Virgil Thomson: Strict music

I've just recorded three works by Virgil Thomson that Composers Recordings published on their LP CRI 207. I believe only an autographed version of the LP recording is available, at a stiff price. (Of course, each track is available for download.)

• Sonata da Chiesa. I Chorale (5:54);  II Tango (4:12);  III Fugue (5:00). 
• Thomson, Virgil (cond); Fuchs, Lillian (vla); Simenauer, Peter (cl); Mills, Fred (tpt); Ingraham, Paul (hn); Erwin, Edwin (tbn)
• Praises and Prayers.  I From the Canticle of the Sun (St. Francis of Assisi) (5:42);  II My Master Hath a Garden (1:53);  III Sung by the Shepherds (from “Hymn of the Nativity” by Richard Crashaw) (3:49);  IV Before Sleeping (1:57);  V Jerusalem, My Happy Home (4:03). 
• Allen, Betty (mezz); Thomson, Virgil (pno)
• Sonata for Violin and Piano.  I Allegro (3:39);  II Andante nobile (3:17);  III Tempo de Valtzer (1:40);  IV Andante: Doppio movimento (6:07).
• Fuchs, Joseph (vln); Balsam, Artur (pno)

This is one of the many LPs that went through the tornado in 1974, and it is in pretty good shape, although the album cover didn't survive. I'll be recycling the vinyl, as I have some 50 other LPs already.

I found both of Thomson's sonatas to be unpersuasive. His melodic invention is not memorable, even for the purposes of gathering the themes for a formal organization in each work. Much less for something to happily hum when the spirit moves me. Thomson was a proponent of minimalist music before Philip Glass and Steve Reich began to take the appellation into the realm of exploding tme signature and reinventing the concept of development. Thomson's minimalism was content with simple theme, simple structure, and simple performance. Neither the Sonata da Chiesa nor the Sonata for Violin and Piano disappoint if you seek the original minimalism.

But Thomson struck gold when he set existing melodies to his accompaniment in Praises and Prayers! Much like Benjamin Britten's settings of English folk songs, Thomson leaves the melodies almost intact and focuses his attention on the accompaniment. The result is a fresh and inspired look at material that has lain too long on the shelf.

© Thomas Kohn, 2015.05.25