British composers - an overview of recordings

[albion]

The following information was initially posted on another forum, but as a great proportion of the composers listed are still 'unsung' I think it may be of interest here (updated to take into account several new recordings). We were trying to put together an overview of British music in terms of available recordings and gaps that might be addressed. The assessments in blue were made by Dundonnell and are repeated here with permission -


1790-99: Cipriani Potter (1792)

Considering that Potter was the first major British symphonist (and one of considerable quality), his current absence from the catalogue is a glaring omission. The Symphonies in E flat (1828) and G minor (1832) were recorded over twenty years ago on the now-defunct Unicorn-Kanchana label, and a much more recent recording of the Symphony in F (1826) on Classico has similarly succumbed to the deletion axe. An integral cycle of the nine extant symphonies is long overdue, and perhaps the three piano concertos would be worth exploring.

1800-09: Michael William Balfe (1808)

From Balfe's copious operatic output little has been set down on disc to even a reasonably high standard. The honourable exceptions are Falstaff (1838) from RTE and The Maid of Artois (1836) from Campion Cameo (Victorian Opera Northwest). The Argo/ Decca recording of The Bohemian Girl (1843) was not wholly successful, and despite the popularity of this opera there are several others which are more deserving of revival, especially The Siege of Rochelle (1835), The Rose of Castile (1857) and Satanella (1858).

1810-19: William Vincent Wallace (1812); Edward Loder (1813); Sir George Alexander Macfarren (1813); Henry Hugh Pearson [Heinrich Hugo Pierson] (1815); Sir William Sterndale Bennett (1816)

Wallace and Loder were, like Balfe, primarily composers for the stage. A recent recording of Lurline (1860) from Naxos (Victorian Opera Northwest), whilst not fully to professional standard, gives a very fair assessment of Wallace's strong melodic appeal, whilst Maritana (1845) was recorded by Marco Polo a couple of decades ago in a rather lacklustre account from Ireland. It would be interesting to hear The Amber Witch (1861) and Love's Triumph (1862). Two operas by Loder stand out as worth reviving, The Night Dancers (1834) and Raymond and Agnes (1855).

A brief foray into the symphonies (numbers 4 and 7) of Macfarren from CPO with the Queensland Philharmonic did not achieve very significant, or enjoyable results. Perhaps the performers and the recording quality were (unusually for CPO) to blame, but it was all very worthy and decidedly dull listening. Far more promising are Macfarren's operas - the premiere recording of Robin Hood (1860) has been released and is an excellent example of the composer's robust style - hopefully this will encourage interest in at least two other large-scale scores, She Stoops to Conquer and Helvellyn (both 1864). Although hampered by complete blindness from the early 1860s, Macfarren's output continued undiminished with the help of an amanuensis painstakingly writing down his dictation - the results (at least as far as these operas are concerned) are remarkably tuneful and colourfully scored.

Pierson, resident in Germany from 1845, was a true maverick. Writing in an unorthodox, episodic style very largely his own, though certainly influenced by the freedom of Berlioz, he is currently represented in the catalogue only by a Symphonic Poem Macbeth (1859) and an overture Romeo and Juliet (c.1865) on the Lyrita and Hyperion labels respectively. The most intriguing, and most frequently discussed, works in his output are his extensive incidental music to Faust (1854) and the highly individual oratorio Jerusalem (1852) - the vocal score of the latter indicates a forceful personality outside the conventions of the mainstream.

William Sterndale Bennett has been well-served on disc, especially by Lyrita - excellent recordings of Piano Concertos 1, 2, 3 and 5 were recently joined by one containing the late Symphony (1862) and several attractive overtures. Hyperion luckily filled the gap by including the Piano Concerto No.4 in the Romantic Piano Concerto series. Marco Polo effectively covered the main piano works in three volumes and there is little else that really demands attention, except the symphonic Fantasy-Overture Paradise and the Peri (1862) and Piano Concerto No.6 (whose autograph score is jealously guarded by it's owner and, unfortunately, currently inaccessible).

1840-49: Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842); Sir Alexander Mackenzie (1847); Sir Hubert Parry (1848)

Sullivan needs no introduction, but several major scores still lack the attention they deserve. The Golden Legend (1886) and Ivanhoe (1891) have, at long last, been made available by Hyperion and Chandos respectively - The Martyr of Antioch (1880) is still the major choral omission, but Chandos and the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society have committed to a complete studio recording of the Romantic Music Drama The Beauty Stone (1898) probably due for 2013.

Hyperion, briefly, flew the flag for Mackenzie with fine performance of the Scottish Piano Concerto, the Violin Concerto and several other attractively cosmopolitan scores. Perhaps the cause will be taken up by Chandos (Sir Andrew Davis has expressed an interest in exploring the Scottish Romantics). Perhaps it would be expecting too much for consideration to be given to his epic oratorio (and strongest work) The Rose of Sharon (1884) - but there's no harm in asking.

Parry did very well out of Chandos, with all the symphonies and a raft of other orchestral works set down by Matthias Bamert. Regrettably the exploration of the choral scores came to a somewhat premature end, leaving us without works such as Prometheus Unbound (1880), the Magnificat (1897) and The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1905), all of which would greatly expand our knowledge of this often-misrepresented composer. Luckily, Lyrita gave us a splendid account of one of Parry's finest scores, Ode on the Nativity (1912).

1850-59: Arthur Goring Thomas (1850); Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852); Sir Frederic Cowen (1852); Frederick Corder (1852); Sir Edward Elgar (1857); Frederic Cliffe (1857); Dame Ethel Smyth (1858); Algernon Ashton (1859)

Goring Thomas is now totally unknown, but his two principal operas Esmeralda (1883) and Nadeshda (1885) were successful in their day and are fully deserving of attention.

Stanford's instrumental, chamber and orchestral output has been fairly well explored by several companies but major choral recordings are still pretty thin on the ground and operas non-existent. This is a pity, as Phaudrig Crohoore (1896), the Te Deum (1898) and (amonst the operas) Much Ado About Nothing (1901) and The Travelling Companion (1916) should be better known.

Frederic Cowen's inclusion in the Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto series, via the 1897 Concertstuck written for Paderewski, is very welcome indeed. Two decades ago Marco Polo set down the 3rd Symphony (1880), Butterfly's Ball Overture (1901) and the Indian Rhapsody (1903) in truly appalling sound with a sub-standard orchestra - a recording which did more harm than good. Then, luckily, a release from Classico of the 6th Symphony (1897) put things back on track. Hopefully, more of Cowen's music will find it's way to disc - generally not profound stuff this, but attractively scored and melodically appealing. Two choral scores which stand out quite noticeably from his generally genteel, well-groomed, emotionally-non-committal output are Ode to the Passions (1898) and The Veil (1910), both unexpectedly strong in their language - it would be good to give them an airing. Luckily the full scores for these survive (unlike several other interesting Cowen scores, including his four operas).

Corder is represented on disc by a single work, the Overture Prospero (1885) on Hyperion. He taught Bantock, Holbrooke, Bax and Bowen at the RAM and it would be interesting to hear more of his music .

Elgar needs no special pleading, and pretty much everything he ever penned has been recorded at one time or another.

By including the Violin Concerto (1897) in their Romantic Violin Concerto series, Hyperion did Frederic Cliffe a great service. Although his output very limited to half-a dozen major works, what it lacks in quantity it more than makes up for in quality. Symphony No.2 (1892) is the major omission in the catalogue, but the very impressive Symphony No.1 (1889) was recorded in a rather cavernous acoustic by Sterling.

Ethel Smyth is a figure whose eccentricities and larger-than-life persona have largely obscured the high quality of her compositions. Only The Wreckers (1906) amongst her operas has been recorded complete (on the defunct Conifer label), but attention should be given to several others especially the comedy The Boatswain's Mate (1916). The Dvorakian Mass in D (1893) has had a couple of recordings, but nothing has been heard of a strong choral score from the other end of her career, The Prison (1930). Chandos gave us a single excellent orchestral disc under Odaline de la Martinez several years ago, but nothing since.

Crowned by eight surviving piano sonatas of considerable weight, the music of Algernon Ashton is now known only though those of his works which achieved publication - instrumental, chamber and song. Tragically, the manuscripts of all his large-scale works (including at least five symphonies, overtures, a violin concerto and a piano concerto) were destroyed by enemy action in the bombing of London (1940) - almost certainly a great loss to British music. Projects to record his piano music were (coincidentally) started virtually simultaneously by Dutton and Toccata and it is to be hoped that one or both will continue.

1860-69: William Wallace (1860); Sir Edward German (1862); Frederick Delius (1862); Sir Arthur Somervell (1863); Learmont Drysdale (1866); Percy Sherwood (1866); Sir Granville Bantock (1868); Sir John Blackwood McEwen (1868); Sir Henry Walford Davies (1869)

With four Symphonic Poems, a Creation Symphony, and a couple of other orchestral scores on Hyperion, William Wallace is fairly well represented.

Likewise, Edward German's orchestral output has been pretty well covered first by Marco Polo and then latterly by Dutton (on two outstanding discs conducted by John Wilson). The Naxos release of the comic opera Tom Jones (1907) was very welcome indeed, splendidly performed and very well recorded.

Delius is well-established on disc, not so much now in the concert hall and a recent Chandos recording under Sir Andrew Davis has been extremely well-received.

Somervell's fine Violin Concerto was another Hyperion winner and the same intrepid company have released an excellent disc containing the Normandy Variations (1913) and the Highland Piano Concerto (1921) - the only major missing link is the Thalassa Symphony (1912).

The Scottish composer Learmont Drysdale is another composer who has, so far, completely evaded the recording studio. Hopefully a selection of his best orchestral works will be issued (Chandos have shown an interest) and should be a good starting point for exploration.

Good reports of the music of Percy Sherwood indicate a substantial figure with symphonies and concertante works to his credit. A large number of manuscripts are held at the Bodleian Library - performance would allow better assessment of this intriguing composer.

Hyperion and Vernon Handley worked wonders on Bantock's wider reputation through a fantastic orchestral series during the 1990s. The (more or less complete) Chandos recording of Omar Khayyam (1906-09) turned out to be a splendid achievement - there is still some mileage to be had in other choral scores, especially Sea-Wanderers (1907) and The Great God Pan (1915) together with the Celtic folk-infused opera The Seal-Woman (1924).

McEwen's orchestral music was fairly well covered in a three-disc mini-series from Chandos under Alasdair Mitchell which also, rather unexpectedly, included the hour-long choral setting Hymn on the Morning of Christ's Nativity. Chamber music has fitfully appeared from Chandos, but it seems as though this has dried up now. The Viola Concerto (1901) is due shortly from Hyperion.

Finally coming to Walford Davies, the Dutton recording of Everyman (1904) was a very welcome oasis in the desert. None of his larger orchestral scores have found their way into the recording studio yet, including a mature Symphony (1911), a Festal Overture (1910) and a couple of suites including a solo piano. Several choral works also look very promising on paper, especially Song of St Francis (1912) - certainly, judging from the vocal scores, a number of Davies' cantatas would probably impress greatly in performance.


1870-79: Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872); Gustav Holst (1874); Cyril Rootham (1875); Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875); William Hurlstone (1876); Havergal Brian (1876); Rutland Boughton (1878); Joseph Holbrooke (1878); Frank Bridge (1879); John Ireland (1879); Cyril Scott (1879); Paul Corder (1879)

VW, Holst, Ireland and Scott have fared very well in recent years; Chandos has released a Scott cycle. The three Boughton symphonies have been recorded. HB appears to be coming in from the cold!

Outside of the Hiawatha trilogy, Coleridge-Taylor has not been too well served, although there are several recordings of his fine Violin Concerto (1912), whilst the Ballade in A minor (1898) and the Symphonic Variations on an African Air (1906) received excellent performances under Grant Llewellyn on Argo/ Decca. The Classico recording of his student Symphony (1896) has just been reissued at bargain price, but it would be great to have more of his colourful scores, especially A Tale of Old Japan (1911).

Hurlstone has done very well out of Lyrita with most of his orchestral music spread over three very fine discs: he was particularly expert at Variation form, with three impressive sets represented. I am always struck by the poignant fact that he was born in the same year as Havergal Brian but died at the age of 30 in 1906, whereas Brian's lifetime overlapped with mine.

In Rutland Boughton's output it is the music-dramas that feature most significantly: luckily we now have first-class recordings of The Immortal Hour (1914), Bethlehem (1915) and The Queen of Cornwall (1923-24), the most significant omissions being Alkestis (1920-22) and The Lily Maid (1934).

Holbrooke is gradually coming out of the shadows, with fine discs apiece from Dutton and CPO. More is scheduled from the latter (Violin Concerto The Grasshopper, the Auld Lang Syne Variations and Symphony No.3 Ships). This is very welcome - even better would be first-class recordings of Queen Mab (1904) and the 'Illuminated Symphony' Apollo and the Seaman (1908). It is encouraging that Dutton seem set on continuing their exploration of Holbrooke, with the Saxophone Concerto and a ballet, Aucassin and Nicolette, scheduled for release.

Chandos came up trumps with their six-volume Bridge series under Richard Hickox, even to the extent that the last two volumes had a certain barrel-scraping quality at times. Otherwise, there are several fine recordings from Lyrita covering the major orchestral works.

Paul Corder, son of Frederick, became (like his father) a Professor at the RAM. There are unconfirmed reports that his music manuscripts were destroyed after his death by his sister - it is to be hoped that this was not the case: his music, which included a Violin Concerto, a tone poem Pelleas and Melisande and Five Orchestral Tone Pictures entitled Along the Seashore, could be worth attention.

1880-89: John Foulds (1880); Edgar Bainton (1880); Sir Arnold Bax (1883); Lord Berners [Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson] (1883); Sir George Dyson (1884); York Bowen (1884); C. Armstrong Gibbs (1889); Ina Boyle (1889)

Bax has certainly done very well on disc over the last two decades. Chandos has recorded quite a lot of Bainton. York Bowen is very much flavour of the last two years!

John Foulds has become better represented in the catalogue only in past few years, with the 2007 Chandos release of A World Requiem perhaps the most prominent (and controversial) example. Elsewhere two fabulous discs from Warner under the baton of Sakari Oramo have recently been joined by two exemplary volumes from Dutton containing a wide variety of Foulds' orchestral music. Urgently needed is a recording of the very fine Cello Concerto.

Lord Berners is often viewed as an eccentric dilettante, but his music (especially for the stage) is expertly crafted and has many very real attractions. Perhaps his best work is to be found in the ballets The Triumph of Neptune (1926) and Wedding Bouquet (1937) and the opera La Carrosse du Saint-Sacrament (1923) - all on Marco Polo.

Dyson has fared well at the hands of Chandos, with several major choral works (The Canterbury Pilgrims, Nebuchadnezzar and Quo Vadis) leading the pack, alongside several fine discs of his orchestral music. Vernon Handley's recording of the masterly St Paul's Voyage to Melita (on Somm) was slightly let down by the chorus, but it still remains a valuable account of this highly impressive score.

The Irish composer Selina (or 'Ina') Boyle recently came to notice when the beautiful Violin Concerto (1935) was broadcast. A pupil of Vaughan Williams, she composed a substantial quantity of large-scale works (including three symphonies) - surely a musical voice which should be heard again.

1890-99: Sir Arthur Bliss (1891); Herbert Howells (1892); Ernest John Moeran (1894); Gordon Jacob (1895); Walter Gaze Cooper (1895); Patrick Hadley (1899); Stanley Wilson (1899)

[Bliss, Howells, Jacob and Hadley] have been reasonably well served by record companies, although most of the choral music written by Bliss remains unrecorded. Chandos has done a lot of Howells. Both Jacobs symphonies are on disc, some of his (huge number of) concerti, most of Hadley's major choral compositions.

Moeran's music has been quite well served, especially by Chandos with a significant number of his major works now available in budget price compilations.

Walter Gaze Cooper is a name completely forgotten today, but in his time he was a major musical personality in the Midlands, founding what later became the Nottingham Symphony Orchestra. With nine symphonies, many concertante works (including four piano concertos), symphonic poems and overtures to his credit, Cooper clearly filled his years with industry. As with Sacheverell Coke (see below), this once-prominent figure is now almost completely forgotten and it would be salutary to be reminded of his achievements.

Stanley Wilson's large-scale Skye Symphony (1927) secured publication under the prestigious Carnegie award scheme, indicating a composer of real attainment, but a second symphony (with choral finale, 1944) remains unperformed. Concertos for piano (1929), violin (1930) and cello (1936) all achieved performance, although the last not until 1952 when William Pleeth played it under Vilem Tausky's direction. There is clearly much potential here for rewarding rediscovery.

1900-09: Alan Bush (1900); Edmund Rubbra (1901); Gerald Finzi (1901); Sir William Walton (1902); Sir Lennox Berkeley (1903); William Alwyn (1905); Alan Rawsthorne (1905); Sir Michael Tippett (1905); Constant Lambert (1905); Grace Williams (1906); Arnold Cooke (1906); Benjamin Frankel (1906); Dame Elizabeth Maconchy (1907); William Wordsworth (1908); Robin Orr (1909)

Golden decade for British music! Rubbra, Walton, Rawsthorne, Tippett have all done very well on disc. Naxos and Dutton seem determined to record absolutely everything that Alwyn ever composed! Chandos released a somewhat attenuated Berkeley series(which did include all four symphonies). CPO, to its immense credit, recorded a complete cycle of the Frankel symphonies. Alan Bush(whose reputation was hugely damaged by his political sympathies) is beginning to be recognised: Dutton will shortly be releasing his 4th symphony and Nos. 1 and 2 are already available on a Classico disc. The two composers most deserving of re-discovery are Cooke and Wordsworth. Only Two of Cooke's six symphonies and only two of Wordsworth's eight are on disc.

Finzi has done pretty well with several companies, including Lyrita, Chandos and Naxos, with most major works recorded at least once.

Constant Lambert, although not wildly prolific, has struggled to find much recognition beyond The Rio Grande and, possibly, Horoscope - but there are several fine works particularly on Hyperion - Tiresias and Summer's Last Will and Testament spring most readily to mind.

Although not perhaps a major voice, I would certainly put in a word for Welsh composer Grace Williams whose style is quite distinctive. Two discs from Lyrita and one from Chandos are pretty much all there are at the moment, although recent radio broadcasts of her Symphony No.1, the Violin Concerto and the Sinfonia Concertante can be accessed. What is really needed is a committed performance of the large-scale Missa Cambrensis (1971).

Elizabeth Maconchy's music is seldom heard now, but there is much that belies her somewhat fearsome reputation - the best introduction is an excellent Lyrita disc containing the Overture, Proud Thames (1952), the Symphony for Double String Orchestra (1953), Serenata Concertante (1962) and Music for Strings (1983). Two short operas have been released by Chandos: The Sofa (1957) and The Departure (1961), but a Viola Concerto (1937, withdrawn) and a Symphony (1945-48) premiered by Boult languish unheard.

1910-19: Robert Still (1910); Stanley Bate (1911); Daniel Jones (1912); Roger Sacheverell Coke (1912); Benjamin Britten (1913); George Lloyd (1913); Humphrey Searle (1915); Bernard Stevens (1916); Richard Arnell (1917); John Gardner (1917)

Britten, of course, has been well covered. Courtesy of Albany and Dutton , so has the music of George Lloyd and of Richard Arnell respectively! Again, CPO must have taken quite a gamble-as with Frankel- in recording all five Searle symphonies but there is a lot, lot more Searle unrecorded and apparently forgotten. Stanley Bate is being discovered by Dutton. Five symphonies by Daniel Jones are on disc but eight more have never been recorded.

Sacheverell Coke is something of an enigma, spending much of his adult life in relative seclusion battling his own mental health problems. Nevertheless, he produced a considerable quantity of music including three symphonies and possibly as many as six piano concertos. Writing in a high-Romantic style and influenced by his acquaintance with Rachmaninov, it would be fascinating to hear a representative selection of his best music. Unfortunately many manuscripts appear to be missing and forum member Gareth Vaughan is currently compiling a list of extant scores.

When recently recorded by Naxos, John Gardner's first Symphony (1947) proved highly attractive, especially in the coupling with the 1957 Piano Concerto and the Overture Midsummer Ale (1965). In addition, the short Symphony No.3 (1989) was released by ASV on an all-Gardner disc which also included the miniature Overture Half-Day Holiday (1962) and the Flute Concerto (1995). With 249 opus numbers in his catalogue, including operas, several concertos and a further large-scale symphony (No.2, 1984-85) Gardner's approachable music deserves further investigation.

1920-29: Peter Racine Fricker (1920); Geoffrey Bush (1920); Sir Malcolm Arnold (1921); Robert Simpson (1921); Ruth Gipps (1921); Iain Hamilton (1922);  Arthur Butterworth (1923); Anthony Milner (1925); Alun Hoddinott (1929); Kenneth Leighton (1929)

Much more patchy now. Most Malcolm Arnold is on disc. Simpson did very well as a result of Hyperion's advocacy. Dutton has released some Butterworth (the composer is still very much alive!) Chandos has a mini-series of Leighton ongoing(I hope!). There is quite a lot of Hoddinott on disc-but a huge number of works still to go, including six of his ten symphonies. Fricker and Hamilton have been almost completely ignored!

Ruth Gipps was a tremendously energetic figure on the musical scene in London, founding the London Repertoire Orchestra in 1955 and the Chanticleer Orchestra in 1961. Currently represented in the catalogue by Symphony No.2 (1945) and the Horn Concerto (1968), it would be welcome indeed to have excellent modern performance of other major works, especially Symphony No.4 (1972) which was much admired by Arthur Bliss. The Piano Concerto (1948) has been recorded by Cameo for future release.

1930-39: (selective list) William Mathias (1934); Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (1934); Nicholas Maw (1935); Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (1936); John McCabe (1939)

Again very patchy! Collins recorded a lot of Maxwell Davies but when the company went to the wall that all stopped. There are at least two unrecorded McCabe symphonies and a very large number of concerti. Bennett appears largely forgotten in this country.

[Dundonnell]

No problems at all with reproducing my observations

(Very hopefully ) this list will require review and amendment as time goes on. The last few months alone have seen a further burst of new releases of previously unrecorded British music with more to come, much, but not all, from Dutton(the Martelli Symphony, Stanley Bate's Piano Concerto No.2, Kenneth Leighton's Piano Concerto No.1, the Ruth Gipps Piano Concerto, the Holbrooke Saxophone Concerto, the remains of the Moeran Second Symphony, William Mathias's Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2-to name but some examples).

What the future will bring is anybody's guess...although some have more inkling than others

Who would have predicted a few years ago that most of the major works, including all the symphonies, of Richard Arnell would be recorded? Arnell had, apparently been almost totally forgotten, his music no longer heard in the concert hall, those conductors who might have been able to champion him still(like Sir Charles Groves or Bryden Thomson dead). And then Dutton and Martin Yates come along...........

Or John Foulds? A slower but steady increase in interest: Malcolm MacDonald's book, Sakari Oramo in Birmingham takes an interest, Dutton again....

Or York Bowen? (I shall leave to others to comment..... )

Chandos decided to record some Edgar Bainton. Joseph Holbrooke is coming in from the cold. So is Stanley Bate, courtesy of Dutton once more.
Chandos has recently given us a mini Kenneth Leighton series, started by the late Richard Hickox but continued by Martyn Brabbins.
Going further back, CPO took it upon itself to record all the symphonies and concertos of a British composer who had always been more often heard in Germany-Benjamin Frankel and all the symphonies of an even tougher serialist, Humphrey Searle. Hyperion recorded all the Robert Simpson symphonies but gave up on the concertos.

What reasoning led Dutton to move beyond what had appeared their particular areas of British music to record so much David Matthews?

...and if these composers why not others?

So much, obviously, will depend on interesting a suitable conductor in a composer's music. The loss of conductors like Bryden Thomson(seriously under-used as he was), Vernon Handley and Richard Hickox were tragic blows to the cause but David Lloyd-Jones is still going srong and younger conductors like Martyn Brabbins and Martin Yates are now demonstrating their interest, their commitment and their abilities.

Do particular composers have an effective lobby working for them? Havergal Brian certainly does Others do not it seems.

Will William Wordsworth or Arnold Cooke be revived? Possibly, more likely than the more difficult music of Iain Hamilton or Peter Racine Fricker. (The lesson to be derived from those two is-Under No Circumstances accept a Chair of Music at an American University! You will be forgotten in Britain and, if you do return to Britain, will end up bitter and sad at the neglect of your music ).

....oh dear, I do apologise As usual, I have written far too much already

[albion]

....oh dear, I do apologise As usual, I have written far too much already

Certainly, not - lots of good observations here (as usual). The aim of the survey was not to give an exhaustive list per se of British composers, but to provide anybody coming new to the topic with something of a summary and listening-guide to those already acknowledged as key figures, those who might become key figures once their music is more widely known and those who appear from available evidence to be worthy of investigation but are pretty much completely uncharted territory as yet (personally thinking especially of Learmont Drysdale, Percy Sherwood, Walford Davies and Ina Boyle).

Lots of good work has been done - when the CD arrived in the mid-80s I wouldn't have dreamt that so much of the repertoire mentioned above would by now have been committed to disc. There is clearly much more (hopefully) to come and as more broadcast performances are made available on this forum and elsewhere there is every chance that (in lieu of commercial releases) significant gaps will be filled.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Three singularly overlooked British composers are: Roger Sacheverell Coke (1912-72); Walter Gaze Cooper (1895-1981) and Stanley Wilson (1899-1953).

[albion]

Three singularly overlooked British composers are: Roger Sacheverell Coke (1912-72); Walter Gaze Cooper (1895-1981) and Stanley Wilson (1899-1953).

Thanks, Gareth, for mentioning three further names potentially well worth exploring. How are your researches into Coke's manuscripts progressing?

[Gareth Vaughan]

Well, John, I think I will soon be able to issue a list of extant works. Unfortunately, it seems that, after withdrawing Symphony No. 1 and the 1st and 2nd PC, Coke destroyed these works. That leaves symphonies 2 & 3 and PCs 3-6.  A MS Full Score and set of parts exists for Symphony No. 2, but there is no sign of No. 3.  The printed 2-piano score of No. 3 exists, but no full score or parts (this is maddening because Coke considered it his best PC and it received a number of performances and got some good critical notices).  PC No. 4 is complete - MS Full Score + parts. Inly the slow movt. of No. 5 remains - MS Full Score + parts - and one can surmise that Coke perhaps intended to revise it and ditched the outer movts.  There is some doubt as to whether No. 6 was ever completed. Certainly, no trace of it remains - not even sketches.
Rupert Luck has shown some interest in the 2 violin sonatas; Gillian Thoday has declared herself interested in the first 2 Cello Sonatas - there is a third in MS (rather untidy, however).
And that's as far as I've got at the moment.

[albion]

Thanks Gareth - how frustrating (especially for you, being actively involved in the chase). I do hope more comes to light as Coke was clearly productive in terms of large-scale works (to repeat the list posted elsewhere on the forum for those who may have missed it) -

Opera: The Cenci Op. 41 (1940-41 and 1950 three acts, libretto by the composer after Shelley, Prelude only at RAF charity concert Jan 1941 Brookhill SO conducted by composer; Scala Theatre, London 5.11.1959 conducted by Eugene Goossens, For Richard Austin);

Symphony: Symphony No. 1 (early thirties, broadcast by BBC, withdrawn); Symphony No. 2 in G minor Op. 22 (1936-38 BBC broadcast, 32'); Symphony No. 3 Op. 56 (1948/58, 30');

Concerto: Piano Concerto No.1 (withdrawn); Piano Concerto No. 2 in E minor (1933, withdrawn, BBC broadcast and composer / Torquay Municipal Orchestra / Ernest Goss, Pavilion, Torquay, 16.11.1933 - dedicated to Mabel Lander "with affection and admiration." - movements: 1. Fantasie 2. Romance 3. Caprice); Vocal Concerto No. 1 for soprano and orchestra Op. 25 (1934 words from Tennyson's The Princess, Barbara Welby - the dedicatee / Brookhill SO / composer, Nottingham, 25.10.1942, 14'); Piano Concerto No. 3 in E flat Op. 30 (1938, Coke or Charles Lynch / Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra / Richard Austin, BBC broadcast 3.8.1939; charity concert for RAF Jan 1941, composer/Brookhill SO; composer / Torquay Municipal Orchestra / Goss, Pavilion Torquay, 23.10.1941; dedicated to Charles Lynch, movements: 1. Moderato, 2. Maestoso, 3. Quasi Variazione, 4. Finale, 30'); Poem for cello, piano and small orchestra Op. 36 (1939/41); Piano Concerto No. 4 in C sharp minor Op. 38 (1940, 30'); Vocal Concerto No. 2 for soprano and orchestra Op. 47 (1942, words from Barbara Welby's A Winter's Dawn, in version with piano accomp. Barbara Weldon / composer, Pinxton, 31.5.1942, 18'); Piano Concerto No. 5 in D minor Op. 57 The Orton (1947/50); Piano Concerto No. 6 in C minor Op. 63 (1951);

Orchestra: Three Pieces for string orchestra Op. 5 (1933, BBC broadcast); Prelude to The Cenci Op. 41 (1940); Symphonic Poem No. 1, The Lotos Eaters Op. 45 (1941, Brookhill SO, composer, Nottingham, 1.10.1942 FP?, Brookhill SO / composer. 25.10.1942); Symphonic Poem No. 2, Elegiac Ballade Op. 51 (1942-3); Symphonic Poem No. 3, Dorian Gray Op. 53 (1943/50); Symphonic Poem No. 4 on a painting by Corot

There is an awful lot of music listed here, written over a considerable period - it would be most unfortunate if the bulk of it has 'gone astray'.



So in terms of potential recordings, perhaps a coupling of Symphony No.2 and Piano Concerto No.4 would be possible. Do you know anything about the four symphonic poems listed?

[Dundonnell]

I can tell you that-so far-the revelation among the British symphonies being recovered from my tapes vault is undoubtedly, to my ears, the Symphony No.1 of 1959 by Francis Chagrin.

Chagrin has just been a name to me although I find that I do have his Concert Overture "Helter Skelter" on cd. I know that he wrote film music but I had no idea(or had at least forgotten) that he was a composer of substance. My recording is from French radio-the French Radio Philharmonic Orchestra under the composer-and the orchestra seems at times to be struggling just a little. It sounds like early, tonal Benjamin Frankel but it is a work of real power and distinction

[albion]

Fantastic, Colin. I see that you've spoken highly of this work in another post so it's definitely one to look forward to!

[Gareth Vaughan]

Opera: The Cenci Op. 41 (1940-41 and 1950 three acts, libretto by the composer after Shelley, Prelude only at RAF charity concert Jan 1941 Brookhill SO conducted by composer; Scala Theatre, London 5.11.1959 conducted by Eugene Goossens, For Richard Austin);

Symphony: Symphony No. 1 (early thirties, broadcast by BBC, withdrawn); Symphony No. 2 in G minor Op. 22 (1936-38 BBC broadcast, 32'); Symphony No. 3 Op. 56 (1948/58, 30');

Concerto: Piano Concerto No.1 (withdrawn); Piano Concerto No. 2 in E minor (1933, withdrawn, BBC broadcast and composer / Torquay Municipal Orchestra / Ernest Goss, Pavilion, Torquay, 16.11.1933 - dedicated to Mabel Lander "with affection and admiration." - movements: 1. Fantasie 2. Romance 3. Caprice); Vocal Concerto No. 1 for soprano and orchestra Op. 25 (1934 words from Tennyson's The Princess, Barbara Welby - the dedicatee / Brookhill SO / composer, Nottingham, 25.10.1942, 14'); Piano Concerto No. 3 in E flat Op. 30 (1938, Coke or Charles Lynch / Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra / Richard Austin, BBC broadcast 3.8.1939; charity concert for RAF Jan 1941, composer/Brookhill SO; composer / Torquay Municipal Orchestra / Goss, Pavilion Torquay, 23.10.1941; dedicated to Charles Lynch, movements: 1. Moderato, 2. Maestoso, 3. Quasi Variazione, 4. Finale, 30'); Poem for cello, piano and small orchestra Op. 36 (1939/41); Piano Concerto No. 4 in C sharp minor Op. 38 (1940, 30'); Vocal Concerto No. 2 for soprano and orchestra Op. 47 (1942, words from Barbara Welby's A Winter's Dawn, in version with piano accomp. Barbara Weldon / composer, Pinxton, 31.5.1942, 18'); Piano Concerto No. 5 in D minor Op. 57 The Orton (1947/50); Piano Concerto No. 6 in C minor Op. 63 (1951);

Orchestra: Three Pieces for string orchestra Op. 5 (1933, BBC broadcast); Prelude to The Cenci Op. 41 (1940); Symphonic Poem No. 1, The Lotos Eaters Op. 45 (1941, Brookhill SO, composer, Nottingham, 1.10.1942 FP?, Brookhill SO / composer. 25.10.1942); Symphonic Poem No. 2, Elegiac Ballade Op. 51 (1942-3); Symphonic Poem No. 3, Dorian Gray Op. 53 (1943/50); Symphonic Poem No. 4 on a painting by Corot

I have marked in bold the scores that I know are in existence - and many (though not all) of these have sets of MS orchestral parts as well as full scores. Interestingly, the 2nd Vocal Concerto has a full set of parts but only a vocal score. As stated before, only the slow movt. of PC No. 5 survives.  The librarian at Chesterfield says there are fragments and sketches for Dorian Gray, Op. 53 - but nothing complete. I will have to find the time to go to Chesterfield, stay a few days and have a good look at all this stuff.

[albion]

Gareth, many thanks for providing this tantalising summary - it's actually better than I was anticipating! The 'Vocal Concertos' sound especially interesting and it is good to hear that at least two symphonic poems survive. There should certainly be enough, then, to form an idea of Coke's musical style and accomplishment.

[albion]

Slight revisions have been made to the survey - the comments by myself and Dundonnell have been amalgamated to give an unbroken decade-by-decade chronology, the omission of Henry Pierson, Lord Berners, Elizabeth Maconchy and Ruth Gipps has been rectified and lines have also been included concerning the music of John Gardner.

Three singularly overlooked British composers are: Roger Sacheverell Coke (1912-72); Walter Gaze Cooper (1895-1981) and Stanley Wilson (1899-1953).

As Gareth's recommendations are certainly to be trusted, brief paragraphs have been added for these three highly intriguing figures.

[JimL]

Is there anybody who can help me with a movement from a Potter symphony?  I'm looking specifically for the finale of the C minor Symphony.  I'm not sure which one of the two I have is the one I'm looking for.  I have it as #6, but previously it was #3.  I think one of the two C minor symphonies has a slow introduction to the first movement.  I'm looking for the tempo indication for the finale of the other one, that just starts out with the allegro.

[eschiss1]

the C minor symphonies listed here are (in that list) 3 (1826) and 8 (1834) but as it says, they've been given numbers from 1 to 15. No.3 (1826) in that list has also been called no.6 elsewhere.