Hamish MacCunn (1868-1916)

[albion]

1883 - Fantasia Overture (unfinished)
1882-84 - The Moss Rose, cantata (Royal Albert Hall [West Theatre], London, 10th December 1885)
1885 - Cior Mhor, overture (Crystal Palace, London, 27th October 1885)
1886-87 - Land of the Mountain and the Flood, concert overture, Op.3 (Crystal Palace, London, 5th November 1887)
1887 - Lord Ullin's Daughter, cantata, Op.4 (Crystal Palace, London, 18th February 1888)
           The Ship o' the Fiend, orchestral ballad, Op.5 (St James's Hall, London, 21st February 1888)     
1886-88 - Bonny Kilmeny, cantata, Op.2 (Queens Street Hall, Edinburgh, 13th December 1888)
1888 - The Dowie Dens o' Yarrow, orchestral ballad, Op.6 (Crystal Palace, London, 13th October 1888)
           The Lay of the Last Minstrel, cantata, Op.7 (City Hall, Glasgow, 18th December 1888)
1889 - The Cameronian's Dream, cantata, Op.10 (Queens Street Hall, Edinburgh, 27th January 1890)
1890 - Psalm VIII, for chorus and organ (2nd International Industrial Exhibition, Meggetland, Edinburgh, 1st May 1890)
1891 - Queen Hynde of Caledon, cantata, Op.13 (City Hall, Glasgow, 28th January 1892)
1894 - Jeannie Deans, opera (Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, 15th November 1894)
1896 - Highland Memories, orchestral suite, Op.30 (Crystal Palace, London, 13th March 1897)
1897 - Diarmid, opera, Op.34 (Covent Garden Theatre, London, 23rd October 1897)
1900 - The Masque of War and Peace, for soloists, chorus and orchestra (Her Majesty's Theatre, London, 13th February 1900)
1904 - Prue, comic opera (unfinished)
1905 - The Golden Girl, light opera (lost) (Prince of Wales Theatre, Birmingham, 5th August 1905)
           The Wreck of the Hesperus, cantata (Coliseum Theatre, London, 28th August 1905)
           Untitled ballet ('Invented by E.W. Royce')
1908 - The Pageant of Darkness and Light, for soloists, chorus and orchestra (Agricultural Hall, London, 4th June 1908)
1900-09 - Four Dances, for orchestra
1912 - Livingstone the Pilgrim, for soli, chorus and organ (Royal Albert Hall, London, 19th March 1913)
           The Sailor and the Nursemaid, musical sketch (Aldwych Theatre, London, 27th June 1912)
1896-1913 - Four Scottish Traditional Border Ballads (Kinmont Willie; The Jolly Goshawk; Lamkin; The Death of Parcy Reed), for chorus and orchestra (Nos.1-3, Victoria Hall, Sheffield, 19th April 1921; No.4, Queen's Hall, London, 25th March 1925)

also -

Breast of Light, opera, Op.36 (unfinished)

Commercial recordings -

Land of the Mountain and the Flood, concert overture, Op.3 (Hyperion CDA66815 and several others)
The Ship o' the Fiend, orchestral ballad, Op.5 (Hyperion CDA66815)
The Dowie Dens o' Yarrow, orchestral ballad, Op.6 (Hyperion CDA66815)
The Lay of the Last Minstrel, cantata, Op.7 - excerpt (Hyperion CDA66815)
Jeannie Deans, opera - excerpts (Hyperion CDA66815)

Downloads -

The Lay of the Last Minstrel, cantata, Op.7
Highland Memories, orchestral suite, Op.30

[Dundonnell]

Who has been busy

[Balapoel]

Here are additions, but my list is definitely incomplete:


Chamber

Three Romantic Pieces, vc, pf (1894);
4 other pieces, vc, pf, separately pubd (1914), 2 of these also arr. vn, pf
Str qnt, Eb, 2 vn, va, 2 vc
Jeanie Deans (grand op, 4, J. Bennett, after W. Scott: The Heart of Midlothian), Edinburgh, Lyceum, 15 Nov 1894, GB-Lcm, Lam, vs (1894)

Opera/Incidental

34   Diarmid (grand op, 4, Duke of Argyle after Celtic legends), op.34, London, Covent Garden, 23 Oct 1897 vs (London and New York, 1897)
   Breast of Light (Duke of Argyle), inc.
   The Masque of War and Peace (L. Parker), London, Her Majesty's, 13 Feb 1900 (1900)
   The Golden Girl (light op, B. Hood), Birmingham, Prince of Wales, 5 Aug 1905, MS lost
   Additional nos. for The Talk of the Town (Taylor), 1905 (1905);
   Prue (light op, 3, C.H. Taylor), inc.
   The Pageant of Darkness and Light (stage pageant in 6 episodes, J. Oxenham), 1908 vs (1908)
   A Waltz Dream, 1908–9 (1909)

Orchestral

   Cior Mhor, ov., London, Crystal Palace, 27 Oct 1885
3   Land of the Mountain and the Flood, ov, op.3, London, Crystal Palace, 5 Nov 1887 (1889)
5   The Ship o' the Fiend, ballade, op.5, London, 21 Feb 1888 (1890)
6   The Dowie Dens o' Yarrow, ballade, op.6, London, Crystal Palace, 13 Oct 1888 (1891)
30   Highland Memories, suite, op.30, 1896, London, Crystal Palace, 13 March 1897 (1897), pf arr. by MacCunn also pubd
   Ballet, 1905
   Five Dances for orchestra

Piano

28   Six Scottish Dances, op.28, pf (1896)
   Valse Gracieuse, pf
   Hornpipe, pf

Vocal

   The Moss Rose (Krumacher), cant., 1882–4, London, RCM, 1885
   Lord Uillin's Daughter (Campbell), 4vv, orch, 1887, London, Crystal Palace, 18 Feb 1888 (1888)
   Bonny Kilmeny (Hogg), solo vv, 4vv, orch, op.2, Edinburgh, 13 Dec 1888 (1888)
7   The Lay of the Last Minstrel (Scott), solo vv, 4vv, orch, op.7, Glasgow, 18 Dec 1888 (1888)
10   The Cameronian's Dream (J. Hyslop), Bar, 4vv, orch, op.10, 1889, Edinburgh, 27 Jan 1890 (Edinburgh, 1890)
13   Queen Hynde of Caledon (Hogg), solo vv, 4vv, orch, op.13, 1891, Glasgow, 28 Jan 1892, vs (1892)
   Psalm viii, 4vv, org, Glasgow, 1901 (Dundee and Edinburgh, 1901)
   The Wreck of the Hesperus (H.W. Longfellow), 4vv, orch, London, Coliseum, 28 Aug 1905 (1905)
   Four Scottish Traditional Border Ballads, vs (1913): Kinmont Willie, 4vv, orch; The Jolly Goshawk, 4vv, orch; Lamkin, 4vv, orch; The Death of Parcy Reed, male vv, orch
   Livingstone the Pilgrim (S. Horne), 4vv, orch, 1913, vs (1913)
   9 partsongs: eight pubd (1887–1914), one in MS
   c100 solo songs (1890–1916), mostly pubd in 1890s

[albion]

As there is very little information on MacCunn otherwise available in print or online, this is both useful and welcome - http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/2456/

[Mark Thomas]

Oh, fascinating stuff. Thanks, Albion.

[Rob H]

I am playing piano for a "come and sing day" with Leicester Bach Choir on 28th January at Leicester Grammar school. Audience are invited from 16.30. and the programme is Stanford "Songs of the sea" and MacCunn "Wreck of the Hesperus".
Rob

[matesic]

That's truly enterprising - have you or anyone else heard the MacCunn piece before?

[Rob H]

No I haven't. The enterprise is entirely that of the conductor Richard Laing and the Leicester Bach Choir - I have just been asked to play for it but I thought it woth mentioning here. Not having had chance to speak to Richard I'm not sure where he found out about the piece but I am interested to find out.

[matesic]

At an informal concert a couple of years ago I teased the audience by asking them to name the greatest Scottish composer. Silence. I guess the Big Three would have to be McEwen, Mackenzie and MacCunn...

[eschiss1]

Eugen d'Albert maybe?? Still, I'd rank William B. Wordsworth and Oliver Knussen very high.

[Alan Howe]

Sorry, but we're getting off-topic and beyond our remit here. Back to MacCunn, please.

[Jimfin]

I'm surprised the audience didn't say MacMillan. Personally I'd agree Mackenzie, McEwan MacCunn without a doubt.

[Alan Howe]

Or even McEwen. Now back to MacCunn.

Friends could always start another thread...

[semloh]

It's a pity that the choral/vocal works haven't had much of an airing. The orchestral works indicate that he was at least a competent and engaging composer. Does anyone here have any knowledge of his cantatas or operas?

[eschiss1]

Well, fwiw, the vocal score of one of his cantatas is over here (The Lay of the Last Minstrel, Op.7, 1888)... IMSLP also has his Op.13 "Queen Hynde of Caledon" as well.