MUSIC REVIEW: Arthur Bliss: A Colour Symphony.

Sir Arthur Bliss (1892 - 1975) was a British (specifically English) composer and conductor. I thought it was about time in my series of commenting on lesser-known composers and their orchestral works, I came "home" so to speak, and found a countryman who has been largely forgotten in the concert halls.

Here, his 1924 composition, A Colour Symphony was played by The English Northern Philharmonia under David Lloyd-Jones as is available on YouTube.

Before the outbreak of WW1, Bliss studied and befriended both Stanford and Elgar, but then, as a young man, went off to France to fight for King and Country. On his return he had changed his musical thinking and direction, and instead of composing works which stuck rigidly to the British nationalistic "sound", he had fallen in love with the music of avant-garde French composer Poulenc and his followers. This is what separates Bliss's compositions from his contempories. His music is very British and can be likened to Elgar, Vaughan-Williams, Holst and their ilk, but there is also a playfulness with harmony and chordal structure, a certain French chromaticism, which is not present in other English composers' works.

In fact the very use of the word chromaticism is interesting in this context, as it come from the Greek word Chromos, meaning colour.

His Colour Symphony was his first major orchestral work and has remained perhaps his best known and well-loved. Instead of trying to give sound to colour though, Bliss's inspiration for the symphony was the symbolic meaning of colours in heraldry. So the four movements are Bliss's interpretations of the heraldic meanings of the colours rather than the colours themselves.

The first movement (Purple) is just over 6 minutes' long, and displays "pageantry", "Royalty" and "death". This movement has the most in common with other Britsih composers - especially Ralph Vaughan-Williams. It is slow, melodic and beautiful. The second movement (Red), is a fast, vibrant and show-off display of "wine","revelry","courage" and "magic". Whilst the third movement (Blue) is refreshing and a soft breeze of a movement. It is of  "water", "skies", "loyalty", "melancholy". The first half of the movement is light and airy, like taking a boating trip on a park lake; but the second half of the piece turns much more militaristic and war-like, before turning into a long diminuendo to nothingness. The final movement is the showpiece movement. Here we celebrate "hope", "youth", "joy", "Spring", "victory"; and to do so Bliss uses a complicated double-fugue keeping the work flowing, joyful and victorious. The relentless denouement / coda is exciting, heart-pulsating and dramatic. Wonderful!

Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 6/6/20