CD REVIEW
– HUBERT
CLIFFORD - THE COWES SUITE AND
OTHER WORKS
BBC
Concert Orchestra conducted by
Ronald Corp.
Vocalion
CDLX 7338
The Cowes
Suite (Cowes Roads, Buccaneer,
Carnival & Fireworks, Royal
Visitor); Dargo (A Mountain
Rhapsody); Irish Comedy Overture;
Pageant of Youth; Left of the
Line; Victorian Polka; Hunted
(1952 film suite); Voyage at Dusk
(Fantasy).
Australian by
birth but Irish by descent, the
composer sailed for England and
the Royal College of Music in
1930, and never looked back.
After a brief sortie as a
schoolmaster in Kent, he was
appointed BBC Empire Director of
Music at the same time as his
friend, John Gough, was appointed
BBC Pacific Director of Music,
their joint efforts transmitted
by short wave to Australasia and
Oceania.
Both were pictured
with Henry Wood in the ruins of
the Queen's Hall after it was
destroyed by bombing in May 1941,
but were airbrushed out before
the picture was released
worldwide, showing Sir Henry
standing on his own!
Left of the
Line was a wartime
documentary about Canadian
soldiers on D-Day whilst Hunted
was a 1952 film thriller starring
a young Dirk Bogarde. The
Cowes Suite was commissioned
by the BBC for the 1958 Festival
of Light Music at the Royal
Festival Hall, and at the time
Clifford lived on the Isle of
Wight near the famous yachtsman,
Uffa Fox, to whom the second
movement is dedicated. In the
final movement, Royal Visitor,
we are left to ponder which one!*
Dargo, a
Mountain Rhapsody describes
the beautiful area of Gippsland
in Victoria, Australia, whilst An
Irish Comedy Overture and A
Pageant of Youth are
rumbustious celebrations of the
composer’s heritage and of
youth generally. The delightful Victorian
Polka may or may not be
connected to Queen Victoria, the
state of the same name in
Australia, or possibly a film,
but nobody knows for sure.
The disc ends with
another atmospheric piece, Voyage
at Dusk, doing exactly what
it suggests as it meanders around
a darkening sky.
This is another
fine offering from Vocalion,
especially as all but The
Cowes Suite are world
premieres. A terrific selection
of fine music.
© EDMUND
WHITEHOUSE 2017
[*Probably not too
difficult – no prizes for a
correct guess ! Ed.]
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