Cliffe 1

    Ok so here is another great symphony, that I can only assume isn't standard repertoire because the composer wasn't very prolific. Frederic Cliffe was an English composer who studied with Arthur Sullivan and only wrote a handful of orchestral pieces between 1889 and 1905. And I now need to find recordings of the rest of this cause this symphony was freakin great.

    The biggest thing that this symphony did for me that I've been missing lately is that it has the gravitas to support itself. The dramatic arc of each movement is great, and has the big moments that justify a structure of this size. The piece isn't programmatic, but the music is very evocative. It would be easy to create a narrative for what is happening in the music. The orchestration, especially the doublings, are inventive but still solid. The brass writing is also spectacular. Switching the scherzo to movement two also works in the favor for the pacing of the work and keeps the two longest movements from being against each other. It is kind of a shame this piece isn't standard and that Cliffe didn't write more... and that more of it isn't recorded.

    The outer movements are some of the best examples of late symphonic writing in the Wagnerian camp that I've heard. I particularly like the composers attention to orchestrational detail and layers. Underneath the surface there are a lot of little things of note going on. The finale even has a bit of the appeal some of the best of Dvorak's symphonies.

    As mentioned the scherzo is the second movement in this symphony and is presented in a lilting three throughout with the feel of some kind of grand dance. The orchestration in the only slightly slower contrasting section imitates an organ at spots. I would actually really like to see the score for both of the middle movements because these have the most interesting orchestration and doublings to me. The third movement, which is marked as a Ballade, may have some of my favorite moments in it, which is good because I was prepared for the worst when I saw an almost 16 minute long late Romantic slow movement. Usually that means you're in for a somewhat bloated, dismal slow movement, but the pastoral quality and forward momentum really carry this.

   This is another one that you must check out.