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Two Studies for Orchestra - Arthur Bliss

English Northern Philharmonia conducted by David Lloyd-Jones. I - Adagio ma non troppo: 0:00 II - Allegro: 6:37 Bliss' two studies for orchestra was composed in the winter of 1919-20, shortly after returning from the war. It was submitted to the Royal College of Music's Patrons' Fund Concerts, semi-public open rehearsal/performances, and one of the few openings for orchestral works by new composers. It was premiered at the Royal College of Music on February 17 of 1921, performed by the New Queen's Hall Orchestra conducted by Bliss. It was played again a couple of times, but the piece was quickly forgotten even by Bliss himself. It wasn't performed again until November 18 of 1980, performed by the Kensington Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leslie Head. When Arthur Bliss' publisher's warehouse was destroyed by an air raid during World War II, he was convinced the Studies had gone with it. It was only after his death that the manuscript surfaced from his papers, where it had lain all the time. With one mystery solved, another appears, the title-page reading Studies for full Orchestra Nos. 2 & 3. If there was, or was to have been, a 'No.1' we can only speculate. It was possibly written, and withdrawn as a result of Bliss's session with Holst. Their conversation as reported in Arthur's autobiography is clearly about a work that is neither of the surviving pieces. It would have had to be an Allegro moderato, more dramatic than the existing first study, less flippant than the second and longer than either, and it probably ended up recycled into something else. Strangely enough there is exactly such a work, also dating from 1921. It is called Mêlée Fantasque. The Two Studies are not merely his first orchestral score to survive, or even his first mature one; they are the first orchestral works of any kind he wrote at all, being composed after Madam Noy and the Rhapsody but before Conversations and Rout. He wrote them not many months after experiencing the horrors of the front, where he was a serving officer during the war. Although he did not feel able to come sufficiently to terms with his feelings to express them adequately for another 10 years, there is certainly more than a hint of them in this work. The first expresses the poignancy of loss, the second the high drama of action, thinly disguised by a detachment that might be mistaken for flippancy. The first study is structured in ternary form. It begins with a nostalgic and lyrical main theme in F minor, exposed by clarinets and low strings. It unfolds in a flowing way and increasingly varied and colourful orchestration. It then gives way to a more solemn and expansive second theme in E major, introduced by low strings and woodwinds over a 12/8 metre with a distinctly modal feel. The influence of Ravel is strong, but the treatment is Bliss' distinctly own. These materials are also subjected to ornamentation rather than development, reaching a passionate and expressive climax. The music then returns to the opening poignant lyrism of the main theme, ending with the music slowly fading in the silence. The second study is also written in ternary form. It opens with an exuberant and animated main theme in E minor, growing more boisterous and vigorous as it modulates to the surrounding keys of G major and B minor. March-like rhythms come and go alongside brass outbursts. Stravinsky's influence is prominent in this movement, but again Bliss' treatment was already highly idiosyncratic. More melodic passages offer brief moments of contrast. The central section starts with a widely lyrical second theme in G major, exposed by cellos with great sensuality. March rhythms return in a brief but powerful climax on this material, leading to a varied recapitulation of the main theme. A tongue-in-cheek coda ends the study. Picture: Portrait of Arthur Bliss (1932) by British painter Mark Gertler. Musical analysis partially written by myself. Sources: https://tinyurl.com/2yejvq7q and https://tinyurl.com/2yh2a65j Unfortunately, the score is not freely available.