Huw Watkins: Fanfare; Symphony No. 2; Concerto for Orchestra. Mark Elder; Hallé [Orchestra]. Hallé CDHLL7569.
I think I'm finally onboard with the music of Huw Watkins. It took me a while; I wasn't keen at first. Back when I sampled the concertos and symphony on NMC Recordings' 2018 disc (NMC D224), I came away with the impression that this is pleasant but emotionally undemonstrative music. I was grateful for how easy it is on the ear (compared to works by Knussen or Adès, for example), but I craved (and to some extent still crave) a sharper melodic profile. Despite its soft aural palette, Watkins's music requires some patience to like, at least for an unsophisticated listener like yours truly. Still, it has grown on me because I sensed enough there from the outset to suspect that meeting the composer more on his terms would be worthwhile. I was right.
Watkins likes to start with modest motivic ideas and build forward through variational, textural, and especially timbral enlargement. He especially prefers rippling materials centered on the upper woodwinds. When climaxes occur they tend to be gentle, as do his treatments of brass and percussion overall. There is definitely a lighter complexion to this music, which has an almost translucent quality. It helps to come at it from the standpoint of ever-morphing states rather than as square-cut sections with their own separate themes and characters. I still need to be in the right frame of mind, but when I am I can now get on its wavelength.
Watkins's craft naturally lends itself well to traditional symphonism. Close listening to the new Second Symphony reveals a clear architectural lineage despite building blocks that feel fresh. The opening movement is fairly tightly constructed even though it gives the impression of expressive freedom. I suppose this is a testament to the compositional skill on display. The following section, while at times quite beautiful, required my patience the most. At almost 12 minutes long it unfolds too slowly and is too consistently uneventful for my bandwidth. The finale is my favorite; the plot is easiest to follow and the harmonic/textural support has more variety despite the same-ish thematic materials deployed. It concludes with a bright if not raucous flourish. All in all, the work maintains the craft of its predecessor while managing to be somewhat more compelling.
I don't know why Watkins named the Concerto for Orchestra as such. It honestly sounds a lot like another of his symphonies; the same basic structural assumptions and instrumental tendencies are at play. Of course none of this means it isn't also a fine work. A slightly lengthier slow movement sits at its center, only here a touch more drama and variety invite greater affection. The finale is not all that different from the symphony's, or from other finales by this composer for that matter.
While my respect for Watkins's music has steadily increased, I remain critical of his narrow range of expression. All strong composers have their fingerprints, but Watkins tends to paint with the same five or six pastel shades. Through only my first listen to this recording I was ready for a change by the end of the Concerto. The monotony of mood that some critics have identified with Vaughan Williams's Pastoral Symphony is a better description of Watkins's music, only in his case from work to work. It's more attractive than some other contemporary British classical music, refreshingly lacks ugly pretension, and is in its way equally accomplished. It's just a very specific flavor, however glad I've become to sample it occasionally.
[One aside: it's annoying enough to deal with this orchestra being called simply "Hallé" instead of "The Hallé Orchestra." But their in-house recording label is also just called "Hallé". The no-context "Hallé's" become cumbersome after a while. To the British it all might look cute; I know for a fact that it isn't so for more non-Brits than just me.]
Verdict: Recommended
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