'Facade - An Entertainment'
Dame Edith Sitwell by Roger Fry (1918)
I posted a while back on Dame Edith Sitwell - a 1959 interview where she talks about being eccentric, not an unexpected topic I must say.
At the risk of being seen as a bit blue stocking, I'm venturing into this territory again.
In 1918, this aristocratic figure of rather alarming appearance began publishing in the literary magazine 'Wheels' a series of poems - 'Façade' - in which she experimented with rhythm and intonation. While seeming nonsense verse, the lines were shot with personal meanings and references.
The poems were given a musical accompaniment in 1922 by William Walton, resulting in 'Façade - An Entertainment'. Walton continuously revised the music up till 1951 when the definitive score was published.
The first performance of the work - a 'succès de scandale' - was given in the Sitwell's London home on 24 January 1922. The poet recited her verse through a megaphone protruding through a curtain, while the composer conducted six musicians playing his music.
Being avant garde, the mainstream press see-sawed between puzzlement and hostility, with 'Drivel That They Paid to Hear!' from 'The Daily Express' being an example of the latter response. Even those present who one would think to be at least sympathetic could react violently - Noël Coward made a very large show of walking out mid performance.
More measured views came from Edward J. Dent ('The Illustrated London News') ...
The audience was at first inclined to treat the whole thing as an absurd joke, but there is always a surprisingly serious element in Miss Sitwell's poetry and Mr Walton's music … which soon induced the audience to listen with breathless attention
... and from Ernest Newman ('The Sunday Times') ...
as a musical joker he [Walton] is a jewel of the first water
Of course, the work has now taken its place as more standard literary-musical fare - I was taken to a performance in London when I was living there as a kid.
The two recordings of 'Façade - An Entertainment' I most like are both from Decca.
This first is the famous 1929 recording with Edith Sitwell, Constant Lambert and William Walton. I particularly love Lambert's delivery of the verse - he has been described as ...
a speaker sans pareil of the verse, clear, rapid incisive,
tireless and commanding vocally an extraordinary range of inflection from
menace to the threat of doom to the most debonair and jaunty inconsequence
My other favourite is the 1954 recording with Edith Sitwell and Peter Pears, and Anthony Collins and the English Opera Group Ensemble. Pears brings all his operatic training to give meaningful musicality to the recitation.
Delicious musical romps, don't you think?
