Unsungs of specific nationalities?

[FBerwald]

I'm convinced and will order Stanford PC 2. Which performance do you recommend? Malcolm Binns on Lyrita?

Definitely the Margret Fingerhut version on Chandos!!! Thats the one I have

[Peter1953]

Thanks Thal and FBerwald. I will follow your advice.

[Hovite]

does anyone know/recommend any good Irish unsungs?

The Republic of Ireland has a small population, about 4,203,200 which places it behind New Zealand and in front of the Lebanon, and has been a separate state for less than a century. Consequently, Irish composers are difficult to identify. But they do exist. Perhaps the greatest was John Field, though he is borderline unsung, as his works are available on CD.

But if you can include music by Irishmen who were born outside Ireland, then you need to consider the Irish Symphony of Sir Arthur Sullivan (better known for his operas).

One pure Irishman who made a big impact on music was Oscar Wilde. Many of his works have been set to music, often several times. The best known is the Strauss opera Salome (although that probably doesn't count as unsung).

[John H White]

Counting in Esposito, it would seem we now have at least 4 Irish symphonies to choose, from but I'm wondering if Amy Beach's Gaelic Symphony would also qualify. Maybe we could form a judging panel to decide which one is best. I think both the quality of the music and its degree of Irishness should both be taken into account in deciding the winner.

[Marcus]

Hovite asks about romantic Irish composers. There are not many to chose from, and those who were born in Ireland, studied .then composed & lived elsewhere. We  in Australia were in the same situation, where composers had to travel to Britain & Europe because of lack of opportunity.
The best known Irish "emigrant"  composers are J.Field,Hamilton-Harty, C.V. Stanford, E.J.Moeran, Charles Wood, M.W.balfe & Victor Herbet. Even Handel had a soft spot for Ireland. (Messiah).
There are many contemporary composers of note, and I do not know of any major works written in Ireland prior to 1900, but someone might be able to refute this.
Ireland had a number of Harpists of note, the best known being T. O'Carolan, who also was a composer for his instrument. (Irish harp)
Marcus.

[edurban]

Marcus, E. J. Moeran was what I think you can call an Irish-composer-by-choice, since it was his father who emigrated from the Old Sod.  He himself was born at Heston and grew up in Norfolk.  He took a while to develop an interest in things Irish.  Bax wrote of him: "During his first thirty years he was an Englishman and a diligent collector of East-Anglian folk tunes, whilst for the remainder of his days he was almost exclusively Irish." Perhaps the Irish were more tolerant of his drinking  ...

David

[Marcus]

Hello monafam, this is a topic which would fill an encyclopaedia. If you type "composers by nationality" into google, you will see what I mean.
I was surprised to learn that even in the Faroe Islands there are composers (mostly modern) of note.
One, Sunleif Rasmussen is the only Faroes Islander to write a symphony. I have not heard it, or read any reviews. It is entitled Symphony no1 "Oceanic Days". It was recorded on DaCapo. I have heard music by Blak, but I think he is Danish ?
Marcus.

[thalbergmad]

I plan to go the the Faroes this year. I will see if i can find anything.

Thal

[monafam]

Hello monafam, this is a topic which would fill an encyclopaedia. If you type "composers by nationality" into google, you will see what I mean.
I was surprised to learn that even in the Faroe Islands there are composers (mostly modern) of note.
One, Sunleif Rasmussen is the only Faroes Islander to write a symphony. I have not heard it, or read any reviews. It is entitled Symphony no1 "Oceanic Days". It was recorded on DaCapo. I have heard music by Blak, but I think he is Danish ?
Marcus.

Looks like I have some research to do!     Thanks for the suggestion.

[Syrelius]

How about Luxemburg? Are there any romantic composers from there?

[Marcus]

Hello Syrelius.
There are quite a few native modern-day composers in Luxembourg. The best known is probably Georg Lentz (b1965). Because of Luxembourg's proximity to France, Germany & Belgium, quite a few composers listed as Luxembourgian, may have been born elsewhere.
The Romantic composers definately born in Luxembourg:
J.B.Tresch (1773-1821), Jean Antoine Zinnen (1827-1898),Edmond de la Fontaine-Dicks (1823-1891),Henri Pensis (1900-1958)( maybe not romantic, but his Symphonic Poem "Soir d'ete, and Orchestral Suite suggest his style  could be).
Others listed as Luxembourgian composers, but birthplace not verified, are:
Michel Lenz (1820-1893),Gustave Kahnt (1848-1923)( possibly born Germany?), Alfred Kowalsky (1879-1943)Dominique Heckmes (1878-1938), Phillipe Decken (1840-1881),Henri Bucholtz (1877-1953), Alex Brasseur (1860-1924), Loius Becht (1886-1943).
I doubt if any of these from the romantic era have made the CD catalogue.
de la Fontaine-Dicks Operetta de Scholdschain was performed in concert by the Luxembourg Sinfonietta on 8-10/10/2009.
Hope that helps,
Cheers!
Marcus.

[Syrelius]

Hello Syrelius.
There are quite a few native modern-day composers in Luxembourg. The best known is probably Georg Lentz (b1965). Because of Luxembourg's proximity to France, Germany & Belgium, quite a few composers listed as Luxembourgian, may have been born elsewhere.
The Romantic composers definately born in Luxembourg:
J.B.Tresch (1773-1821), Jean Antoine Zinnen (1827-1898),Edmond de la Fontaine-Dicks (1823-1891),Henri Pensis (1900-1958)( maybe not romantic, but his Symphonic Poem "Soir d'ete, and Orchestral Suite suggest his style  could be).
Others listed as Luxembourgian composers, but birthplace not verified, are:
Michel Lenz (1820-1893),Gustave Kahnt (1848-1923)( possibly born Germany?), Alfred Kowalsky (1879-1943)Dominique Heckmes (1878-1938), Phillipe Decken (1840-1881),Henri Bucholtz (1877-1953), Alex Brasseur (1860-1924), Loius Becht (1886-1943).
I doubt if any of these from the romantic era have made the CD catalogue.
de la Fontaine-Dicks Operetta de Scholdschain was performed in concert by the Luxembourg Sinfonietta on 8-10/10/2009.
Hope that helps,
Cheers!
Marcus.

Thanks, Marcus!
That is quite an impressive list. I once spent about two hours in the capitol of Luxembourg and managed to find a CD store. There were a few recordnbings of modern Luxembourg composers, but nothing from the romantic period, so your are probably right about the lack of recordnings.

[Peter1953]

In the meantime I'm still struggling with Stanford's PC2... although the slow movement surely is beautifully lyrical. Also Down among the Dead Men hasn't grown on me yet. But I'll keep on listening again and again.