Douglas Lilburn Complete Piano Music Volume 3
Dan Poynton
massey u n ive r sity TRUST RECOR DS SERIES
Leo Bensemann (1912-1986), Hills Near Takaka, 1969, oil on board, 520 x 800 mm. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna O Waiwhetu; purchased with assistance from the Friends of Robert McDougall Art Gallery, 1985. Reproduced by permission of the estate of the artist.
Douglas Lilburn Complete Piano Music Volume 3
Dan Poynton CHACONNE (1946)
24:00
01 Largamente, ma sempre con moto
02 I–X 03 Tempo poco più vivace XI–XX 04 Tempo primo XXI–XXVII 05 Poco più vivace XXVIII–XXX 06 Tempo primo XXXI
1:06
07-12 ‘SIX PIECES’ (1964) †
6:20
THREE PRELUDES (1943) † 13 Andante ma con moto 14 Allegro con brio 15 Adagio ma non troppo
6:30
16 FRED’S BIRTHDAY (1965) †
0:25
7:18
(c.1943) †
2:15
21 THE YOUNG PINE TREE (1945) †
4:22
6:39
22 HOMMAGE À D.A.F. (c.1965) † 2:29
5:48
23 THEME FROM ‘VARIATIONS
1:34
ON A THEME BY DOUGLAS LILBURN’ (1948) † 2:15
1:35
2:35 1:05 2:50
17 RONDINO FOR A BIRTHDAY
20 ‘POCO LENTO’ (1960) †
3:17
SONATA IN F SHARP MINOR (1939) † 18 Lento – Allegro ma non troppo e con rubato 7:02 19 Theme and Variations 9:36 massey u n ive r sity TRUST RECOR DS Se r i es
‘CHRISTMAS 1942’ (1942) † 24 Christmas Piece for a Russian Mystic 25-29 Five Preludes 30 Musical Box: ‘Lin Tang thanks his friends for a birthday gift’
8:33 1:51 5:15 1:27 77:04
Total Time
† First recording
MMT2067 24 bit Digital Stereo Recording 2011 HRL Morrison Music Trust 2011 HRL Morrison Music Trust
Douglas Lilburn
Douglas Lilburn (1915-2001) grew up on ‘Drysdale’, his parents’ hill country farm bordering the high mountain plateau at the centre of New Zealand’s North Island. He often described his boyhood home as “para-
dise” and his first major orchestral work, the Drysdale Overture (1937), written whilst a student under the aegis of Ralph Vaughan Williams at the Royal College of Music in London, explores the home hills, bush and stream as primal sites of imaginative wonder. Recalling the impression of ‘Drysdale’, the composer wrote “I’m left with that lovely Mark Twain image of Jim and Huckleberry drifting their barge down that great river, looking up at the stars and wondering ‘whether they was made, or only just happened.’” Other prize-winning student works included a choral cycle Prodigal Country (1939) and the Aotearoa Overture (1940) which became an instant New Zealand classic. Returning to New Zealand, Lilburn settled in Christchurch where he had formerly studied. Here, he banded together with an innovative group of painters, poets, publishers and theatre directors who were to prove vastly influential. Settings of the poets Allen Curnow and Denis Glover, for example, resulted in two iconic works – Landfall in Unknown Seas (1942), a voyage of spiritual discovery for narrator and string
orchestra, and Sings Harry (1953) which harvests the smell of gorse fires, the sparkle of mountain tarns, the reality of farmhouse dung and the jocular honesty of an ‘oldtimer’. Lilburn dedicated occasional piano pieces to artist Leo Bensemann and Caxton Press editor Lawrence Baigent, and his extended orchestral tone poem A Song of Islands (1946) finds its parallel in the regional paintings of Rita Angus. In 1947 Lilburn joined the staff of Victoria University College in Wellington and completed a series of works which received high critical acclaim, including the Symphony No.1 (1949), the Sonata (1949) for piano, the Alistair Campbell song cycle Elegy (1951) – a vision of the titanic indifference of nature – and the fervently loved Symphony No.2 (1951). Lilburn composed the Symphony No.3 (1961), along with Sonatina No.2 (1962) and Nine Short Pieces for Piano (1965-66) in response to a stimulating period of sabbatical leave. Masterpieces of style, these works seem to get to the bottom of life’s essential needs. Their witty and pointed rhetoric brings together language and nature,
the human and the non-human, in unusual conjunctions that resonate with symbolic meanings. From this point until his retirement, Lilburn concentrated on the relatively unexplored territory of electroacoustic music. His final years were spent quietly at home, tending his garden and, until the onset of arthritis, playing his beloved August Förster upright piano. Douglas Lilburn received the Order of New Zealand in 1988.
Complete Piano Music Volume 3 This collection does not generally include juvenilia, trivia, incomplete or rejected pieces/movements. Exceptions are specified in the notes. Chaconne (1946) In the 1940s Lilburn began to explore the South Island landscape for his musical subject matter. His search resulted in Chaconne, featuring a resonant sixteen-bar theme and thirty-one variations. He described this to John Thomson in a radio interview as depicting, in a stylised way, the grandeur and iconic status of West Coast scenery, along with an emotional response to the force of life he perceived in those surroundings: I wanted to give some record of a marvellous walk I’d had down the West Coast … [A]t about midnight in May 1946 ... I suddenly felt absolutely fed up with Christchurch, and so I caught the night train to Greymouth and arrived there at 6am on a dreadful morning that looked like the end of the world. But I walked a bit down the coast and there I could see Mounts Cook
and Tasman shining in the distance, and I thought, aha, I’m going there. It was an absolutely incredible walk because in those days the original roads were still intact and they took their time getting up hills, winding round corners. There was dense bush a lot of the way, full of bellbirds at that season and of course the roads were bounded by those huge banks of ferns and moss—full of colour. It meant a great deal to me. The curve and grain of the music create an impressive physical space and when the expatriate New Zealand pianist Peter Cooper recorded the work in 1954, Lilburn wrote to him ecstatically: From the first notes of the first prelude there was a shock of excitement at the sounds you were making and the way you dealt with the rhythm of those groups of notes, the kick in the middle of them I mean which gives the life to them. It was exactly right, all of it, and so was the little one that came next. And after hearing those two can you imagine how I held my breath and waited for the chaconne to begin... And, Peter, that was exactly right too, the quality of
sound I’d always imagined it should be, and the rhythm moving nicely with just the right weight and breadth to it. And so it was to the end... it struck me you gave the final two pages some curious legendary quality which I hadn’t heard in them but which pleased me too. It was grand for me to hear all the brilliant bits... they made the right wash of sound, or glittered as I hoped they might, and the octaves and their rhythm had just the jagged vivid sound I’d hoped for.* ‘Six Pieces’ (1964) There is something Bartókian about the way the music observes eternal metamorphosis at work – even in the space of a few bars. Three Preludes (1943) Andante ma con moto Allegro con brio Adagio ma non troppo These pieces are dedicated to Frederick Page, a pianist and champion of Lilburn’s music. Page mounted the first concert entirely devoted to Lilburn’s music in September 1943 and this set may have been composed in gratitude. The first has a tinge of
Schubert, the others of Rakhmaninov. Fred’s Birthday (1965) This wacky piece was composed for Frederick Page; it spotlights Page’s personality as an extroverted advocate of contemporary music. One can almost hear a skew-whiff version of the tune ‘Happy Birthday’ even though it is not directly quoted. Rondino for a Birthday (c.1943) This piece, composed for Lawrence Baigent, ends with a roosterly voicing of the ‘Happy Birthday to you!’ motif. Sonata for Piano in F sharp minor (1939) Lento–Allegro ma non troppo e con rubato, Theme and Variations Begun in London and completed in Wanganui, this sonata is a work of pure Romantic sensibility. The first movement, with its conflicting upheavals, suggests a parallel in private life. The second movement, a set of variations, seems as in so many other Lilburn works of this time, to point to New Zealand as the site of an envisioned destiny. Lilburn entitles this his second sonata in the
holograph score, which indicates that it either followed the A minor sonata of 1939 or the ‘lost’ sonata written at this time of which only the slow movement survives. ‘Poco lento’ (1960) This piece says something about loneliness and longing for love. The Young Pine Tree (1945) This heart-felt piece was composed at the close of the Second World War. The subheading reads: ‘The young pine-tree at Diamond Harbour [on Banks Peninsula] dreams of a forest giant in the North.’ The arch-shaped opening motif represents the pine, while Tane Mahuta [New Zealand’s famously large kauri tree] speaks in the restorative, deep-rooted response. Hommage à D.A.F. (c.1965) Captioned ‘Salute to the System!’ this whimsical spoof on the permutations of serial technique was written to amuse David Andross Farquhar and his composition class at Victoria University.
Theme from ‘Variations on a Theme by Douglas Lilburn’ (1948) Members of the composers’ group at the 1948 Cambridge Summer Music School collectively composed the Variations on a Theme by Douglas Lilburn. Lilburn, as tutor, provided a theme ripe with challenges. Variations were supplied by David Farquhar, Ronald Dellow, Edwin Carr, Dorothea Franchi, Ronald Tremain, and Larry Pruden. ‘Christmas 1942’ (1942) This is the second of four sets of Christmas pieces gifted to Lawrence Baigent and Leo Bensemann. It opens with ‘Christmas Piece for a Russian Mystic’ (probably Lawrence Baigent, whom Bensemann had painted as a ‘Russian Saint’), continuing with ‘Five Preludes’ alive with the imagery of frosty air and pealing bells (the fourth reappears in Occasional Pieces), and closing with a quasi-oriental piece for ‘musical box’ subtitled ‘Lin Tang thanks his friends for a birthday gift.’
DAN POYNTON
Dan Poynton was born in Wellington, New Zealand. His first major musical recognition came while at school when he won the Composition Prize at the 1983 National Westpac School Music Competition. In 1986 he was a finalist in the TVNZ Young Musicians Competition and the National Christchurch Concerto Competition. In
1988 he was awarded first prize in the National Kerikeri Piano Competition. After study in New Zealand and postgraduate study in Australia, Poynton spent several years travelling the world. In 1997, he re-established his reputation and career with You Hit Him He Cry Out, a recording of New Zealand piano music which won the Classical Award in the 1998 New Zealand Music Awards. Poynton is known as a champion of New Zealand piano music and has been in significant demand throughout Australasia, Asia and Europe especially for his solo piano recital programmes as well as for his appearances with the sopranos Deborah Wai Kapohe (New Zealand) and Sylvia Nopper (Germany). He was chosen as the sole representative from New Zealand to perform a concert of music in June 1999 at the Sydney Opera House as part of that year’s International Association of Music Information Centres Conference. Poynton has performed in the Bangkok New Music Festival, the New Music
Also available in this series
New Zealand Festival in Edinburgh, the Sonorities Festival in Ireland and the Ijsbreker Festival in Amsterdam as well as in Malaysia, Germany, Switzerland, India, the United Kingdom and the United States. Poynton has toured extensively as a solo artist throughout New Zealand, and has been involved in collaborations with other musicians – including Gareth Farr and Mark Menzies – and a number of recording projects. As well as a pianist he is also known as a composer, and his recitals often include his own works.
MMT2053 The Complete Piano Music of Douglas Lilburn, Volume 1
MMT2054 The Complete Piano Music of Douglas Lilburn, Volume 2 Douglas lilburn Complete Piano Music Volume 4
Dan Poynton
massey u n ive r sity tr ust r eCOr Ds se r i es
MMT2068-69 The Complete Piano Music of Douglas Lilburn, Volume 4 (2CD set)
Complete Piano Music In Print Introducing the printed edition
Lilburn’s piano music is now presented in a ten volume set under DOUGLAS LILBURN Piano Music 1 the auspices of Series Editor Robert Hoskins and Contributing Editor Rod Biss. Dr. Hoskins is the series editor of a number of musical projects and has published on eighteenth-century English music and music in New Zealand. He is currently editing a book on Douglas Lilburn’s writings. As well as being a composer himself, Biss has extensive experience in the publishing industry, having worked for Schott London and later Production Director of Faber Music, and one of the co-founders of Price Milburn Music, was instrumental in first publishing Lilburn’s piano music in the 1970s. Having worked with Lilburn directly on these early publications, Biss has now revisited original source materials in the preparation of the printed series. Together, the editors have carefully considered and clarified Lilburn’s manuscripts and early publications in preparing these volumes as both scholarly and practical editions for performance, and presented with the exacting and elegant house style of Promethean Editions. The complete works will encompass some 26 stand-alone works and sets (the Occasional Pieces for Piano alone comprises some twenty short pieces). The series will also include a ‘best of’ collection and a volume of edited selections for young players. This ten volume set will be published by Promethean Editions. For more information visit www.promethean-editions.com
PEL01
VOLUME 5 Works for String Orchestra
Leo Bensemann (1912-1986) Leo Bensemann was born in Takaka in the Nelson province of New Zealand. He moved to Christchurch in 1929 with his friend Lawrence Baigent. In 1934 he met Denis Glover who, with John Drew, had established the Caxton Press Club. It was Glover’s enthusiasm for Bensemann’s graphic work which led to the suggestion of a set of drawings for publication; and, as typographer at Caxton Press, he was involved in all technical aspects of book production with Glover. As an illustrator, he produced vivid images with a strong element of fantasy. Bensemann also assisted Charles Brasch with the publication of Landfall from its inception in March 1947 until 1978. Bensemann painted landscapes throughout his life, drawing upon scenes associated with Canterbury: the expanses of plain, rolling foothills and the distant views of the Alps. From time to time he also used the rocky outcrops of the Takaka Hills remembered from his childhood. His landscapes are dominated by edge and silhouette, and a sharp light; full of remembered and seen elements, dreamlike stillness and poster-like clarity.
Rita Angus (1908-1970) Rita Angus was born in Hastings and studied at the Canterbury College School of Art from 1927 to 1933. In the 1930s she exhibited at the Canterbury Society of Arts and with ‘The Group’ (ex-students from the Society who set up their own exhibitions), while working as a graphic artist. She painted extensively in Otago, Canterbury, and later in Hawke’s Bay and Wellington. In 1954 she bought a cottage in Thorndon, Wellington where she lived and worked until her death in 1970. Often described as one of the outstanding artists of her generation, Rita Angus was an independent and often solitary person. She had a strong sense of vocation and was single-minded in her dedication to her art. “I live to paint and paint to live” she is quoted as saying.
Dan Poynton: The Complete Piano Music of Douglas Lilburn, Volume 3 MMT2067 Digital Stereo Recording © 2011 HRL Morrison Music Trust 2011 HRL Morrison Music Trust A Massey University Trust Records release Recorded in the Ilott Theatre, Wellington Town Hall, Wellington, New Zealand, 8-10, 14-16 April 2006 Recording Producer Murray Khouri Recording Engineer Keith Warren, Radio NZ Piano Technician Phil Hayward Producer Post Production, Digital Editing and Mastering Wayne Laird Executive Producer Ross Hendy Associate Executive Producer Charles Davenport Research Dan Poynton and Assoc Prof Robert Hoskins Booklet Notes Assoc Prof Robert Hoskins Design Mallabar Music Lilburn Photograph Douglas Lilburn Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, PAColl-2547-01 Poynton Photograph Tim Gummer Art Credits Leo Bensemann (1912-1986), Hills Near Takaka, 1969, oil on board, 520 x 800 mm. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna O Waiwhetu; purchased with assistance from the Friends of Robert McDougall Art Gallery, 1985. Reproduced by permission of the estate of the artist. Rita Angus (1908-1970), View from Tinakori Road, c.1967, oil on board, 604 x 599 mm. Hocken
Collections Uare Taoka o Hakena, University of Otago, Dunedin. Reproduced by permission of the estate of the artist. Sources Chaconne (1946) Waiteata Music Press ‘Six Pieces’ (1964) NZ-Wt MS-Group-0009, fMSPapers-2483-052 Three Preludes (1943) Waiteata Music Press Fred’s Birthday (1965) Waiteata Music Press Rondino for a Birthday (c.1943) Waiteata Music Press Sonata for Piano in F sharp minor (1939) NZ-Wt MS-Group-0009, fMS-Papers-2483-078 ‘Poco lento’ (1960) NZ-Wt MS-Group-0009, fMSPapers-7623-20 The Young Pine Tree (1945) Waiteata Music Press Hommage à D.A.F. (c.1965) Waiteata Music Press Theme from ‘Variations on a Theme by Douglas Lilburn’ (1948) NZ-Wt MS-Group-0009, MS-Papers-2483-028 ‘Christmas 1942’ Waiteata Music Press *Douglas Lilburn to Peter Cooper, 16 December 1954. Alexander Turnbull Library MS-Papers-7388-38 The copyrights of Douglas Lilburn’s music are owned by the Alexander Turnbull Library Endowment Trust. Royalties from Douglas Lilburn’s music are paid to the Lilburn Trust for the fostering and preservation of New Zealand music.
The HRL Morrison Music Trust was established in March 1995 as a charitable trust to support New Zealand musicians of international calibre. All funds received by the Trust are used to make recordings, present concerts – both in New Zealand and overseas – and assist artists to undertake projects to further develop their talents. The Massey University Trust Records series was established by Trust Records and the Massey University College of Creative Arts to promote the work of established New Zealand artists and composers and to further the University’s commitment to excellence in research. The HRL Morrison Music Trust gratefully acknowledges the support of the following people and organisations in the making of this recording: Cathy Harrington (Leo Bensemann Estate); the Alexander Turnbull Library; the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna O Waiwhetu; Hocken Collections Uare Taoka o Hakena, University of Otago, Dunedin; Peter Simpson; and the New Zealand School of Music. For more information about this recording or others by the HRL Morrison Music Trust visit www.trustrecords.com
Douglas Lilburn Complete Piano Music Volume 3
Dan Poynton CHACONNE (1946)
24:00
01 Largamente, ma sempre con moto
02 I–X 03 Tempo poco più vivace XI–XX 04 Tempo primo XXI–XXVII 05 Poco più vivace XXVIII–XXX 06 Tempo primo XXXI
1:06
07-12 ‘SIX PIECES’ (1964) †
6:20
THREE PRELUDES (1943) † 13 Andante ma con moto 14 Allegro con brio 15 Adagio ma non troppo
6:30
16 FRED’S BIRTHDAY (1965) †
0:25
7:18
(c.1943) †
2:15
21 THE YOUNG PINE TREE (1945) †
4:22
6:39
22 HOMMAGE À D.A.F. (c.1965) † 2:29
5:48
23 THEME FROM ‘VARIATIONS
1:34
ON A THEME BY DOUGLAS LILBURN’ (1948) † 2:15
1:35
2:35 1:05 2:50
17 RONDINO FOR A BIRTHDAY
20 ‘POCO LENTO’ (1960) †
3:17
SONATA IN F SHARP MINOR (1939) † 18 Lento – Allegro ma non troppo e con rubato 7:02 19 Theme and Variations 9:36 massey u n ive r sity TRUST RECOR DS Se r i es
‘CHRISTMAS 1942’ (1942) † 24 Christmas Piece for a Russian Mystic 25-29 Five Preludes 30 Musical Box: ‘Lin Tang thanks his friends for a birthday gift’
Total Time
† First recording
8:33 1:51 5:15 1:27 77:04
MMT2067 24 bit Digital Stereo Recording 2011 HRL Morrison Music Trust 2011 HRL Morrison Music Trust