James Hamilton Clarke (1840-1912)

[albion]

I have just checked my shelves and come up with a nice autographed copy (dated 24th January 1884) of "Six Lyceum Overtures"  composed and arranged as piano duets. They are: Hamlet, Lady of Lyons, Merechant of Venice, Corsican Brotheres, Iron Chest & The Cup. The whole collection is "Dedicated with great esteem to his Friend, Sir Arthur Sullivan" . Published by C Jefferys, London my copy also states that it is a subscribers copy!

This appears to be a very scarce volume, with the only other traceable copy in Ellen Terry's collection held at her house (now National Trust) in Smallhythe (incidentally a wonderful place, well worth a visit) - another copy was apparently sold at Bonham's some years ago.

It would be of enormous value, given the importance of Clarke's involvement in the history of late-Victorian theatre, if this music could be made more widely available.

I wonder if Martin would consider the possibility of allowing a digital copy of his score(s) to appear, perhaps, on IMSLP.

[Martin Eastick]

I would be more than happy to make my copy of the Lyceum Overtures available if some kind person could do whatever is necessary to digitize/scan etc. etc. At present I don't have access  to a scanner (mine is away being [hopefully?] repaired at the moment!) & I have never uploaded anything before & wouldn't know where or how to start!

However, I would have absolutely no objection to letting IMSLP use this material if this can be facilitated in any way. Just by way of information - there are some 97 pages in total and although in good condition, the binding has collapsed!

[albion]

Martin, many thanks for this offer - I've sent you a PM.

[albion]

Martin has very kindly sent me his copy of Clarke's Lyceum Overtures, which I will digitise and submit to IMSLP.



I have discovered that at least some of the Lyceum theatre music does survive, split between the Ellen Terry/ Edith Craig Collection and the British Library. The Manuscript Department at BL appears to have band parts for

The Amber Heart, music by Hamilton Clarke and Meredith Ball - ET SCB9 (BL)
The Dead Heart, music by Georges Jacobi

and there is a large trunk at Smallhythe containing a considerable quantity of music, including band parts for -

Far from the Madding Crowd
The Merchant of Venice, music by Hamilton Clarke
The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Mistress of the Robes
Much Ado About Nothing
Nance Oldfield

[Gareth Vaughan]

That's very good and exciting news. We need to get hold of some of this stuff.

[eschiss1]

I see you (or someone anticipating you ) have already uploaded it - thank you! (see IMSLP category for Hamilton Clarke).

[albion]

Yes, Martin sent his score yesterday and I received it this morning. I have spent the day scanning and have just uploaded the following which wait for 'approval' -

Overtures (arranged for piano duet) to

Hamlet, Op.192 (1878)
The Lady of Lyons, Op.197 (1879)
The Iron Chest, Op.202 (1879)
The Merchant of Venice, Op.203 (1879)
The Corsican Brothers, Op.208 (1880)
The Cup, Op.214 (1881)

[albion]

Although not yet on the main Hamilton Clarke page, here are the six overtures -

Hamlet, Op.192 (1878) - http://imslp.org/wiki/Hamlet_Overture,_Op.192_(Clarke,_Hamilton)

The Lady of Lyons, Op.197 (1879) - http://imslp.org/wiki/The_Lady_of_Lyons_Overture,_Op.197_(Clarke,_Hamilton)

The Iron Chest, Op.202 (1879) - http://imslp.org/wiki/The_Iron_Chest_Overture,_Op.202_(Clarke,_Hamilton)

The Merchant of Venice, Op.203 (1879) - http://imslp.org/wiki/The_Merchant_of_Venice_Overture,_Op.203_(Clarke,_Hamilton)

The Corsican Brothers, Op.208 (1880) - http://imslp.org/wiki/The_Corsican_Brothers_Overture,_Op.208_(Clarke,_Hamilton)

The Cup, Op.214 (1881)[/b] - http://imslp.org/wiki/The_Cup_Overture,_Op.214_(Clarke,_Hamilton)

[eschiss1]

not yet on what Hamilton Clarke page?

[albion]

On this one - http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Clarke,_Hamilton, unless you are logged in as a member.

[eschiss1]

since they've been copyright-approved & etc., they should be now... hrm. I'll check.  You're quite right, they aren't, I don't know why- might take a few days as a matter of standard practice, I just don't know. (Checked a few of the copyright-tags - they say v/v/v , which I believe means ok-in-all-three basic areas, which should mean ok even if you're logged out, but I'm not sure. And if so why the first three and not the overtures... that's a puzzlement. It is true that it would help if we knew, of a -certainty-, who the arrangers were, though given that they did the arrangements in the 1880s the chance that anyone involved in that fashion with those scores was still alive in 1962 (I think the limiting year is now) is negligible

[albion]

Might it be because the titles have been changed by Carolus, who has removed the commas before the word 'Overture' and there has been a redirection?



A constituent part of Add. 44919 in the Manuscripts Department at the British Library is -

HH. List of the manuscript compositions of James Hamilton Siree Clarke (b. 1840, d. 1912), conductor and composer. Typewritten. Clarke's First String Quartet in A Major, Op. 246, the second item listed, is now Add. MS. 44880, and the present list was acquired with it. ff. 171-174. Presented by R.R. Trout, Esq.

I wonder what year this list dates from (it is typewritten) and who was Mr Trout?

 

[eschiss1]

Hrm. Well, they are published works - if they were typeset or scanned-by-you (or by a library) manuscripts that would be a different issue. (Manuscript-related law is tetchy and varies by country, I have learned, and has to do with several different things. The case of the still-in-copyright in-manuscript music of Percy H. Miles (d.1922) comes to mind...

[albion]

It is true that it would help if we knew, of a -certainty-, who the arrangers were

They were arranged by Clarke himself - Composed and Arranged as Pianoforte Duets by Hamilton Clarke.

[eschiss1]

I'll put that in. (A quick search about Trout "Clarke" first reveals his operetta The Silver Trout, but I'm guessing that was not what was meant. Will look more for a bit )
Judging from the British Museum Quarterly scanned online, the entry was added around 1936. Hrm. Doesn't necessarily tell me anything unless it was in Trout's will...