John Powell (1882-1963) composed his Virginia Symphony between 1941-51, and purely in terms of harmonic style it might be taken for a somewhat crude example of the work of the English pastoral school–E.J. Moeran comes most readily to mind. This is because the “Virginian” folk tunes Powell uses as his thematic material basically all came with the original colonial settlers from England. More recent, native productions, never mind gospel tunes and spirituals, simply were not part of Powell’s world (as a card-carrying racist and supporter of eugenics, anything African American was strictly off the table). So if you enjoy Moeran’s Symphony in G minor, you will (kind of) know what to expect.
That said, Powell was no symphonist. What we really have here is basically a suite in four movements, all of which sound pretty much the same (even if the same really is pretty). There’s certainly no dramatic flow to the music, no reason that the climaxes appear where and when they do, and Powell has a rather unfortunate habit of capping each crescendo with a nice big cymbal crash, a strategy whose effectiveness remains inversely proportional to its frequency of use. Perhaps if Powell had written a true scherzo instead of two slowish inner movements the work would have sounded more “symphonic”, or in any event more contrasted. Still, it would be churlish to deny the music its simple charms and joie de vivre. Certainly it’s not dull or uneventful, and JoAnn Falletta, that very reliable champion of unfamiliar repertoire, gets typically fine results from the Virginia Symphony, a group she has directed since 1991.
Carmen Dragon’s equally pleasant arrangement of Shenandoah completes this appealing package, and only serves to emphasize Powell’s role as “arranger” rather then “composer”–and really there’s nothing wrong with that. Toss in excellent sonics, and if you approach this symphony without prejudice or unrealistic expectations (which is more than we can say for its composer) you will find plenty to enjoy. It may fit Peter Warlock’s description of Vaughan Williams’ Pastoral Symphony as sounding “like a cow looking over a barn gate”; but as long as the view from the farmyard is lovely, who cares?
