JAVS Spring 2007

THE ENGLISHMAN AND HIS MISTRESS: A STUDY OF ARNOLD BAX'S CONCERT PIECE FOR VIOLA AND PIANO

By Christine Placilla

with Ireland andfor the while needed no mortal mistress. J

Arnold Bax was British composer of me English school of composi tion during me first half of me rwentiem century. Concert Piece, was composed in 1904 while he was sriU a srudent at me Royal Academy of Music for me eminent violist, Lionel Terris. Influenced heavily by both me rime period he was living in and a sense of adopt ed Irish National identity, Bax begins to develop his composition al style in this early work for viola and piano. Bax wrote chat "Ireland possesses me most varied and beautiful folk music.... Here is folk music in splendid barbaric nudity.. .. This music derives from the heart and core oflreland."' English-born and bred, Bax reveled in Ireland being a home to him: "I feel delightedly that I have become a naturalized Gael!" 2 This interest in Ireland and Irish music stems back to Bax's fust excursion to Ireland in 1902. In his autobiogra phy, he wrote about his life as both Englishman and Ireland: Thereafur fled a double life, for when !landed at Dtmleary or Ross/are I sloughed offthe Englishman as a make its skin in the spring; and my other existence as a musician - still much underforeign influence - as an ardent crickeur, even as a lover ofwomen, became almost unreal For now I was in love

The beginning of a life long love affair, Concert Piece marks me beginning of Bax's fascination with aU things Irish and is his first attempt at incorporat ing traditional Irish ele ments in a Western Art piece. This article will explore me origin of the piece- including its pam ro publication and irs place in Bax's overaU viola output and me historical sig nificance oflreland in his life as weU as me concepcion of me work by looking at Bax's use of tra ditional Irish elements including modality, pentatonic-like coUec cions, traditional ornamentation and Irish poetic influences ro cre ate an overtly Celtic work. The Concert Piece is somewhat new to me common repertoire of violists. It was only recently pub lished by Corda Music Publications in 2002. This version was edited by Simon Marlow and Hugo van der Werff, who also recorded me work on the Koch label along with me Fantasy Sonata, Viola Sonata and me Legend in 200 l . The edition is me only authorized publication of the work by me Sir Arnold Bax Estate,

Bax in 1906. Used with permission of Colin Scott-Sutherland and is based on me sole surviving copy of this work mat resides in me Arnold Bax Collection at me Boole Library at University College Cork in Cork, Ireland. The copy cl1at exists is a publisher's proof and it is from chis evidence that it is thought that the work originally intended by Bax to be published in the early part of his career by Chappell and Company, Limited- Bax's life-long publisher. Because the work is essentially new to violists, it deserves a thorough study by performers at chis time as a key to the mind of me young Bax. This work gives violists a Starting point tO srudy me matura tion of Bax's compositional style from 1904 through his last solo work for viola and piano, me

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