Lloyd: A Symphonic Mass

Havergal Brian, Nicholas Maw, Robert Simpson and George Lloyd are British composers that I have been listening to over many years. I enjoy nearly all of their works, particularly Brian’s Gothic Symphony, Maw’s Odyssey, and the wonderful journey one is taken listening to Robert Simpson’s symphonies.To this collection I would add my favourite works by Lloyd, his Requiem by The Exon Singers, which I already have in my collection, and now his wonderful A Symphonic Mass by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Both pieces are fabulous additions to my collection, and highly recommended.I hope you find my review helpful.

George Lloyd had a fascinating career; he served in the Arctic Convoys and resumed composing relatively late in life. This Mass is a good example of his style and is well performed by the BSO - it loses a star because the sound balance seems rather poor on occasion.

3rd copy first one I bought back in 1993 succumbed to CD rot

George Lloyd's Symphonic Mass is stylistically about a century out of date. But - frankly - who cares when the music is as tuneful, appealing, and powerful as this? Built around a recurring Big Tune, this is the work of a master craftsman who cares not that his materials are old-fashioned, as long as he can make something beautiful out of them. Just pretend you're listening to something composed in the era of Elgar's "Dream of Gerontius" or Vaughan Williams' "Sea Symphony", sit back and enjoy!

George Lloyd remained on the side of the musical establishment for most of his life, and continued to compose a long row of works in a defiantly tonal, melodic and romantic manner – but although his works sound as if they could have been written fifty years before or more, they also sound rather immediately like George Lloyd. In other words, though very conservative in terms of harmony and colors, his music also exhibits an individual character, and not the least great imagination, beautiful themes and a good sense of narrative structure; indeed, his best works, such as the fourth symphony, probably merit the “masterpiece” epithet. Presumably for that reason Lloyd managed, finally, to achieve some recognition and attention toward the end of his life, and responded by producing quite a number of substantial works, some of which, it has to be said, exhibit a certain amount of note spinning and dearth of genuine inspiration.The Symphonic Mass is a later work, first performed in 1993, but does certainly not exhibit any trace of flagging imagination; indeed, it is a magnificent work of tremendous power, buoyance, brilliance and color. Described as “non-liturgical” by the composer the work, while setting the usual mass text, make some initially surprising choices – the Gloria movement is overall very reflective, with glittering textures and a prevailing sense of mystery, the Credo movement seems to be full of doubt, and the final Agnus Dei movement is unusually intense and assertive. More importantly, the work is full of splendid material, treated with intelligence, ingenuity and imagination. As a matter of fact, it strikes me as one of the most impressive choral-and-orchestral works from the latter part of the twentieth century I know of.The performance is excellent; the Brighton Festival Chorus sing their hearts out when needed, but provides all the variety of texture and color one could dream of (there are no soloists), and the Bournemouth Symphony under the composer turns in some first-rate playing with plenty of energy, drama, atmosphere and momentum. They are captured in warm, broad, vivid sound. A treasurable release, then – I would perhaps still look to the fourth symphony as the ideal introduction to the composer, but this is a great work, strongly recommended.

...selon les propres mots de George Lloyd (1913-1998), qui se disait croyant et respecte ici la structure rituelle de l’ordinaire (Kyrie - Gloria - Credo - Offertorium - Sanctus & Benedictus - Agnus Dei).Toutes les pièces sont écrites pour chœur (sans solistes vocaux) sauf le bref offertoire, inséré en guise d’interlude purement instrumental.Parvenu au sommet de sa maturité artistique, à quatre-vingts ans, le compositeur anglais illustre une vision essentiellement radieuse et hymnique, alliant tendresse naïve et effusions dramatiques, lui qui resta toujours ancré dans un romantisme tonal et consonnant.Le texte latin lui inspire d’attachantes visions poétiques, portées par d’entêtantes tournures mélodieuses, teintées de mystère (le début du Gloria susurré par l’intriguant ostinato des flûtes), mais aussi des moments d’exaltation où le grand orchestre et les chœurs associent leur puissance. Par exemple l’étonnant passage du Credo (9’00 13’07) emporté par la percussion.L’œuvre fut commandée par le Festival de Brighton qui en assura la création le 9 mai 1993. Le présent enregistrement fut réalisé le mois suivant à Southampton, interprété par les mêmes chœurs, et sous la direction du compositeur lui-même, comme nombre de ses disques parus chez Albany, un des seuls labels à s’intéresser à son œuvre, dominée par la Symphonie n°4.Très bonne prise de son, fine et ample.Si vous aimez la musique sacrée et les luxuriantes fresques chorales, tentez l’expérience : rares sont les messes qui éveillent un lyrisme si imaginatif, tendre, et riche d’images.

Cornish composer George Lloyd stood firm against the strong musical tides in the mid-20th Century, preferring to write strong melodies, approachable harmonies and rhythms, and colourful orchestral textures in relative obscurity over quick acceptance among the modernists of the time. Furthermore, his musical voice is stronger than his more famous brethren Bax and Stanford, yet his sound rests comfortably in the vivid English Romantic style. All the better for us, because we have a dozen wonderful symphonies from Lloyd, a couple of concertos, and a few orchestrated choral works to live with while Webern & Berg gather dust on the shelf.Usually when a composer gears up to write a major Mass or Requiem, they search the annals of history in deference to the masters and pull out all of the stops with an over-large orchestra, a large stable of soloists, and follow the traditions of solo instruments and polyphonic settings during the appropriate texts of the Mass. George Lloyd doesn’t go that direction with his 60-minute Symphonic Mass from 1992; he uses no soloists, no fugal choral work, and no instruments that follow the symbols of the Mass. Moreover, he treats this music like he would a symphony, but with the added orchestral section of a chorus. Wall-to-wall singing with only brief moments of a cappella textures and non-stop orchestral work, and very symphonic, straight-forward use of the chorus, far from functional liturgical use or devotional spirituality in favour of dramatic, cinematic effects.All of the George Lloyd effects are in full swing here: glorious brass outbursts, a cadre of percussion, simple yet highly effective rhythms and textures, and honest-to-goodness melodiousness to set the soul a-stirring. Quite frankly, I think Lloyd missed out on a career for wind band composing, perhaps even film music, but his orchestral settings are always so colourful and built towards drama. Lloyd’s climaxes don’t always carry through well in this Mass, although the Sanctus and Agnus Dei come the closest to ultimate musical satisfaction; the Kyrie is an unexpected zinger from Lloyd though, with its sinuous tunes and vocal effects, and the purely instrumental Offertory with tambourine is just so odd.The addition of chorus does not lessen any of it; the choral writing is good, following the more symphonic approaches of Dyson and Vaughan Williams, and Lloyd balances the mysterioso moods with the triumphant well; not a movement goes by without a handful of contrasting sections to keep up the variety of the music. Lloyd also finds a way to make the Credo melodic, a complex, wordy movement where composers excise what they don’t want to set to music, telescope the texts to get it over with, or uninterestingly speed through it rhythmically - Lloyd’s gifts aren’t averted here, nor does he gloss over anything, choosing an almost operatic Credo tune for chorus and brass; this is wonderful craftsmanship that is well built throughout its runtime.The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, led by George Lloyd himself, and the Brighton Festival Chorus, under the great Hungarian Chorus Master László Heltay, are excellent. George Lloyd was always a terrific leader of his own music, eliciting rhythmic incisiveness, bold gestures, and good musical timing from his orchestras. The chorus is properly grand, although with a British singing style, and the Albany sound is quite good here, one where diction is heard well, and the orchestral voices speak colourfully with a solid bass line.All of these superlatives aside, I don’t know how much A Symphonic Mass will stick with me, although I will take great pleasure in revisiting it. It is melodious, but not terribly memorable, it is approachable and colourful, but its high points don’t always drive home, and it is cinematic and musically effective, but without a religious soul or anchor for its Latin text. Some of the short chorus motives can seem a bit showbiz-y ala Poulenc, but never does Lloyd dwell in the saccharine traditions of John Rutter. If you are new to Lloyd, I will point towards his Middle Period symphonies as a starting point, 4-8  on Albany  and  on Lyrita , but if you are a choral lover as I am, this work is very fresh and quite interesting, and it is well worth a look. Recommended. on Albanyon Lyrita

Standard classical music repertoire seems to be stalled in the 1940s, the last decade of standby works like Shostakovitch's 7th and 8th symphonies, Copland's Appalachian Spring, Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, and perhaps a few others. Composed in the early 1990s, George Lloyd's Symphonic Mass, clocking in at around 60 minutes, is one of those after intermission works that will faithfully bring out the crowds if we can break through the 1940s classical music finish line. Think of a program that looks something like this:Richard Wagner: OvertureCamille Saint-Saens: Piano ConcertoGeorge Lloyd (1913-1998): Symphonic MassTwo generic, common, well-loved type of works, and then, this, a symphonic mass that takes up the entirety of the second half of the program, the obvious feature, a 20th century work that smacks of no atonality or raw dissonance but something grandiose.This is, in essence, Lloyd's final grand work, his 13th symphony you could say, in the vein of Beethoven's 9th. A number of 20th century composers ended their careers with experimentation, moving away from the overly appealing, unique, and approachable style that brought them fame. Not so for George Lloyd. This Symphonic Mass is the culmination of a career of tonal, melodic, and colorful use of the orchestra. This is the kind of music that you think you have heard before--it is so memorable and emotionally effective--but cannot recall where; you are just glad you've run across it again on a recording to keep. The opening of the Gloria is about as close to anything I've heard accurately depicting the heavenly realm, and alternates between feelings of final, eternal resolution and the moments recalling the difficulty path to this point. Other movements similarly capture the human soul. Even the relatively simple Offertorium, a three minute interlude, is profoundly affirming.This is rewarding music that demands the listener's attention, in the grand and subtle moments. It is music that cannot be relegated to the background.It must be that the work is too recent that orchestras have not picked it up, too expensive to play, too many musicians. This work will have its day. It stands alongside other 20th century tonal composers in America, Britain, and Sweden that have been coming to the fore in recent years.

As one who cherishes British choral repertoire as diverse as Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Rubbra and Britten (among many others), I was prepared to be blown away by a work that the Penguin Guide praised as Lloyd's "Masterpiece," and by a recording to which that Infallible Guide to Musical Taste awarded a coveted "rosette." In the event, I was underwhelmed. Perhaps I was expecting something more sublime (I had no previous acquaintance, via recording or concert, with this composer), along the lines of RVW's *Dona Nobis Pacem* or Britten's *War Requiem.* But what I heard emerging from my speakers was a stylistic mélange of British Modernism, Broadway, and Victorian sentimentality with a distinctly "pop" overlay. At its best, of course, this choral behemoth evokes Transcendence in that distinctly English way. with successive nods in the direction of nature mysticism and high-Anglican spirituality. And Lloyd is definitely at his best in the Kyrie, most of the Sanctus (until that jarring and incongruous conclusion), and in the pastoral evocations in the Credo (at the mention of resurrection and "vitam venturi") and "Dona Nobis Pacem" (taking a page perhaps from Beethoven's *Missa Solemnis*). But at its less-than-best (as at the opening of the Gloria, some passages of the Benedictus/Osanna, and here and there in every movement), I was unwillingly reminded of detestable bits of that other "Lloyd" (i.e., -Webber), of Rutter at his most meretricious, and the satirical joys of P.D.Q. Bach's *Missa Hilarious*. Perhaps I'm becoming just an old curmudgeon, unwilling to bend my expectations, and suspend my preconceptions, sufficiently to appreciate a distinctive stylistic synthesis; but for whatever reason the Lloyd Webber-Rutter-Schickele conncections (clearly unintended by the composer) cumulatively defeated my burgeoning appreciation for the English-mystical passages in this work. Apologies tendered to any irate devotées of the composer. I did try my utmost to love the piece over repeated hearings. Maybe I need to listen to more of George Lloyd's music (I have ordered a copy of his Eighth Symphony hoping that will do the trick).All of those qualifications noted, I was genuinely impressed by the performance and recording quality, both of which are, in a word, stunning. Lloyd may not (yet) be one of my favorite British composers, but he was evidently a very gifted conductor. These Bournemouth forces are clearly giving their all for the cause, and the result is a magnificent performance of a (at least for now) problematic work.To these ears, then, a mixed blessing, though (to end on a positive note) the best parts of this work were indeed a blessing.Postscript: Yet I retain a great fondness for Bernstein's *Mass*-- the very model of an incoherent and vulgar mélange --which I called "Bernstein's masterpiece" in a review on this website! Go figure. Perhaps the inconsistency can be explained as follows: One expects such stylistic pluralism, with a touch of crassness, in an American composer whose early fame rests as much on his Broadway musicals as on his "serious" music; but one finds this combination jarring when we encounter it "across the pond" in a composer whose reputation has latterly undergone considerale rehabilitation. However, there may be a measure of cultural stereotyping in this assessment, to which this anglophile American pleads "guilty."