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Priaulx RainierAuthor(s): John AmisSource: The Musical Times, Vol. 96, No. 1349 (Jul., 1955), pp. 354-357Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/937279

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THE MUSICAL TIMESHE MUSICAL TIMESalthough' he sometimes carried" polemic passion "to extremes, over-simplified somewhat, allowedthe work to get out of balance, forced the tempo(for example in the first movement) and for thesake of "cheerfulness" chose to neglect theprofound and at times painful spiritual experiencesexpressed in Shostakovich's music'. There isno corresponding catalogue of Mravinsky's mis-takes-and those who have heard the tape-recordingof his performance would probably agree that itwas excellent both in general conception and indetail-but they must have been serious indeedif Gauk, with all those failings, is still to be pre-ferred. This, however, is only an echo of pastdebates engendered by poor Shostakovich'sunwillingness or inability, or both, to belie hisown temperament and pose as the optimist thathe is not.In the same number of the Soviet Music Bulletinthere is an article on 'Cheap Glamour and Ball-room Dancing' by R. Zakharov, which no oneinterested in Russian life today should miss. Thetone is partly that of a parish magazine of the oldkind. ' There are young people who set an exampleat work and in leisure ', we read, 'but there arealso others one can only blush for. They need

although' he sometimes carried" polemic passion "to extremes, over-simplified somewhat, allowedthe work to get out of balance, forced the tempo(for example in the first movement) and for thesake of "cheerfulness" chose to neglect theprofound and at times painful spiritual experiencesexpressed in Shostakovich's music'. There isno corresponding catalogue of Mravinsky's mis-takes-and those who have heard the tape-recordingof his performance would probably agree that itwas excellent both in general conception and indetail-but they must have been serious indeedif Gauk, with all those failings, is still to be pre-ferred. This, however, is only an echo of pastdebates engendered by poor Shostakovich'sunwillingness or inability, or both, to belie hisown temperament and pose as the optimist thathe is not.In the same number of the Soviet Music Bulletinthere is an article on 'Cheap Glamour and Ball-room Dancing' by R. Zakharov, which no oneinterested in Russian life today should miss. Thetone is partly that of a parish magazine of the oldkind. ' There are young people who set an exampleat work and in leisure ', we read, 'but there arealso others one can only blush for. They need

special attention and should be helped to becomebetter than they are.' These, it appears, are thejivers. 'This is a style which originated in Americancaf6s among a fast company of neurotics' andthose young Russians who indulge in it are nick-named 'Tarzans' if male, 'fashion-plates' iffemale. Let us hope it is only these abandonedyoung people who prompt Prof. Zakharov'scomments on the appearance of' semi-intoxicatedpersons ' at dances. ' Far be it from me ', says theProfessor, 'to advocate monastic rules for dancesin our country, but a tavern-cum-night-club atmo-sphere of drunken hilarity is unthinkable in asocialist society'. The omission of rules for thebehaviour of his spiritual sons and daughtersat dances was indeed a serious omission on thepart of St. Benedict.

'The cry today is " down with Mozart. Tohell with anyone who can write a tune ! Give usdiscord !"' Who can be speaking? The point ofview is that of Zhdanov or his successors, casti-gating bourgeois formalism or capitalistic decad-ence; but the language is rather that of ' others onecan only blush for'. No, it was Sir ThomasBeecham speaking at the Bath Festival.

special attention and should be helped to becomebetter than they are.' These, it appears, are thejivers. 'This is a style which originated in Americancaf6s among a fast company of neurotics' andthose young Russians who indulge in it are nick-named 'Tarzans' if male, 'fashion-plates' iffemale. Let us hope it is only these abandonedyoung people who prompt Prof. Zakharov'scomments on the appearance of' semi-intoxicatedpersons ' at dances. ' Far be it from me ', says theProfessor, 'to advocate monastic rules for dancesin our country, but a tavern-cum-night-club atmo-sphere of drunken hilarity is unthinkable in asocialist society'. The omission of rules for thebehaviour of his spiritual sons and daughtersat dances was indeed a serious omission on thepart of St. Benedict.

'The cry today is " down with Mozart. Tohell with anyone who can write a tune ! Give usdiscord !"' Who can be speaking? The point ofview is that of Zhdanov or his successors, casti-gating bourgeois formalism or capitalistic decad-ence; but the language is rather that of ' others onecan only blush for'. No, it was Sir ThomasBeecham speaking at the Bath Festival.

Priaulx RainierBy JOHN AMIS

Priaulx RainierBy JOHN AMIS

RIAULX Rainier was born in Howick, Natal,on 3 February 1905 (and not 1903, asGrove V ungallantly suggests) and most ofher childhood was spent in this part of Africa.Howick was a tiny village in those days, wellknown for its Umgeni Falls. The climate is tropical,for Howick is situated some 3,500 feet up in theNatal Midlands, between the low-lying coast andthe Drakensberg mountains. The majority of thepopulation was Zulu and there seems little doubtthat their music has left its mark on that of PriaulxRainier. But it is an influence at a deep level, forMiss Rainier has not studied African music norever consciously (so she tells me) tried to write in anAfrican style.She studied harmony and violin in Cape Townat the South African College of Music and in1920 gained a Cape University Scholarship to theRoyal Academy of Music in London, where shestudied the violin with Rowsby Woof and counter-point with J. B. McEwen. She gained much experi-ence as a violinist, playing particularly in stringquartets. A serious motor accident made it necessaryfor her to choose to concentrate her (temporarily)restricted energies on a career as a violinist or as acomposer.Sir Arnold Bax gave her much encouragement-now that her choice was made and in 1937she went to Paris for a short time to study withNadia Boulanger. From this year date the ' ThreeGreek Epigrams'. Priaulx Rainier does not lookwith favour on any of her works written beforethis date, with the exception of the 'Two ArchaicSongs' of 1927; and this puts out of court threeitems mentioned in Grove V's catalogue of hercompositions-the one-movement, numberless

RIAULX Rainier was born in Howick, Natal,on 3 February 1905 (and not 1903, asGrove V ungallantly suggests) and most ofher childhood was spent in this part of Africa.Howick was a tiny village in those days, wellknown for its Umgeni Falls. The climate is tropical,for Howick is situated some 3,500 feet up in theNatal Midlands, between the low-lying coast andthe Drakensberg mountains. The majority of thepopulation was Zulu and there seems little doubtthat their music has left its mark on that of PriaulxRainier. But it is an influence at a deep level, forMiss Rainier has not studied African music norever consciously (so she tells me) tried to write in anAfrican style.She studied harmony and violin in Cape Townat the South African College of Music and in1920 gained a Cape University Scholarship to theRoyal Academy of Music in London, where shestudied the violin with Rowsby Woof and counter-point with J. B. McEwen. She gained much experi-ence as a violinist, playing particularly in stringquartets. A serious motor accident made it necessaryfor her to choose to concentrate her (temporarily)restricted energies on a career as a violinist or as acomposer.Sir Arnold Bax gave her much encouragement-now that her choice was made and in 1937she went to Paris for a short time to study withNadia Boulanger. From this year date the ' ThreeGreek Epigrams'. Priaulx Rainier does not lookwith favour on any of her works written beforethis date, with the exception of the 'Two ArchaicSongs' of 1927; and this puts out of court threeitems mentioned in Grove V's catalogue of hercompositions-the one-movement, numberless

string quartet of 1924, the Duo for violin andpiano of 1932 and the ' Incantation' for clarinetand orchestra of 1933.Priaulx Rainier has not seen her native countrysince she was eighteen and she has made her homein England. Since 1942 she has taught at the RoyalAcademy of Music, where she was made a Fellowin 1952. She has a great gift for helping the youngand I remember with gratitude the service she gaveas a chamber-music coach at the Summer Schoolof Music at Bryanston. She has remained single,is a brilliant cook and a delightful comphnion,with as many friends among writers, painters,sculptors and dancers as among musicians. Shehas divided her time recently between Londonand St. Ives, where she is a member of the artists'colony; and it was largely owing to her efforts thatthe Festival of Arts there in 1953 came into being.To give an idea of the character of PriaulxRainier's music is difficult, even with the help ofmusic examples. At the risk of wasting a paragraphlet me say that if you were listening to an unknownwork on the radio (and more probably from aforeign station than a British one) and if it re-minded you to some extent of the Sibelius of thefourth symphony, of the more remote or barbaricBart6k, of the Stravinsky of the Sacrificial Danceof the ' Rite of Spring ' and other strenuous rhyth-mic passages, or what you might guess to be Zulumusic; if its make-up seemed to be 5 per cent.harmony, 10 per cent. counterpoint, 10 per cent.melody, 75 per cent. rhythm and 0 per cent. con-ventional form; and if it struck you by its boldnessand power, and even (this is a first hearing)exacerbated your nerves a little-then the unknownwork might be by Priaulx Rainier.

string quartet of 1924, the Duo for violin andpiano of 1932 and the ' Incantation' for clarinetand orchestra of 1933.Priaulx Rainier has not seen her native countrysince she was eighteen and she has made her homein England. Since 1942 she has taught at the RoyalAcademy of Music, where she was made a Fellowin 1952. She has a great gift for helping the youngand I remember with gratitude the service she gaveas a chamber-music coach at the Summer Schoolof Music at Bryanston. She has remained single,is a brilliant cook and a delightful comphnion,with as many friends among writers, painters,sculptors and dancers as among musicians. Shehas divided her time recently between Londonand St. Ives, where she is a member of the artists'colony; and it was largely owing to her efforts thatthe Festival of Arts there in 1953 came into being.To give an idea of the character of PriaulxRainier's music is difficult, even with the help ofmusic examples. At the risk of wasting a paragraphlet me say that if you were listening to an unknownwork on the radio (and more probably from aforeign station than a British one) and if it re-minded you to some extent of the Sibelius of thefourth symphony, of the more remote or barbaricBart6k, of the Stravinsky of the Sacrificial Danceof the ' Rite of Spring ' and other strenuous rhyth-mic passages, or what you might guess to be Zulumusic; if its make-up seemed to be 5 per cent.harmony, 10 per cent. counterpoint, 10 per cent.melody, 75 per cent. rhythm and 0 per cent. con-ventional form; and if it struck you by its boldnessand power, and even (this is a first hearing)exacerbated your nerves a little-then the unknownwork might be by Priaulx Rainier.

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THE MUSICAL TIMESThe 'Two Archaic Songs' are for unaccom-panied choir: 'The Life of this World' and'Adam lay i-bounden'. There is harmony herein plenty, mostly block harmony of the VaughanWilliams-Tallis kind. Block harmony as a colour-ing agent has gradually disappeared from Priaulx

Rainier's music since the first string quartet.In the 'Incantation', of which I possess onlya version for clarinet and piano, the style of themusic has become more characteristic and thefavourite augmented fourth begins to appear.The presence of this fourth is, by the way, not theonly reason for my association of Rainier withSibelius's fourth symphony. They have in commonthat remote atmosphere of the just-before-dawn(interesting to note, perhaps, that when MichaelTippett reached this time of day in 'MidsummerMarriage' he used the augmented fourth) and thesame feeling of a strong will at work.The 'Three Greek Epigrams' are settings forsoprano and piano of Richard Aldington's trans-lation from the Greek of Anyte of Tegea. Theopening of the first song ' A Bird' (Ex. 1) shows

Ex. Andante con moto =56Voice P ,is - 1- * ^1rriYou willPiano I IIL I

f --

Per.

t bpr 16d Je -ver_ rise up a-gainr,. - o- _PF =

Ped.

the block harmonies, the augmented fourthsand the ostinatos that are a prominent feature ofPriaulx Rainier's style. The feeling of G minoris constantly denied by the bass until the last barof the song, and when relief comes it is mingledwith shock. In ' For a Fountain' the piano partkeeps up a series of (Aeolian) scale-like passages atdifferent speeds to suggest the atmosphere of thesummer heat and breeze (not desire) under theelm. In the last song, 'A Dolphin', the pianopart again has a regular pattern against which theinstrumental vocal part is set; this time it is theA3

movement of the sea which is imaginativelyportrayed.Priaulx Rainier's next work was the stringquartet no. 1 (1939), perhaps her best-known work.It has been recorded for the British Council by theAmadeus Quartet and (strange for a string quartet)turned into a ballet by the American choreo-grapher, Jose Limon. This quartet was clearly aturning point in its composer's career. Con-ventional form struggles with a more personallyinspired continuity, block harmony is banished bythe end, a brilliant and individual scherzo iscreated and (what I see as) an African qualityenters onto the scene. In Ex. 2 Sibelian rhetoricis dying, but in Ex. 3 'Africa speaks' surely.The quartet deserves its fame, for it all sounds wellfor the medium even though it often looks orches-tral.

Ex.2.Allegro molto seriosoVln. I N i.>>*ten.n t t ?'

Vln. II > b g

Xat^ + r rs^ rtir X~cl. ff-t teaVi.eo ten.

r f,_egatoI u f e s t}x.3

if--- IPresto spiritoso >h

^ t,V , V 7 F4GfA. ff r^ttpr ?'t I'!r ?ti r r I f-l

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THE MUSICAL TIMES

From this time on Priaulx Rainier had found herpersonal idiom, and the clarinet suite (1943),viola sonata (1945),' Sinfonia da camera' (1947)and the ' Barbaric Dance Suite' show many of thesame characteristics. The music proceeds by alogic of its own that owes little or nothing toconventional forms ; harmonic colouring is absent,texture and rhythm become vital elements.Structures are built up out of small melodic unitsor figurations which are constantly changing orjuxtaposed; these units are almost inseparablefromrhythmic ostinatos. The favourite intervals areseconds, augmented fourths, sevenths, eighths (!)and ninths. What modulations there are pass

almost unnoticed, because the composition is notconcerned with harmony. Counterpoint hasrarely more than two parts and the texture isfascinating but spare; it is music of sinew whichsometimes tends to gristle. The impression gainedfrom listening to this music is that it more nearlyresembles architecture or sculpture than painting.There are times when Miss Rainier pares hermusic, I feel, too vigorously, so that its structureseems so devoid of body as to become a fantasyof wire, a dancing 'mobile' that almost irritatesby its impersonality. At its best, however, theshapes fascinate, containing as they do greatstrength and great passion. I should say that the' Sinfonia da camera' is the best of these fourworks (possibly her best work hitherto), fulfillingthe promises made in the string quartet no. 1. Iwish it could be recorded, because it is an import-ant work and one that can only be recognizedas such on repeated hearings.I can write nothing about the 'Ballet Suite'or the 'Two Songs' for voice and guitar, becausescores are not available and neither has yetbeen performed in this country. A late work isthe 'Cycle for Declamation', three settings forunaccompanied high voice of three extracts fromthe 'Devotions' of John Donne. The third ofthese shows a dimension added in an unforgettableway to a passage that ends with the famous linesabout' for whom the Bell tolls ' and in this settingit seems that the composer has set herself to solvea problem whose solution is vital for her future:that of creating a memorable melodic line that will

Ex.4

?4 j , t. . J .. J J.J - t 7 n:Nunc, len-to . so-ni-tu di-cnt, Mor - i - e - ris. The- -i^~f rV r ipr??r r ,e 1'- I ,J 1-ell doth toll for him that think-es it doth; Mor- i - e - ris.

mfWho casts not uphis Eye to the Sunne when it ri -ses?but whotakes off his Eye from a

y -' 1' f: r z rCom-et when that breakes oat? Who_ bends not his eare_ toAf-r r ' . cr rr' j'f L- ? fi 12JJ X J s I1an- y bell, which up-on an-y oc-ca-sion. rings? Mor ? i - e - ris.

But who . can re-moveit from that bell which is pas - sing a

r 7 r r r r F I tpeece of Ainm-setfe out of this world?un, le toj -i tu di-u.tJ o --I riNunc, len to So-ni - tu di-ount, Mor - i e - ris.

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