McEwen, John Blackwood

Preface

John Blackwood McEwen – Solway, A Symphony

(b. 13 April 1868, Hawick; d. 14 June 1948, London)

Spring Tide p.1

Moonlight p.56
The Sou’west Wind p.87

Preface

Although born in the Scottish Borders, J. B. McEwen was brought up in Glasgow, graduating from Glasgow University and gaining a reputation as an organist and choirmaster. He entered the Royal Academy of Music in 1893, moving permanently to London. His teachers there were Ebeneezer Prout, Frederick Corder and Tobias Matthay. Although he had already written music, including four symphonies, not much of it had been performed; but the Royal Academy exposed him to a wide variety of styles, in particular the music of Debussy, Sibelius and Bartòk, all of whom were to have a great influence on him. But McEwen never had much time for composition because Sir Alexander Mackenzie (Principal of the Royal Academy) appointed him Professor of Harmony & Counterpoint, a post he held till 1924 when he succeeded Mackenzie as Principal. One work that was performed was the symphonic poem Grey Galloway, about the south-western borderland of Scotland. It had a successful premiere in 1909 so McEwen might reasonably have expected the following work, Solway – A Symphony, to be taken up enthusiastically.

The symphony is laid out in triptych form, and all three movements reflect the austere beauty of the Solway Firth, the south-western sea approach to the port of Glasgow. But although it was published in the prestigious Carnegie Collection of British Music, it was not performed until Dan Godfrey played it with the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra in 1922. However, it may well have been played privately at the Royal Academy since several musicians seem to have known about it before 1922, including the composer and critic Havergal Brian. After 1922 it was occasionally played, being recorded for Vocalion Records by the Aeolion Orchestra under Cuthbert Whitemore in 1924. This may have been the first British Symphony to be recorded – a measure of how well it was regarded in some circles, perfectly vindicating as it does the composer’s own sense of nationalism: “I assume that the word ‘Scottish’ applied to a composer has a significance which is more than merely geographical and that the musicians who are banded together under this designation have something individual to say and are able to say it in a way … peculiar to their race, associations, and outlook”.

Phillip Brookes, 2021

For performance material please contact Stainer & Bell, London. Reprint of a copy from the collection Phillip Brookes, Roxas City.

Deutsches Vorwort > HERE