Festival: Rutland Boughton's Alkestis Author(s): A. J. Sheldon Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 63, No. 956 (Oct. 1, 1922), pp. 719-720 Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/913888 Accessed: 17-02-2016 11:10 UTC

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This content downloaded from 130.237.29.138 on Wed, 17 Feb 2016 11:10:22 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE MUSICAL TIMES-OCTOBER I 1922 719 musical-may accountfor the factthat it took nearly sensitivelistener is thatof havinghis witherswrung, threehundred years before England couldagain boast an effectnearer to melodramathan to tragedy,or the of a national school of music. This certainlyis a epic typeof utteranceby rightbelonging to music- subjectworth consideration and investigation. drama. Sometimes,indeed, he pressesus completely In the course of the same discussion we heard over the line,as whenthe littleson of Admetusand another interestingthing, which is perhaps worth Alkestisbreaks in with 'Oh, what has happened? mentioningalthough it has nothingwhatever to do Mummyhasgone away.' And whenAlkestis enjoins with music. A speaker quoted a report on the the prospectivewidower to bringno stepmotherinto characteristicsof the English, by some Venetian thehome, for 'Better a serpentthan a stepmother,' observersin Tudor times, who said that the British it is to music that enhances the atmosphereof workingman was distinguishedby his love of sport the Surreyor the Adelphi already inherentin the and fairplay, exceedingly hospitable and generous; situation. but when he saw a starvingman he wouldnot offer The second with the of him Act, dealing recovery food or money,but would say, 'Come along and Alkestis Herakles fromthe clutchesof Thanatos, have a drink.' by the messengerof death,is stronger,not because it It has been remarkedthat the difference frequently brings about a happy ending,for in doing that it between English functionsof the kind affordedshames us for the tears drawn from us the British during by Association and similar events the first Act, but because it is free from the in is that on any foreigncity, any such occasion taint of sentimentalitywhich is the weakness of abroad thereare at least one or two orchestral always its predecessor. There is a noble vein of sadness, concerts and several operatic or theatrical per- with an incidental of in formancesthrown suggestion Chopin, in. In the course of the Hull the scene of the return from the funeral,and the meetings only thing of the sort was that the Mr. Boughtonhas writtenmusic for the drunken managementof one of the theatresinvited certain scene of Herakles which admits of a wide membersof the variety Association to performancesof a of The firstof these,in fact, is the musical On the interpretation. comedy. other hand, the D'Oyly onlyscene in the workin whichwe feelbeyond doubt Carte Companywas at Hull duringthe week, and thatthe as distinctfrom his were turned composer'simagination, people away nightly-but among the has been In this Act, too, his audiences were numbers of feeling, captured. large bearded and choral writing,which throughoutis the strongest with dome-like bespectacled gentlemen foreheads, featureof the work, is at its very best. There is and wearingthe Associationbadge. charm in his of a house that The venueof great handling 'Oh, theAssociation next year is Liverpool loves a withits rhythmin the first -which has famous stranger,' dancing musicalinstitutions-and as it is threeverses and a tunecarried by contralto, the Association'swatchword now to soprano, bringthe scheme and tenorin turn,and its gradualrelapse into sadness of its discussions into close touch with the daily in the fourthverse as a for the life of preparation appear- the city in which it meets, would it be too ance of the funeral And when, in the much to the of procession. suggest possibility arrangingfor a later chorus beginning 'I have in the concert of the Philharmonic or sojourned Liverpool Society, muses' land' therecomes a kind of summingup of one or two organ recitals in St. George's the emotionon the theme of woman's Hall-both of which composer's have done so much to make sacrificefor man, we feel him to be strongerin historyin the North? The financialdifficulties of his reflectionon the theme than in his dramatic an orchestral concert should not be impossibleto treatmentof it. overcome. A. K. Much may be said regardingthe place of the GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL : chorus in a music-dramaof this type-whether,for unison treatmentwould not be RUTLAND BOUGHTON'S ALKESTIS instance, possibly better in effectthan part-writing,giving us the Mr. Boughton spells the title of his new music- poet's words more articulately,or whether the drama , and Prof. Murray, whose trans- orchestraunassisted might not express the poetic lation of ' drama is the basis of the feeling of the choruses in Greek drama work, does likewise. But as in the course of the better than any setting of their words-but Glastonburyperformance last monththe hard sound there can be no denyingthe skill and power with was used, it is pardonable to spell it phonetically; whichMr. Boughtonhas handled his problemalong incidentally,it is truerto the original. the lines of the solutionof his choice. His treat- If appearancesgo foranything, Mr. Boughtonhas mentof the choral entrances,and of the phrasesfor scoreda popularsuccess, for his audienceshave been singlevoices that often precede the entranceof the large and enthusiastic. He has writtenmusic which mass, is very happy. Much care for beauty of 'getsthrough,' as thesaying is. Apparentlythe sacrifice effect, also, was shown in his dispositionof them of Alkestis for her husband has stirredhis feeling. on the stage, for Mr. Boughton, though he had The musicof the firstAct, from the entranceof the splendid help from Miss ChristinaWalshe, was handmaid to the chorus 'Daughter of Pelias, fare verymuch his own producer. Therewas, however, an thee well,'which concludes it, is one long intensifica-element of sophisticationas opposed to naturalness tion of everyharrowing element in the dyingfarewell in some of the gesturesemployed. Circumstances of Alkestis. It is impossibleto listen to it without compel the use of the auditoriumat Glastonbury being affecteddeeply, and it is in the main simple for the passage of the performersto the stage at and direct in treatment. The composerhas not a certain points. The tiny AssemblyHall was built great many cards to play, perhaps; possibly, on for other purposes than stage performances;but the otherhand, he has deliberatelyrestricted himself circumstanceswere no enemy to beautyof effectin in the matter of harmonic resource. Melodically, the case of Alkestis,the passing and the returnof however, his simplicityin this work brings him the funeralprocession through the hall contributing dangerouslynear tameness,and when he wishes to to an intimacyof feeling impossible on the pro- press home the feelingof a situationthe effecton a scenium stage. Of the work as a whole, one's

This content downloaded from 130.237.29.138 on Wed, 17 Feb 2016 11:10:22 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 720 THE MUSICAL TIMES-OCTOBER I 1922 impressionis of an interestingexperiment bravely an and sympatheticallycarried through. In seizingon Cburch b rean flDufic the feelingof the Alkestisstory to the exclusionof theatmosphere of Hellenic drama,Mr. Boughtonhas REMAINS OF A FAMOUS OLD ORGAN certainlybrought the storydown to date. But there BY C. F. ABDY WILLIAMS is a sense of anomaly when staging approximating All strangerswho go to Rome are bound at some to Hellenic lines and costumingand groupingon time duringtheir stay to visit the great basilica of Greek models find no reflectionin the music, for St. John Lateran. And I doubt if many,whether classic breadthand dignityof treatmentare overbornemusical or not, can fail to notice the remarkable by a small and rather finickinghandling of the organ which,at some sixtyfeet above the pavement, emotionof the drama. Its feelingis carriedalong stretchesits enormouslength without a break across on a choppysea ratherthan on a greatoverbearing the Churchabove the southdoor. current. Indeed, it is difficultto understandwhy I had long been fascinatedwith this organ, and Alkestiswas chosen forthe experiment,for there are knew that it was said to be unplayable. It was in many greater things Greek drama, while in built in I599 by Luca Blasi of Perugia, and was adhering so faithfullyto 's text thereforein existencewhen Frescobaldi was organist Mr. Boughton has handicapped himself with a of St. Peter's. As I found the choirof St. Peter's librettowhich, poetic in expressionas it undoubtedlysometimes sang at the Lateran, I saw no reason is, suffersfrom a formwhich comports itself ill with why Frescobaldi of St. Peter's should not have the requirementsof musicalstructure. occasionallyplayed on thislarge instrument. In Miss Astra Desmond Mr. Boughton had an There are four otherorgans in the basilica, but Alkestisof queenlybearing who also sang his music therewas nothingspecial about them to attractme; withoutstint of emotionalexpressiveness. Admetus the great Frescobaldi-periodinstrument was the one seemedto presenta fewproblems for its interpreterI wishedto examine. At last an opportunitycame. whichMr. SteuartWilson did not solve in a really MonsignorStonor, Dean of the Church,invited me convincingway, but in a difficultpart he did very to attend a mass, and introducedme to Filippo well in the main. As Herakles Mr. Clive Careywas Capocci, the famousorganist there. Capocci asked vocallyequal to the requirementsof the music,and me to call on him,which I did, and found him most managed with skill the transitionof mood in the charming. Moreover,he had been in England,and scene withthe cupbearer,Miss Greta Don. Though had played organs there, and we found several Apollo has little to do, Mr. ArthurJordan did that acquaintancesin common. littlesplendidly, and was an imposingfigure. Miss He was interestedin my keenness about the old Kathleen Davis as the handmaid, Mr. Frederick organ,and readilymade an appointmentto meetme Woodhouse as Thanatos,and Mr. Joseph Eastman at the Lateran. This was in 1907; whetherthe as Pheres werecapable representativesof theirparts, instrumentstill stands I cannotsay. while in the importantr61e of chorus-leaderMr. The approach to the organ was by a narrow ArthurClark did excellently. As always here, fine staircase in the thicknessof the wall of the great choral singingwas a featureof the production,for south door. Carrying candles, we had to climb the singersare enthusiasts. its steep corkscrewsteps, for, it seemed,an immense Other performancesof the Festival included a way up, but we eventuallyemerged in the gallery concert in which Miss Desmond sang most finelyon which the organ stands. Here an amazing the complete cycle of Bantock's sight met us. Everything was in ruins. The Sapfko songs, which with the composer at the pianoforte. For the front, looks so imposing from below, was Prelude Miss Penelope Spencer, dancer the only parf remainingmore or less intact; but principal even here of the National Opera, arranged a dance which, the great centrepipe, a metal F of 26-ft. givenagainst a backclothby Miss Christina (as well as some others) was sunk with its own Walshe, into was at least exotic in feeling and gracefulin its weight its foot. This damage cannot be seen from two seemed to details. At the same concert Mr. Jordan sang below. The keyboards have Their would Julius Harrison's Four Songs of Chivalry, the com- partedcompany. keys certainlypress poser accompanying. A production of Blow's down and return,but slowlyand heavily as if they resented woke from their Their Masque, Venusand Adonis, had too great a pro- being long sleep. portion of immaturityof voice and in its compass was F to F, fiveoctaves, a large compass style for the singingto justifyits inclusionin a Festival making I6th century. That of the pedals was from a wide appeal. Mr. Carey's Adonis,however, was F, twenty-onenotes. The lowest two sharps were as was then the an exception amid the prevailingamateurishness, omitted, frequently case, to save and Mr. Harrison kept a firmrein on the space and expense. On the manuals the naturals music, were while the chorus work was particularlygood. A black, the sharpswhite, a fashionnot unknown production of the drama of the Trachince by in Father Smith'sEnglish organs. Sophocles was notable for the treatmentof the The coupling arrangementwas curious. The choruses. Sung in unison,with onlyan occasional upper keyboard overhung the lower, and carried break into octaves,to melodiesof a plain-songtype square hooks,intended to engage withcorresponding adapted by Mr. Boughton from folk-tunes,they eyes in the top of the lower keys. To couple, the supplied an eloquent argumentin favour of the player must have either pulled the upper clavier unisonal methodas against a harmonizedtreatment. bodily forward about an inch,or pushed in the lower to the same extent. I had, by the way, seen this A. J. SHELDON. system,or somethinglike it,actually in use in Spain. How the Lateran organ workedits couplerswe were We unable to discover. are glad to be able to announcethat Gustav The action was tracker. There was a roller Holst's opera, The PerfectFool, willbe publishedby board, but evidentlythis was a late addition, for Messrs. Novello. it looked much newer than the rest. Capocci told

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