Humphrey Searle(1915-1982)

[Dundonnell]

As I asserted in my recent post on 'English Contemporary Composers in 1961' Humphrey Searle is one of the forgotten generation of British composers.

Together with Elizabeth Lutyens, he was one of the very first British composers to adopt the serial techniques of the Second Viennese School.  Unlike Lutyens however, Searle continued to compose in the traditional forms of both the symphony and the concerto. Moreover, Searle always insisted that at heart he was a 'romantic composer'. He became a leading authority on the music of Liszt and was largely responsible for a re-evaluation of the music, particularly the later music, of that great 19th century composer.

Although Searle studied briefly with the 'conservative' composer/teachers Gordon Jacob and John Ireland, it was the impact of hearing Alban Berg's "Wozzeck"
(premiered, remember, in Britain by Sir Adrian Boult ) and the five months he spent studying with Webern that had a much greater impact on his future compositional idiom and technique.

Searle composed five symphonies between 1952 and 1964, two piano concertos(1944 and 1955), three operas(one of which "The Diary of a Madman" is Searle's only current representation in the British Music collection on this site), various other orchestral and chamber works and a series of compositions for speakers, chorus and orchestra.

During the 1950s and early 1960s Searle may well have been regarded as at the forefront of the avant-garde of British music but by the 60s others were catching him up and indeed going much much further in terms of musical experimentation. Indeed, by the 1970s Searle's music was already beginning to disappear. The BBC-for reasons I cannot discover-no longer sponsored or broadcast performances. (I know from my own collection of taped music just how much Fricker was broadcast in the 70s, yet virtually no orchestral Searle.)

I first heard any Searle on the Decca LP released in 1960 which had on it a performance of Searle's 1st Symphony(1952-53) with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Boult. Although Boult may not have had much sympathy with the music, the performance of a work of quite shattering power and violence is  superb.
In 1975 Lyrita re-issued the Boult recording on LP coupled with a performance of Searle's Symphony No.2(1956-58) given by the London Philharmonic under the late (and greatly under-estimated) Josef Krips. The Krips/2nd made it onto a Lyrita cd in 2009, coupled with Robert Still's Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4, but the Boult/1st remains locked away somewhere-which is a really appalling disgrace

In the mid 1990s CPO-to its eternal credit-recorded all five Searle symphonies with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Alun Francis. These are fine performances but do not replace Boult or Krips in my estimation.

Now, there are those who regard serialism with utter distaste or indeed genuine abhorrence. I make no secret of the fact that I prefer tonality to atonality and have decidedly jaundiced views of the Schoenbergian revolution. I am a great lover of the romantic ardour of the symphonies of Richard Arnell and of Stanley Bate I have read Searle's symphonies described as 'ugly'.

At the same time however I can accept and embrace the proposition that it is possible for a 'serial symphony' to contain both power and beauty. Benjamin Frankel's symphonies are "less serial" than Searle's( ) and I admire them greatly.

There is no doubting that Searle's Symphonies Nos. 3, 4 and 5 are difficult to appreciate fully(as, of course, are the later symphonies of Egon Wellesz, who claimed to have turned his back on dodecaphony ). But I really defy anyone to deny that the Lento, solenne finale of Searle's Second Symphony does not contain passages of soaring, romantic beauty. And yes, of course, there is plenty of 'power and violence' of shattering impact in the First and Second Symphonies but of almost Brucknerian grandeur.

If I had to compare Searle with a younger symphonist the composer I would instance would probably be Alun Hoddinott, whose music exhibits the same 'darkness' in idiom, often the same degree of difficulty for the listener. Hoddinott had however the great advantage of a teaching 'power-base' in Wales and in the BBC in Cardiff and the many Welsh Music Festivals organizations willing to support him and perform his music.

I know that there are at least a few members here who do respect Searle's music. I cannot say that I do often return to the later symphonies but Nos. 1 and 2, to my mind, are masterpieces and towering achievements in the British music canon of the 1950s which should not be ignored or neglected.

Nor should Searle's other music. It deserves to be heard again so that the older amongst us( ) and the younger generations of music-lovers who will probably be totally unfamiliar with his name, let alone his music, can be given the opportunity for a re-evaluation.

[petershott@btinternet.com]

Damn, I think I'm going to find it hard to sleep tonight for the brain is agitating itself with thoughts of Searle!

In particular, I wonder if a recording exists of his (third?) opera, Hamlet? There was a short series of performances at the ROH in 1969 (I remember the date for that was my graduation year). Covent Garden has released a number of 'historic' recordings (such as the Goodall Parsifal of 1971), but these seem to have come to a standstill (the recession?)

A fine post by Dundonnell, and I hope it leads to a renewal of interest in Searle.

Maybe what has blighted Searle is that everyone 'knows' that for a brief time he studied with Webern. Without listening to the music (partly for want of opportunity) folk then jump to the conclusion that, 'oh the music must be 'technical', far too cerebral, dry as dust, can't be hummed in the bath or whatever'.

But that really is rot. As Dundonnell reminds us, Searle insisted that he was a romantic composer, and unlike many others of the same generation he continued to work within largely traditional forms. There isn't at all anything 'difficult' or inaccessible about the five symphonies, and I'm not sure on what grounds Dundonnell qualifies his account by hinting that the last three might be tough nuts to crack. They are surely no more so than many other 20th century symphonies celebrated in these (electronic) pages. Remember also that Searle wrote much incidental music for radio and film. Not my thing, but whenever I've come across the name 'Searle' in the film credits I've nearly always thought, 'Ah, yes the score fits or illustrates the scene / film very well' (the ears don't recoil in horror at outrageous or ugly sounds). In other words Searle can write well and convincingly for the 'ordinary' music lover (ugh, hate that phrase!) and his music is effective in expressing and communicating emotion.

Another point to confirm the general claim: I recall from what I heard but once many many years ago that Searle's Hamlet is no more no-go land for opera-phobes than many other 20th century Shakespeare operas such as Britten's Midsummer Night's Dream, Martin's Der Sturm, or even (and I confess I loved it) Ades' The Tempest. And a heck of a lot more approachable that ones by, for example, Birtwistle. But I run far away from Searle.

Thanks (again) to Dundonnell for reminding us of something I believe important.

[Dundonnell]

My observations on Symphonies Nos. 3-5 are only based on my own, purely subjective, response, ie they are somewhat harder for me to appreciate as fully or as well as Nos. 1 and 2.

The first two symphonies evoke a visceral pleasure to my ears, they make me sit up or stand up in excitement, awe, delight in response to the granitic power, the savage grandeur of the writing, for example, for the brass.  The wonderful opening of the Lento second movement of the 2nd Symphony, where the violins sing out a beautiful melody, accompanied by first growling and then thunderous brass chords rising to a climax of grim, baleful fury and power, followed by a passage of Bartokian night music(reminding me of some of the writing in 'Bluebeard's Castle'). Or the glorious melody of the beautiful second part of the finale.
Although Searle had sketched most of the symphony before the death of his first wife and did not view it as an elegy it is hard not to believe that her grave illness did not influence the music in some way.

I can appreciate the intellectual clarity of the last three symphonies and they are fine works which I would in no way wish to discourage people from hearing, quite the reverse in fact, but they are not necessarily where I would advise them to begin with Searle. If I was seeking (am indeed seeking ) to get others to 'give him a go' and if I knew or suspected that they were hesitant or doubtful about a 'serial symphony' then it would be the Second Symphony, with its tonal associations based on D as the key centre, I would introduce to them initially.

[Dundonnell]

From the list he supplied earlier I recall that Latvian also has a recording of Searle's Labyrinth, a work which evolved from a projected sixth symphony.

Hopefully Latvian can also upload this for us

[mbhaub]

My first encounter with Searle was the deeply moving and evocative score for the film The Haunting. I loved that soundtrack, but the rest of his output was unknown to me -- I was unaware of the Boult or Krips recordings. When CPO came out with the symphonies I knew I had to try it. Those recordings are frequently heard in my house. Searle's symphonies are tough, to be sure, but the rewards are tremendous. I can't get into Robert Simpson's symphonies at all, but Searle knows how to use serialism to make an emotional connection to the listener. I doubt that I will ever hear one played live, and the prospect of a "better" recorded cycle seems dim, and I am very grateful to CPO for what we have. Now I'll have to look into the Krips and Boult...

[Dundonnell]

Please do hunt down the Krips Second It is a stunningly good performance.

The Boult First I shall make available on here......once I have learned how to digitise from LP

[thalbergmad]

My first encounter with Searle was the deeply moving and evocative score for the film The Haunting.

I was not aware that he composed the soundtrack to that film. Surely one of the scariest films ever.

I refuse to watch it on my own.

Thal

[Dundonnell]

Some interesting information on Searle-

http://www.musicweb-international.com/searle/index.htm

This includes Francis Routh's extended essay on Searle and the composer's own memoirs, the fascinatingly entitled "Quadrille with a Raven"

[thalbergmad]

If memory serves, Unsung member Alistair Hinton studied with Searle, so perhaps he will have some personal snippets.

Thal

[Dundonnell]

If memory serves, Unsung member Alistair Hinton studied with Searle, so perhaps he will have some personal snippets.

Thal

Indeed

[Ser Amantio di Nicolao]

Searle's always been a tough nut for me to crack, given the few pieces of his that I know - I first encountered him live in a local performance of the Variations on an Elizabethan Theme some years back (needless to say, the chances of encountering much non-Britten 20th century British music in the DC area are rather slim, to say the least.  )  I purchased a disc with one of his symphonies on it not too long ago at the soon-to-be late and lamented Melody Records in Dupont Circle, and recall being pleasantly surprised.  (Not sure which it was - I'll have to check.)  The thing is, he stands contrary to just about everything I believe about music - I don't ordinarily have much use for serialism.  But in spite of that I really quite like what I've heard - it has character, and it has intelligence, both of which I appreciate.

[Sydney Grew]

Searle's 1954 book "Twentieth Century Counterpoint - a guide for students" - and a most informative work - may be retrieved here:

http://fughetta-library.blogspot.com/2010/08/humphrey-searle-twentieth-century.html

He begins with Bach on page one, moves on to Liszt on page two, to Reger on page three . . . and reaches Stockhausen Boulez Nono Klebe and Wildberger on page one hundred and forty-five. Of these latter he writes "The difficulty of this sort of music is to avoid lack of continuity; it is hard to see any overall form or design in many of the works in this style, though each individual passage is logically constructed within itself. That is to say, the music gives a predominantly static effect, and one cannot feel that it is normally aiming towards a goal or conclusion. However, there is no doubt that it presents some new elements from the technical point of view."

(Which is more or less my own view too.)

[albion]

Please do hunt down the Krips Second It is a stunningly good performance.

Having delayed purchasing, and spurred into action by this discussion, I've just ordered the Lyrita recording -



SRCD.285

- and am also really looking forward to hearing the two symphonies by Robert Still, works which I don't know at all.

[Dundonnell]

Searle's always been a tough nut for me to crack, given the few pieces of his that I know - I first encountered him live in a local performance of the Variations on an Elizabethan Theme some years back (needless to say, the chances of encountering much non-Britten 20th century British music in the DC area are rather slim, to say the least.  )  I purchased a disc with one of his symphonies on it not too long ago at the soon-to-be late and lamented Melody Records in Dupont Circle, and recall being pleasantly surprised.  (Not sure which it was - I'll have to check.)  The thing is, he stands contrary to just about everything I believe about music - I don't ordinarily have much use for serialism.  But in spite of that I really quite like what I've heard - it has character, and it has intelligence, both of which I appreciate.

"character and intelligence"   Well put

John.....do let us know what you think of the Krips/Searle and the Robert Still symphonies when they arrive

[Ser Amantio di Nicolao]

Searle's always been a tough nut for me to crack, given the few pieces of his that I know - I first encountered him live in a local performance of the Variations on an Elizabethan Theme some years back (needless to say, the chances of encountering much non-Britten 20th century British music in the DC area are rather slim, to say the least.  )  I purchased a disc with one of his symphonies on it not too long ago at the soon-to-be late and lamented Melody Records in Dupont Circle, and recall being pleasantly surprised.  (Not sure which it was - I'll have to check.)  The thing is, he stands contrary to just about everything I believe about music - I don't ordinarily have much use for serialism.  But in spite of that I really quite like what I've heard - it has character, and it has intelligence, both of which I appreciate.

"character and intelligence"   Well put

John.....do let us know what you think of the Krips/Searle and the Robert Still symphonies when they arrive

Why thank you *blush*.

Incidentally, that is the disc to which I referred - I remember the coupling with the Still.  Interesting works, those - although "Still" as the name of a composer has something of a different connotation for us Americans, no?