My CD of
Simoon arrived yesterday. ;D My expectations were of an interesting piece, by a fascinating and admirable composer, most likely worth hearing but not likely to be memorable nor a piece I was likely to return to often. My first impressions met my expectations. However, several subsequent hearings have caused me to revise my opinion upwards.
Although the orchestra is small it exceeds by quite a distance the forces of typical chamber operas, for example those of Menotti (
The Medium, The Telephone) and Britten (
The Rape of Lucretia, Albert Herring, The Turn of the Screw) which call for 13 or 14 instruments/players.
Simoon calls for about 27 instruments/players including a string section of 14, 2 pianos, celeste, glockenspiel, xylophone, 2 tubular bells and harmonium. The orchestral textures and colouring contribute greatly to the overall impact of the opera which features three main roles - soprano, tenor and baritone plus an incidental role for a fourth singer (soprano) - making one wonder how the opera could ever have seemed dramatically effective in its piano version. The recorded performance was a premiere of the orchestral score. The singing is effective and quite elaborate. The music is modernist and quite dissonant, but thankfully not Schoenbergian, and there are themes apparently deriving from Hindustani music/ragas. The opera lasts just under 50 minutes and, for me, proves to be a wholly worthwhile listening experiencing. Those who have responded favourably to Chisholm’s
‘Hindustani’ Piano Concerto and
Violin Concerto will most probably respond similarly to
Simoon. I anticipate returning to this CD often and it has made me want to explore again the only other Chisholm operas available (in live recordings)
Dark Sonnet and
The Pardoner’s Tale (see
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCopLXkspvvcnZ0NNBrmspCA).
Although a live performance one would not know this from the sound which is excellent. A copy of the Booklet can be downloaded from:
http://i-classical.com/album.html?/chisholm-simoon-live-music-co-operative-scotland/0801918341397 I have also been listening to Chisholm’s ten surviving
Preludes from the True Edge of the Great World (the latter expression being a reference to the Hebridean Islands) in their original piano version. They are evocative meditations/improvisations on traditional Gaelic melodies. The Chisholm Trust have informed us that five of those, in their orchestral guise, are to feature in the forthcoming Hyperion CD. This will be a most welcome addition to
Pictures from Dante, the Second (‘Ossian’) Symphony, The Adventures of Babar (see: http://www.erikchisholm.com/archiverecordings.php) and Concertos which are what we have to date of Chisholm’s orchestral pieces.