A truly fantastic bonanza from Dutton to close what has been an exceptional year for this pioneering company - Rutland Boughton's 1924 music drama The Queen of Cornwall and three of his orchestral poems (together with three by Edgar Bainton), the second volume of John Foulds' light orchestral music, Stanley Bate's 4th Symphony ...
http://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/ (http://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/)
I've already put my order in!
Great stuff - from a truly great label.
I know the music of all the composers involved, except for Paul Patterson. Anyone have a clue?
(I'm not too interested in the posthumous "realisation" of the Arnell 7th Symphony. I'd prefer to stick with the six which were completed by Arnell himself.)
Quote from: febnyc on Saturday 23 October 2010, 00:51
I know the music of all the composers involved, except for Paul Patterson. Anyone have a clue?
I don't think I've heard his music. He was born in 1947 and composes and teaches in England. According to Wikipedia a set of variations of his is on a free-to-download CD (... hrm- some or a sample of it- listening to the beginning now- is on the violinist's homepage -- http://www.tasminlittle.org.uk/ (http://www.tasminlittle.org.uk/).)
The Boughton releases are especially welcome. As for the realisation of Arnell's Seventh, I'm usually a sucker for these (Elgar's Third, Tchiakovsky's Seventh and Mahler's Tenth being the standouts) but I can't say that I'm too excited by the Arnell. I though that the first five were fine pieces, but the Sixth left me absolutely cold.
Great minds think alike Albion, just I was posting my "alert" on the new Dutton releases on another thread!
I'd be grateful for some idea of the idiom of Boughton's The Queen of Cornwall...
This site, thankfully, does not serve as a vehicle for advertisements (and nor am I in the employ of the company concerned!). However I draw the attention of friends on the site to the fact that HMV on their website are offering the latest Dutton releases at £5.99 for a single CD, and £8.99 for a double. Thus possible ditherings about 'The Queen of Cornwall' are swept to one side in my haste to acquire it. Together with all the other latest releases available from 1st November (including David Matthews whose works I rate very highly indeed).
I've used HMV a lot recently. They offer a hefty discount on 'pre-orders', and a couple of weeks after release those invaluable Dutton CDs will go up to £7.99 - which is still incredibly generous and well below Dutton's own prices on their website. These prices are post-free.
Curiously each item ordered, even if ordered together, arrives individually in a stout little cardboard box by 1st class post and is sent from Jersey. The profit to HMV (if any!) must be almost entirely absorbed by postage costs. Not for me to comment on their practice, but long may it continue.
Apologies for a message of no musical interest whatsoever - but perhaps of value to those like me who want to snap up these bargains.
Peter
Very helpful, Peter. Thanks. I use HMV a lot too...
Wow!
As you say Peter, what is HMV's profit on this?
Well, I will not complain..
Morten
I couldn't find a single Dutton CD on the HMV website (www.hmv.com). Am I looking in the wrong place?
Try here:
http://hmv.com/hmvweb/simpleMultiSearch.do?searchUID=-5339140341208560897&pGroupID=0&adultFlag=false&primaryID=0&simpleSearchString=dutton+vocalion&btnSubmitSearch.x=19&btnSubmitSearch.y=20 (http://hmv.com/hmvweb/simpleMultiSearch.do?searchUID=-5339140341208560897&pGroupID=0&adultFlag=false&primaryID=0&simpleSearchString=dutton+vocalion&btnSubmitSearch.x=19&btnSubmitSearch.y=20)
Quote from: Alan Howe on Tuesday 02 November 2010, 12:28
Try here:
http://hmv.com/hmvweb/simpleMultiSearch.do?searchUID=-5339140341208560897&pGroupID=0&adultFlag=false&primaryID=0&simpleSearchString=dutton+vocalion&btnSubmitSearch.x=19&btnSubmitSearch.y=20 (http://hmv.com/hmvweb/simpleMultiSearch.do?searchUID=-5339140341208560897&pGroupID=0&adultFlag=false&primaryID=0&simpleSearchString=dutton+vocalion&btnSubmitSearch.x=19&btnSubmitSearch.y=20)
Thank you, Alan. The HMV site must have a crappy search facility. When I entered 'Dutton' it came up with nothing useful at all.
So, how to YOU search on this site (I'm usually pretty good at such things)?
I turn up a few things using Google... e.g. "dutton epoch site:hmv.com" turns up 6 hits.
When I used the HMV search, I entered 'Dutton' and a number of suggestions came up, one of which was Dutton Vocalion - and that seemed to contain all the required releases. I agree, though: their search facility isn't really up to scratch.
QuoteThe HMV site must have a crappy search facility.
Their search facility is, indeed, truly appalling. However, if you enter the number of the CD you want (which you can find on the Dutton website) that seems to work.
My batch of Dutton CDs arrived in the post this morning, and I can't wait to start listening to them. I ordered them direct from Dutton, but would be intrigued to know how quickly they arrive if ordered through HMV given the significant price difference.
Quote from: Gareth Vaughan on Tuesday 02 November 2010, 16:11
QuoteThe HMV site must have a crappy search facility.
Their search facility is, indeed, truly appalling. However, if you enter the number of the CD you want (which you can find on the Dutton website) that seems to work.
Of course, the whole point of a decent search facility is that you often don't KNOW all the details of the CD you're looking for (least of all the catalogue number).
It is indeed a useless search facility. However, my point was that, as far as searching for the Dutton disks goes, one can, at least, locate the number via Dutton's website, and so enjoy HMV's advantageous pricing without too much hassle.
I received two Dutton CDs this morning - the Bate Third Symphony/Arnell Black Mountain and Robert Flaherty/Chisholm Pictures after Dante and the brand new Bate Fourth Symphony/Arnell Seventh Symphony. I am listening to the Bate Third at the moment and am enjoying it immensely. What I am NOT enjoying is looking at all the broken CD-retaining splines in the jewel cases (about four remain between the two cases). Sadly, this is now usual when CD companies use the clear jewel case inserts, as the splines are both weak AND fragile. The slightest knock in the post shatters these tiny bits of plastic immediately. Isn't there some kind of lobby against this? I now have two brand new CDs in need of new jewel cases!
Quote from: Delicious Manager on Thursday 04 November 2010, 13:48
What I am NOT enjoying is looking at all the broken CD-retaining splines in the jewel cases (about four remain between the two cases). Sadly, this is now usual when CD companies use the clear jewel case inserts, as the splines are both weak AND fragile. The slightest knock in the post shatters these tiny bits of plastic immediately. Isn't there some kind of lobby against this? I now have two brand new CDs in need of new jewel cases!
This happens to me as well quite frequently, so I generally keep a store of spare CD jewel cases ready to cannibalise. At least with CDs, even if the retainer breaks there is little chance of the actual disc being damaged. Unfortunately this is not the case with DVDs!
My Dutton discs (Boughton/ Bainton, Foulds 2,
The Queen of Cornwall) also arrived today and I've just started some highly pleasurable and fascinating listening. This company has become a real lifeline to those interested in British music - repertoire choice, performances and production values are exemplary. When Vernon Handley and Richard Hickox left us I feared that the exploratory spirit might have also departed, but Dutton continues to bridge gaps in our knowledge and has come up with yet another winning set of releases.
I've now been having a good listen to Boughton's The Queen of Cornwall: it's certainly well sung and performed - many congratulations to Ronald Corp and his forces - and very well recorded. But, and it's a considerable 'but', I think, there's almost nothing that sticks in the memory. The idiom is attractive - much denser and more chromatic than The Immortal Hour - but I can't see myself wanting to go back to it very often, although, as I said, there is some very fine singing in it. Not a major discovery, in my view.
PS. I also find some of the folksy stuff and rustic la-la-la-ing frankly cringeworthy, but that's a very personal reaction, I'm sure. Nevertheless, a very enjoyable listen overall, especially as the performance is so obviously committed.
Quote from: Alan Howe on Monday 15 November 2010, 17:23
I've now been having a good listen to Boughton's The Queen of Cornwall: there's almost nothing that sticks in the memory. I also find some of the folksy stuff and rustic la-la-la-ing frankly cringeworthy. Nevertheless, a very enjoyable listen overall, especially as the performance is so obviously committed.
Curiously, my reaction was exactly the opposite! From the opening choral depiction of the wind and sea around the cliffs (shorn of the rather shambolic Overture added as an afterthought in 1926 and not recorded) I found that Boughton was creating powerful and highly memorable musical imagery. Compared with
The Immortal Hour and
Bethlehem, the musical idiom of
The Queen of Cornwall is not as easily assimilated by the listener, and I was surprised at just how personal the chromatic language of this work was - it did not remind me of any composer other than Rutland Boughton. The inclusion of more lyrical 'set pieces' (for example the beautiful
When I set out for Lyonesse) did not strike me as particularly jarring but I can understand why the 'Drinking chorus' might provoke a negative reaction from some listeners. However, this is a tiny section within the musical drama. Whether or not it is Boughton's best work it is impossible to say: until we have recordings of
Alkestis (1922),
The Ever Young (1929) and
The Lily Maid (1934) the picture is very much still incomplete. In the meantime, this is an excellent recording of a highly significant neglected British opera (or music drama) and such things do not come along very often!
Boughton is a curious figure - for me, his most memorable work is his 3rd Symphony, and that's a shameless rip-off of Elgar. Mind you, it's a great listen. Meanwhile, I can't summon up more than two cheers for the opera, although it is superlatively performed and recorded.
Quote from: Alan Howe on Tuesday 16 November 2010, 07:51
Boughton is a curious figure - for me, his most memorable work is his 3rd Symphony, and that's a shameless rip-off of Elgar. Mind you, it's a great listen. Meanwhile, I can't summon up more than two cheers for the opera, although it is superlatively performed and recorded.
Hrm. I agree the 2nd symphony is (at least) a bit less tuneful and more fluid maybe (I find its events and motives etc., like the calls at the end of the 2nd movement and a number of others, and some of its melodies - its opening for instance - very memorable myself but can still see the point and/or why you might say so!...), but are there other reasons it doesn't catch your fancy if that's what you mean? :)