Symphony No.3 "Byron" – Alan Bush

BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra & Chorus conducted by an unknown conductor.

I – Newstead Abby: 0:00
II – Westminster: 12:32
III – Il Palazzo Savioli: 21:52
IV – Missolonghi: 33:14

Bush’s Symphony No.3 was composed in 1960, being a commission from the Radio of the German Democratic Republic. It was premiered in Leipzig on March 1962, performed by the Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Herbert Kegel. The Symphony was inspired by the life of the nineteenth-century English poet Lord Byron. It calls for large orchestral forces, with a mixed choir and a baritone soloist.

Bush uses the figure of the poet as an icon under his marxist beliefs; showcased as a “progressive” humanist, infused with an anti-imperialistic and anti-colonization ideology in both music and text, but retaining Bush strongly nationalistic communism. The finale features a poem in support for Greek resistance against the Ottoman Empire, written by the Greek national poet Dionysos Solomos. The work is not programmatic, but attempts to evoke feelings and atmospheres of the poet’s life in relation with more contemporary topics during the cold war.

The first movement is structured in sonata form. Its subtitle refers to Byron’s childhood home, it is intended to evoke Byron’s passionate nature and feelings of disillusion with the world of fashion and high society in London. It opens with a slow introduction, with a three note motive from the English horn over which the entire work is based on. We will call it the Byron motive. The main allegro begins with a vigorous main theme presented by strings, followed by a lyrical and contemplative second theme. The development that follows is agitated and passionate, transforming the previous materials and culminating in a dissonant climax. Follows an inverted recapitulation, with the second theme before the main one. A sudden coda ends the movement.

The second movement is written as a theme and three variations. Bush attempts to convey musically Byron’s maiden speech to the House of Lords, in which he had attacked legislation proposing the imposition of the death penalty for frame-breaking. After a disconcerting opening, A main theme in form of a march is presented by the woodwinds. The first variation is vivacious, culminating in a climax with the brass. The second variation is more dissonant and ferocious. The third variation is much more solemn and expressive, sometimes interrupted by dissonant outbursts, with the Byron motive from the opening reappearing. It ends with a subdued coda.

The third movement is written in an expanded ternary form. In it Byron is presented helping Italian revolutionaries fight against Austrian imperialism. It begins with a nocturnal opening, based on the Byron motive. A lyrical main theme is presented in pianissimo with a pastoral sensuality. The middle section consist of an urgent fugato on the main theme, suggesting the conspiratorial struggle for Italian freedom’ in which Byron took part. The main theme is then recapitulated, before the fugato reappears in a varied manner. The main theme is then recapitulated again, leading us to a calm coda.

The fourth movement is the choral finale, in which Byron is portrayed as a revolutionary in Greece, fighting for the independence of the country against the Ottoman Empire. It begins with a sombre introduction that reintroduces motives from the first movement. The fanfares from the trumpets lead us to a Greek folk dance. The choir enters with an expressive lamentation on the death of Byron, with the first four stanzas of the poem in English. A sudden violent outburst leads us to the entrance of the baritone supported by the choir, presenting the fifth stanza. Bellicose and Greek materials are confronted, leading to the sixth stanza in which Greece as a nation wakes up. Brass fanfares and blows of the snare drum act as a call to arms. The four following stanzas represent the battle as narrated by baritone and chorus. The music culminates in a dissonant orchestral climax. After a more melodic passage, the greek dance theme reappears, reaching another climax. Suddenly, the music becomes darker, with the chorus and baritone lamenting the death of Byron. The chorus sings the last two stanzas, full of sobriety and dignified rendition. A solemn and severe coda ends the work.

Pictures (from left to right): “Lord Byron in Albanian dress” (1813) and two portraits of 1813, first two by Thomas Phillips and third by Richard Westall, both English painters.

Musical analysis partially written by myself. Sources: https://bit.ly/3qNNkPE and https://bit.ly/3eNL5sK

Unfortunately the score is not available.

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