The music of Gerald Finzi (1901–1956) is rooted in the tradition of Elgar, Parry and Vaughan Williams, but Bach was also a very significant influence for him. This album’s programme features the ‘Benedetto Marcello’ Chamber Orchestra under Flavio Emilio Scogna tackling the British composer’s complex personality with contextual awareness of the great trajectories of 20th century musical thought.
The three Finzi masterpieces presented here – which the live aspect of the recording makes intimate, alive and present – reflect the pre-eminence of this singular composer in 20th- century British music. Far from the experimenta- tion of the historical avant-garde, Finzi’s music is nevertheless also far from any backward-looking attempt at recovering relics from the past. The cantata Dies Natalis, written over a long period of time between the mid-20s and 1938/9, is scored for strings and treble voice, setting verses by the 17th-century metaphysical poet Thomas Traherne (c.1636–1674).
In his cantata Finzi reflects on Christian life and on ministry, philosophy, happiness, desire and childhood, as well as the composer’s concernfor thebrevity of human existence and the experiences of life that blur the innocent state of childhood, embodied in Traherne’s pristine vision of the world as perceived by a new-born child. Like many of Finzi’s compositions, the Prelude for Strings, conceived in the 1920s, was initially intended to be part of a larger project.
Finzi’s original idea was to feature it as a movement of a chamber symphony. Later, it was to factor in an orchestral triptych based on the theme of the seasons, titled The Bud, the Blossom and the Berry, also not realised. It is ‘The Bud’ movement that was eventually rewritten in the form of this Prelude.
Finzi had a natural affinity with the timbral quality of sounds, as is evident in the highly personal writing of his Clarinet Concerto (1948/9), dedicated to Frederick Thurston, the leading British clarinettist of his time, who first performed it at the Three Choirs Festival in September 1949 under the composer’s own direction. Since then, the work has established itself as one of the leading clarinet concertos of the 20th century. Here the intense and deep colours of the clarinet find in Roberta Gottardi’s interpretation an extraordinary expressiveness that is accompanied by limpid naturalness and intense lyricism.
- Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) was an English composer known for his lyrical and contemplative music, often inspired by English literature and landscape. Born in London, he faced numerous hardships and personal losses early in life, which shaped much of his musical output, often reflecting themes of mortality and nostalgia. In World War II he worked to assist German and Austrian musicians fleeing the Nazis.
- Finzi's works are characterized by their deep sensitivity to English poetry and their pastoral nature. His love for literature is evident in many of his vocal works, including settings of texts by Thomas Hardy, William Wordsworth, and Christina Rossetti.
- The cantata Dies Natalis, composed between 1925 and 1939, is one of Finzi's most celebrated works. It is a setting of texts by the 17th-century poet Thomas Traherne, which explore themes of innocence and the wonder of a newborn experiencing the world for the first time. Scored for solo voice and strings, the work reflects Finzi's delicate and expressive style, with lyrical vocal lines and lush orchestration that evoke a sense of spiritual reflection.
- Also presented is Finzi’s Clarinet Concerto, a vibrant and melodious work, one of the finest in its genre.
- Performed by Susanna Rigacci (soprano), Roberta Gottardi (clarinet), and the Benedetto Marcello Chamber Orchestra conducted by Flavio Scogna.
