Hamilton Harty (1879-1941)

[Balapoel]

Hi all,
Sometimes lesser-known composers can be hit or miss. But recently I have been very impressed with Hamilton Harty's work. I just purchased a 3-CD set of most of his orchestral and concertante works from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Ireland-Orchestral-Works-Hamilton-Harty/dp/B0001XLVKO

They are all extremely lyrical, and well-crafted. Both piano and violin concertos and the 'Children of Lir' poem especially came across well, particularly the violin concerto which was fluid and melodious. I look forward to more of his work, particularly the chamber pieces. I'm not aware of any recordings of the latter.

Cheers,
Balapoel

[albion]

I fully share your enthusiam for Harty's music, having collected the three excellent Chandos discs when they came out originally. His catalogue of compositions was comparatively small, but there are at least two pieces which I think are of extraordinarily high quality - the stirringly vivid tone poem With the Wild Geese (1910) and the exquisite setting for soprano and orchestra of Keats' Ode to a Nightingale (1907). I would love to hear his large-scale setting of Walt Whitman's The Mystic Trumpeter for baritone, chorus and orchestra which he wrote for the 1913 Leeds Festival - it would be fascinating to compare it with Holst's earlier score.