Martin Cotton sits down with a selection of the best recent documentary releases
May round-up
The English Organ is a mammoth set, with the first DVD alone containing three 70-minute documentaries taking us from 1500 to the present. There’s duplication and omission, and the lack of captions to identify the often rapid changes of location (and the music being played) can be frustrating, although some organs are dealt with in depth. The organist and presenter Daniel Moult and his experienced interviewees come across as knowledgeable enthusiasts, but the same is expected from the viewer: technical terms are taken as read, and sometimes there’s a geekish feel to the enterprise. More approachable to the layman are the three remaining DVDS, where Moult gives a brief description and demonstration of each organ before playing a piece: most are included on the bonus audio CDS. (Fugue State Films FSFDVD012 ★★★★)
The wealth of archive photographs of composer George Butterworth, and even some moving images, have been included very effectively by the makers of All My Life’s Buried Here. I’m less sure about the use of an actor to impersonate him, walking contemplatively through the English landscape with an aural background of his orchestral music; and some judicious editing would have given a better flow. But the whole folk basis of Butterworth’s mature style is comprehensively explored – there’s almost a separate feature waiting to get out here – as well as his family background and schooling. Thorough research bears fruit in the number of reminiscences from family and friends or their descendants, either from documents or in person, and there’s a generous helping of Butterworth’s music.
(This release is only available from georgebutterworth.co.uk ★★★★)
American composer Charles Ives was also firmly based in his own culture, but much more forwardlooking and adventurous. The Unanswered Ives is a gentle portrait which neither attempts nor pretends to be comprehensive – as the title implies, it poses more questions than it answers. The small-town environment of his childhood and youth are well-conjured up though and there’s an impressive roll-call of experts, who don’t outstay their welcome. His business activities, which allowed him the wealth to compose without fear or favour, are given full weight and the ebullience and busy-ness of his early life, which led to a heart attack and burnout in his mid-40s, comes through in the often rapid editing.
The interwoven performances are straightforwardly presented, but avoid the other
DVD in the package, a pretentious stage-work which distracts from the music.(accentus ACC20434
★★★★)
Lucas Debargue won fourth prize in the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2015 and he comes across as a bundle of nervous energy in To Music. Much of the time he’s talking direct to camera, at various venues, and there’s insight into the life of a travelling performer: the doubts of going on stage, dealing with different pianos (some good, some bad) and the sheer pace and stress of never being in one place for long. He’s more relaxed when making chamber music or talking about his composing ambitions, and honest about quitting the piano in his youth only to take it up seriously in his teens with the encouragement of a teacher who comes across as a dominant presence in his musical life. An interesting insight into an artist in progress. (Naxos 2.110639
★★★★)