British Music

[Pengelli]

I see,your point too,Albion. Chandos have released a very good cd of Scotts chamber music since,so maybe there will be some more. Also,remember that they did a cd of music by Leighton some years ago. Recently,their interest in that composer seems to have been renewed,so perhaps they just meant that series as opposed to 'never again'! (Your excerpts from 'The Alchemist' really 'got me going',I think!
  As to the Chandos Bax series. While I recognise the sterling work they have done for this composer,a point does come when enough is enough. Wasn't it Bax himself who said, (I can't remember the precise quote) he would like to retire,(from music),like a grocer! At any rate it is a well known fact that he was fed up with composer & was finding it increasingly difficult to compose.
On the same note,how many more bits & pieces are they going to orchestrate and stitch together by Elgar?
As to Bryden Thomson's interpretations,I personally like the way he seems to savour Bax's orchestration,luxuriating in the heady,often sumptuous textures;which is what allot of people would say is exactly the wrong thing to do,but in my opinion is what allot of Bax's output is all about. I particularly like his approach in No's 3,4,5 & 7. It's a great pity he died before his time. I remember he was very keen on the sadly neglected Welsh composer Daniel Jones and I was rather hoping he might get round to recording a complete cycle of his symphonies,(on cd/Lp). Sadly,this was not to happen.

[Pengelli]

This could turn into an 'unsung conductors thread'!

[Gareth Vaughan]

Sorry to be cynical here, but I suspect record companies carry on scraping the barrel with composers like Bax and Elgar because there is a market for more music by these names, irrespective of whether the music does them justice. I imagine they feel it's easier to sell a reconstructed PC by Elgar than a symphony by Daniel Jones or Stanley Wilson - and perhaps they're right! We do not have access to their sales figures, so cannot provide an informed comment.

[albion]

Dylan has very kindly sent us a broadcast recording of Eric Fogg's choral cantata The Seasons. Premiered at the same Leeds Festival (1931) that saw the first performance of Belshazzar's Feast, Fogg's work was inevitably "weighed in the balance and found wanting".

The Seasons is, however, an attractive work in it's own right and was re-orchestrated in 2005 by David Ellis - the full score has long since gone missing along with much of Fogg's orchestral output. I've included a copy of the text by William Blake along with the audio files in Folder 11. 

[jerfilm]

Thanks, Dylan..   I love the Foulds Concerto and can see why the Fogg cantata was "found wanting" in 1931.  Not nearly "modern" enough, I'm sure.  But I like it......

[Pengelli]

Stanley Wilson! Another intriguing,tantalising neglected composer who we might just get to hear a bit of on cd,one day,if we're luck! Along with Gaze Cooper,Daniel Jones,Eric Fogg,Patric Standford,Peter Racine Fricker, Bernard Van Dieren,Derek Bourgeois and David Wynne;all composers,who,so far,even in this age of revivals of the lost & forgotten,the cd companies have so far shown little or zero interest in pursuing. Patric Standford is still with us of course. Some of the scores will be hard if not impossible to track down,but with a bit luck I'm going to live long enough to hear some of,(or more of), these composers on cd!
Thanks to Dylan & a little help from the indefatigable Albion we get to hear some Eric Fogg,although there is a little of his output available on the Dutton & ASV White Line label. But not much.
I was just looking at the list of compositions by Eric Fogg and the  unusual circumstances of his very untimely and tragic death.

[Pengelli]

Right,I think I'll bung on some 'unsung' Bryden Thomson,following my pro Thomson Bax rant. Bax's Seventh should be ideal,(although Thomson's Fourt is supposed to be his best).
  Listened to a bit of Stanford's 'The Travelling Companion' last night. This is really good stuff! The bit I listened to was very tuneful,almost like operetta,and there I was expecting some dry old Victorian dirge! (Mind you,some of those song with orchestra seem to compete with Arthur Sullivan.at times,for lusty tunefulness).  But being brought up on books of folk tales, (or fairy tales),and Hans Christian Anderson,and that sort of thing,I have always been very intrigued by this one.
  Point three! Listening to a pile of Albert Lortzing opera's the other day,I was suprised to find a lavish website entirely devoted to this glorious composer. This is,of course, VERY off topic! But sites as good as that really DO help to promote interest in a composer.

[jimmattt]

The week of Feb 13 appears might have some things for those of us following this thread on BBC: Afternoon on 3 starts on Monday the 14th with pieces by Harrison, Foulds and Bainton played by BBC Concert Orcestra on tour, hopefully the rest of the week will have other interesting things. Bravo BBC, at least in this instance.

[albion]

The week of Feb 13 appears might have some things for those of us following this thread on BBC: Afternoon on 3 starts on Monday the 14th with pieces by Harrison, Foulds and Bainton played by BBC Concert Orcestra on tour, hopefully the rest of the week will have other interesting things. Bravo BBC, at least in this instance.

It is excellent that these pieces are being given a broadcast airing - the actual tour-programme items are:

Mozart: Overture to The Marriage of Figaro
Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream: Scherzo, Nocturne, Wedding March
Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto no. 1 in G minor, Op. 25
Vaughan Williams: Symphony no. 5
Ilya Yakushev (piano)
BBC Concert Orchestra
Keith Lockhart (conductor)

The Harrison, Foulds and Bainton works are all taken from Dutton Epoch discs.

The December 1988 broadcast of Sullivan's Festival Te Deum (1872) and a couple more of the Paxton Bantock recordings have now been added to the BMB archive. 

[jimmattt]

Sorry, just saw the heading and didn't look closer. My bad.

[Mark Thomas]

Albion: more humble thanks are due for the very enjoyable Sullivan addition. Just picture Uriah Heap - 'ever so 'umble.

[albion]

As a staunch member of the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society I am 'The Slave of Duty'. 

[Pengelli]

Just out of interest,are the Paxton recordings taken from the records or from some other medium,such as tape! The originals must be very rare now.
As to the Bax Thomson 7. Unfortunately, the Lortzing marathon continued with a 2cd s/h copy of the emi 'Der Waffenschmied' in the morning post,in pristine condition,sold to me by a monk! (I wonder if they auction on ebay?!!)
As to this online archive. I wonder what treasures are going to pop up next. I will have to look through my collection. Although,if I have anything it's not going to be hifi! There were no dolby state of the art systems here,I'm afraid!

[albion]

Just out of interest,are the Paxton recordings taken from the records or from some other medium,such as tape! The originals must be very rare now.

The Paxton recordings are from various historical-recording blogs and websites which have appeared over the last few years. Macbeth and the Four Chinese Landscapes were also available on a Dutton disc (2000) but that has been deleted for several years and the Bantock Society which sponsored it was unfortunately wound up in 2004.

I will have to look through my collection. Although,if I have anything it's not going to be hifi! There were no dolby state of the art systems here,I'm afraid!

Please do! If you have any performances of similar repertoire which you think might be of interest (within the broad limits of 1860-1940) drop me a line - if the recording is serviceable and is otherwise unavailable I can transfer from cassette tapes if necessary. 

[albion]

McEwen's Viola Concerto (1901) was performed complete at the Glasgow City Halls on 10th June 2007. The complete (unbroadcast) BBC recording of this performance is available from the Scottish Music Centre - if you send them an email (info@scottishmusiccentre.com) they will produce a CD for £13.50 (including postage and packing) -  Alasdair Pettinger at the SMC is very helpful.

Here are the details that you will need:

catalogue number 35372
J.B. McEwen - Viola Concerto
Scott Dickinson
BBC Scottish SO/ Stefan Solyom

as the BBC supplied the original mp3 any copy provided by the SMC is to be used for research and private listening only.