Cyril Scott - Complete Piano Music, Vol. 1

Leslie De'Ath has taken up the banner for the music of Cyril Scott, which many feel is long overdue for unfurling again, with a series on Dutton of his piano music. It is easy to hear in the pieces on this first volume why Scott was called "The English Debussy." The extremely colorful, translucent harmonies he uses make his music entrancing, sometimes mystical. The miniatures on the first disc tend to have uncomplicated textures. The Soirée Japonaise, in fact, sounds more like one of Grieg's Norwegian Dances than it does Asian. And that is part of the reason why Scott's music fell out of favor. He, like many of his contemporaries, was impressed by the exoticism of the East, but wrote with a kind of pseudo-Eastern harmony that carried an air of inauthenticity. However, Scott's uses frequent shifts of tonality and modality, and meter, in simple lines to create a sense of the exotic in his music more than just writing in a pentatonic scale. He changes the key in almost every measure of the Courante of his Pastoral Suite. The second disc contains this suite and others, music that is slightly more substantial than his miniatures. The lines are not that much more complex, but there is more structure and form to the pieces. The Deuxième Suite is rich and translucent, but obviously built on the bones of Baroque forms. Its Fugue is impressive for its geometric construction based almost entirely on scales. The Pastoral Suite also refers to older forms, but has shades of folk song in it, most apparent in the Passacaglia. De'Ath brings out the Impressionistic qualities of the music. He is sensitive to the moodiness, the introspective nature of Scott's music, as much as the coloring. None of the music is forcefully energetic, but it does have its moments of brilliancy. The bonus tracks of Scott himself playing his music contain many brilliant moments, particularly the Danse nègre. Scott's supple playing, at times more lively and sharper than De'Ath's, can be heard even through the muffled sound of these tracks. The pieces on this first disc, thanks to De'Ath's perceptive interpretations and programming, show Scott to be a composer who achieved striking and attractive results while experimenting with traditional Western music tools.

Thanks to Dokter123 for allowing me to post this one.

Tracks CD 1:

01. Valse caprice, for piano, Op 74-7 (W 396) [0:03:32.09]
02. Requiescat, for piano (W 288) [0:03:12.25]
03. Soiree Japonaise Op. 67 [0:02:43.45]
04. Vistas, for piano (W 409): A Lonely Dell [0:02:57.04]
05. Vistas, for piano (W 409): In the Forest [0:03:28.20]
06. Vistas, for piano (W 409): The Jocund Dance [0:01:36.21]
07. Cherry Ripe, for piano (W 60) [0:02:42.05]
08. Autumn Idyll, for piano (W 25) [0:02:34.74]
09. Notturno for piano, Op 54-5 (W 220) [0:03:01.50]
10. Old Country Dances (3) for piano (W 226): Allegretto [0:01:07.49]
11. Old Country Dances (3) for piano (W 226): Andante cantabile [0:02:47.36]
12. Old Country Dances (3) for piano (W 226): Allegro [0:01:02.26]
13. Alpine Sketches (2) , for piano, Op 54-4 (W 10): Rather Slowly [0:01:39.39]
14. Alpine Sketches (2) , for piano, Op 54-4 (W 10): Allegretto non troppo [0:01:04.17]
15. Sphinx, for piano, Op 63 (W 348) [0:04:11.37]
16. Vesperale, for piano, Op 40-2 (W 401) [0:02:20.25]
17. Pastorals (3) for piano, (W 242): Allegretto [0:01:59.29]
18. Pastorals (3) for piano, (W 242): Con delicatezza (Quickly) [0:01:57.05]
19. Pastorals (3) for piano, (W 242): Pensoso (Allegretto moderato) [0:02:26.02]
20. Dances (3), for piano, Op 20 (W 87): Gavotte [0:01:44.42]
21. Dances (3), for piano, Op 20 (W 87): Eastern Dance [0:02:23.57]
22. Dances (3), for piano, Op 20 (W 87): English Dance [0:01:23.48]
23. Twilight-tide, for piano (W 390) [0:02:42.22]
24. A Pageant, 3 dances for piano (W 234): Sentimental Waltz [0:01:49.02]
25. A Pageant, 3 dances for piano (W 234): Exotic Dance [0:02:18.34]
26. A Pageant, 3 dances for piano (W 234): Processional Dance [0:02:22.49]
27. Miniatures, for piano (W 202): To an Old Machine [0:01:45.17]
28. Miniatures, for piano (W 202): A Ballad Told at Candle-light [0:01:19.31]
29. Miniatures, for piano (W 202): A Little Dancer from Spain [0:01:31.36]
30. Little Waltzes (3), for piano, Op 58 (W 178): Allegro poco scherzando [0:01:22.74]
31. Little Waltzes (3), for piano, Op 58 (W 178): Andante languido [0:02:21.19]
32. Little Waltzes (3), for piano, Op 58 (W 178): Allegretto gracioso [0:01:40.26]

Tracks CD 2:

01. Deuxiemme Suite – Prelude [0:03:01.27]
02. Deuxiemme Suite - Air Varie [0:08:50.26]
03. Deuxiemme Suite - Solemm Dance [0:03:51.55]
04. Deuxiemme Suite – Caprice [0:01:58.66]
05. Deuxiemme Suite - Introduction & Fugue [0:10:36.53]
06. Pastoral Suite for piano (W 239): Courante [0:02:05.02]
07. Pastoral Suite for piano (W 239): Pastorale [0:02:58.56]
08. Pastoral Suite for piano (W 239): Rigaudon [0:02:27.68]
09. Pastoral Suite for piano (W 239): Rondo [0:01:47.52]
10. Pastoral Suite for piano (W 239): Passacaglia [0:02:44.58]
11. Indian Suite, for piano (W 159): The Snake Charmer [0:02:14.23]
12. Indian Suite, for piano (W 159): Juggernaut [0:02:15.50]
13. Indian Suite, for piano (W 159): Indian Serenade [0:01:56.74]
14. Indian Suite, for piano (W 159): Dancing Girls [0:01:54.72]
15. Handelian Rhapsody, for piano (ed Percy Grainger), Op 17 (W 134) [0:06:23.50]
16. Water Wagtail, for piano, Op 71-3 (W 414) [0:02:09.53]
17. Frivolous Pieces (3) for piano (W 124): No 3 Valse Scherzando [0:01:59.54]
18. Caprice Chinois, for piano (W 56) [0:02:49.74]
19. Pastorals (3) for piano, (W 242): No 3 Pensoso [0:02:19.52]
20. Karma, ballet: Souvenir de Vienne [0:02:25.03]
21. Lotus Land for piano, Op 47-1 (W 183) [0:02:57.46]
22. Danse Negre, for piano, Op 58-5 (W 89) [0:01:39.29]
23. Rainbow Trout, for piano (W 283) [0:03:04.45]