Art Preludes: Impressionist
Confession time – I was never a big fan of the Impressionists.
I know you're not supposed to admit that. At school, I remember being told that these paintings were all about light and the passage of time, but ultimately they just reminded me of institutional corridors and Sunday supplements. I am, therefore, indebted to the editors at EVC for not plastering the cover of Art Preludes: Impressionist by Graham Lynch with waterlilies. In fact, this volume is simply alluring. The textured cover invites you to pick it up, if only to find out whether it is smooth or as bumpy as it looks!
Contained within the pastel, art deco jacket are five Art Preludes. These are mini meditations on famous paintings from different Impressionist artists, all from the impeccable pen of Graham Lynch. The first, ‘Luncheon of the Boating Party’ is a reflection on Renoir's famous scene. This painting is notable for the juxtaposition of formal and informal characters – a bare-sleeved Alphonse Fournaise Jr and Gustave Caillebotte frame elegant gentlemen in top hats, ladies in floral bonnets and a silver service table. Lynch reflects this dichotomy not with the obvious motivic approach to characters but with a melding of jazz and classical styles, giving a sultry and almost unmistakably fin de siècle mood to this three-page etude.
Degas’ ‘Ballerinas’ is the next subject for Lynch's pen. Degas spent a lifetime making studies of dancers, often capturing them mid-flow with a symphony of lace, movement and colour flashing across the canvas. This miniature seems to be inspired by the lone portrait of a young dancer in the studio. The audience is invited to speculate whether she is lonely, sad, fatigued, or merely catching a graceful breath between chasses. Likewise, Lynch's mysterious melodic fragments pirouette between modal minor and major, leaving us guessing as to the true intent of the work. The irresistible syncopation driving the piece gently forward is aided by the undulating harmony underneath.
Next in our exhibition comes ‘Julie Daydreaming’ by Morisot. Not a painting I was familiar with, this piece is the sweetest miniature of the set. A jazz waltz with a bittersweet, crisp tinge, this Prelude chassés as delicately as a Satie or Debussy, with the same reflective ‘pool of light’ quality. This piece is probably the most accessible of the set, easily closer to the Grade 6 end of the advertised Grades 6-8 spectrum. In general, the difficulty of the set seems to be found in the range of musical styles rather than in technical challenges. Indeed, a good deal of introspection and command of colour and piano texture is required to make these pieces work truly successfully.
The gardens at Giverny are the centre of Impressionism for most of us. Containing many of Monet's famous scenes, they are over-familiar through greetings cards, wall prints, desktops and other glib appropriations. Of all the miniatures, I was most curious to see how Lynch would approach this trove of subject goodies. Focusing on the water à la Cathédrale engloutie or the subtle chinoiserie of Pagodes would seem too obvious. Lynch, of course, does both and neither, via his magic style of combining a range of disparate notions and colours, in order to create something much greater than the sum of its parts.
In ‘The Gardens at Giverny’, Lynch takes us on a journey around the sites, casting new light over familiar scenes. The initially modal language owes as much to Bill Evans as Ravel and De Falla. This chorale opening melts into a flowing river of rich harmonic treats and a sound world that is all Lynch's own, yet unmistakably the world of the French impressionists. The più mosso has enough twists to challenge even the fingers of a Grade 8 distinction candidate, but the overall style is accessible and beguiling, encouraging the pianist to continue on to the final piece.
‘At the Folies-Bergère’ by Manet is perhaps my favourite impressionist painting. Mainly because it doesn't feel impressionist; it feels snarky. The figure behind the bar doesn't look particularly pleased to be there, and combined with Manet's realism, it's a fiery scene. Again, we're back to the jazz waltz, although this time without the hushed sentimentality of ‘Julie Daydreaming’. Here the salon swirls and dives around, building through a series of increasing technical displays and figurations, before rounding off the collection with a suitable flourish.
As a collection, these preludes are tasteful reflections – technical and musical challenges that will give back to their students more than they put in. The beauty of the collection is in the link to a familiar-yet-unfamiliar school of art. Lynch's beguiling music might even be enough to make an old sceptic like me look again at these grand masterworks.
O Freudenreicher Tag: Beliebte Weihnachtslieder
Favourite Christmas songs were not something I was hoping to be covering for the November issue, but O freudenreicher Tag: Beliebte Weihnachtslieder is a novel collection from the pen of Franz Surges. It is far from being yet another set of arrangements of ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas.’ Alternatively, Surges draws on his Catholic and Rhineland heritage to bring a collection of lesser known Weihnachts tunes for the Grade 1-3 pianist.
As might be expected at this level, each page is wonderfully decorated with mini-illustrations and lyrics, including a range of font and layout tools to engage the young musician. ‘Süßer die Glocken nie klingen’ (The bells never sound sweeter) is a particularly effective arrangement of a tune which, based on the evidence shown here, deserves to be better known on this side of the channel.
What is particularly impressive to me about this collection is the amount of counterpoint it involves. Perhaps as a result of Surges’ Catholic background and the inclusion of several plainchant-derived melodies, a significant number of the arrangements involve independent, well-judged hand parts. This is a welcome relief after wading through piles of tutors which leave such matters to the post-Grade 5 world. Pedagogically, this isn't so much a matter of developing hand independence as training young ears to listen to multiple parts. By providing a steady flow of melody and accompaniment pieces for our students to play, we never give them the opportunity to learn to listen to multiple voices, or by extension how to voice multiple parts in their own playing. This can easily become a significant leap when they approach fugal material in later grades.
The arrangement of ‘In dulci jubilo’ is a perfect example of this. The arrangement opens with a left-hand inversion of the familiar tune, followed by a left-hand countermelody that imitates and echoes the melody, adding substance and colour to the arrangement.
Surges is providing more here than a collection of Christmas tunes or a simple repertoire gap-fill. This collection will push the musicality and aural sensibilities of students without over-taxing their fingers.
