British Music

[jerfilm]

If it's Bert, he's in the wrong thread.   Bertram wrote a poem for cello and orchestra, if that's any help.......DUH....

Jerry

[eschiss1]

people who settled in England for long periods of time are allowed in this category also, as I recall, and so I gather he'd qualify. Shapleigh seems to have written a number of works for cello, as to that- a sonata, a rhapsodie that still gets performed I notice, and the poem you mention, maybe others...

[albion]

Just when you thought it was safe ...

... another excellent addition from Dundonnell -

Joseph Holbrooke (1878-1958) - Byron, Op.39 (1904)

Thanks very much, Colin - great to have a beautifully-paced alternative to the tentative and rather lacklustre Marco Polo reading!

[albion]

Established members will recall the saga of myself and Gareth Vaughan attending upon De Wolfe's London offices earlier in the year in order to ascertain the survival (or non-survival as it unfortunately turned out) of their one-time extensive holdings of York Bowen's unique unpublished autographs, including Symphony No.3, Op.137 (1951).

This work is almost certainly, to all intents and purposes, now lost - and so it is with the greatest pleasure and gratitude that I can report that another vintage broadcast recording (1954) of the score (this time conducted by Ian Whyte) has been provided, in answer to a direct request, by shamokin88 and will very shortly be available. The recorded sound is, if anything, even more detailed than that of the Tausky peformance already in the archive, which is fantastic news should any reconstruction be seriously considered in the future.

Many thanks, Edward.

[Dundonnell]

Great news for lovers of York Bowen's music

I don't happen to be one of those myself but that is of absolutely no account I applaud the rediscovery/re-emergence of good music whether it happens to appeal to me or not.

I hope within the next few days to be able to transfer five more British works-admittedly of a more modern cast- from LP to upload. These will be Humphrey Searle's Symphony No.1 in the quite amazing performance by the LPO under Boult, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett's Symphony No.1, Robert Still's Elegie for baritone, chorus and orchestra, and the Elegy for Viola and small orchestra and the Chamber Cantata "Three Fragments from 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'" by Matyas Seiber.

[albion]

Established members will recall the saga of myself and Gareth Vaughan attending upon De Wolfe's London offices earlier in the year in order to ascertain the survival (or non-survival as it unfortunately turned out) of their one-time extensive holdings of York Bowen's unique unpublished autographs, including Symphony No.3, Op.137 (1951).

This work is almost certainly, to all intents and purposes, now lost - and so it is with the greatest pleasure and gratitude that I can report that another vintage broadcast recording (1954) of the score (this time conducted by Ian Whyte) has been provided, in answer to a direct request, by shamokin88 and will very shortly be available. The recorded sound is, if anything, even more detailed than that of the Tausky peformance already in the archive, which is fantastic news should any reconstruction be seriously considered in the future.

Many thanks, Edward.

Edward's original m4a is now on the Downloads board and I have put mp3 conversions into the archive.

[Mark Thomas]

It's really wonderful to have this recording and so grateful thanks in spades are due to Edward and John.

[Lionel Harrsion]

It's really wonderful to have this recording and so grateful thanks in spades are due to Edward and John.

Yes it is and yes they are!  Is anyone in contact with the York Bowen estate? After the success of Andrew Davis's recordings on Chandos of the surviving 1st & 2nd Symphonies, wouldn't they be interested in commissioning some sharp-eared young turk (with perfect pitch and plenty of time) to recreate the score from this BBC recording, which is surprisingly clear for its age?

[albion]

Is anyone in contact with the York Bowen estate? After the success of Andrew Davis's recordings on Chandos of the surviving 1st & 2nd Symphonies, wouldn't they be interested in commissioning some sharp-eared young turk (with perfect pitch and plenty of time) to recreate the score from this BBC recording, which is surprisingly clear for its age?

Symphony No.3 is in E minor (thus, perhaps surprisingly, repeating the tonality of Symphony No.2), concluding in G major: both the Tausky and the Whyte recordings are slightly under modern concert pitch possibly due to speed-variation in the original tape transfers.

Apparently, what passes for York Bowen's Estate couldn't really care less about his music - it looks as though it is up to one of the interested record companies to take a risk and commission a reconstruction. Chandos were interested in the Symphony until it was found that there was no performing material, but Dutton might still possibly seek to add the work to their catalogue (there are more than enough surviving un-recorded orchestral works to fill out a complete disc).

There is at least one other extant broadcast: Charles Groves conducting the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (13th December 1958). I have not heard this - copies are held by the National Sound Archive and the RAM (currently in the custody of Ms Glen Ballard of the York Bowen Society).

[JimL]

I think somebody (Charles Mackerras?) did something like that for Sullivan's Cello Concerto.  That aside, with some apparently different performances of the work in the 1950s, don't you think that one of the performing bodies would at least have kept copies of the parts in an archive somewhere?

[albion]

I think somebody (Charles Mackerras?) did something like that for Sullivan's Cello Concerto.

Mackerras was confronted with a slightly different challenge - he had the benefit of his memory (having conducted the work in 1953) and a real understanding of Sullivan's idiom, plus two separate solo cello scores, but no recordings to work from.

don't you think that one of the performing bodies would at least have kept copies of the parts in an archive somewhere?

No, the composer's holograph full score and parts (there is no evidence of there ever having been a supplementary set prepared by a copyist) were the property of De Wolfe and were hired out as and when required and then returned to them.

[JimL]

And what happened again?  The basement where they were kept was flooded, or something?  What about the plates?

[albion]

What about the plates?

There were no plates - it was never printed.

[Dundonnell]

Is anyone in contact with the York Bowen estate? After the success of Andrew Davis's recordings on Chandos of the surviving 1st & 2nd Symphonies, wouldn't they be interested in commissioning some sharp-eared young turk (with perfect pitch and plenty of time) to recreate the score from this BBC recording, which is surprisingly clear for its age?

Symphony No.3 is in E minor (thus, perhaps surprisingly, repeating the tonality of Symphony No.2), concluding in G major: both the Tausky and the Whyte recordings are slightly under modern concert pitch possibly due to speed-variation in the original tape transfers.

Apparently, what passes for York Bowen's Estate couldn't really care less about his music - it looks as though it is up to one of the interested record companies to take a risk and commission a reconstruction. Chandos were interested in the Symphony until it was found that there was no performing material, but Dutton might still possibly seek to add the work to their catalogue (there are more than enough surviving un-recorded orchestral works to fill out a complete disc).

There is at least one other extant broadcast: Charles Groves conducting the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (13th December 1958). I have not heard this - copies are held by the National Sound Archive and the RAM (currently in the custody of Ms Glen Ballard of the York Bowen Society).

Talking only last week to a friend of mine who used to be Head of Music for BBC Scotland and MD of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, he made the point with some force that companies like Chandos, Hyperion, Dutton etc get sackfuls of requests for new repertoire to record on a weekly basis.  What is required-and I know that others on here have had the same experience-is how to actually convince the company that the works are worth performing.

At least two things help with this: an existing taped (probably radio) recording which actually allows the company to hear what the work sounds like and a conductor willing to learn the piece.

Getting an orchestra to do it is not the problem: an orchestra will play virtually anything if it is paid to do so or is under contract to make recordings and ochestral musicians these days are so extremely competent that they can sight-read their way through a score without too much trouble.

The people who really need to be convinced are the appropriate conductors. Get them on side and one is at least part of the way forward..........

...that is until the final question arises: finance Can one get sponsorship from a musical trust, from a commercial company/bank? If all these can be made it fit into place

[albion]

New additions from Holger -

William Mathias (1934-1992) - Litanies, Concertante Music for Orchestra, Op.37 (1967); Dance Variations for Orchestra Op.72 (1976); Melos for Flute, Harp, String Orchestra and Percussion, Op.73 (1976)

Many thanks.