New Duttons on the way

[Gareth Vaughan]

Thanks very much, Eric. This is now distributed in the UK by The Music Sales Group. I know the guy in charge of their hire library so I'll try to get sight of the score.

[Dylan]

Initial (fairly hasty) reactions to some of the Dutton new releases.

Reizenstein & Bate ; to my surprise, find I prefer the Reizenstein, even if it is more than a little reminiscent of Rawsthorne ( though is that any bad thing?). The Bate is flashy, fluent and catchy, but to my mind slightly insubstantial...unlike the symphonies or the marvelous Viola Concerto, not sure he quite pulls the various influences together to form something that is greater than the sum of its parts...

Moeran & Ireland : can't yet get the measure of the Moeran at all; it just doesn't seem to hang together, with that tremendous sense of wild inevitability that characterizes the First Symphony. Oddly, the finale (which appears to be the most "speculative" of the four) strikes me as the most genuine sounding and the only one that seems to have real momentum; for all their energy the first two movements don't really seem to get anywhere symphonically...However, I'm very glad to hear the material, but compared to, say, the Elgar/Payne reconstruction this feels still very provisional...As for the orchestration of the Ireland pieces...I can't understand the apparent enthusiasm of the Ireland Trust for commissioning so many orchestrations. The whole point of Irelands piano music is that it articulates a single, isolated voice, one that's as solitary and aloof as, say, Mompou. I'd no more want to hear Mompou's Música Callada played by an orchestra than I would Strauss's tone poems played on the piano, and I fear the same goes for Ireland's Sarnia, which seems to me to lose all its wistful poetry in these arrangements...

Holbrooke & Bennett - weird! Had I heard the Holbrooke ballet score "blindfold" (as it were) I would never have identified its composer, certainly not as the author of Ulalume or The Raven. An interestingly different view of a figure who is much more varied in style than he's given credit for, and while I rather like those pieces of his that have a whiff or more of the Music Hall about them, in this case although Aucassin and Nicolette is pleasant enough, and very deftly scored, it seems rhythmically rather stodgy, and I can't say the basic melodic material strikes me as particularly memorable? Much prefer the Saxophone Concerto, especially it's slithery finale, but agree that what we really need are some of the still unrecorded big tone poems - and I would LOVE to hear a full recording of "The Bells", though I fear it's unlikely...

So, all in all, three very interesting, but I have to say slightly underwhelming discs. If that sounds ungrateful that's not the intention; perhaps it's just that with Dutton one's expectations are so high - and generally with very good reason - that anything less than revelatory seems a let-down. (And I'm sure there ARE plenty more revelations possible - Ruth Gipps, as someone said, William Wordsworth, more Richard Arnell, more Arthur Butterworth - the 2nd symphony is superb - there's still plenty more gold in them music mines waiting to be dug out...)

[vandermolen]

On the basis of one hearing I agree with Dylan's view of the reconstructed Moeran's 'Second Symphony' - it is great to have and all credit to Martin Yates - but it does sound at times like a pastiche and doesn't hang together like the Elgar/Payne reconstructed Third Symphony.  Still, my opinion may change and I liked the windswept sibelian opening;  elsewhere I was reminded of Douglas Lilburn's first two symphonies and film music - but this is just a first impression, which may well change with greater familiarity.

[Dundonnell]

I'm not promising anything, but it might be worth bearing in mind that Stanley Bate wrote a harpsichord concerto and Robert Milford a Concertino.

Of course

Richard Arnell also wrote a Harpsichord concerto but Dutton have not (yet ) recorded it.

[albion]

The Bate is flashy, fluent and catchy, but to my mind slightly insubstantial...unlike the symphonies or the marvelous Viola Concerto, not sure he quite pulls the various influences together to form something that is greater than the sum of its parts...

can't yet get the measure of the Moeran at all; it just doesn't seem to hang together [...] compared to, say, the Elgar/Payne reconstruction this feels still very provisional

three very interesting, but I have to say slightly underwhelming discs. If that sounds ungrateful that's not the intention; perhaps it's just that with Dutton one's expectations are so high - and generally with very good reason - that anything less than revelatory seems a let-down. (And I'm sure there ARE plenty more revelations possible - Ruth Gipps, as someone said, William Wordsworth, more Richard Arnell, more Arthur Butterworth - the 2nd symphony is superb - there's still plenty more gold in them music mines waiting to be dug out...)

I agree with Dylan's view of the reconstructed Moeran's 'Second Symphony' - it is great to have and all credit to Martin Yates - but it does sound at times like a pastiche and doesn't hang together like the Elgar/Payne reconstructed Third Symphony.

Certainly the Bate hasn't got the emotional heft of his symphonies, but I think that he was aiming at (and succeeded in achieving) something quite different - an entertaining and easily assimilated virtuoso work that suited his own style of playing. Perhaps 'brittle' (in the manner of Poulenc) would be a better description.



Given what Martin Yates had to work with (http://www.music.ucc.ie/jsmi/index.php/jsmi/article/view/81/89) I think that it's nothing short of a miracle that anything even vaguely coherent has resulted. Amongst OED noun definitions of 'pastiche' are -

A musical composition incorporating different styles; a medley.

A work, esp. of literature, created in the style of someone or something else; a work that humorously exaggerates or parodies a particular style.

I don't think that the former applies in this case (Yates has clearly striven throughout the process to create something approximating to Moeran's very individual sound-world), but the latter certainly does minus the humorous exaggeration and parody. A realisation from sketches really couldn't be anything other than pastiche.



I would vote for Ruth Gipps and Wordsworth, certainly - and would add Arnold Cooke into the mix as well.

[Christopher]

Does anyone know when they are planning to release the Catoire piano concerto?  I know he's not British, but am still looking forward to it.

Somebody? Anybody?

[giles.enders]

Early next year.

[TerraEpon]

So is there any good place with sound samples of Dutton discs? They are never on Amazon (US or UK) or their home page -- I have at least three Dutton discs on my potential wishlist but when there's no place to sample them....

[britishcomposer]

Check jpc! Here's Moeran for example:
http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Ernest-Moeran-Moeran-ireland-Sketches-For-S/hnum/1479507

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Check jpc! Here's Moeran for example:
http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Ernest-Moeran-Moeran-ireland-Sketches-For-S/hnum/1479507

Listened to the samples - wonderful!

[Dundonnell]

Much enjoyed the Moeran/Yates Symphony

It is good to hear what Martin Yates has managed to do. How near to Moeran's intentions/plans/hopes it is is, of course, a matter of some conjecture and debate but listened to simply for enjoyment and pleasure(which is presumably the principal purpose of listening to any music ) I was taken by the piece and, particularly, by the last movement.

The Ireland is extremely attractive as well. I confess to not knowing the original piano piece so I am not overly concerned about the orchestrated version by Yates.

What a fine conductor Martin Yates is proving; first with Arnell and now so many new works Perhaps it is he we should be lobbying on behalf of our favourite composers

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

What a fine conductor Martin Yates is proving; first with Arnell and now so many new works Perhaps it is he we should be lobbying on behalf of our favourite composers

Martin Yates is doing a wonderful job, I agree. The advocates of British music aren't all (nearly) dead after all...

[Gareth Vaughan]

Richard Arnell also wrote a Harpsichord concerto but Dutton have not (yet ) recorded it.

Nor will they, I fear. I have enquired about this piece because Cameo were interested in doing it and I give below the response I had from Patrick Jonathan at the Richard Arnell website http://www.richardarnell.com/:

Hi Gareth,

Thanks for your enquiry. What is frustrating is that you are the 
second person in the last couple of years to have enquired about this 
piece, but it appears to be one of the pieces that at this moment in 
time is classed as 'lost'.

Arnell had no copy in his personal archive at the time of his death, 
and so far no searches have turned up any materials in any libraries 
or archives. I will keep your enquiry on record and should we have any 
luck in locating any materials at any time I will let you know.

Best regards,
Patrick Jonathan

[Dundonnell]

Thanks for passing this sad piece of information on to us, Gareth.

What a shame that is

[eschiss1]

Andrew Mayes claimed to have been able to inspect a photocopy of the Arnell concerto as recently as 2003 (maybe this was a reduction, not a full score, though to my mind, even a reduction would be better than nothing- for fans, admittedly...) But too, these things get lost in as little as 8 years (or more since I don't think he writes when he inspected it. source. he also mentions a broadcast recording.)