Just curious if we have any sort of list of "unsung" composers (as defined by this group) by nationalities?
While I'm American, I feel like I have good sources to look for those; however, does anyone know/recommend any good Irish unsungs?
Thanks as always!
BTW -- I'm loving the new look to the site....thought I was in the wrong place at first though.
Thanks for your kind words about the site's makeover.
By far the greatest Irish unsung in my book is Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. Of course, he trained in Germany and made his name and career in England, but this he lived at a time when Ireland was still part of Great Britain and so that was a perfectly normal thing to do. His seven Symphonies are a magnificent legacy for any composer to leave behind him, but there are concertos, operas and lots of chamber music of the same high quality, all of it having a deep vein of melody running trough it, imaginatively scored and rhythmically interesting. To my mind, Stanford is worthy of a place on the highest tier of unsungs, in the same company as Raff, Draeseke and Rufinatscha, to name the first three "great" unsungs who come to mind.
I have to agree with Mark, Stanford is a composer of nearly the top rung. I don't think his symphonies (except for the 3rd, the Irish,) really show him at his best: his flow of genial melody and good solid construction never deserts him, but most of his symphonies just seem to me to be going through the motions--hitting all the correct structural points, without any really compelling reason for existance (but then I feel the same way about many, many 19th century symphonies.) Stanford must-hears, IMO: Irish Rhapsody No. 4 "The Fisherman of Lough Neagh and what he saw", the 2nd Piano Concerto, the Songs of the Fleet, and the Stabat Mater. And then move on to the rest ;)...
Recorded operas by Irishmen: Balfe's The Maid of Artois, The Bohemian Girl, and Falstaff are all still available (I think)... the last in a (mostly) wonderful new performance. William Vincent Wallace's Maritana and Lurline have been recorded...Lurline will be released in a few months.
Then there's Victor Herbert. This is an anniversary year for Herbert (the 150th of his birth), at least until Feb.1. Lots of operettas and that 2nd Cello Concerto...
David
A confession. I have Hyperion's RPC disc #12 which couples Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry's PC with Sir Charles Villiers Stanford's PC1. Parry's PC doesn't impress me much, but to my ears Stanford's PC is utterly boring. That has always prevented me from listening to other music by Stanford. But after reading Mark's and David's comments, I think I might have missed very good music. But it's not too late...
There's also of course Hamilton Harty -- great 3 CD set of his music on Chandos.
And as for Stanford PCs, well his 2nd is a big favorite. It's god some great Big Tunes.
There's no accounting for taste. I find both works compelling. I absolutely adore the Stanford PC 1. I like it better than the Parry (which I find interesting, but rather stodgy).
Quote from: Peter1953 on Friday 22 January 2010, 06:46
A confession. I have Hyperion's RPC disc #12 which couples Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry's PC with Sir Charles Villiers Stanford's PC1. Parry's PC doesn't impress me much, but to my ears Stanford's PC is utterly boring.
Listen to Stanford's Piano concerto no. 2 in C minor, It's exactly the opposite of No. 1. Very dramatic and beautiful. (I agree the 1st one is a bit drab!) The second concerto starts of like Rachmaninoff and soon takes a completely different path. Its probably the best English Romantic Piano Concerto!
QuoteIts probably the best English Romantic Piano Concerto!
Agreed... except Stanford was Irish! :)
Stanford PC2 is an absolutely magnificent work. One of the all-time great unsung PCs.
I'm convinced and will order Stanford PC 2. Which performance do you recommend? Malcolm Binns on Lyrita?
I would suggest you purchase the Fingerhut, then you get "Down among the Dead Men" as well.
Thal
For forgotten Brits, I would suggest Baines, Bowen, Bache and Bainton.
Thal
Thanks as always for all the suggestions/comments!
Quote from: TerraEpon on Friday 22 January 2010, 06:49
There's also of course Hamilton Harty -- great 3 CD set of his music on Chandos.
I agree with you about H Harty. By the way, an Italian-born Irish composer, Michele Esposito (1855-1929), wrote an "Irish symphony" too. I've never heard it, though.
I still plump for the sunny, carefree Stanford PC 1, although I dispute nothing said about #2. I still have his PC 3 on that Lyrita CD coupled with the Cello Concerto. Both rip-roaring pieces, those.
Quote from: Peter1953 on Friday 22 January 2010, 16:35
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
Thanks Thal and FBerwald. I will follow your advice.
Quote from: monafam on Thursday 21 January 2010, 22:32
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).
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.
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.
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
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.
I plan to go the the Faroes this year. I will see if i can find anything.
Thal
Quote from: Marcus on Friday 05 February 2010, 09:30
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.
How about Luxemburg? Are there any romantic composers from there?
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.
Quote from: Marcus on Sunday 07 February 2010, 11:07
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. :(
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.