Douglas Lilburn Complete Piano Music Edition by Promethean Editions

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1946

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Research-led and scholarly publications Douglas Lilburn, a New Zealand treasure Douglas Lilburn occupies a pre-eminent

Festival Overture and the Sonata 1939, to-

position in New Zealand music, with a

gether with other works that expressed

legacy extending well beyond his com-

national pride: a cantata entitled Prodigal

positional output. As a composer, teach-

Country (1939), and the Aotearoa Overture

er and mentor he presided in innumera-

(1940), which has become a New Zealand

ble ways over the artistic growth of New

classic. Although these works were writ-

Zealand from 1940 onwards. From the

ten in his student years, their content,

early works redolent of the influence

style and general confidence reveal Lil-

of Sibelius and Vaughan Williams, to

burn as an achieved artist. Returning to

the electro-acoustic pieces of his later

Christchurch, Lilburn banded together

years, his works have been instrumental

with an innovative group of painters, po-

in establishing a genuinely vernacular

ets and publishers who were to prove in-

voice in New Zealand classical music.

fluential. In 1947 Lilburn joined the staff

Douglas Lilburn (1915–2001) grew up

at Victoria University College in Welling-

on ‘Drysdale’, a hill–country farm bor-

ton and completed several works that

dering the mountainous region at the centre of New Zea-

received high critical acclaim, including two symphonies,

land’s North Island. He often described his boyhood home

two piano sonatas, and the Alistair Campbell song cycle

as ‘paradise’ and his first major orchestral work, Drysdale

Elegy (1951) – a vision of the titanic indifference of nature.

Overture (1937), written while a student under the aegis of

Lilburn’s final years were spent quietly at home in Thorn-

Ralph Vaughan Williams at the Royal College of Music in

don, Wellington, tending to his garden and, until the onset

London, conjures up the hills, bush and stream as primal

of arthritis, playing his beloved August Förster piano. He

sites of imaginative wonder. At this time Lilburn wrote his

received the Order of New Zealand in 1988.

The Complete Piano Music The Douglas Lilburn Piano Music Series comprises of eight

“The sonatas, two sonatinas and the chaconne are bound

volumes published in tandem with the award-winning re-

to make an impression but I find they are not necessarily

cordings by Dan Poynton. The series includes 46 works (10

the right place to start; rather, begin with the shorter lyric

larger works such as sonatas and sonatinas, and 26 small-

pieces that touch on ecstatic and meditative moments of

er works under 5 minutes) – a high total that came as a

experience, and provide helpful clues to the interpretation

surprise to the editors when they set about compiling the

of the larger works.” Biss, meanwhile, stresses the overall

composer’s extant piano works from files at the Alexander

accessibility of Lilburn’s pianistic oeuvre. “This music is for

Turnbull Library at the outset of the project. Writing in 2011

anyone who plays the piano; in no way was it intended for

about the insights to be gained from studying Lilburn’s out-

professionals alone. Lilburn was a good pianist but he had

put for piano, Rod Biss commented that “the symphonies

no interest in unnecessary virtuosity or pianistic display.

and overtures are the public Lilburn striving to create a mu-

For teachers, it will be a goldmine.”

sic that belongs to New Zealand. But the piano music lets us hear a more exploratory, unusual and quirky side of him. This music is more personal. He reveals deep emotions, struggles with strange harmonies, flirts with atonality; he listens to and records the sounds of birds in his garden.”

Reflecting on his involvement in the project, Hoskins states that “Douglas Lilburn’s contribution to the pianist’s repertoire remains unsurpassed in New Zealand and it has been a great privilege to get to know it first-hand.” Biss echoes this sentiment: “The Lilburn piano music has been a rev-

For those considering better acquainting themselves with

elation to me, I thought I knew his music, but there was

Lilburn’s piano music, Hoskins suggests starting small.

so much more than I had imagined, all of it fascinating.”

The publisher also gratefully acknowledges the support of the Lilburn Trust, the HRL Morrison Music Trust and Massey University in the publication of this edition.

Lilburn Trust

The editorial process

pedal could contribute toward colour, character and sheer quality of piano sound providing the pianist listened absolutely attentively to what sounds were emerging from the musical context. Douglas frequently liked the aural picture of sound coming through a mist, or featuring a weighty resonance warmed by the pedal rather than a Germanic percussiveness”. Referring to the editorial process for Lilburn’s Sonatina No.2, published in the eighth volume of the series, Biss re-

WB CWC C WB CWC C WB # the piece. There were effects where the pedal would sus-

C C

marks “…it had always seemed to Hoskins and I that the XXII Editorial oversight for the series has been handled by Dr. Robert Hoskins (above left), formerly an Associate Professor at Massey University and the New Zealand School of Music, and Rod Biss (above right), formerly of Schott London, Faber Music and Price Milburn Music, who was instrumental in first publishing Lilburn’s piano music in the 1970s. Having worked with Lilburn directly on these early publications, Biss has revisited original source materials for the series. Together, the editors have carefully considered

352 also added a crucial element to the harmonies of pedalling

p semplice g g . W C W C # SW C T S W C sonances”. SW C T S SW C T S WC W C. W C. Generally speaking, h Lilburn is very precise in his notation tain a bass note while unexpected chords floated above in

the right hand; Nielsen referred to them as “poignant dis-

but there was a certain individuality about his manuscript:

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he would, for example, group quavers so that the perform-

358which one carried an emphasis instead of grouper knew

in preparing these volumes as both scholarly and practi-

ing them in regulation threes and fours; he indicated ! some

cal editions for performance. Working so closely with Lil-

ed with phrasing marks; he also brought to his writing an

and clarified Lilburn’s manuscripts and early publications

burn’s piano music allowed Hoskins and Biss to gain some interesting musicological insights into the composer’s sonic preferences. The Promethean editions of Lilburn’s piano music publishes definitive new texts based on close examination of manuscripts and published editions that have been collated to produce versions that are meticulously faithful to Lilburn’s intentions. Lilburn always had a clear idea of how he wanted his works to sound, and this is reflected in the attractive clarity of composer’s manuscripts (this is not to say they were without their idiosyncrasies, such as Lilburn’s practice of writing stems on the wrong side of noteheads).

g g W .CC g g # of S string bowing T S and ThisC piano T C music T W C has many S WC T S awareness C C. them.h C. W below examples of phrases with dots or tenuto C. marks C. pedalling but generally preferred to signify what he want-

“Sometimes” says Hoskins “we have had to look beyond the letter to the spirit or slant of the manuscript to fully

364

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alling. In a 2018 article for music journal Ritmico, Biss sums up Lilburn’s approach to pedalling by relaying pianist Margaret Nielsen’s experience of playing many of Lilburn’s piano works, “Over the years, Douglas and I frequently discussed pedalling, especially the versatility of the sustaining pedal and I quickly realised that he really liked what that

detail’ causing restless nights: the BÍ on the third beat of the

g g g g X C g # S C T S S T S T T C T C Lilburn intended a CÍ so what to do? Well, we have C retained X C C C. C. the holograph’s .BÍ in our edition as it seems to be C. in keepC . established.” ing with the patterns Lilburn has Right Hand of measure 371 in the great Chaconne, for exam-

ple, has been queried by some performers who believe that

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revealed itself to the editors involved Lilburn’s use of ped-

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harvest his intentions. But there is always the ‘devil in the

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370

One of the most notable compositional preferences that

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CC BB OO C Y CC C C C aimlessly floating for bars in the air, Lilburn wanted his stu-Y C CC B O dents to! think C likeC violinists. “Imagine, how a string player would bow that phrase, or how a singer would breathe,” f OO kgi he’d say. If you thought like a T violinist, he told us, you # C CC OOOO CC OOOO C CC OOOOsense.” Y Y C would end upOOwith phrasing that made musical ! C OO OO C C C C C O C C C BB O

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And about phrasing, Biss observes he hated a vague slur 375

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Complete list of Lilburn’s piano works ‘A Christmas Offering’ (1944) A Musical Offering (1941) Adagio Sostenuto (1944) Allegro (1948) Andante (1950) Andante Commodo (1973) Andante sostenuto (1964) Chaconne (1946) ‘Christmas 1942’ (1942) ‘Christmas 1943’ (1943) Five Bagatelles (1942) Four Preludes (1942-44) Four Preludes (1948-60) Fred’s Birthday (1965) Hommage à D.A.F. (1965) Moths and Candles (1950) Nine Short Pieces for Piano (1965–66) ‘Piece in E Major’ (1942) Poco Lento (1956) ‘Poco Lento’ (1960) Prelude (1948) Prelude (1951) Prelude (1950)

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Rondino (1952) Rondino for a Birthday (1943) Seven Short Pieces (1965-66) ‘Short Piece’ (1965) ‘Six Pieces’ (1964) Six Short Pieces (1962-63) Sonata (1949) Sonata (1956) Sonata for Piano in A Minor (1939) Sonata for Piano in F Sharp Minor (1939) Sonatina No.1 (1946) Sonatina No.2 (1962) Still Music for W.N.R. (1973) The Young Pine Tree (1945) Theme From ‘Variations on a Theme by Douglas Lilburn’ (1948) Three Bars for M.N. (1968) ‘Three Pieces’ (1965) Three Preludes (1943) Three Sea Changes (1945–81) Two Christmas Pieces for L.B. (1949) Two Preludes (1951) ‘Untitled Piece’ (1965) ‘Untitled Piece’ (1981)

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Douglas LilburN Piano Music 1

Douglas LilburN Piano Music 3

Douglas LilburN Piano Music 4

VOLUME 5 Piano Music 6 Douglas LilburN Works for String Orchestra

LilburN Piano Music 5

LilburN Piano Music 7

VOLUME 5 Works for String Orchestra VOLUME 5 Works for String Orchestra VOLUME 5 Works for String Orchestra

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VOLUME 5 Works for String Orchestra