BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Andrew Davis conductor
Heritage HTGCD 135
Back in the 1970s and 80s as I remember, Naresh Sohal (1939-2018) was somewhat beloved of those who programmed ‘Music in Our Time’ on Radio 3. This music, which then seemed somewhat intimidating, now seems beautiful, well-constructed and much more mainstream, although highly original.
Sohal was born to a non-musical family in the Punjab and came to England in 1962 to study. It is amazing to think that the highly accomplished Asht Prahar from 1969 was his first orchestral work. It was inspired by the Indian division of the day into eight temporal units.
The excellent booklet notes by Suddhaseel Sen go into detail as to how this affects the form of this 25-minute work. After about 16 minutes the soprano, the magnificent Jane Manning, enters with a scream, but then only vocalises. The last of the eight sections reminds us that the composer spent much time meditating with its repeated, floating harmonies.
The Wanderer is a dark Anglo-Saxon poem about an outsider who cannot find friendship and security, and who muses upon the vanity of the world. Sohal writes a vast work of over 50 minutes for baritone, chorus, and orchestra which was performed at the Proms in 1982. I was present on that evening.
Sohal removed from the text any Christian references which might have lifted the mood. It is no reflection on the excellent transfer of this work, and indeed of Asht Prahar, that these 50-year-old recordings sound so fresh, but I have to say that diction and sometimes balance are problems. A text, covering three sides of the booklet is provided, but that only adds to the confusion as we are given what the booklet calls a ‘transliteration’ which is not always what you hear.
There is no doubt that this work was a major undertaking for all concerned and one is reminded that the late Sir Andrew Davis, especially in his younger days, was so able to take on such a mammoth undertaking with considerable aplomb. David Wilson-Johnson sings with power and manages the wide vocal range convincingly.
The chorus, who are also required to shout and recite at times, were clearly well drilled, and the orchestration is highly imaginative and dramatic with contrasting solo passages, for example, the desolate flute with huge monster chords across the whole ensemble. Very much work of its time, one is unlikely to see its like again.
Review by Gary Higginson