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Messages - Robert Johnson

#1
I have just obtained a book by Tony Scotland called "Lennox and Freda" which documents the relationship between Lennox Berkeley and Freda Bernstein. On page 28 it quotes from Jackson's obituary in the Musical Times: 'The death of Mr Arthur Herbert Jackson has thrown quite a gloom over the Royal Academy of Music ... Mr Jackson was more than a student of promise, for he had already given to the world some important compositions ... He had, shortly before his death, finished a cantata called "Jason and the Golden Fleece" and ... we need scarcely say how bright a future has been suddenly blighted. Mr Jackson was held in high estimation by all who knew him [who] can amply attest how modestly and unassumingly he received the many proofs of success which he had so fairly won.'

The book also confirms something I had previously found mentioned in www.thepeerage.com – that Jackson had a daughter, Sybil Dean, born in 1878. As she isn't mentioned in the article in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, I wondered if she had died in infancy. However, the book describes her as "Lennox Berkeley's godmother and step-cousin", and the last mention of her is at the funeral of her stepfather, Randal 8th Earl of Berkeley, in January 1942.

I haven't yet found the time to scan the orchestral parts for "Lord Ullin's Daughter" and upload them to IMSLP, but will certainly do so as soon as possible. If this should prove to be the only surviving set, we would be happy to donate it to the British Library or any other suitable institution.

I would be very interested to learn of the discovery of any other scores by Jackson, particularly the full score of the piano concerto. Of course I haven't had an opportunity to examine the two-piano reduction, but it seems likely to have been a work of quality, given the high standing of the soloist at its premiere and the fact that the two-piano reduction at least was subsequently published by Stanley Lucas, Weber & Co.
#2
Since my first post five days ago I've been doing a bit of research into Arthur Herbert Jackson, hoping (among other things) to find a clue as to the whereabouts of the full score of the piano concerto. At the risk of repeating information that may already be known to members of this forum, I'll run through what I've discovered.

Six years after Jackson's death his widow, Kate, married Randal Thomas Mowbray Berkeley, 8th Earl of Berkeley, and was thus Lennox Berkeley's aunt by marriage. Unfortunately she died five years before Lennox was born, but the Berkeley family retained a number of Jackson's scores. Sometime after Lennox's death his collection of scores, including those by other composers, was deposited with the Britten-Pears Foundation, Ref. LB / 5, "Berkeley Family papers". The description of the contents includes the following sentence: "There is also printed and manuscript music by Nelly Berkeley and Arthur Jackson". So this might be worth investigating by those searching for the full score of the piano concerto.

Regarding "Lord Ullin's Daughter", I've found two references to the existence of the orchestral version in the "Musical Yearbook of the United States, Volume 10, 1892-1893".

On Page 88 (125/297 when searching the online version at http://www.mocavo.com/The-Musical-Yearbook-of-the-United-States-Volume-10/136214/125) there is a notice of a "Novelty Concert" at the Grand Opera House in Newark, New Jersey, on March 8 1893 which appears to have concluded with "Lord Ullin's Daughter". The choir was the Schubert Vocal Society, director Mr. Louis A. Russell, accompanied by an orchestra from the New York Philharmonic Society. On Page 282/297 an advertisement by G. Schirmer, New York, announces the publication of "Important New Chorus Works" including "Lord Ullin's Daughter" by A. H. Jackson. An asterisk beside the listing indicates that the work has orchestral accompaniment. "Parts are to be had from the publishers".

I've so far been unable to locate any set of orchestral parts for this work other than the one in the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's library. G. Schirmer has long since deleted this work from its listings, though they may have a set of parts archived somewhere. The original British publisher – Stanley Lucas, Weber & Co. – seems to have ceased business sometime in the early twentieth or late nineteenth century. If no other set can be located, I would be happy to scan our set of parts for the archives or practical use of anyone who wishes to have them.
#3
In some of the best of Stokowski's orchestrations he puts his own creative stamp on pre-existing material, just as ravel did with "Pictures". "Two Ancient Liturgical Melodies" is a wonderful example of Stokowski bringing a composer's sensibilities to bear on the task of orchestration.
#4
I have just joined this forum and was interested to note the references to Arthur Herbert Jackson. I am the librarian for the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in New Zealand. We have a set of orchestral parts (but no score) for "Lord Ullin's Daughter" by Arthur H. Jackson, published by Stanley, Lucas, Weber & Co. I am puzzled because all references I have found for this work state that it is a choral work and I can't find any mention of an orchestral accompaniment. I've looked at some pages from a chorus score held by the Library of Congress, and it looks as though the orchestral parts definitely match the piano accompaniment on that score. Can anyone throw any further light on this?