Arnold Bax?

[edurban]

Oh my.  Did Arnold Bax say that?

[Alan Howe]

Nope. Let's steer well clear of politics: that way lies madness...

[FBerwald]

I second Alan. Much as we would all like to have a say, that line only opens up a can of worms and deflects from the true purpose of this forum. Also at the risk of being accused of wearing rose coloured glasses I would like to say that maybe Music might be the one thing we all have in common after all. Now Bax to back!

[Alan Howe]

Please forgive the outburst. I was just shell-shocked. Will not happen again.

Don't worry. It's good to have you here.

[Ebubu]

I must say in France he's a TOTAL unsung composer, as are VW and even Elgar (only heard his Dream of Gerontius by the French Radio forces, eons ago...).  I wish some La Mer performances (which you can hear about 20 times per season in Paris !) would sometimes be replaced by Bax works or VW Sea Symphony.  THAT is a glorious piece !

[chill319]

Bax's scores are famously layered, with a large number of notes going on at once. In addition, the thread of his musical argument is not always easy to parse in a way that allows it to display the intrinsic Janus-like emotional and philosophical maturity the composer invested in it.

Over the last 40+ years I've never heard a performance of Bax that more successfully renders these potentially difficult features as cogent, natural musical argument than the recording of Tintagel by Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé SO. There isn't a wasted measure or lost moment in that performance.

[semloh]

I would certainly agree that Bax is unsung in terms of concert performances, and that's as true here in Australia as anywhere. VW is better represented, and a year or two ago Lark Ascending topped the list of the 100 favourite orchestral work voted by listeners to the ABC radio classical music station, which covers British composers fairly generously.

There are also, of course, many work by Bax that are not available on disc. The 5 Fantasies on Polish Christmas Carols are a case in point. They are quite lovely: I taped them off BBC Radio 3 many years ago (St Angela's Singers/Divertimento) but I've never been able to find a recording.

[Paul Barasi]

Quite right that we haven't packed our Bax on my greatest nearby composer. Don't neglect his tone poems, or rather musical tonics, which can transform the worst of days. For here is to be found all the shimmering colours of nature, haunting enchantment, wonder and pure delight. He offers a fast-flowing stream of lovely melodies gorgeously orchestrated with a restless, fresh-faced inventiveness that captures the listener's constant attention. November Woods (1917) is a fine example.