In late August evenfall - musical painting for an English piano

In late August evenfall
musical painting for an English piano based upon a sonnet

• Performed and recorded at St Wilfrid’s Anglican Church, Pretoria, on 28.08.2024 by Izak R. Crafford


Introduction:
Having, e.g. in “Winter elegy for a parish church”, and many an improvisation not recorded, begun scouting out the nature of the English organ sound on the little St Wilfrid’s organ by John Compton, [with particular attention to the principal/open diapason and flute registers], progressing to regional timbres of orchestral instruments soon became a necessity in the attempt to comprehend the complexities of the English sound, in turn and building upon my appreciation of the subtle differences of colour to be observed in its various registers and depending on touch, leading to the desire both to attempt to establish what exactly might cause the St Wilfrid’s upright piano to sound English, and to explore the possibilities of suggesting a symphonic sound. In the latter, my familiarity with the organ proved most instructive. The late 20th or early 21st century piano with its sleek, standardized sound across all registers might cause one to inquire after the sanity of them that suggest subtleties of touch and the exploitation of register-specific timbre, but instruments like the upright at St Wilfrid’s, now nearly a hundred years old, not only reveal why such concerns are central to music-making, but, by the conspicuous distinctiveness of each register and the possibility of coaxing subtly different hues from them by varying touch, demand the consideration of these questions. Perhaps I am biassed by the organ, but no matter.


Inspired by several pieces of 19th and early 20th century orchestral pastoral music, the improvisation here presented explores the Englishness of the piano insofar as that I sought to show forth those registers that, to my mind, cause it to sound particularly English. I determined to do this by the suggestion of English symphonic timbres, [strings, French horns and woodwinds], which serve as the foundation of my musical painting based on the sonnet below, [see the video description of “Winter elegy for a parish church” for information on my method of musical painting].


In late August evenfall
Izak R. Crafford
... ... ...

Thou boundless’ sighing wind, with every sigh new risen,
what ancient grief wouldst tell, what crime done new declare?
What solace touchest thou, what certainty wouldst spare
with thy free roving hand, wherein my restless prison?


In dust and discontent, this evenfall arisen
whose breath in petals plays and briefly makes its lair
and shakes their form with sobs, the hautboy’s trembling air,
joins flute and fugue of strings in weaving winter’s prison


ghost, that spring’s bloom yet binds and will not grant release
from threats of dread and death and will not grant me peace
nor to the chastened husk of former green its resting.


Thee brooding brother wind, that waves of woe dost beat,
to break my heart and take me hence I do entreat,
for I would rove with thee and sing thine ancient questing.
… … …


#Painting #Piano #Pastoral #Poem