Mayerl: Evening Primrose

Post World War 1, broadcasting became ever more popular and most of the music played on the radio in those early days could be categorized as jazz or ragtime. The main element of these styles of music was of course syncopation and in Britain, Billy Mayerl had arguably become one of the most famous ‘syncopaters’ regularly broadcast on the radio at that time.

The distinguished Irish pianist and composer Philip Martin is the pianist introducing us here to Volume 1 of the series of Billy Mayerl’s music from Somm Records.

Somm has established itself as a great exponent of British piano music and this series is sure to be revered in the same light as previous releases of Bridge and Bax’s music.

The Canadian pianist Leslie De’Ath follows the success of his first Billy Mayerl anthology for Dutton Epoch, which was an ‘Editor’s Choice’ in Gramophone magazine, with a second volume of this delightfully tuneful, syncopated music. In addition to familiar numbers such as Bats in the Belfry, he ranges across Mayerl’s career from the Piano Exaggerations of 1926 to the late Waltz for a Lonely Heart of 1956. Three multi-movement suites give weight to this selection: Three Dances in Syncopation, Three Miniatures in Syncopation and the six-movement tone poem The Legends of King Arthur. A triumph of selection and performance.