British Music

[Lionel Harrsion]

The vocal scores of the Choral Ballads, Op.54 were published by Breitkopf & Hartel initially as two volumes (1-3 and 4-5), but the orchestral parts were always in manuscript. Unfortunately, like so many works issued like this, perhaps two or three sets were copied at the most - two world wars, careless publishers and general indifference have wreaked their havoc!

I think that (even in the muted piano version) these constitute one of Coleridge-Taylor's most attractive creations (alongside A Tale of Old Japan, the Symphonic Variations on an African Air, the Incidental music to Nero and Scenes from an Everyday Romance).

PS. The Parry Quintet is quite a stunner! The A flat Piano Quartet (on Meridian, perhaps deleted now) is certainly at the same level of excellence. 

I know I am getting more than slightly off the point but I had to confirm my wholehearted agreement with your opinions, especially in regard to the Symphonic Variations (the most beautiful set of variations of the whole romantic era, IMHO, constructed with utmost subtlety) and A Tale of Old Japan, which I think is Coleridge-Taylor's finest achievement, the Hiawatha trilogy notwithstanding (although I cannot help blubbing every time I hear Onaway! Awake, Beloved!)

[albion]

BMB advances further into the hinterland of British repertoire with music from the twentieth century: orchestral and vocal works from the four countries - England (Elizabeth Maconchy, Gordon Jacob, Norman Hay, Alan Bush, Peter Racine Fricker and John McCabe), Ireland (John Kinsella), Wales (Grace Williams, Daniel Jones and Alun Hoddinott) and Scotland (Thomas Wilson and Iain Hamilton).

Many thanks to Dylan for providing the recordings.

Despite the usual researches, I'm struggling to complete the broadcast details for several of these quite recent performances - any filling-in of the gaps would be greatly appreciated! 

[dafrieze]

Many, many, many thanks to Dylan (and Albion) for the latest tranche of downloads! 

[Dylan]

Sadly, there's not a great deal more to come from my vaults; because over the years I've managed to lose a whole load of (not always very good) tapes from the 80's or thereabouts. I only hope others can fill some of  the gaps; in particular I'd be very interested in hearing again lost recordings of music by Wilfred Josephs (esp his 5th symphony - "Summer?" - which was broadcast a number of times) and Derek Bourgeois (once had several of his on tape); aswell as premieres of Arthur Butterworth - also fairly regularly  broadcast in the 70's and 80's - plus William Wordsworth and the other much derided "Cheltenham" symphonists. How about the first broadcast of Parry's Piano Concerto - which I recall as being good deal fierier than the subsequent recording? And I wonder if anyone taped the Ian Hamilton operas when they were performed; "Royal Hunt of the Sun" was particularly striking. (Though "Anna Karenina" was a bit of a drag. As for why - as an admirer of both Benjamin Frankel and John Whiting - I didn't record "Marching Song" when it was broadcast, I simply can't imagine. Just simple stupidity, I suppose?)  Anyone else out there got (like me) an old box of tapes under the bed...?

[dafrieze]

As it happens, I have a number of broadcast performances of Wordsworth symphonies, as well as his concertos for cello and for violin.  I'm uploading them now and will send them to Albion for posting.

[albion]

The broadcasts of music by William Wordsworth (1908-1988)



are now in BMB Folder 7. To complement Symphonies 2 and 3 (available on Lyrita), the archive now contains numbers 1, 4, 5, 7 and 8 together with the concertos for violin and cello. I've also taken the opportunity to move the two performances of the 1946 Piano Concerto into Folder 6.

Again, if anybody can help to fill in some of the missing artist and broadcast details, please don't hesitate!

Many thanks, dafrieze.   

[albion]

The files in each folder are now arranged alphabetically by composer surname, which should hopefully make locating specific items more straightforward. In the next few days I will move together works by the same composer that are at present spread across multiple folders.

As always, if anybody spots glaring errors or inconsistencies, or can augment the broadcast information, please feel free to alert me to these! 

[albion]

Another broadcast has been added to the Parry section in Folder 3 - the first modern performance of the Piano Concerto in F sharp, broadcast in 1995 (the centenary year of the revised version). Conductor Charles Peebles gets things going immediately and maintains noticeably more momentum throughout the piece than does Martyn Brabbins on the subsequent Hyperion recording.

Many thanks to hammyplay for this latest addition to the archive. 

[albion]

In amongst the most recent additions to BMB, I've been especially struck by the works of Norman Hay, Gordon Jacob, Grace Williams and William Wordsworth. Hay was a composer completely new to me and listening to The Wind Among the Reeds makes me wonder why I've not come across his music before. Jacob's Chaconne is based on the Saraband of the Sons of God from Vaughan Williams' ballet Job and is a moving and beautiful piece in it's own right, commissioned by the BBC to celebrate the older composer's 70th birthday in 1942.

Grace Williams' first symphony (1943), based on the Glendower scene in Henry IV, Part 1, is a very strong piece indeed and the fact that it was later suppressed by the composer is extremely puzzling. The characteristic glitter of the orchestration and immediately appealing melodies ensure that it is a work which should be heard more often.

With the opportunity now to hear so many of Wordsworth's symphonies and concertos it is evident (IMHO) that here is yet another substantial figure who has largely been air-brushed out of modern musical consciousness. Never unapproachable, Wordsworth nonetheless shows in the 7th and 8th symphonies that his style was very far from being atrophied. Together with the the Lyrita disc of numbers 2 and 3 it is now possible to hear seven out of the eight - I don't think that the 6th has ever been recorded for broadcast, but if anybody has other information, please let me know!   

[Dylan]

Thanks to Dafrieze and Hammyplay for the latest contributions; I knew it wasn't just my imagination, and that the Hyperion recording of Parry's Piano Concerto seemed rather rhythmically lacklustre by comparison. (An occasional problem with the otherwise estimable Martyn Brabbins; though his recent Havergal Brian disc for Epoch is a cracker!) And Wordsworth is, I think, a very considerable figure who has fallen between a number of stools:I tried suggesting him when Dutton found they were "running out" of worthwhile British composers - but (seemingly) to no avail. Now, I wonder if anyone out there has any recordings of the very few broadcasts of Van Dieren ; or of Denis ApIvor - not a note of whose music I've ever managed to hear..?

[eschiss1]

Cadensa also says there's a Boult recording of Wordsworth 5- intriguing!  Also, re symphony 7, musicweb says that Scottish National Orchestral conducted by Sir Alexander Gibson premiered it on 26 September 1981, with a BBC TV program soon after, that I'm ''guessing'' had the same or a similar performance, but I don't know unfortunately. Of symphony no.8 the same article gives the premiere date as 28 October 1986, BBC Scottish, Jerzy Maksymiuk, in Stirling. I have no idea though if this is the broadcast performance, despite the involvement of a BBC orchestra. OTOH, one could check photostats of the Times for dates around then perhaps (I used to do such things. They weren't always informative either- any more than radio listings for any other station anywhere- and more recently, after laws meant to prevent pre-taping for copyright reasons, erm.- never mind, never mind.)

[JimL]

Being totally unfamiliar with the Parry PC until I purchased the Hyperion CD (when it was pretty new, almost what, like 15 - 16 years ago?!) the piece holds up pretty well even in a relatively lackluster performance, IMHO!  I always kind of preferred its companion on the CD, the Stanford PC 1.  It was my introduction to Stanford.

[eschiss1]

I think Cadensa lists all of 71 tapes in their archive having to do with "ApIvor". there may be some hope. I gather he did a lot of arranging, but ...

[albion]

It would be good to fill in the other 'missing' Daniel Jones symphonies (those that aren't already available from Lyrita) -

 

I've found the broadcast dates for the others (including number 2 which I've now amended in the listing), all BBC Welsh SO under Bryden Thomson:

No.1 (br. 12/1/1990)
No.3 (br. 6/2/1991)
No.5 (br. 9/2/1990)
No.10 (br. 6/1/1993)
No.11 (br. 3/2/1993)
No.12 (br. 3/1993)

Unfortunately the 13th (1992) came too late for Thomson to set down in the studio, but a performance from the Swansea Festival (under Richard Hickox) was broadcast on 7/12/1992.

If anybody has copies of these and would be willing to share them, please don't be shy! 

[Alan Howe]

Thanks for all the hard work that has been put into this now substantial recorded archive!