 3. Pearl GEMM CD 9242 (1996). 15. Ule Troxler, Antoinette Vischer: Doku- 4. Three newly constructed two-manual mente zu einem Leben für das Cembalo (Ba- harpsichords built by the piano firms Érard sel: Birkhäuser-Verlag, 1976). Published by and Pleyel, and by the instrument restorer Schott & Co. Ltd., London; U.S. reprint by Louis Tomasini, were shown at the Paris Ex- G. Schirmer. position of 1889, and heard in performances 16. Ibid., pp. 99–100. at the event. The modern harpsichord revival 17. Simon Morrison, The People’s Art- is often dated from that year. ist—Prokofiev’s Soviet Years (New York: Ox- 5. See Larry Palmer, “Revival Relics” in ford University Press, 2009). The quotation Early Keyboard Journal V (1986–87), pp. is found on page 130. I assembled the two 45–52, and Palmer, Harpsichord in America: harpsichord parts by cutting and pasting them A 20th-Century Revival (Bloomington: Indi- from the orchestral score of Eugene Onegin ana University Press, 1989; paperback second (his opus 71). I am unaware of any other pub- edition, 1993), pp. 4–6; page six is a facsimile lished edition. of the first page of Rigodon. 18. Personally I find the balances for the 6. See Larry Palmer, “Mario Castelnuo- Poulenc much better in duo performances vo-Tedesco’s English Suite for Harpsichord than in live harpsichord and orchestra ones. at 100.” The Diapason, December 2009, Another interesting possibility, at least as pp. 36–37. demonstrated by a recording, may be heard 7. See these articles in The Diapason: on Oehms Classics compact disc OC 637, Donna M. Walters, “Henri Mulet: French where harpsichordist Peter Kofler is part- organist-composer,” December 2008, pp. nered by organist Hansjörg Albrecht and 26–29; Harpsichord News, August 2010, p. percussionist Babette Haag in a compelling 11; and, for a complete facsimile of the origi- performance, recorded in 2009 in Munich. nal publication, the issue of January 2011, 19. For more information about Aliénor and p. 12. its history, consult www.harpsichord-now.org. 8. Edition Breitkopf Nr. 4836 “for Piano Solo.” 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of harp- 9. See Larry Palmer, “The Busoni Sona- sichord editor Larry Palmer’s first published tina,” in The Diapason, September 1973, writing in The Diapason: a brief article about pp. 10–11; Palmer, Harpsichord in America: Hugo Distler in the issue for November 1962. “Busoni and the Harpsichord,” pp. 25–26; Since those graduate student days he has the first harpsichord recording of this work is taught at St. Paul’s College and Norfolk State played by Larry Palmer on Musical Heritage and Southern Methodist Universities, served Society disc LP 3222 (1975). A fine 2002 digi- as President of SEHKS from 2004–2008, tal recording, Revolution for Cembalo (Hän- and is a continuing member of the advisory ssler Classic CD 98.503) features Japanese board for Aliénor. At the Cincinnati gather- harpsichordist Sumina Arihashi playing the ing in addition to “Gathering Peascods” he Busoni Sonatina, as well as Delius’s Dance, played Glenn Spring’s Bela Bagatelles at Thomé’s Rigodon, and other early revival the Awards recital and chaired the Sunday works by Ravel, Massenet, Richard Strauss, session devoted to “Swingtime—The Mitch and Alexandre Tansman. Miller Showdown.”