Gerald Finzi - Eclogue [arranged for organ by Robert Gower]

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For Pentecost 20, 2021 - suggested by Job's dialogue with the Lord in today's OT reading

An ‘eclogue’ is a pastoral poem, often involving a dialogue.

This piece is by English composer Gerald Finzi (1901-1956), described by his music tutor Ernest Farrar as ‘A shy boy, but full of poetry’. At the age of 8 Finzi lost his father, and his three brothers also died during his formative years; Farrar was killed on the Western Front. His music thereafter generally had an elegiac quality, unsurprisingly, often reflecting on the theme of lost innocence.

The Eclogue began life as the intended slow movement for a piano concerto which was never realised. This quintessentially English piece was worked on for over 20 years by Finzi to serve as an unnamed stand-alone work, but sadly was only titled, published and performed as ‘Eclogue’ posthumously in 1957. Scored for piano and string orchestra in dialogue with each other, the work was arranged effectively for organ solo by Robert Gower in 1994.

By turns nostalgic, melancholic, powerful, and serene, the pairing of piano and orchestra suggests to me an unequal dialogue between a shepherd (say) and Nature herself, or the human and the Divine – a simple and serene beginning and end, and a richly detailed and inventive centre with many changes of pace and tone as the dialogue develops. A wonderful piece, and so rewarding to play.

Images: Stained glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany, depicting the various seasons of the year; also the Parable of the Sower.

Played by Peter Christie on the Viscount Envoy FV-350 digital organ as part of the online music programme for St John's Episcopal Church, Greenock, Scotland.