Many composers over the centuries have, on many occasions, praised nature through their work.
Ludwig van Beethoven showed through his 6th Symphony, that nature and music are in fact one, both
Antonio Vivaldi and
Pytor Tchaikovsky showed that the seasons are easily expressed through the string quartet and piano respectively, and
Igor Stravinsky represented the beginnings of Earth through primitivistic melodic structures in his Rite of Spring. Therefore, there is perhaps no doubt that composers of all forms have a delicate connection with their natural surroundings. Knighted composer, Sir
Arnold Bax and his “tunes” are no exception towards this. He depicts his homeland of Ireland through two similar pieces, both of which are often overlooked amongst 20th century British repertoire. Unfortunately finding these items, let alone any of his work is difficult as they have rarely been recorded.
“A Hill-tune” and its partner piece, “Country-tune,” mutually share an intricacy and musical quality. They represent a time where Bax was firmly set within musical understanding, but also show his profound talent for the pianoforte. Using the captivating idea of the tone poem, which virtuoso pianist Franz Liszt founded, Bax uses imagery of his homeland to construct the two tunes, both of which are set within the mystical landscape of Irish-Celtic folklore. Albeit they are separate pieces; they together distribute an eminence that illustrates to us all how Bax, in fact, is one of the few composers with a uniquely distinct sonic value amongst 20th century music. A sound that is ingeniously dissonant, very impressionistic, and intertwined within Celtic pedigrees.
A Hill-Tune, gentle in its approach, is an extremely complex piece of music rhythmically. As the right-hand plays a sliding quintuplet run, the left is to play within standard time, a melodic line of its own, which is subdivided into more melodic and harmonic motives, thus showing the immeasurable timing and phrasing skill needed to execute the piece authentically. After a timely introduction, the notes carefully run into more expressive territory, closer to that of late romanticism (Mussorgsky/Tchaikovsky/Debussy), with the bass register becoming the driving force behind a chromatic phrase. Rather suddenly, but not abruptly, the piece tones down into a soothing waltz like motive, complementing Bax’s folk ancestry, and concluding the piece just as serene as where it began. Despite the complexity, and trill of polyrhythms, the overall sound created is beautiful, and is reminiscent of a colourful landscape. Harmoniously it finds its own position between an enjoyable piano movement and a vibrant soundscape, making it one of Bax’s finest compositions. Clearly he endeavoured to compose a flattering piece to his home, and he does this incredibly well.
Where Hill-tune concludes, Country-tune begins, only this time in a rather more light handed approach. With its medieval like quality, the tune weaves its way seamlessly through the Irish countryside, only ceasing to pause when the main theme returns to the clever chromatic idea, which is played with sequential descending notes over one octave. Often, piano pieces are divided up into a melodic structure in the treble, and accompaniment in the bass, but Country-tune omits this commonplace, and Bax applies the full range of the piano to articulate, no less than, 3 different melodic rudiments simultaneously. On top of this, the melodic structure is stretched between both hands, where the left plays an ominous passage, and the right plays a rather bright and swinging melody. This juxtaposition between the hands gives the piece a floating like sound, between the dank climate of Ireland, and a Celtic like dance.
Bax’s tunes for piano, are part of many other individual solo works for piano which he composed during 1920. Among these are similar tone poems and renditions of Ireland and its scenery, however, these two pieces are the apex in his spell of musical soundscape impressions. They demonstrate in a short amount of time, the beauty of Bax’s unruffled music.
