Hi, I am new to the forum and have a great interest in unsung (predominantly) British composers of the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. 2010 looks set to be a good year for anybody interested in the music of Rutland Boughton, with many live events co-ordinated by the Boughton Trust. A long-awaited recording of his Hardy-based music drama "The Queen of Cornwall" (1924) is anticipated, and Dutton are scheduled to record "three early symphonic poems" (according to the Trust). Does anybody know exactly what these latter works will be? According to the late Michael Hurd's "Rutland Boughton and the Glastonbury Festivals" (1993) there are four purely orchestral candidates still extant in manuscript: "A Summer Night" (1899/1903), "Imperial Elegy" (1901), "Troilus and Cressida" (1902) and "Love in Spring" (1906). In addition there is the hugely-impressive (at least from the Novello vocal score) choral work termed 'Symphonic Poem' "Midnight" setting a text by Edward Carpenter (1907). It would be wonderful to have the opportunity to hear any of this music, but it would be exciting to have some titles in anticipation!
His large scale choral work "Bethlehem" and his opera "The Immortal Hour" immediately come to mind as worthwhile. I also have a recording of his 3rd symphony, but it left no distinct impression, I'll have to give it another listen.
I recently started a conversation of oboe concertos and Boughton has a nice one as well as a pair of oboe quartets. I only have a recording of the first, but it is quite lovely as is the other chamber music that I have heard. (There is not much recorded, not sure how much there is).
If you can find the BBC recording (under the late Edward Downes) of his 2nd (1926-7) and 3rd (1937) symphonies, I highly recommend it. The 2nd is, I believe, based on plans for a ballet on Deirdre of the Shallows (Synge's play), and sounds somewhere between very good ballet and symphonic music in my opinion - it's in three very free-form movements, based more on recurring themes than any memory of sonata, variation or rondo; I find the overall effect very powerful, though. (Harmonically and orchestrally I find suggestions of Debussy and other composers, I think. The 3rd is a more conventional symphony but still sometimes I prefer the 2nd and sometimes the 3rd- they're both very good, in my opinion anyway, not very helpful I know. (I haven't heard the only currently available recording of the 3rd, on a Hyperion/Helios CD with the oboe concerto no. 1, and can only judge from the Downes-conducted recording on that BBC disc. Hyperion has, I believe, also recorded the composer's 1st, "Cromwell", symphony.)
Eric
Boughton's First is actually a Dutton release, Eric, not a Hyperion one.
The 2nd ('Dierdre') Symphony conducted by Edward Downes is one of the best recordings of Boughton's music that we have, alive to the drama of the score and technically secure. This long-deleted BBC Radio Classics disc does turn up fairly regularly - try Amazon for a used copy. Both recordings (Downes' and Handley's) of the 3rd Symphony are slightly let down by occasional orchestral frailties, but the strength of the music still shines through.
When listening to the 'Oliver Cromwell' Symphony I was immediately struck by just how accomplished Boughton was as an orchestrator at a very early date (1905) in his career: this makes the prospect of the early symphonic poems (from Dutton later in the year) even more tantalising.
I would strongly recommend the following CDs to any curious listener not yet acquainted with Boughton:
Hyperion's disc conducted by Ronald Corp: great performances of the Flute Concerto, The Concerto for Strings and 'Aylesbury Games' (CDA 67185)
'Bethlehem' (also on Hyperion, CDA 66690). This is a lovely performance of Boughton's view of the Nativity and nothing of quality is really lost by the slight truncation of the score - a real winner.
It is sad that there isn't more interest in Boughton. I am certainly looking forward to the Dutton and Hyperion cds. 'The Queen of Cornwall' is highly rated by some. I have 'The Immortal Hour' on cd & LP. The Lp set having a nice big libretto,of course (one good reason to have hung onto it). 'The Queen of Cornwall' being regarded as less 'fey' and more dramatic. The 'Deidre' symphony you mention is a lovely piece,which you would think Chandos or Hyperion would have done by now.But the Downes performance is certainly very good & well worth seeking out if you don't have it.
Further to the possible repertoire which might be on the forthcoming Rutland Boughton disc from Dutton ("Three symphonic poems"): besides 'Midnight' (1907), Boughton also gave the generic description 'symphonic poem' to two other significant short choral works - 'The Skeleton in Armour' (1898/1903) and 'The Invincible Armada' (1901). Will we have a purely orchestral disc (see first post) or a choral extravaganza? Either way, it should be a brilliant issue!
I will definately buy that one! I have all the available Boughton cd's,except the songs.
Boughton also wrote a Concerto for Strings (1937) Folk Dances for Strings (1912) & a Trumpet Concerto (1943).
I really enjoy his first symphony, although the baritone solo in the finale does not quite work for me, I would have preferred a chorus accompaniment to add weight to the music. But that is just my opinion.
I do hope that the 2nd symphony appears on CD soon, and look forward to the Dutton release of the symphonic poems.
Marcus.
I would definately put his Second Symphony very high on a Boughton cd want list. It has a particularly lovely slow movement,which can easily be enjoyed on it's own. The cd is well worth seeking out or downloading from somewhere,if you can find it. The trouble is the high prices some sellers ask. Not so keen about the third,myself. It is very well orchestrated,but too 'Elgarian',for my liking. I like my Boughton to sound like Boughton!
Holbrooke's Piano Concerto No 1 presents me with the same problem. It is all very fluent & full of glittering colour & orchestration,but it just doesn't sound like the Holbrooke I love.
Firm news from the Boughton trust on their two wonderful recording projects:
Three of Boughton's symphonic poems – A Summer Night, Troilus & Cressida (later called Thou & I) and Love and Spring – have been recorded by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Martin Yates.
The Trust's 25-year long aim to have The Queen of Cornwall recorded was finally rewarded in July. The recording, which was made by The New London Orchestra and Chorus under Ronald Corp with a fine line of soloists, is a landmark for success.
Both recordings will appear on the Dutton Epoch label and be released in the Autumn/Winter 2010.
What great news!
Speaking of Boughton's orchestral music; Does anyone have a complete overview of his orchestral output? I haven't found much on the web (not the first time in my case..).
Morten
Quote from: M. Henriksen on Sunday 03 October 2010, 10:16
What great news!
Does anyone have a complete overview of his orchestral output?
Symphonies: No.1,
Oliver Cromwell (1904-5); No.2,
Deirdre (1926-7); No.3, in B minor (1937)
Symphonic Poems:
Lucifer (1898, destroyed);
A Summer Night (1899-1903);
Imperial Elegy: Into the Everlasting (1901);
Troilus and Cressida (1902);
Love in Spring (1906)
Overtures:
School for Scandal (1903);
The Round Table (1916);
The Queen of Cornwall (1926); Overture to the Arthurian Cycle (1936)
Concertos: Piano Concerto in A flat (1897-8, destroyed); Concerto for Oboe and Strings, No.1 in C (1936); Concerto for Oboe and Strings, No.2 in G (1937); Concerto for Flute and Strings (1937); Concerto for Strings (
Four English Pieces, 1937); Concerto for Trumpet (1943); Concertante for Cello and Orchestra (1955, sketches only)
Miscellaneous: Symphonic Suite,
The Chilterns (1900); Symphonic March,
Britannia (1901); Variations on a Theme of Purcell (1901); Prelude and Finale:
The Birth of Arthur (1910);
Three Folk Dances for Strings (1912);
Three Flights for Orchestra (1929);
Winter Sun (1932);
Rondo in Wartime (1941);
Orchestral Prelude on a Christmas Hymn (1941);
Reunion Variations (1945); Suite for Strings:
Aylesbury Games (1952)
Thank you very much Albion, interesting reading! Still unrecorded music on that list..
Morten
Quote from: M. Henriksen on Monday 04 October 2010, 05:31
Thank you very much Albion, interesting reading! Still unrecorded music on that list..
Morten
The Dutton release of the three purely orchestral symphonic poems will mean that most of the composer's significant orchestral output has been recorded (even if it is not all currently available - thinking of the BBC Radio Classics
Deirdre).
Apart from the music dramas, perhaps the most urgently-deserving area of Boughton's output is his choral music, principally the three further 'Symphonic Poems' for Chorus and Orchestra
The Skeleton in Armour (text by Longfellow, 1898-1903),
The Invincible Armada (text Schiller, trans. Lytton, 1901) and
Midnight (text Edward Carpenter, 1907). The last especially is a superb composition, very atmospheric and written with assurance and daring. Boughton's other choral music is pretty uneven, but his unaccompanied cycle of six settings
Child of Earth (1927) would be well worth reviving.
If you can find a copy, I would strongly recommend Michael Hurd's revised and expanded biography
Rutland Boughton and the Glastonbury Festivals (Clarendon, 1993).
To revive an old thread - the new uploads from Paul of extracts from Boughton's Alkestis and The Lily Maid have surely made a strong case for the recording of these two music dramas (especially the former). Unfortunately The Lily Maid was not published (the uploaded Love Duet between Lancelot and Elaine is glorious) but I do have a vocal score of Alkestis (or, as published by Goodwin & Tabb, Alcestis): the entire work has a certain stylised masque-like quality and is characterised by what Michael Hurd rightly called a classic nobility and calm resulting in a work that is utterly convincing. Perhaps, given the resounding success of Dutton's The Queen of Cornwall, it is a project even now closer to the top of the priority list for the Rutland Boughton Trust.
:)
Oh yes, yes, please! One day the whole cycle, I pray! The last two have not even been performed, have they? I always imagined that 'The Queen of Cornwall' was a kind of prelude to the cycle, but recently I discovered that it was composed after the first two or three.
Dutton rarely venture into opera, though...
Yes, I agree these are most enjoyable, especially in The Lily Maid. :)
I think the question about why interest in Boughton's work declined so rapidly deserves some consideration. His sound world is one of pale romanticism, full of drama, mystery and imagination, and no less intriguing than say Bax or Moeran, so I don't really understand his comparative neglect. Maybe post-war social realism was to blame - certainly, the public didn't retreat into the spirit world, as they did after WW1. And, maybe his politics didn't go down well? Does Hurd's book have any explanation?
Many years ago, I picked up Hurd's other Boughton book Immortal Hour: The Life and Period of Rutland Boughton (1962) for 60c at a jumble sale. It includes a catalogue of his works and a commentary on key compositions, but it offers no explanations as to the decline of interest - except to say that his politics were sometimes problematic and that he was dismayed by what he regarded as the unwarranted popularity of The Immortal Hour, and that it was fuelled by the failure of audiences to understand its true message. He was rather put out because he thought his other compositions were undervalued as a result - although they generally received critical acclaim. Bax said The Immortal Hour was the best opera ever written by an English composer, Holst was very impressed, and so to were Goossens and Smyth....
In addition to the symphonic works and concertos, Hurd lists 17 music dramas (including 2 ballets), 11 works for chorus and orchestra, 16 chamber works (including 2 string quartets), and about a hundred songs and partsongs. I do hope Dutton will make inroads into this, as far as the MSS will allow! :)
is that 2 string quartets including the ones from 1923 I (seem to?...) recall Hyperion Records released on CDA66936 (performed by the Rasumovsky Quartet, in F and A major (no.2 on Greek folk songs)?) or in addition to them?) (Interesting notes here http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDA66936 (http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDA66936).)
Eric,
Yes, Hurd lists them as:
String Quartet No.1 in A major, comp. 1923
String Quartet No.2 in F major, comp. 1923
He also lists two quartets for oboe & strings, and four trios of various kinds.
I remember an Agatha Christie, not even an early one, quoting 'The Immortal Hour' in a way that suggested that the reader and the characters would definitely be familiar with it, which one certainly would not assume these days. The decline seems to have been pretty rapid.
Slightly off topic, I have noticed a few similarities between 'Bethlehem' and Britten's 'Noye's Fludde': both set a mediaval mystery play, both are very suitable for performance by amateurs, and both use popular hymnody as interludes. Since Joyce Boughton, his daughter, was a friend of Britten's, would it be too fanciful to see some influence there?
Quote from: Jimfin on Saturday 03 December 2011, 13:26
......I have noticed a few similarities between 'Bethlehem' and Britten's 'Noye's Fludde': both set a mediaval mystery play, both are very suitable for performance by amateurs, and both use popular hymnody as interludes. Since Joyce Boughton, his daughter, was a friend of Britten's, would it be too fanciful to see some influence there?
Hurd's book mentions Britten only once, in passing, and it's actually in the section about
Bethlehem. He says that Boughton's work is in the tradition of English opera - which is more like oratorio, where static lyricism is preferred to dramatic development - the operas of Britten being the sole exception. ::)
I see what he means, especially in 'The Immortal Hour', in which nothing much happens at all. It's a tedious story, redeemed only by the ravishing music.
Quote from: Jimfin on Saturday 03 December 2011, 23:03
I see what he means, especially in 'The Immortal Hour', in which nothing much happens at all. It's a tedious story, redeemed only by the ravishing music.
I agree totally, Jim, but I suspect that reaction maybe what ruffled the composer's feathers, because he was apparently trying to get some message across through the story... I need to read Hurd's book! ::)
An interesting article about Boughton, containing much information, may be read here: http://www.amielandmelburn.org.uk/collections/nr/08_74.pdf (http://www.amielandmelburn.org.uk/collections/nr/08_74.pdf)
It was written by Bernard Stevens - himself a fine but now sadly unsung composer - and published in the Marxist journal The New Reasoner in 1959.
He suggests that Alkestis may be Boughton's finest work. And he goes on: "After his study with Ravel in Paris, and after he had made a close study of Sixteenth Century polyphony, Vaughan Williams's range widens and deepens without his becoming French or pseudo-archaic. His greatest work, the Fourth Symphony, shows clear signs of the influence of Hindemith and his late choral music that of the Stravinski of the Symphony of Psalms, but his utterance remains very English and personal. Boughton, more naturally gifted than Vaughan Williams, has even more strength of musical personality with which to resist any possible over-powering by such influences and his means of expression would have become more fully adequate for the realisation of his objectives had he allowed these influences to be felt. As it is, his music remains in the period of William Morris while his great soul reaches forward. Here lies the only negative aspect of the moral and spiritual courage and independence that Vaughan Williams admired in Boughton to the end of his life and gives some answer to the question why the rich personality of the man is not fully present in the music. Boughton places human loyalties above artistic considerations; art, for him, is forever at the service of humanity. In this he is greater as a man but less as an artist, in ironic contrast to his beloved Wagner, for whom no intrigue or dishonesty was too mean with which to serve his artistic ends. Here we are brought face to face with the central problem of the moral responsibility of the artist. Neither Wagner nor Boughton, from their opposed positions, would admit there is any problem at all. Wagner achieved his Bayreuth, Boughton did not but might well have done so if he had had some of Wagner's cunning and opportunism. Which is the more deserving of our admiration?"
Thanks for the response to my provision of the extracts from Alkestis, The lily maid and The Queen of Cornwall. I remember a lengthy discussion with Michael Hurd in the early 1980s when we discussed the possibility of a performance of The lily maid and I believe it was given some years later by a semi-professional company but I don't know if anybody recorded this. I agree that the extract from Alkestis suggests a work well worthy of revival if the rest of the score is anything like this chorus.
There remains the lamentable fact that almost nothing from the Arthurian cycle exists in any form. Since this is as far as I can see the largest single work (if you regard it as a whole) written in England in the twentieth century, this lack is even more deplorable. Hurd's book gives no extracts from either of the last two segments so it is impossible to judge their quality, but their Marxist overtones should surely present no problems to listeners today. (Incidentally I believe the two books by Hurd are really just one, the second being a revision of the first.) The scores are in the British Library I believe.
I enjoyed his Symphony No 2 (BBC Radio Classics) which I recently found reasonably priced second hand. Thanks for the recommendation here. The slow movement is the highlight.
Quote from: paul corfield godfrey on Wednesday 21 December 2011, 12:03Hurd's book gives no extracts from either of the last two segments so it is impossible to judge their quality [...] I believe the two books by Hurd are really just one, the second being a revision of the first.
Hurd's
Rutland Boughton and the Glastonbury Festivals (1993) is a greatly revised and expanded version of
Immortal Hour (1962) to the extent that it is effectively an entirely different and far more comprehensive study of the composer and his work:
Galahad (1943-44) and
Avalon (1944-45) are discussed (with seven musical examples) on pages 323-329.
The holograph full and vocal scores of the various music dramas are in the British Library (MS Add. 50960-50979).
:)