Sacheverell Coke

[albion]

Maybe it's worth performing the 3rd concerto as a 2-piano score

Why not? Piano reductions are often a good way to get a taste (if not the full flavour) of what the composer intended, Rufinatscha's 4th Symphony being a prime example!



I really hope that something comes of Gareth's investigations and before too long we might have the opportunity to hear some of this music.

[eschiss1]

Or ask Schumann re Berlioz/Liszt. (before the split.)

[Gareth Vaughan]

I have a number of copies of the printed 2-piano score of the 3rd PC, and have just given one to Michael Laus, the conductor of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and a distinguished pianist in his own right.

[Alan Howe]

Excellent work, Gareth. That's the way to do it!

[Franz von Blon]

I happened upon this forum while doing a search on Sacheverell Coke.
The website of the Dartford Symphony Orchestra shows that he played his own Concerto in E flat with them in June 1957. Does anybody know if this is the one that was published?

[Gareth Vaughan]

Yes, that's the one. It's very upsetting that the Full Score and parts are missing.

[eschiss1]

Good username, sir

[Simon Wassermann]

I have just discovered this blog while searching for information about R.S. Coke. My interest arose from hearing a cello sonata of his on Radio 3, almost certainly during the 1980s. His affinity with Rachmaninov was mentioned by the presenter and there was one tune that was certainly reminiscent of of SR. I don't recall the performers, nor have I heard it, or anything else, by Coke since. Indeed before finding this thread I could find very little about him. How would one get hold of the score of the cello sonata, or indeed any of his other works?

[eschiss1]

He wrote at least two cello sonatas, Opus 24 in D minor (1935-6?) and Opus 29 in C. They were published in 1972 by Chappell and  by Chappell and Lowe & Brydone respectively, and the British Library (St. Pancras) and Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois) (and also St. Pancras) have copies. The Library of Congress, Washington, DC has copies also. Not sure who else does alas.

[Gareth Vaughan]

He wrote 3 complete and extant Cello Sonatas, the 3rd remaining in MS. The costs of publishing were covered by the composer and if you approach Chappell's now and ask about Coke's music, they have no record of ever having published him - and give the impression that they don't much care either! I have copies of them all and have already written to Mr Wassermann offering to make photocopies for him if he wishes.  Curiously, Coke published only the scores of the first 2 Cello Sonatas - no cello parts were published (which strikes me as odd - the score alone is not much use to a cellist interested in performing the work).

[Alan Howe]

Very encouraging, Gareth. What's your estimate of the pieces you have seen?

[eschiss1]

If it's a good, readable and not too ambiguous (there's always some editing to be done with even with a number of published scores...) score, someone with experience with typesetting software and time can part-extract the cello-part, but you're right.

[Gareth Vaughan]

I like both the printed cello sonatas, Alan - quirky but lyrical. I haven't had a good look at No. 3 yet.

You're right, Eric, it should be quite an easy job to extract the cello part from the scores - and, in fact, I'm doing that with No. 2. I'm using it as a learning exercise for "Sibelius". Our local performing arts library in Yeovil has Sibelius Version 5 - it costs nothing to book time at the desk and hardly anyone seems to use it. Once I've got the basic hang of it I may invest in Sibelius Version 7 myself (it's a relatively modest £380 at Amazon, so the cost has decreased substantially from when it launched at over £700).

[Alan Howe]

Do keep us updated, Gareth.

[dafrieze]

Simon Callaghan has recorded some piano pieces by Coke: https://www.amazon.com/Roger-Sacheverell-Coke-Preludes-Variations/dp/B00V872K5W.