Northampton Born Unsung Composers

[Paul Barasi]

Well now, here's your chance to rave about any. [Otherwise it will be a bit like that book that went: "Chapter 18: ELEPHANTS IN ICELAND There are no elephants in Iceland. Chapter 19." (Although there may be some called icelopholus major!)] But I would add that simply listing these composers, even adding their works and CDs, doesn't share what people think is the music that is well worth hearing. It is this that always interests me most, wherever they were born.

[Alan Howe]

Unless this thread bears fruit quickly, it'll probably disappear...

[doctorpresume]

Well, Alwyn and Rubbra were born in Northampton, apparently.

But, far more importantly for British television viewers of a certain age, so was Delia Derbyshire.

[Jimfin]

Wikipedia only gives those two and Arnold. Plus some pop musicians I've never heard of

[JimL]

Well now, here's your chance to rave about any. [Otherwise it will be a bit like that book that went: "Chapter 18: ELEPHANTS IN ICELAND There are no elephants in Iceland. Chapter 19."

Have you inquired at the Reykjavik zoo about that?

[Paul Barasi]

Robert Walker's Catalogue of Works (with loads of extracts) www.robert-walker.net/catalogue.php

This significant composer son of Northampton also realised the Elgar Piano Concerto that enabled the 2004 world premiere recording by David Lloyd-Jones/BBC Concert Orchestra that many of us will have enjoyed (but some members consider a failure) www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=CDLX7148

[Christopher]

Well now, here's your chance to rave about any. [Otherwise it will be a bit like that book that went: "Chapter 18: ELEPHANTS IN ICELAND There are no elephants in Iceland. Chapter 19."

Have you inquired at the Reykjavik zoo about that?

There is, er, a part of an elephant in Reykjavik.  I've seen it!     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_Phallological_Museum 

Enough said...

[JimL]

It gets cold up there.  Ya gotta have someplace to go!

[britishcomposer]

I have just listened to a song-cycle by Trevor Hold (1939-2004) who appears on two Dutton CDs. From the booklet I learned that he was born in Northampton, too.
A Symphony has been played by the BBC SO, cond Odaline de la Martinez, in 1988. Has it been broadcast?

[eschiss1]

According to CADENSA, yes (a 16 February 1991 performance or broadcast of it? The label is B7914/06 1:21'36" .)
Eric

[Paul Barasi]

Yet another of the Northampton school of composers is William Goodchild, who maybe none here have heard of but whose film music has oomphatic vitality and is remarkably varied in character and colour, even within the same work (such as in 'Athens: the truth about democracy").

[eschiss1]

The Northampton Symphony in their list of concerts from 1993 to 2012 does list some music by Trevor Hold (Twelfth Night), some dances and film music (I think? - ah. "Fantasy on Christmas Carols from the film The Holly and the Ivy.") (and his Tam O'Shanter overture, and other works, but not symphonies or concertos by him that I see - excepting his Toy Symphony) by Malcolm Arnold, Alwyn's "Overture to a Masque" once so far in 2005, and a mix of more and less familiar names but few others that are recognizably from Northampton, it seems. (Kudos to them for programming Prokofiev's 7th symphony in 2007, though- it doesn't get all that much concert time in either form...) (Source: http://www.nso.org.uk/concerts.html)