British Music

[albion]

Thanks for that Alan - even if the archive is far from comprehensive, the provision of these recordings perhaps acts as a riposte to anybody who still believes that Britain before (and even during) the twentieth century was a land without music.

Even given that Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Britten and (to a lesser extent) Walton are fairly widely acknowledged as at least 'significant', it never ceases to amaze that a great wealth of British music from Samuel Wesley and Cipriani Potter, through Sullivan, Stanford, Parry and Mackenzie, to the veritable explosion of composition throughout the twentieth century has not been made commercially available in professional recordings. I think that the BBC could and should take a much more active role in this - nobody would be happier than me to see legitimate releases of these performances on CD (in which case I would cheerfully delete the relevant items from BMB).

Whilst some of the works uploaded may not be to everybody's taste (including mine) I think it is important to look beyond personal preference - after all this forum is for the open minded classical music lover - and long may it continue!   

[albion]

The generosity of fellow-members never fails to amaze - thanks to our good friend out in Kansas jimmattt there are now several further fascinating recordings of twentieth-century repertoire added to Folders 6-8: piano concertos or concertante works with piano by Albert Coates (first movement), Gordon Jacob, Thomas Pitfield, Denis ApIvor, Stanley Bate, Ruth Gipps (first movement), Richard Hall, David Gow and Edward Cowie. There are also orchestral works by Fricker and John Veale.

The two Bate Concertos (numbers 2 and 3) feature the composer as soloist (Bate was clearly a highly talented pianist), whilst the Albert Coates Concerto excerpt is conducted by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's daughter Avril and the first movement of Ruth Gipps' Concerto is conducted by the composer herself.

After the usual preliminary research into these works and recordings I'm afraid that there are the usual lacunae of information - please could anybody supply missing composition, performance or broadcast dates to keep BMB as accurate as possible!

Many thanks for these, Jim 

[albion]

As late additions to Folder 6, some more extremely interesting recordings from jimmattt of music by Walter Thomas Gaze Cooper (1895-1981) - Piano Concerto No.3 (played by the alluringly-named Barbara Clamp), the final movement of Piano Concerto No.4 and the suite entitled My Grandchildren.

As Cooper is a rather obscure figure, some background information might be useful - http://www.kith.org/jimmosk/barnett.html

Cheers, Jim 

[jerfilm]

Question - Did Richard Hall compose more than one piano concerto.  I have a source that sez there's a Concerto in e from 1949 and another written in 1951. True or not?  Thanks

Jerry

[albion]

Jim has just sent another, complete recording of the same performance of Ruth Gipps' Piano Concerto. Unfortunately, this complete recording is afflicted with a persistent (but not omnipresent) digital 'click': I have split the complete mp3 track and uploaded a new file for movements 2 and 3 (movement 1 is therefore unaffected). Now the concerto can be heard (with a bit of forebearance) in it's totality - and a very attractive work it is! 

[albion]

More interesting music from jimmattt - the fourth symphony by Alan Bush (Folder 6), inspired by the paintings in the caves at Lascaux and two piano concertante works by his namesake Geoffrey (Folder 7).

The individual movement titles of the Alan Bush symphony are given in the extra information (click on Details at the top of the mediafire folder page) and this performance was the premiere conducted by Edward Downes in 1986.

The Geoffrey Bush Concertino No.1 is complete in two files (the second and third movements are elided), but the final movement of the Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings is, unfortunately, missing. If there is anybody who can supply this, please get in touch!

Thanks again, Jim. 

[albion]

I've just added another interesting piano concerto to Folder 7, the 1989 premiere performance of The Quest, a concerto in one movement by Patrick Piggott (1915-1990).

Piggott studied composition with Benjamin Dale and piano with Harold Craxton at the RAM and from 1965 to1969 he was head of music for the BBC in the Midlands region.

Many thanks to jimmattt for this latest addition! 

[albion]

Two exciting new additions to Folder 8, courtesy of dafrieze: Symphonies 2 (1964) and 3 (1979) by Arthur Butterworth (b.1923), thus complementing the excellent Dutton releases of numbers 1, 4 and 5 -

 

Cheers, Dave. 

[albion]

Another fascinating twentieth-century piano concerto has just been added to Folder 7 - one written in 1976 by Anthony Burgess (1917-1993), far better known as a novelist and playwright.



This is a recording of the world premiere given in 1999.

Thanks to dafrieze for yet more out-of-the-ordinary repertoire! 

[petershott@btinternet.com]

Hah! Someone (Jim possibly) was asking recently whether Burgess the composer was identical with Burgess the writer. Well, here you are - and it is well past April 1st!!

[albion]

Burgess was, in fact, quite prolific as a composer from the 1930s onwards - http://www.anthonyburgess.org/anthony-burgess-his-life-work/music/

and the 1976 Piano Concerto is far from negligible!   

[JimL]

Thanks!  It was indeed I!  And I'll get right on it!  Thank you my droogies!

[albion]

One thing I could never stand was to see a filthy dirty old drunky howling away at the filthy songs of his fathers and going blurp blurp in between as it might be a filthy old orchestra in his stinking rotten guts; I could never stand to see anyone like that, whatever his age might be, but more especially when he was real old like this one was - unless he's giving us Raff's Op.98.

[albion]

I've just added another British symphony to Folder 8 which I had completely forgotten that I had ( ) - John McCabe's Symphony No.3 (1978) in a great performance from 2005 conducted by Barry Wordsworth.   

[Richard Moss]

I'm absolutley astonished at the work and dedication by Albion (et al) in setting up these folders of otherwise lost British treasures and the whole endeavour is really appreciated.  Just a slightly selfish plea - is there any more pre WW 1 orchestral content available that can be donated/uploaded??

yours hopefully (!)

Richard