George Lloyd - Symphony No.4 "Arctic"

George LLOYD (1913-1998)

Symphony No. 4 "Arctic"

Albany Symphony Orchestra

George Lloyd, conductor

Recorded in Troy Music Hall, New York State.

This marks the first release from the Albany Records back catalog of the fine performances we have that have been conducted by the composer. We have selected the recordings we felt had the best sound for re-issue in SACD. In his notes for the SACD re-issue of this magnificent symphony, William Lloyd, the composer's nephew for the first time tells the horrible, true story of what happened to the composer during World War II. "When war broke out, George Lloyd joined the Royal Marines on the battle cruiser HMS Trinidad. He played cornet in the band when in port, and calculated the gunnery ranges and elevations when the ship saw action. He was not yet twenty-five and was one of the rising stars of operatic and symphonic music in Britain, having already composed three symphonies and two operas. In Spring, 1942, the HMS Trinidad was hit by a torpedo while in action in the Arctic ocean. Lloyd was alongside 20 members of the band deep inside the ship, surrounded by fuel tanks. When the torpedo struck, the tanks burst, and only three men managed to escape by climbing the iron ladder against a deluge of oil. Lloyd was the last to get out, pushing the man ahead, before the hatch fell and broke the back of the man behind him. He took oil into his stomach and lungs, but managed to struggle on to the deck. The shock of the blast, the extreme physical effort of the long climb, the poisonous effects of the oil, the exposure on the deck before he was taken off the ship, and the trauma of losing 17 of his closest friends - all musicians - was more than he could bear. His health and his personality disintegrated, along with his power of speech, his coordination, and his mobility." The Trinidad limped to port in Murmansk. Lloyd was flown to a hospital near Aberdeen where the naval doctors declared there was nothing they could do for him. He was too far gone and in their opinion, he would be institutionalized for the rest of his life. This is when his wife Nancy took over. She removed him from the hospital and nursed him back to health. In 1946, he completed his Symphony No. 4. On the title page he wrote: "A world of darkness, storms, strange colors, and a far away peacefulness." The Symphony had to wait until 1981 for its first performance under Sir Edward Downes. This music, and indeed all his music, is a vindication of Lloyd's unshakeable optimism and his simple refusal to stay down and accept defeat. 

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Though recognisably the work of the same composer of the three preceding symphonies, the Fourth is on a different scale (weighing in at 65 minutes playing time) and the orchestra employed is a large one: a sizeable percussion section is used for the first time since the Symphony no 1. In a reference to his wartime experiences in the Arctic, Lloyd prefaces the Fourth Symphony with the description: "… a world of darkness, storms, strange colours and a far-away peacefulness". The first movement, marked Allegro Moderato deals with the darkness and storms of the quotation, but it is not all bleak; with characteristic fortitude and compassion, the composer also finds positive things to say. The themes of the first subject begin with a rising and falling brass and woodwind figure, following an initial portentous drum-roll, all of which seems to signal conflict, but the woodwinds provide a more cheerful motif replete with Lloydian dotted rhythm. Several violent climaxes are separated by icy black pools characterised by sul ponticello strings. In the aftermath of a fortissimo climax, the delayed appearance of the second subject occurs on first flute and oboe, a beacon of hope after the preceding maelstrom, its dolce marking pointing up its soothing effect on the music. This big tune is in the home key of B major and stays there on its second and final appearance later in the movement, Lloyd making the point that though the first and second subjects are polar opposites in character, they inhabit the same world.

The Lento tranquillo is an ear-catching evocation of the frosty calm of the Arctic seascape, though the beauty of the place is just as forcefully conveyed as its alienating chilliness. The ethereal opening and conclusion on icy strings, conveying a glacial stasis, frame a cantilena, perhaps originally destined for a projected opera - even without accompanying words, the beautiful melody first ushered in by the clarinets is eloquent and moving. This serene movement ends with a sublime coda, the message underlying the symphony revealed as one of optimism, an astonishing achievement for a shell-shocked war victim.

The elfin antics of the dancing Allegro scherzando third movement betrays Lloyd s Celtic roots (he is a Cornishman, born in St Ives). The Holstian magical opening themes achieve their quirky shiftiness by deft, abrupt changes of key and an absence of heavy brass. The leisurely second subject has a fantasy-like old-world charm about it, like a Lloydian interpretation of Mallarmé s l après-midi d un faun . It makes a welcome nostalgic second appearance complete with solo violin ornamental arabesques before the return of the opening balletics, the movement as a whole being in modified rondo sonata form.

The Finale provides a true catharsis - it is the longest of the four movements, lasting a good 20 minutes in performance. Its succession of brisk marching tunes provides a positive counterweight to the symphonic strength of the Allegro moderato, the profundity of the Lento and the goblin energy of the Allegro scherzando. The rousing conclusion does not sound a hollow note, its triumphant coda, as insistent as that of Beethoven s Fifth, has been fought for at no little cost.