Lennox Berkeley, as we know had French ancestry and so it is not hard to imagine his feelings of relief and joy on the liberation of France from Nazi occupation towards the end of World War I I. " Paysage de France" as it was originally titled, was written in 1944 " in honour of a redeemed France" as Berkeley himself stated, and was dedicated to Raymond Mortimer. The piece is fairly short( 5 minutes), it's in 3/4 time and in the key of E-minor, the work itself was not published untill 1991, two years after his death. The melodic quality of this work is particularly memorable, with it's translucsent textures making a lasting impression on the listener. The work was premiered by Berkeley himself at the Fyvie Hall in London on the 20th Febuary 1945, together with his songs "Tant que mes yeux" and "Ode du premier jour de mai". It was at this time(1945) that Berkeley left his job at the B.B.C. as a Programme planner, and took up a position at the Royal Academy of Music as Professor of Composition, where he was to remain for the next 22 years. Also at this time, Berkeley had met Elizabeth Freda Bernstein,while at the B.B.C. where she worked as a secretary in the Home Service Music section in Marylebone high street, they married a year later in 1946. The couple went on to have three sons, the eldest Michael, was born in 1948, Julian, in 1950, and the youngest Nicholas, in 1956. Benjamin Britten became Michael's Godfather, and Michael was later to remark that Benjamin Britten had made a fundamental impression on his childhood and especially on his later musical influences as a contemporary British composer in his own right. Michael Berkeley has also stressed the important legacy of his father's piano works, which extend beyond just solo piano repertoire but include, works for" two piano concerto"," sonatina for piano duet -opus 39", the "sonatina for two piano's -opus 52 no.2", and many more chamber works and songs which all feature the Piano, thus confirming Berkeley's love of the instrument in his compositional work.

ANDANTE - Tranquillo.

The main theme has a serene and a somewhat elusive quality, evoking feelings of nostalgia and reflection. Later on, during the middle section there is a" tolling bell " motif which produces a great sense of poignancy to the piece. Though a short work, "Paysage" has a beautiful simplicity and lyricism to it and fully encapsulates all of Lennox Berkeley's compositional skills.


MP3→ Paysage

Kumiko Ida / Brian O'Hara-(text) January. 2006