Tom McLelland-Young celebrated his 75th birthday at the Unitarian Church on Sunday 9 September with performances of a wide range of his own compositions. Joined by a small group of friends, he opened with an early setting of Matthew Arnold’s Come to me in my dreams sung by soprano Pamela Hall. The accompaniment is romantic, almost sentimental at times, but there is a hint of the austerity which is to feature widely in his more recent compositions.
The Adagio Barocco is a pleasing pastiche which has a finely wrought melodic line for the violin solo. An accomplished improviser at the organ, it was interesting to see that Tom was filling out the organ part essentially from the violin solo line – as would have happened in the eighteenth century.
A short song cycle with texts taken from Wordsworth’s Lines written above Tintern Abbey opens darkly, hinting at the landscape rather than trying to paint it in any detail and concentrating on the emerging emotional reality of the text. The last song speaks of the sad music of humanity which Tom captures succinctly and poignantly. It is not an easy work but tenor Andrew Johnson had the measure of its structure.
Tom admitted that the Violin Sonata might be challenging for the listeners but, while agreeing that it is, I found this the most substantial work of the afternoon. It opens with suppressed emotion which is allowed to explode in the denser textures of the second movement, before sliding away into silence at the end of the third. Michael Lovejoy’s solo violin playing supported the intensity of the line and the emotional truth which it brings, as well as giving us frequent moments of intense beauty.
The delicate Fantasia on O Lux Beata Trinitas for organ solo preceded the Fanfare for the Snetzler. This latter work was composed for the inauguration of the rebuilt organ and it was fascinating to hear it, in a slightly revised version, played by the composer.
The concert ended with a setting of Dover Beach for soprano and tenor, where once more Tom’s ability to suggest the landscape and the emotional impact of the text with the simplest of textures was very impressive.
Towards the end of the setting the singers tell us they bring the eternal note of sadness in. If sadness is often at the heart of Tom McLelland-Young’s compositions, so is the sense of stoical resolution and even optimism beneath the weight of the world. It was very good to hear these pieces and I hope Tom will be encouraged, with his friends, to bring us other examples of his work soon. BH