Roger Sacheverell Coke

[Gareth Vaughan]

I have some very good news regarding this forgotten Derbyshire composer. I had thought that all the MS music of his which remained extant (and precious little was published) had been deposited in the Coke-Steel Archive in Chesterfield Library. While this contains much of interest (including complete scores and all parts for his opera "The Cenci") I was disappointed to find it contained the full score & parts of only one of his 3 symphonies (no. 2) and only one and a bit of his 6 piano concertos (No. 4 & the slow movt. of 5).
Now, having made contact at last with his nephew, John Christopher Sacheverell Darwin, the copyright holder and principal beneficiary of his will, there is a chance that some more of this music may appear. Mr Darwin told me that he has an extensive collection of his late uncle's music and will let me know what is in his possession. More exciting, he has agreed to lend me anything I would like to see. Oh joy, oh rapture unforeseen! (No prizes for guessing the quote.)

[Alan Howe]

Good news, Gareth. The clouded sky is now serene...

[Mark Thomas]

I shall murmur forth decorous joy.

[jimmattt]

Guess I could make up a line--Go, Gareth, claim your atta boy---but I'll just say great! Have always been fascinated by this composer's unsungness. Hope it leads to some recordings, and thank you, Gareth.

[giles.enders]

Well done Gareth.  We should all be grateful for your tenacity in persuing this music.  Are there any piano trios or piano quartets?

[Gareth Vaughan]

Chesterfield Library has only the score and parts of the Elegiac Trio for piano, violin and cello in C minor, Op. 32 (1938-9), though Coke's list of works includes a second Piano Trio, a String Quartet and a Trio for flute viola and piano. I have not seen any of this music. There is also in Chesterfield a "Sacred concerto for female voice and piano with oboe and cello obligatti to 3 psalms of David, in A minor, Op. 35" - full score and parts.
Other chamber music includes: 3 Cello sonatas, 2 Violin sonatas, Viola sonata, Clarinet sonata (unfinished) [all these in Chesterfield]. There is also in Chesterfield an unfinished "5th Cello Sonata" - but no mention anywhere of a 4th cello sonata!

[Lionel Harrsion]

I must confess that Roger Sacheverell Coke was a name not known to me at all.  I see that Rob Barnett (MusicWeb International) in a review of Dutton's recording of Montague Phillips' Piano Concertos, refers to "the allegedly Rachmaninovian piano concertos of Roger Sacheverell Coke".   Can Gareth (or anyone else) lead me out of my ignorance by giving a bit more detail about Coke and his musical style?

[Gareth Vaughan]

I give below an article on Coke that I found on the internet. To my annoyance, I see the author is not given - and I cannot now find the source. However, it should prove useful to any who are interested:

COKE, Roger Sacheverell
[Alfreton, Derbyshire, 20.10.1912 - Pinxton, Derbyshire, 23.10.1972]

Roger Sacheverell Coke was the only son of Langton Sacheverell Coke, an officer in the Irish Guards killed in action in the Great War when R.S. was two. He composed compulsively throughout his life and was caught after lights out composing under the bedclothes at Eton College where he received his education. After he left school at the age of eighteen he heard a record of piano music by Moiseiwitsch. This made a profound impression on Coke who later was to strike up a personal friendship with Moiseiwitsch who in turn was to nurture a desire in Coke to become a concert pianist. His debut as concert pianist came in 1932 performing one of his own works. His piano tuition was from Mabel Lander. He studied composition with Dr Frederick Staton and later with Alan Bush.
It was composition which eventually gripped and dominated his life. There were many performances of his works particularly in the provinces. He lived for many years as a semi-recluse at the family mansion at Brookhill Hall, near Alfreton. The music room at Brookhill Hall was given to him by his mother and the estate workers in 1933. This room became, in large part, his hermit's cell for much of the rest of his life. He was afflicted with mild mental disorders. In the early nineteen thirties he became a friend of Rachmaninov who exercised a considerable influence over Coke's work. Following Rachmaninov's death Coke gave a memorial concert at the Hall at which he performed together with his regular collaborator of those years, Barbara Welby, a descendant of Jenny Lind and a fine amateur singer and pianist. Brookhill became a centre for local music-making, visited by musicians and others including Edith Sitwell. He founded the Brookhill Symphony Orchestra in 1940. The orchestra played a number of his own works and neglected works by other composers. These included performances of Bruckner symphonies 4 and 6, Mahler 4 and Rachmaninov 2. He engaged in heated correspondence in the columns of Musical Opinion contending the virtues of Rachmaninov's symphonies. Coke gave recitals at the Wigmore Hall. He was the soloist in the broadcast premiere of his own third piano concerto with the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra conducted by Richard Austin in 1939. Another successful work performed before the outbreak of the War was the Lotos Eaters. Hugo Meynell referred to the Concerto's thick but never overloaded scoring which abounds in full warm writing for the solo writing. Meynell remarked on the intensely and uninhibited lyrical quality of the music and its affinity with Rachmaninov and the romantic Russian school. His most ambitious work was the two hour opera on Shelley's The Cenci. He created Beatrice's part with Barbara Welby in mind. It was performed at the Scala Theatre, London.
After this he was afflicted with the mental disorder already referred to and he retired from the public gaze. He had various of his works published at his own expense and distributed to potential performers. No performances followed. Brookhill began to decay around Coke as he became more and more of a hermit. He sold family possessions including fine porcelain made on the family estate in the late eighteenth century. The decline seemed absolute and irreversible but in 1970 a concert at Abbotsholme School, Staffordshire marked a turning point. At the suggestion of Gordon Clark, School Director of Music, Moura Lympany played two of Coke's Preludes at the concert. Following the concert other concerts followed with articles and as a result of a meeting with the flautist Christopher Hyde Smith and his wife, Marisa Robles a commission for a trio for flute, harp and viola was forthcoming. The BBC commissioned a string quartet. Even Brookhill enjoyed a renaissance with the local council refurbishing the house as a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts. However Coke's chain-smoking (100 cigarettes a day) had fatally undermined his health and prevented the completion of the commissions. It was while cycling into the village to buy a packet of cigarettes that he died. He was found at the side of the road and never regained consciousness. His scores of which there is a considerable quantity, and many of the articles from his music room were removed to the new local arts centre at Alfreton Hall. Extensive collections of MS material are held by Nottingham University Library, the Derbyshire Record Office, Matlock and Chesterfield Public Library. Colin Mason who contributed the essay in the fifth edition of Grove, wrote: "His music, which reflects his sympathies for Mahler, Bruckner and Rachmaninov, is written with considerable accomplishment in a mainly pre-Debussy idiom". While Coke's over-riding affection for Rachmaninov's music has been mentioned he also felt a special empathy for Sibelius and Bax.
To the best of my knowledge there have been no recordings of his music. The only piece which I have heard is the Cello Sonata No 2. This was broadcast some time ago by Alexander Baillie and Piers Lane. The style calls to mind both Medtner and Rachmaninov. The writing is densely romantic for much of the time although this is lightened by a number of passages of elfin magic. I wonder if there is anyone else who remembers performances of other pieces by Coke or who has recordings. I hope that someone might be prepared to share them. I for one would be delighted to hear the vocal concertos and perhaps the Third Piano Concerto.

Opera: The Cenci Op. 41 (1940-41 and 1950 three acts, libretto by the composer after Shelley, Prelude only at RAF charity concert Jan 1941 Brookhill SO conducted by composer; Scala Theatre, London 5.11.1959 conducted by Eugene Goossens, For Richard Austin);

Symphony: Symphony No. 1 (early thirties, broadcast by BBC, withdrawn); Symphony No. 2 in G minor Op. 22 (1936-38 BBC broadcast, 32'); Symphony No. 3 Op. 56 (1948/58, 30');

Concerto: Piano Concerto No.1 (withdrawn); Piano Concerto No. 2 in E minor (1933, withdrawn, BBC broadcast and composer / Torquay Municipal Orchestra / Ernest Goss, Pavilion, Torquay, 16.11.1933 - dedicated to Mabel Lander "with affection and admiration." - movements: 1. Fantasie 2. Romance 3. Caprice); Vocal Concerto No. 1 for soprano and orchestra Op. 25 (1934 words from Tennyson's The Princess, Barbara Welby - the dedicatee / Brookhill SO / composer, Nottingham, 25.10.1942, 14'); Piano Concerto No. 3 in E flat Op. 30 (1938, Coke or Charles Lynch / Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra / Richard Austin, BBC broadcast 3.8.1939; charity concert for RAF Jan 1941, composer/Brookhill SO; composer / Torquay Municipal Orchestra / Goss, Pavilion Torquay, 23.10.1941; dedicated to Charles Lynch, movements: 1. Moderato, 2. Maestoso, 3. Quasi Variazione, 4. Finale, 30'); Poem for cello, piano and small orchestra Op. 36 (1939/41); Piano Concerto No. 4 in C sharp minor Op. 38 (1940, 30'); Vocal Concerto No. 2 for soprano and orchestra Op. 47 (1942, words from Barbara Welby's A Winter's Dawn, in version with piano accomp. Barbara Weldon / composer, Pinxton, 31.5.1942, 18'); Piano Concerto No. 5 in D minor Op. 57 The Orton (1947/50); Piano Concerto No. 6 in C minor Op. 63 (1951);

Orchestra: Three Pieces for string orchestra Op. 5 (1933, BBC broadcast); Prelude to The Cenci Op. 41 (1940); Symphonic Poem No. 1, The Lotos Eaters Op. 45 (1941, Brookhill SO, composer, Nottingham, 1.10.1942 FP?, Brookhill SO / composer. 25.10.1942); Symphonic Poem No. 2, Elegiac Ballade Op. 51 (1942-3); Symphonic Poem No. 3, Dorian Gray Op. 53 (1943/50); Symphonic Poem No. 4 on a painting by Corot;

Chamber: Cello Sonata No. 1 in D minor Op. 24 (1935); Cello Sonata No. 2 in C major Op. 29 (1938, BBC broadcast, dedicated to Alan Morton); Elegiac Trio in C minor for piano, violin and cello Op. 32 (1938-9); Sacred Concerto in A minor for soprano, cello, piano and oboe Op. 35 (1939); Cello Sonata No. 3 in A minor Op. 44 (1941, Alan Morton / composer, Pinxton, 27.5.1942); Violin Sonata No. 1 in D minor Op. 46 (1940/42, Raymond Mosley - dedicatee / composer, Nottingham, 31.1.1943); Clarinet Sonata in C major Op. 48 (1942/50); Trio in G for flute, viola and piano, Ortina Op. 59 (1948-9); Viola Sonata in C minor Op. 60 (1948/49); Violin Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor Op. 55 (1943/50); String Quartet Op. 66; Piano Trio No 2;

Song: Elegy for a Dead Musician for contralto, violin and orchestra Op. 16 (1934, BBC broadcast); Six Songs for soprano or tenor Op. 19 (1935, BBC broadcast); Two Songs for soprano or tenor Op. 20 (1935); Song for soprano or tenor Op. 31 (1939); Six Songs for soprano or tenor Op. 39 (1939 words Humbert Wolfe); Six Songs for contralto or bass Op. 40 (1939 words Humbert Wolfe); Six Songs for contralto or bass Op. 42 (1941 words Humbert Wolfe); Eight Songs for soprano or tenor Op. 43 (1941 words from Beaumont and Fletcher plays); Six Songs for contralto or bass Op. 49 (1942 words Oscar Wilde); Four Songs for soprano or tenor Op. 50 (1943); Rhymes and Roundelays, fourteen songs for high voice Op. 54 (1948); Thirty Songs for low voice Op. 58 (1948 words Burns); Six Songs for high voice Op. 67 (1954 words Emily Bronte); Six Songs Op. 70 for high voice (1956 words Tagore); Six Songs for high voice Op. 71 (1956 words Tagore); Six Songs for high voice Op. 72 (1957 words Walter de la Mare);

Piano: Sonata No. 1 in D major Op. 12 (1935, composer, Brookhill Hall, 1943); Variations and Fugue in D minor Op. 21 (1935); Sonata No. 2 in G Op. 26 (1936); Ballade in C major Op. 27 (1936); Fantasie (composer, 15.11.1933, Torquay Pavilion); Berceuse (1936); two Inventions and Polichinelle (1936); Sonata No. 3 in A minor Op. 28 (1937); Twenty Four Preludes Opp. 33/34 (1938, Book 1 and 1941, Book 2, six Preludes performed by composer at Torquay Pavilion, 23.10.1941; also by composer at Manchester Midday Concerts; Book 2, composer, Nottingham, 31.5.1942, all dedicated to his mother); Fifteen Variations and Finale in C minor Op. 37 (1939); Variations in G minor on Rachmaninov's Song, A Soldier's Wife Op. 52 (1943); Variations in B flat on Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes Op. 61 (1949); Variations in C sharp minor Op. 73 (1957-8).

Bibliography:
Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Vol. II, 5th Edition, p. 367, article by Colin Mason;
Eric Blom, Everyman's Dictionary of Music, 1975, p. 127;
Hugo Meynell: Roger Sacheverell Coke - A Derbyshire Composer and His Music, Derbyshire Countryside, April/May 1957;
Robert Innes-Smith: Roger Sacheverell Coke (1912-1975) - obituary.
Work-List published by Coke - complete to January 1959.
Rosemary Williamson, Leverhulme Research Fellow, Nottingham University, Handlist - University Collection - Lady Barbara Welby.

Note: The articles and worklist mentioned above can be examined at the BMIC. Many thanks to Rosemary Williamson for her generous help in providing her handlist and some valuable background.

[Lionel Harrsion]

Thanks very much, Gareth.  I must say a combination of the Romantic Russian school and Sibelius sounds richly attractive!

[albion]

Yes, many thanks, Gareth, for disseminating this invaluable source of reference regarding Coke. Here is clearly yet another British composer, along with Percy Sherwood, fully worth the attention of our most enterprising record companies.   

[Amphissa]

I've never heard of Roger Sacheverell Coke, but I do know my G&S.

Oh joy, oh rapture unforeseen,
The clouded sky is now serene,
The god of day — the orb of love,
Has hung his ensign high above,
The sky is all ablaze.
...
We'll murmur forth decorous joy,
in dreamy roundelays.

For he's the Captain of the Pinafore

And a right good Captain too.

Not bad for a scruffy American, eh?

[JimL]

...You are very, very good

And be it understood

I command a right good crew...

[Mark Thomas]

Thanks, Gareth. Fascinating and mouth-watering stuff. I imagine that the 1930s broadcasts were live and not preserved, unfortunately.

[0177lizzie]

I thought I would just add to the information relating to Roger Coke.  As a child, my father was often invited along to Brookhill Hall to play the piano for Roger Coke, who would invite an orchestra up from London to perform his work.  Not all the musicians could make these trips and it was my father's job to 'fill in' for the instruments that were missing.  My father could only have been about 10-12 years of age (sadly, he is no longer around, so I can't ask him) and he would cycle over from Alfreton.  There was apparently one memorable occasion, that caused my grandmother much concern when she heard about it, when Roger Coke had bellowed at my father: 'Bring in the bloody oboe'.

[Latvian]

Quite a story! Another previously-unheard-of unsung composer to add to my wish list for hearing...