Cliffe Symphony No.2 Recording Project

[Alan Howe]

Quite.

[giles.enders]

The donation by pay pal is too fiddly for me. 

[Mark Thomas]

Giles, to donate via PayPal, go to www.paypal.com and log into your account using your email address and your PayPal password. Then click on "My PayPal", which will take you to your own account page. Once there, click on "Pay or send money" and then on the second "Pay or send money" option which opens up. Then enter "sales@raff.org" as the email address, {Your donation amount} GBP as the amount and click "Next". Finally, before clicking "Send", add "Cliffe Symphony Recording" in the "Add a note" box. That's it! It'll take you less time to do it, than to read what I've just written.

Alternatively, you could email or PM Alan for his address and send him a cheque direct.

[Richard Moss]

Giles,

As someone who is not very 'IT savvy' these days (and this from a retired senior IT manager!!), I found Mark's instructions simple and they worked.  If even I can do it....

Cheers

Richard

[Mark Thomas]

Very many thanks from Christopher Fifield to everyone so far who has generously donated to enable this recording project to go ahead. I understand from him that the target is now within sight, and that a few more donations would enable him to go ahead with it. For anyone who knows Frederic Cliffe's First Symphony, having the opportunity to hear Cliffe's Second is a tantalising prospect, but we'll only realise that if the cost of making a worthwhile recording of a performance by Christopher's Lambeth Orchestra can be underwritten.

You can donate either by contacting Alan and sending him a cheque, or by sending a donation by PayPal - instructions here.

By way of encouragement, Christopher has asked me to upload the recording of the Lambeth Orchestra's recent performance of Cliffe's Coronation March - which you can download here.

[Richard Moss]

Mark,

I've already donated (and obviously hoping Mr Fifield meets his target) but, following on from this upload, are you or Mr Fifield aware of any other of his orchestral works that might, at a later date, be perfomed. WIKI's listing is very thin on the ground apart for works already covered by (i) Sterling (Sym 1 & Sym Poem) and (ii) Hyperion (VC)

Best wishes

Richard

PS If this is covered in a previous post I've  missed, my apologies

[Mark Thomas]

No, I have no knowledge of any other Cliffe recording projects, Richard. Maybe someone else knows.

[christopherfifield]

Cliffe left very little - barely half a dozen works. Three are already recorded, the first symphony, the tone poem Cloud & Sunshine (both on Sterling) and the violin concerto on Hyperion. What is left are two vocal works, the first for chorus called Ode to the Northeast Wind, the other a scena for contralto (actually Clara Butt) called The Triumph of Alcestis. I have a vocal score of the choral work but have never seen the orchestral material or a full score (nor any format of the scena). Which leaves the second symphony and the Coronation March ... 

[Richard Moss]

It looks as if Mr Cliffe is joining a long list of enjoyable/distinguished composers who left a relatively small body of orchestral (or even total) work due to priority/necessity of performing and/or teaching duties.  A quick scan of the notes to the two current CDs (that Mr Fifield mentions above) confirm his few (orchestral) works but not why (unless I missed it)

This thought was prompted by typing up some notes on Johann Wilms' symphonies (which I have recently downloaded from e-music) - that was his fate too and that struck a chord that seems to crop up quite often when I'm doing a bit of Internet research on 'unknowns'.

Do we know if that was that the case for Mr Cliffe or was his small oeuvre due to other reasons (e.g. writers' block or whatever)?

Cheers

Richard

[eschiss1]

Not sure positively, though the biographical information in the Musikproduktion Höflich preface for the first symphony tries to suggest some reasons.

[giles.enders]

Is there an update on the amount of donations received so far, the last I heard was that it was only just past the half way mark which is a little disappointing.

[christopherfifield]

As far as I have been told, the total stands at £550 in cheques received and a further £100 pledged, so we are two thirds of the way there.

[Richard Moss]

Eric,

Thanks for the link but unfortunately I'm not able to read German and was also unable to cut and paste it into Google translate.

Best wishes

Richard

[Alan Howe]

Try clicking on 'english' at the top of the page...

[jerfilm]

I would hope that in the future initiators of such projects might set them up thru one of the jump start type sites so that those of us in nether parts of the world can simply participate by using their Visa and Mastercards or PayPal.  As Michael did with the Reinecke project.  Just a suggestion.

Jerru