(Even) lesser known works of Frederic Cliffe

[irs101]

Hi all

Bradford being the City of Culture this year has led me here. Bradford-born are few and far between, but even those we have (principally Delius) aren't terrifically well represented in the programme so far.

Which led me to Frederic Cliffe. I'm a (very amateur) pianist and singer, so I'm not going to be able to mount a performance of the symphonies. But I'm trying to find out more about some of his other works - whether they are performable, or could be adapted/arranged.

- Ode to the North-East Wind (Choral Ballad)
- A Silent Voice (song)
- Out of the Deep (anthem)

There appears to be a copy of North-East Wind at Huddersfield Uni, which I am trying to get access to. But I am otherwise drawing a blank.

If anybody has come across these works or has any ideas where to find them, I'd love to hear about it.

Thanks

Ian.

[Gareth Vaughan]

A quick search on WorldCat shows a number of locations for the Ode, and quite a few songs and the odd piano piece, apart from the orchestral works.
You will find WorldCat a useful online resource, especially the Advanced Search.

[eschiss1]

Supplemented maybe in this case by the catalogs of RAM and RCM, I think (correction- Worldcat now contains at least part of the RCM catalog, at least- this has not always been the case at all). (RAM only has two Cliffe items - the Ode to the North-East Wind, yes, in one loanable (vocal score) and one reference (string parts) form, and The triumph of Alcestis (reference - vocal score).) The latter work was republished by Recital Publications in 2009. Indeed RCM, according to Worldcat, also has the Alcestis vocal score, likewise U North Texas. And yes, indeed, Worldcat lists 8 locations for the vocal score to the North-East Wind, and the choral parts at National Library of Scotland.

Also, of course, don't forget JISC/COPAC which lists yet more locations for the Ode in various versions? Will see what else I can find.

JISC turns up Out of the Deep only at U. Oxford Libraries, in 2 editions.

[irs101]

Thank you both so much. If I can get to Leeds Uni library, then it looks like I might be onto something.

[irs101]

An update - I've progressed quite a lot in the last couple of weeks.

I've managed to buy an original copy of the Ode, which is great to have. And I bought a copy of Alcestis from Recital Publications - thanks for that tip - apparently I'm the only person to have ever bought one! It's quite an odd piece, hopefully it will grow on me 

The Bodleian are sending me a copy of Out of the Deep this week and I'm going to see a bunch of stuff at another library on Friday. There is one set of four songs that are only available to view in London, which I'm hoping to do next month. But in the meantime I found one of the songs online - When I am Dead, words by Christina Rossetti. It's quite lovely.

Oh, and according to his birth certificate, his name is actually "Fred"

Thanks again for putting me on the right track.

[Alan Howe]

his name is actually "Fred"

Do you think that "Frederic" (which is the French spelling) was some sort of affectation - and have you any idea who came up with it?

[irs101]

I haven't got anything on that yet - every reference I've found so far, apart from his birth record, is Frederic.

I've asked the church where he was organist (at age 11 apparently) to see if they can find him in any of their records. So maybe I'll see if he had started using Frederic at that point.

I did wonder if he'd done it to avoid confusion with Fred E Cliffe (of When I'm Cleaning Windows fame). But the timing's not quite right.

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, and keep going!