There seems to have been a particularly rich period of symphonic composition either side of WW2 in Britain. Besides the obvious suspects (RVW, Walton, Moeran, Bax, Alwyn, Arnell, Arnold, etc.), there are several others. For example, I have just encountered the very fine 1st Symphony of Hindemith pupil Arnold Cooke. Does anybody know this work? And has anyone any further recommendations from this period?
The period that you mention seems to have been no less than "glorious" for the British Symphony, both in number (of works and composers) and in quality. For those of you that speak or, at least can understand, German I recommend the book "Die britische Sinfonie 1914-1945" by Jürgen Schaarwächter (Verlag Dohr 1994) with about 600 pages on the subject. At the end of the book there is a list of all (known) British symphonies premiered between 1825 and 1975. The peak appears to have been between 1955 and 1968 with an average of more than 15 new symphonies per year (happy times!).
Alan, you've mentioned most of the foremost names, but I would add George Dyson's Symphony in G (1937), Cyril Scott's The Muses (1937), Armstrong Gibbs' Odysseus (1937/8), Bantock's The Cyprian Goddess (1938/9), William Wordsworth's 2nd (1947/8) and Havergal Brian's 6th (1948) - luckily all are now available in excellent recordings:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dyson-Symphony-major-Concerto-Chiesa/dp/B0008JEKEU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1274000898&sr=1-1 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dyson-Symphony-major-Concerto-Chiesa/dp/B0008JEKEU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1274000898&sr=1-1)
http://www.chandos.net/details06.asp?CNumber=CHAN%2010211 (http://www.chandos.net/details06.asp?CNumber=CHAN%2010211)
http://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=CDLX7201 (http://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=CDLX7201)
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDA66810&f=bantock
(http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDA66810&f=bantock)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wordsworth-Symphonies-Nos-2-3/dp/B000027QVT/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1274003003&sr=8-2
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wordsworth-Symphonies-Nos-2-3/dp/B000027QVT/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1274003003&sr=8-2)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Havergal-Brian-Symphonies-Arnold-Symphony/dp/B0014FLGRQ/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1274000827&sr=8-5
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/Havergal-Brian-Symphonies-Arnold-Symphony/dp/B0014FLGRQ/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1274000827&sr=8-5)
I rate Dyson and Wordsworth, and I have the Bantock. Gibbs I don't rate at all, but clearly I must pursue the Lyrita CD which includes Brian 6 and Cooke 3.
Unfortunately Schaarwächter's book seems no longer available.
"...Gibbs I don't rate at all..."
I'm assuming this is a Britishism. It means something negative or dismissive, oui?
David
To rate = to value, esteem. A Britishism?
Not really my era and whilst a bit long for me, I remember a nice Saturday morning in the company of George Lloyd Symphony No. 4.
Not listened to any of the others yet.
Thal
"...Gibbs I don't rate at all..."
Never heard an American express it thus. Personally, I need to give Odysseus another listen. I have mixed feelings about the other 2 symphonies...
David
I don't think that anyone has mentioned Edmund Rubbra (1901-1986) yet, but he is a wonderful composer whose work is certainly worth getting to know - within the terms of this present discussion, the relevant symphonies are Nos. 1 (1936), 2 (1937), 3 (1939) and 5 (1949). Hickox on Chandos is unsurpassed.
Also worth a listen is Eric Chisholm's 2nd (Ossian) from 1939:
http://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=CDLX7196 (http://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=CDLX7196)
Amongst the unrecorded British symphonies from this period, top of my list would be Cyril Rootham's choral Symphony No.2 (Revelation Symphony), completed with the help of Patrick Hadley during the composer's final illness in 1938.
Rubbra is certainly a great symphonist.
Any thought on Lennox Berkeley? Or Frankel, Searle, Rawsthorne, Joubert, etc....?
Quote from: Alan Howe on Sunday 16 May 2010, 22:53
Rubbra is certainly a great symphonist.
Any thought on Lennox Berkeley? Or Frankel, Searle, Rawsthorne, Joubert, etc....?
Have heard a little by Searle (including three of his symphonies though), Fricker (sym. 2) and Berkeley (sym. 3 I think and one or two other works), a little more by Rawsthorne, a lot by Frankel, nothing yet by Joubert beyond the name- I think. (Also a lot by Simpson though except for his sym. 1 he doesn't fall into this period I think. But then neither do Frankel's later works :) )
Generally positive I feel (I think especially well of Frankel.)
Eric
I have no problem with any of these works, except for those in line of descent from Schoenberg, Berg, etc. I want to like Frankel, for example, but find myself too easily disorientated. Does this mean that this style is fundamentally antithetical to symphonic writing? Or is it me? (Having said that, I can follow Hugh Wood's Symphony without too much difficulty!)
I find mid 20th Century British symphonies rather a mixed bag. e.g. Walton 1 I like quite a lot, particularly the scherzo which, for ingenuity I would put in the same class as that of Raff 2. We waited an awful long time for Walton 2 and, when it did arrive, I was rather disappointed. Of Malcolm Arnold's symphonies, I feel I can only fully relate to Nos 2 & 5. Similarly, I think Rubbra only really got it right with his 5th symphony. Of the Vaughan Williams symphonies, the only ones I really enjoy are nos. 2, 4 & 5. I find Robert Simpson rather strident and noisy but must admire him for his championship Bruckner and Havergal Brian. The latter's symphonies I feel are rather a mixed bag----good in parts like the proverbial curate's egg. I haven't heard them all, but I would probably agree with Simpson that No 8 ( formerly N0. 9 ) is the best of the bunch. Like Alan, I cannot relate to Frankel, still less to Searl or Tippett.
I remember somebody sending me a cassette of Frankel symphonies years ago,when they were still unrecorded. I only played the tape once & was polite about it,but found them unappealing,to say the least. I think he was probably better at film music.
As to Brian. I'm not so keen on him as I used to be,but the Testament release of the Boult performance had me enthusing over that mind boggling piece of music al over again. The sheer scale of it. The horrible Naxos recording put me off it for years. My favourite performance of the 'Gothic' has to be the Ole Schmidt. I wish someone would release it on cd. His last, twenty odd symphonies ,all sound the same,to my ears,except for No 16,which is strangely impressive. My favourite HB symphonies are No 5 & 6. Having said that,I do wish someone would hurry up and record No 5. However, it really does need a good soloist,otherwise it will have been a waste of time! The Lyrita cd is THE HB recording to buy,in my opinion. The best commercial recording ever made of Brian's music.
As to Simpson. I think the 9th is very impressive. But,I admit I haven't listened to it for a long time. I also enjoyed the 3rd & 5th. Come to think of it,I might even invest in the boxed set when I've got some money to spare! I admire Simpson's work at the BBC. I only wish there was someone with his values there,now,
With respect to Bantock's 'Cyprian Goddess'. I love that,even though it's not really a symphony. Exciting,over the top,escapist fun! Strange how the record companies seem to have lost interest in Bantock now. I wonder why? There is allot of music left to record. Is Vernon Handley's legacy too daunting,for them?
Frankel's 5th (and maybe 3rd) (1967, 1964...) are probably the most accessible of his symphonies, btw. (Both combine serial and non-serial elements - the fifth in separate movements, the third in one. Of his orchestral works in general, there's always the violin concerto. But his pre-1958 concert works like the violin concerto are generally a lot more tonal than those post that date. At least one of the film scores is serial, too, famously - Curse of the Werewolf..)
...and that makes Frankel's symphonies all pretty thorny, I think, if 1958 is the cut-off point.
To be fair the quality of the all too obviously off air recordings didn't help much. But there wasn't much to encourage further investigation, I'm afraid. Nearly as disappointing as the off air Alan Bush Piano Concerto. Although even that was preferable. As to 'Curse of the Werewolf';off topic,but wasn't that the one with Oliver Reed?!
Alan mentioned the Symphony by Hubert Clifford (1904-59) in another post, but I believe the Symphony no2 (1940)by Edgar Bainton,(1880-1956), on the same disc, is a good example of the English symphony.in the 1930's(Chandos #9757)
Bainton emigrated to Australia in 1934, and remained in Sydney until his death in 1956.
The 2nd symphony is a wonderful work,written in a late romantic idiom, and one which was played regularly by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in the 1950/60's. It is basically a single movement work, but after the 1st "mvt " Andante, lasting 5'37", there are 11 shorter movements, which are cleverly combined to produce a symphony of 27'21".
The music evokes for me, images & a soundscape of the Australian bush at dawn. I doubt if Bainton ever visited the vast western plain of NSW where I lived, but his imagery probably reflected the Lakes District in England.
Baintons handling of woodwinds & brass results in an orchestral colour which is very English, reminiscent of Bax, Vaughan Williams & Arthur Butterworth. His 3rd symphony in C minor (Dutton #CDLX 7185) is equally impressive.
Another symphonist from this period is Eugene Goossens,(1893-1962) who wrote two very fine symphonies. no1 in 1940 & no2 in 1945. They have been recorded by the ABC. (No1 ABC-CD #462-014-2, and no2 ABC-CD #442-364-2). Goossens musical language resembles that of Walton &Bax. Both of these composers worked for many years in Australia.
John Joubert's Symphony no1 is a tonal work in 4 mvts,(31'17"), written in 1955,and in the words of the composer "Though very much a youthful work - it was composed while I was still in my twenties - I would nevertheless claim that it represents my coming-of-age as a composer. Conceived as a traditionally four movement structure and scored for a classical symphony orchestra (with the addition of a small part for piano), it is a substantial undertaking which makes few concessions to the largely non-professional status of the orchestra for which it was composed. (Hull Philharmonic Orchestra) The musical language and the forms which it articulates, are fundamentally tonal in nature and bears all the hallmarks both of tradition I felt I was heir to and my then current enthusiasms: (the work of Shostakovich - later to become a major influence- was largely unknown to me at this time: indeed many of his later-period-works had yet to be written.) "(Lyrita #SRCD 322)
Marcus.
The Bainton was the work that impressed me. Mind you,my enjoyment of the Clifford Symphony ,via an off air recording on ye olde cassette tape,was marred by a side break, (remember those?).
The 3rd is supposed to be even better,but the odd coupling on the Dutton cd has put me off buying the recording,so far. (Even though I usually like Boughton,I would have preferred an all Bainton,or Boughton cd,myself).
Hello Pengelli,
The Bainton 3rd (in 4 mvts , 13'04",7'.00",9'58",12'07"),is worth the price of the CD alone, but don't be put off by Boughton's 1st. It is a very enjoyable work, written in 1905, in the musical language of England at the time, somewhat similar to Parry & Stanford.
The baritone solo in the final movement was a bit of a let down for me. I would have preferred a full chorus in addition to the soloist to record Cromwell's demise. But then, that is merely a personal opinion, and the composer is usually right. And having said that, I would have bought the disc to hear this work, regardless of what else was included, so with the coupling of the Bainton symphony, this disc is a great buy.
I would like to hear again the Boughton Diedre Symphony no2 - does anyone know if a recording is still available ?
I have strayed friom the original thread here, but the Bainton symphonies have saved me .
Marcus.
If you can get the deleted BBC Radio Classics cd at a reasonable price,the Edward Downes performance,from a Radio 3 performance, is very good,and the only one I know of the piece. I remember enjoying the original broadcast. The sound is pretty good,but obviously not SACD state of the art. It is coupled with Boughtons 3rd. I posted about this cd on this message board a little while ago,(see under 'Boughton'). I almost wish the BBC Radio Classics Carlton label had lasted a little longer. I just bought the Downes performance of Bantock's 'Pagan Symphony',and felt the Bax items coupled with it,(Tintagel & Northern Ballads 1 & 2 ),were more appropriate,in terms of mood & atmosphere,than 'Fifine at the Fair',on the Hyperion release. Most of the 'BBC Legends' & 'Testament' releases,so far,bar the Boult release of Brian's 'Gothic',seem a bit mainstream.
Correction,'Boughton 3',actually!