Catalogue Connection: 25141

When you look back at the making of the United States, the truth is that all citizens, either in their own experience or that of their ancestors, came from somewhere else, even the Native Americans. The universality of immigration is a social fact.

It is fitting that the tale of such an epic journey be told in music. In this case we have the story of composer Philip Henderson’s father and his sojourn from Kent, England to New York City in the 1930s. All takes place in the multi-part suite From the Old World to the New World (Divine Art 25141), as performed by the chamber orchestra The Green and Pleasant Band with soloists and vocalists.

It follows the protagonist’s origins in rural England, the magic of the woods, the fateful sea voyage and the new life in America.

The music has a kind of folk-like archaicism in parts, a post-modern down-to-earth quality and ultimately a couple of defining songs, especially “New York Sing Me!” as done by Pia Sukana and, perhaps a bit more show tune-like than I was expecting to hear, “Play Broadway!” by Paul Baker. Aside from the latter the suite pulls together music of enchantment, lyric effusions that wear quite well from listen to listen.

Philip Henderson gives us something unexpected, original and filled with homespun charm. It is easy on the ears yet singular enough to gain and keep the attention of the more musically demanding among us. Bravo!

Philip Henderson’s programmatic release begins with what may be the strongest work. The Hop-Picker’s Daughter is a beautiful, energetic piece of music filled with character and excitement. It tells its story so well that my mind’s translation of the music was actually what was declared in the liner notes. Generally, this would relate to the use of over-used tropes and tired ideas; but, though there are musical signposts, it sounds fresh. It has an energy often found in musical theater granted by tonal shifts and dramatic pacing. Sea Voices embodies this excited energy as well. It tells the story of a young man as he travels across the harsh Atlantic to the shores of opportunity in New York. ‘New York Sing Me’ is the hope-filled end of the journey and includes vocals The recordings of all the pieces, except An English Horn in New York, really bring the performers closer to the listener; and the strings may have been amplified to achieve this result.

In his program From the Old World to the New World composer Philip Henderson describes the journey of his father in the 1930s from the rural England to the glittering New York. The music mixes classical, minimalistic and other modern techniques in a very artistic way. In musical terms, it develops by changing from classical strings, also involving an acoustic transformation for natural sound to studio sound.

This program has something. No doubt it is programmatic, but Henderson’s piece is fun and the performers take much pleasure in their exquisite interpretation in 78 minutes of pleasant listening.

You could almost class this as a pop album— there’s an osmotic connection between ambient pop and classical music and this excellent CD is most definitely the pop side in places. Henderson wrote the music for shows such as The Far Pavilions and this awareness of what the masses wants infuses this easy-on-the-ear classical album. Purists may well mutter that that its easy sound and straightforward timing are no match for Bach’s love of algorithm and mathematical patterns, which may be correct, but Henderson’s music is enjoyable and easy to listen to. If it draws some new listeners to classical music it can only be a good thing.

The album is based on the true story of his father’s journey in the 1930s from rural Kent to New York. The music follows the story, from pastoral strings (The Hop-picker’s Daughter and The Vine-puller’s Boy) to the bustle of an Atlantic cargo vessel (Tilbury Docks and Galley Boy) and the buzz of Broadway (New York Sing Me!, featuring Bollywood actress and producer Pia Sukanya). At this stage, our hero, represented by a cor anglais, plays against the synthesised strings of the city.

Given Henderson’s background, it’s unsurprisingly an evocative album and he creates mental images of the places the music goes. Fans of gentle classical music and theatre music will love it, but we’d suggest that fans of electronic music (The xx, Hauschka) and the likes of Mike Oldfield would find much to like. The Green and Pleasant Band and Pia Sukanya perform.

Out on Divine Art, dda 25141, and most excellent.