Daniel Jones(1912-93): A Catalogue of the Orchestral and Choral Music

[Dundonnell]

DANIEL JONES: A CATALOGUE OF THE ORCHESTRAL AND CHORAL MUSIC

1922/1939: Three Bagatelles for small orchestra
1931-35: Prelude on an Old French Song for orchestra
1933:       Suite No.2 for orchestra
1934:       Two Elegies in memoriam Vaughan Thomas: No.1 for chamber orchestra, No.2 for full orchestra
                 Three Songs with orchestral accompaniment
1934-39: Pastorale(No.2) for orchestra
1935:       Ballet Suite "Hiroshige"
                Serenade No.2 for orchestra
                Prelude on Dunstable's "Crux Fidelis" for orchestra
1935-39: Meditation on a theme of John Dunstable for small chamber orchestra
                Two Scherzi for small orchestra
1936-37: Italian Suite for small orchestra
1937:       Concert Overture
                 Serenade for orchestra: Concert Overture
1938:     Symphonic Prologue
1938-39: Symphonic Poem "The Sorrows of Branwen"
1939:   Five Pieces for Orchestra
              Suite of seven pieces in A flat from compositions by Corelli for small orchestra
              Elegy for microphone orchestra(part of Suite "Microconcert")
1939-45: Pastorales for small orchestra
1943:   Comedy Overture: 6 minutes  *
             Tone Poem "Cloud Messenger": 10 minutes  *
              Concertino for Piano and small orchestra
1944-45:Symphony No.1: 49 minutes  *
1946:      Four Tone Poems "Scenes of the Mabinogion"- No.2: "The Betrothal of Branwen"
1947:    "Miscellany"-Twenty Pieces for small orchestra
              Tone Poem "The Flute Player" for orchestra
1950:   Symphony No.2: 43 minutes  *
1951:   Concert Overture No.2: 10 minutes  *
             Symphony No.3: 30 minutes  *
1954:   Symphony No.4 "In memoriam Dylan Thomas": 31 minutes  + (Lyrita cd)
1956:   Overture "Ieuenctid": 6 minutes *
             Suite "Dobra Niva": 14 minutes  *
1958:   Symphony No.5: 42 minutes  *
             Cantata "The Country Beyond the Stars" for chorus and orchestra: 30 minutes  + (Lyrita cd)
1962:   Oratorio "St. Peter" for soprano, tenor, bass, chorus and orchestra: 60 minutes
1963:     Tone Poem "The Birds of Rhiannon"
1964:   Symphony No.6: 29 minutes  + (Lyrita cd)
1965:   Capriccio for flute, harp and strings: 10 minutes  *
1966:   Violin Concerto: 17 minutes  *
1969:   Investiture Processional Music
1971:   "The Witnesses" for male chorus and orchestra
             (and Prelude to "The Witnesses")
1972:   Symphony No.7: 21 minutes  + (Lyrita cd)
             Sinfonietta No.1: 7 minutes  *
             Symphony No.8: 24 minutes  * + (Lyrita cd)
1974:   Symphony No.9: 19 minutes *  + (Lyrita cd)
1976:   Dance Fantasy for orchestra: 7 minutes  + (Lyrita cd)
1977:   Choral Suite "Hear the Voice of the Ancient Bard" for chorus and orchestra:18 minutes  *
             Prelude for Orchestra
1978:   Suite "Salute to Dylan Thomas": 16 minutes  *
1980-81:Symphony No.10: 19 minutes  *
1982:   Concerto for Oboe and String Orchestra: 14 minutes
1983:   Symphony No.11 "In Memoriam G.F. Tyler": 19 minutes  *
1985:   Symphony No.12: 17 minutes  *
1986:   Cello Concerto: 20 minutes  *
1987:   Cantata "Come my way, my truth, my life" for tenor, chorus and orchestra:25 minutes  *
                (and Orchestral Fantasia "Whither, O Whither art Thou Fled?": the orchestral fourth movement of the Cantata)
1989:   Overture "Orpheus and Bacchus"
1991:   Sinfonietta No.2: 10 minutes
1992:   Symphony "In Memoriam John Fussell": 27 minutes  *

[Dundonnell]

In the light of further information kindly sent to me by Albion the list above will be substantially revised

Unlike, for example, Alan Bush, there is no website devoted to Daniel Jones and I was not able to find his publishers to consult catalogues. Nor is the Jones Archive at the National Library of Wales accessible online.

There will be a short delay as I am off to Edinburgh for the evening....one does have a life outside music too

[petershott@btinternet.com]

But off to town......and not to a concert? Ha, shame on you, sirrah!

Interesting to read of your cataloguing experience here. Some 10 or 15 years ago I acquired the 2CD Chandos set of the eight string quartets given by the Delme Quartet - and pretty good it is too! And it is a not unnatural desire to know dates of composition. But other than knowing the First Quartet was composed in 1957, I have never been able to discover when the remaining quartets were written. Clearly before 1993 - but when?

There is nothing in the notes in the Chandos box, I have looked in all sorts of reference books, encyclopaedias and whatnot, there is no Daniel Jones website, I can find nothing on Welsh music websites.... I suppose if I tramped around the Cardiff University Library I could find out, but that's a long way to go. After a considerable time trying, I gave up (and to use a phrase of Darwin's, it is rather like confessing a murder) and decided I must be an oaf, quite incapable of finding out a surely very simple set of information.

Is anyone less of an oaf than me?

[M. Henriksen]

An article by Hubert Culot published at musicweb explains a bit about the dates of the String Quartets:

"These are not numbered but only bear the date of composition, thus String Quartet 1957 . He had actually composed string quartets earlier in his career but he disowned all his earlier string quartets and retained those dating after 1957."

"His very last completed work was String Quartet 1993."

So no. 1 dates from 1957 and no. 8 from 1993.

Further on according to the article below; Quartets nos. 3, 4 & 5 were composed in 1975, 1978 and 1980 respectively.

http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/May%201982/54/745812/D.+JONES.+String+Quartets1975+1978+1980.+Delm%C3%B3+Quartet+%28Galina+Solodchin%2C+Jeremy+Painter%2C+vIns+John+Underwood%2C+via+Stephen+Orton%2C+vIc%29.+Chandos+digital+ABRD1+0431E6.50%29.+Recorded+in+association+with+the+Welsh+Arts+Council.


It's a good start! If I find out more I'll let you know, but I'm sure Dundonnell can help you with this.


Morten

[M. Henriksen]

I've found another source numbering a Quartet from 1946 as no.1.
Then as follows: Quartet 1957 (no. 2), Quartet 1975 (no.3), Quartet 1978 (no.4), Quartet 1980 (no.5), Quartet 1982 (no. 6),
Quartet 1987 (no. 7) and finally Quartet 1993 (no. 8 )

This list is the same as the one published at wikipedia. So is it correct...? I have no clue 


Morten

[albion]

The National Library of Wales holds manuscript material for the following - those marked in bold are now the accepted canon of works, the others were disregarded by the composer:

String Quartet No.5 (1936)
String Quartet No.6 (1936)
String Quartet No.7 (1937)
String Quartet No.8 [now known as No.1] (1946)
String Quartet No.9 (n.d.)
String Quartet No.2 (1957)
String Quartet No.3 (1975)
String Quartet No.4 (1978)
String Quartet No.5 (1980)
String Quartet No.6 (1982)
String Quartet No.7 (1988)
String Quartet No.8 (1993)

[Dundonnell]

I have revised the Catalogue in accordance with information from the Daniel Jones Archive Collection in the National Library of Wales (the link to which was very kindly provided by Albion ).

The catalogue now includes a substantial number of pieces written by Jones in the 1930s prior to the Symphonic Prologue of 1939-which has been the usual starting point for any list of the composer's orchestral compositions.

Clearly these particular works need to be regarded with some caution. There is little or no evidence that they were ever performed or that they were published. They exist in full score but I have no evidence that Jones regarded them as worthy of performance or recognition. He MAY have deemed them to be work of comparative juvenalia (Jones was 27 years old in 1939 )

One definite exception would seem to be the Tone Poem "The Birds of Rhiannon" of 1963 which was commissioned by the then Montgomeryshire County Council for its Youth Orchestra to which the piece is dedicated. Whether it was ever performed by that orchestra (or any other) I do not know.

[Dundonnell]

I am also delighted to see a list of the important String Quartets

Were I to be engaged on an attempt at a definitive catalogue of all of Daniel Jones's compositions...............

However, I must reiterate that, frustrating or indeed infuriating though it may be to others, I am compelled to restrict myself and these catalogues to the music in which I am particularly interested

(Oh..and one other point: I assure those who may be upset by the current layout of these catalogues that if they are indeed ever collated into a single folder I shall attempt to tidy up the presentation  )

[petershott@btinternet.com]

Thank you all very much - Albion, Dundonnell and Morten. I've been attempting to establish those dates for a long time - quite pathetic, I know, but the information has always eluded me!

And thank you again, Dundonnell for the original list of Jones' orchestral and choral works (as indeed for your valiant work on other figures - all important). Gosh, I wonder what some of those unrecorded symphonies by Jones are like? Judged by their duration they appear quite substantial things.

Oh, if only Naxos would augment their series devoted to American music, Spanish music et al with one devoted to Welsh music - I'd have no difficulty in suggesting to them all sorts of things!

Many thanks again.

[Dundonnell]

There is no need for you to "wonder what some of these unrecorded symphonies by Jones are like". All of the Jones symphonies are avaiulable for download from the British and Irish Music Archive-a quite extraordinary achievement which six months ago or so I would not have believed possible