GRANVI LLE B A N T O C K

R BY H . O S MOND ANDE R TON

PR E FACE

’ MAN Y hold that a man s friends are not fit to write his b-l are biography because they too partial . On the other

’ e rt hand , a man s enemi s are ce ainly not fit for the task

they are too prejudiced . Impartial people only , it

er . Minoses is said , can do the work prop ly But these can only fit themselves fo r the undertaking by entering

e e e i . e . into sympathetic r lations with th ir subj ct , by

his ri be i . coming f ends , and so ceasing to be impart al And thus this singular argument ends in a vicious

e circl . Why all this solemn pretence ' Why not frankly acknowledge friends in the fir st instance and judge according to the result ' Only by sympathy can one man understand another ; and the greatest dramatic m ' i poet is he who can get inside another an s sk n , see

e hi s through his eyes , fe l with his heart , and think with brain only so— through sympathy— can he realise

and show forth his characters .

I r . I e Bantock and are f iends , it is true have receiv d

kindnessas his I many at hands , and am pleased to own

are m it . I do so frankly , and my readers welco e to the

He knowledge of the fact . and I are in many ways : if opposed our philosophical views , our outlook on l e ,

A 2

4 00254 vi GRANVILLE BANTOCK

e : ou r r e diff r f i nds , in fact , often say that we agree in

i r er we r e . noth ng but we ag ee to diff , and do so f i ndly

man e Biography of a living is , of course , subj ct to m T er re er any reticencies . h e a p sonal matters that should not be pu blic property and the affai rs of others h e e r . M are often involv d and act as a r st iction uc ,

e can be e : howev r, giv n that is of interest and this , I l . hope , wi l be found in these pages

H . O. A. CO NTE NTS

P RE FACE

CHA PTE R I N TROD UCTORY TH E S ETTING O F TH E P I C TURE

I E A L Y L F U P TO E N AN C A T TH E R Y AL I . R I E TR E O ACAD EMY OF MUS I C

I I D M F MUS I 1 88 — I . R Y AL ACA Y O C O E , 9 9 3

— I V D IFF CUL E 1 8 . . I TI S , 93 7

W N - NE B GH 1 8 1 00 . RI TO , 97 9

B I MI NGHAM PA I R , RT

M l I n t t te o o — C n t n id and s i u , m o duc i g , ’ etc —S Cel P e e — Gree P s . ongs , lo i c s k lay , al W mar — C r r O 1 0 6 . ho o ks , , 9 9

B I M NGHAM PA I I R I , RT

University Work— Birmingham Philhar monic S ociety— Competition Festival Work A t n eta— U m i e C r djudica i g , nacco pan d ho al

M c— P rt - S o A talanta Vanit o usi a ngs , , y f

' ' VamtzesflI nstru mental W r S tri Or es o k , ng ch

tr s D ante and B eatrice F t ne eta— The a , , fi ,

Great God P an .

P N M VI I I . E RSO AL ATTERS AN D TRAI Ts

L IST OF WOR K S

WORK S B Y TH E AUTHOR OF THIS VOLUME

I LLUSTR ATI ONS

r 1 1 W ter S tt Fi ontis iece , 9 4 ( al co ) p

E L AST PAGE OF OM AR P age 93

T 1 0 ( . R el S ) , 9 4 J uss l ons

E PAGE OF P AN

VI E AD OW (R eginald Haines)

I PT AND S I GNATUR E

GR AN VI L L E BANTOCK

CHAPTER I

T H S I NTRODUC ORY . T E ETTI N G OF THE PICTURE

TO one travelling through a forest it is sometimes O diffi cult to judge which are the tallest trees . ne must

- get away from the over arching roof of leafage , away l from the g ades and alleys , and the fretwork of light m — if and shade , to so e open space possible to a piece of rising ground whence one can see the woodland spread ’ i out at one s feet , and note the m ghtier trees , perhaps a pair of giant oaks or beeches , that stand out above

. And the their fellows in the same way , if ordinary observer to - day were asked to name the largest person alities m r E i De in the usical wo ldof ngland , leav ng out lius , C E who is now more ontinental than nglish , he would a find f ul r . Ask perhaps it di fic t at first to nswe a foreigner , however , and the answer would come without hesitation — E T lgar and Bantock . hey are the two outstanding m figures , and comple entary to each other , though they T do not cover the whole range of the English spirit . here is none of that sweet delicacy of woo dland charm which is so common among the poets , in either of these and ri or l there is not the spi tuality , the pecu iar seraphic B 2 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

’ blitheness that we find in the best of Walford Davies s ’

or . work , again in Byrd s But they do , in a sense , ’ El ar s supplement and complete each other . g outlook — chiefl— ne m is largely o ight say y religious , and The Dream o Gerontins l e specially Catholic . f is fu l of intense religious fervour and such works as The The K in dom Apostles and g , though far behind that in e e a e ss ntial quality , show the same devotion l attitud of The W mind . symphonies , too , are estern in their type ’ The fi rst— r m of mentality . idea of the the eturn of an s spirit to faith and strength after long battling with the difficulties and doubts of life— is cast in the mould of ’ A Of E ar s the West . nother aspect lg mind is shown in ' the Pomp and Circumstance marches and the Frozssart

’ Cockaz ne s— a and g overture glorification of , and exulta al tion in , this external visible life , which essenti ly and en se ual typically is characteristic of our homme moy ns . ’ On El ar s m the whole , too , g usic has a peculiar nervous excitement which seems to arise from a so mewhat feverishly neurotic temperament : this being the case

’ with The Mnszc- Makers and the symphonies to a re m r e e a kabl ext nt . W t f His i h Bantock all is di ferent . outlook is rational istic e E i r , and larg ly astern , though th s latte phase is r e Omar ather l ss pronounced since the completion of . He e m e rem hat s all po p , and circumstanc , and ce ony, wi r th a perfect hat ed . Instead of Imperial or Corona h Hi m Labour Marc . s tion marches , he gives us a usic shows none of that nervous excitement of which I have spoken . S o far from the devotionalism of the Catholic C we him hurch , find in not infrequently that note of rr m a aign ent of the very nature of things , that defiance e e S l of Provid nc , which is so strong in he ley , and which z er m e Fit g ald has i ported into , or greatly intensifi d in , INTRODUCTORY 3

Rub i t O a translation of the a ya of mar Khayy m , as , instance

0 T o w ho man of a er e rt t ma e h u , b s a h dids k , And e en Wit P r e e e the n e v h a adis d vis s ak , Fo r all the sin wherewith the face o f man ' I s ene m n or ene e— and t e 1 black d , a s f giv ss giv ak L ' ' ' ( I . )

Ah Lo ve I could yo u and I with Him conspire To r 3 t o rr eme Of t n ent re g a p his s y sch hi gs i , Wo w e not S tter it to t and t en uld ha bi s , h ’ R emould it nearer to the heart s dasire ' ( CI ' . )

At the same time it is to be remarked that in Shelley and in all such writers— there is a subconscious instinct of appeal to some more remote power or ideal . There O i is an ideal rder of the Universe , they feel, in wh ch the

al r . S the Z actu Visible o der is condemned In helley, eus whom Prometheus defies is at last dethroned by the ordinance of this overruling justice : and in [Eschylu s there was some harmonisation , though we know not T exactly what . hough they think they arraign the i nature of th ngs , they unconsciously stultify the verdict . ’ More terrible is S hakespeare s indictment in K ing Lear f but that was a phase through which he passe d to the l tranquillity of his last period . Bantock dwel s upon and intensifies such passages in a way that makes his own sympathetic attitude clear . A striking instance is Omar the close of , II , where the first of the above quoted passages brings this section of the work to a l and arge climax , where this defiant protest is thundered all mm D out with the forces at co and on a chord of b, C the trumpets blaring out against it a , and the whole ending with this rebellious discord . ’ On Bantock s bias for Oriental colouring and ways of 4 GRANVILLE BANTOCK thought it is hardly necessary to dwell much ; this u aspect of his genius is already a commonplace . The se hr of E astern scales and melodic p ases , the sympathetic m er O S a treatment of the i ag y of mar , in which the ult n , D H n the Angel of eath , the and of Fate writing huma

- e e lives , the shadow danc of humanity, the Belov d , the garden of roses , and the wine , are the chief figures employed— his choice of these subj ects and long self - identifi cation with them are sufficient to show his essential kinship with this aspe ct of the Oriental mind . And yet there is of course a strong vein of the West in He r — m him . is a curious mixtu e what one ight call Hi an optimistic pessimist . s ultimate views of life and destiny are those of Omar— pessimistic but his more vigorous Western organisation gives him a z est for the life that hovers for an instant in the j aws of oblivion , and brings him to the typ ically pagan position of Horace —car e diem p or , as it is put in nobler form in the work which he has set comparatively lately

W t oe er th n fi n deth to d o d o it t th m t ha s v y ha d , wi h y igh For t ere no or nor e e nor no e e nor s om h is w k, d vic , k wl dg , wi d , th r er t o t in e g ave whith hou g a .

E 1x. 1 0 ( ccl es . )

T e here is another contrast b tween the two musicians , ’ El ar s that will perhaps be of interest . g symphonies and such works deal with ideas , but , if one may say it , in the somewhat abstract manner of the philosopher R as a sort of artistic Pure eason . Bantock always ’ H treats such matters from the poet s point of View . e will set Meredith or he takes a subj ect such as Brown ’ Fi ne r ing s fi for orchestral treatment , where the p oblems of human relationships are veiled beneath the move s — o i ments of living , breathing , human personalitie the poet who feels the need of a wider mental range even

6 GRANVILLE BANTOCK necessary to labour the antithesis further what I have said will perhaps prove suggestive to the reader of other points of contrast . It will now be more profitable to i turn to the surround ngs into which these two figures , al ou r m and especi l y of course own im ediate subj ect , hi m ul were born , w ch o ded them to some extent , and which they are helping in their turn to mould . ’ D the 1 88 — uring years 4 9, when Bantock s interest s dl i in mu ic awoke and kin ed nto life , musical conditions in E ngland were very different from what they are now . There was less popular interest in music of any high r a e value , none of that widesp e d democratic mov ment — which is to - day its most remarkable feature the Musi M in cal Competition Festivals . usic the provinces was T L hibernating . here were no orchestras out of ondon T save the Hallé Orchestra at Manchester . here were choral societies which practised such works as The Hol Cit The Wreck o the Hes eru s The Ancient y y, f p , and Mariner e siah t M s S . , together, of course , with the ,

aul Eli ah. L P , and j In ondon and the suburbs there e il were similar choral societi s giving sim ar works , but ’ di The Creation S t m e ad ng others such as , chuber s ass s, ’ M z T i and o art s masses (especially the welfth , wh ch is r not his) , and a few more modern wo ks . Barnby was A H doing good work at the lbert all , where he produced ’ Dvofak s S tabat Mater m E for the first ti e in ngland , in ’ f H 1 88 . o C A 3 Prout s Borough ackney horal ssociation , i E E nd too , were cultivat ng the wilderness of the ast , and performing music of the highes t class and modern works were slowly filtering into the country by othe r channels . Bach was gradually becoming known not so very many years before , anyone ordering a copy of the Wohlternperirte K lavier had to wait till r it could be p ocured from Germany . In 1 871 the INTRODUCTORY 7

Matthew Passion W A was performed at estminster bbey , and about the same time the annual performances at ’

u . T l S St. Pa l s were established he Phi harmonic ociety had for years been doing good work, performing the best music in existence ; and the season of 1 855 had e W e be n conducted by agner , who had somewhat startl d The e them out of their Mendelssohn cult . c lebrated ’ H Popular Concerts at S t. James s all reached their 1 88 thousandth performance in 7, and were a powerful influence in S preading a knowledge of chamber - music s l i of the highe t class , as wel as in setting a h gh standard A al er of performance . g axy of players appeared th e — H é r L Joachim , all , Norman Ne uda (afterwards ady

Hallé R 2nd Z Mme . ) , Piatti , ies ( violin) , erbini (viola) , S h i c umann , and in fact , all the principal art sts of the m m day . At the sa e time it ust be remarked that although there were by now many English musicians i was ul concen of h gh attainments , public favour und y trated upon these foreign singers and players— a fact I n elli which retarde d our own musical renai ssance . t gent interes t had been awakened as to the work of the M Era M A S e adrigal , and the usical ntiquarian oci ty had issued in score many works by the best writers of that al er . C p iod happell , too , had made his very v uable

- M usic o the Olden Time collection of folk songs , f , which is still one of ou r most important sources for such C things . onnected with both these undertakings , and

' r Macfarren an a dent worker , was , of whom I shall speak in a moment . The Tr e e iennial F stivals played , at that time , a us ful r e r be r part , and gave oppo tuniti s for wo ks to hea d in h e n im the provinces , w ich would otherwise have b e r m m e possible . Unfortunately , f o a usical point of Vi w , although some new works were performed and a few 8 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

C ommissioned under these conditions , these festivals ‘ —not bein m e g pri arily musical , but charitable ev nts , d and thus being under the management of non - musicians —tended to encourage a stagnant state of things and the works more heard than any others were money Of u Messiah E li ah. earne rs such as and j co rse , one must not lay the whole blame on organisers the public demand is a condition which has to be reckoned with . er e s m But organis s hav o e function of direction , and T e r this they abdicated . h y ca ed chiefly, as Plato says , to tickle the tastes and fancies of the monster : they gave little encouragement to E nglish musicians : the errors of e ach reacted on the other f and the result r was a musical morass , or quagmi e , which is only now being drained and cultivated . Among those who had done most thus to stub

A . acfarren W G. M Burnaby aste was , who at the time of which we are speaking was Principal of the R A M r H C U r . e , and Professo of ambridge nive sity o 1 81 his was b rn in 3 , and long and strenuous life was spent in teaching and writing . His Chevy Chace over 1 8 6 ture was produced in 3 , and was performed later in L M e Hi h t a eipsic by end lssohn . s j o n he B ptist came in 1 8 K in David 1 88 . 73 , and g in 3 But his less pretentious Ma Da E work , such as y y, with its rustic nglish atmo

m - The Three ishers sphere , and so e part songs , such as F , e a H are perhaps mor essenti lly valuable . is support of the Mendelssohn cult seems to have been somewhat excessive but his later growth into an admiration for r r Bach , and his p eaching of the Bach gospel , we e a A m valuable force on the right side . t the ti e of which his we are speaking harmonic theories held the field . T hey were coherent , and brought order and perspicuity e where previously had been m re empiricism. They had INTRODUCTORY 9

c . the defe ts of a system , however Neither nature nor art can be got into a bottle and though an aid at first the system became later a restraint that prevented free T e me t . he grow h pres nt teaching thods are , however ,

e e him Da . larg ly found d upon him , and through on y He e 1 88 e R A M. di d in 7 , and was succe ded at the by M e z r C S . ack n ie , at amb idge by tanford A S nother prominent figure was that of ullivan , who m 1 8 was born in 1 842 . By this ti e ( 8 9) the stream of S avoy operas was slackening , though performances Pina ore e 1 8 8 irates went on merrily . f cam in 7 , P in 1 880 atience 1 881 I olanthe 1 882 , P in , and in ; and r ma e r howeve we y regard these , th y we e at least a so typical product of the time we are considering , and ti must not be passed over . The Martyr of An och ap Th —m p eared in 1 881 . e great but ill anaged experiment e i — in national opera , b g nning and almost ending ' o I vanhoe 1 8 1 with the pr duction of in 9 , was a severe disappointment to many who had hope d for the es tablishment of a permanent opera in London . The Golden Le end e 1 8 8 1 00 S g follow d in 9 , and in 9 ullivan

A - da one the m personality of to y, who was then of ore m 1 8 8 . His living forces , is Parry , born in 4 usic to ’ Aristophanes B irds was writte n for the production at m 1 8 C 1 88 . Blest air o S irens e 8 ambridge in 3 P f ca in 7, 1 r and j udith in 1 888 . In 894 he succeeded G ove as D e the R C e M ir ctor of oyal oll ge of usic , which had been founde d in 1 883 and in 1 900 succeeded S tainer H m as Professor at Oxford . is books on usic are The r usic r 1 l . A t o M 8 va uable f appea ed in 93 , and more lately there has bee n a good one on Bach . A r m man of great p o ise , and with a growing reputa G T r 1 8 1 tion , was oring homas , who was bo n in 5 , and 1 0 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

His O studied under S ullivan and Parry . early pera , The Li ht o the Harem 1 8 g f , appeared in 79 the cantata ,

The S un- Worshi ers 1 881 pp , at Norwich in the opera E smeralda 1 88 C G Nadeshda in 3 , at ovent arden ; and

(also at Covent Garden) in 1 885. Both of these attained T m ’ success in Germany . ho as s hopeful career was cut short in 1 892 . The next whose name must be mentioned , and who at the period of which we are speaking formed one of r m i a sort of t iu v rate , the other two being Parry and He M z S 1 8 2 . acken ie , is tanford, born in 5 studied in G m er The Veiled ro het er any , and his op a , P p , was pro 1 88 am duced at Hanover in 1 881 . In 5 he bec e con ductor of the Bach Choir in succession to Goldschmidt . 1 88 R C l M In 3 , on the opening of the oyal ol ege of usic , m r he beca e professo of composition there , and succeeded Macfa C 1 His G rren at ambridge in 887 . erman training has not been altogether to the good ; but in some works he has broken away from this influence to a The R even e considerable extent , and the choral ballad , g , r Le 8 6 1 al . p oduced at eds in 9 , made an instant appe His Irish descent has had considerable influence on his r Vo a e o Maeldune O S hamu s wo k , and the y g f , the pera ’ O B rien , and some Irish songs , are among its fruits . Of the second we shall hear again in connection with ’ Bantock s own life . The r M z thi d of this triumvirate is acken ie , who was H 1 8 . e e G born in 47 , too , was train d in ermany , and then e ntered the R oyal Academy of Music as a violin

S . ason 1 882 student under ainton j appeared in , but hi s larger reputation began with the opera Colomba in 1 88 R ose o S haron 3 ; and this led to the f (Norwich , About the same time appeared the orchestral ’ La belle Dame sans Merci ballad , , founded on Keats s INTRODUCTORY 1 1

’ er M nz poem , and p haps acke ie s most valuable orches r The Tr u badour 1 6 in tral wo k . o appeared in 88 and 1 888 Mackenz ie was elected to succeed Macfarren at the R al A m M oy cade y of usic . W an 1 88 hen B tock entered this Institution in 9, there M e z fore , ack n ie was Principal , as now Parry was soon R C e e : to be Principal at the oyal oll g , as now and

S tanford occupied his present po sition on the staff . So that for twenty years and more these three posts — and one of them for thirty years — have been in the same hands a fact which gives food for thought . A a nother of this generation , with whom Bantock c me l into close re ations , since he studied under him at the

R A M C r r 1 8 2 . oyal cademy of usic , was o der , bo n in 5 He won the Mendelssohn S cholarship at the R oyal A m M C e cade y of usic , and went to ologne to study und r His O r ordisa C Hiller . pe a N was produced at ovent Garden in 1 887 and the S word of Argantyr at the Leeds e Festival of 1 889. He is th author of the translations ’

W . of agner s operas , of a book on Instrumentation , etc ’ Of e the young r men , more nearly Bantock s con e temporaries , one need say littl , as their influence , in i r r th s earlier pe iod , except when he came into pe sonal E wi . contact th them , was slighter lgar was born in

1 8 . He G 57 was to have gone to ermany to study , but m e H the r r o . e plan , pe haps fortunately , p oved i p ssibl E is thus an nglish product , and a provincial one , since he r m W l 1 8 comes f o orcester where he remained ti l , in 77, he went to London and took violin lessons of Pollitz er . m r He then returned to Worcester and beca e an o ganist . ’ His larger reputation was delaye d till afte r Bantock s The E ni ma Variations a student days were over . g p p eared in 1 899 ; the Froissart overture in 1 900 . In his i me Gerontiu s the same year came great ach eve nt , 1 2 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

1 0 1 om and Circumstance , 1 0 The in 9 , P p and in 9 3 , o tle Ap s s . ’ — A grorrp of promising students Bennett (now G r S r Ed . organist at Lincoln Cathed al) , e man , and tuart Macpherson— had already left the R oyal Academy of

M - m usic when Bantock entered , the last named re aining Cu nn e . Mc on the staff as prof ssor , too , had left the R oyal College of Music (resigning his scholarship in and had produced The Land of the Mountain and the lood m e F , by which his na e b came widely known , ’ he Lord Ullin s Dau hter in 1 887 . T cantata g came in 1 888 and The Lay of the Last Minstrel at Glasgow in D e 1 888 C ec mber , , and the rystal Palace February , ’ 1 88 R 9, the year of Bantock s entrance at the oyal A A cademy of Music . nother man with whom Ban

took Wm . W was thrown into contact was allace , who 1 860 was born in , and studied for two terms at the R A m M 1 88 scena The L ord o oyal cade y of usic in 9, his , f Darkness being produced at one of their concerts in Hi s i e 1 890 . s symphonic poem The Pa sing of B eatr c was brought out at the Crystal Palace in 1 892 by M anns , who thought highly of his powers and did a good e d al for him . For a fuller realisation of the conditions at this e ul W tim , it sho d be remembered that though agner had died in 1 883 the controversies that raged about his e name wer still violent . The great Wagner Festival e A H Ma 1 8 W h ld at the lbert all in y, 77 ( agner and R ichter conducting) , although not a success financially , had stimulated and popularised the interest in Wagner led in this country , and had to discussions on musical

- l . art principles , and to a more vivid artistic ife generally The R e W icht r concerts , making agner propaganda one m of their ain features , were a flourishing institution .

CHAPTER II

EARLY LI FE UP TO ENTRANCE AT THE ROY AL ACADE MY OF MU S I C

GRANVI LLE RAN S OME BANTOCK was born on the 7th A 1 868 i ugust , , his father being the d stinguished surgeon

a G G i M. D . and gyn ecologist , eorge ranv lle Bantock , , who was at one time President of the D L ’ Gynaecological S ociety . uring the period when ister s method of using the carbolic spray in surgery became L T Dr . fashionable , Bantock and awson ait held out n strongly against the innovation , insisting that wou ds l all did not hea under carbolic influence , and that that e s A was ne ded was absolute cleanline s . lthough he f r Dr su fered conside ably in his practice for many years , . Bantock refused to give way to what he considered a m L M C istake . ister at the International edical ongress r Dr ri at Be lin , said . Bantock , whose remarkable se es of successful ovariotomies may seem to j ustify his practice does not , I believe , prepare his ligatures antise rcall The s and p t y. succe s achieved by Bantock

T - Dr ait proves a stumbling block to some minds . . ’ Bantock s Opposition has been j ustified : his views have finally prevailed : the carbolic spray has been aban doned : clean water only is now used : and what is ’ currently called Listerism is nearer to Bantock s practice ’ L own ' earl Ma than to ister s y gospel . y we not see in this dogged persistence in the face of overwhelming odds on the part of the father , one of the roots from

1 4 EARLY LIFE 1 5 which grew that untiring perseverance which has helped the son to his present position At the time of the boy’ s birth the family were living R r A C W . in ornwall oad , estbou ne Park bout the age of e i six he went to a preparatory school kept by thr e lad es , L R H re in ancaster oad . ere he mained some three years , ’

Mr S ha cote s . and then went to . p school in Powis S quare He o r r was plodding , and a g od wo ker his memo y was , r m the — f o first , good but as is often the case with men — he i built on a large scale , mentally was not qu ck or r d He o b illiant in any way in chil hood . took piano less ns t e from a lady eacher, but hated them , and shirk d practice . About 1 880 the family moved to the house in Gran ville Place with which the doctor is usually associated . The Leedham boys (the next brother, , being now ’ ai r Sha c te s included) rem ned for a time at M . p o as The weekly boarders . school was given up shortly Mr afterwards , however, and they were transferred to . S ’ H utton s in olland Park . A r his o lthough he wo ked well at less ns , he was no ’ bookw orrn al hi , and had a he thy boy s love of play w ch , L al in a ondon house without garden , was not ways easy

The - to get . favourite cricket pitch was a long passage the at top of the house , the noise and racket in which were constantly bringing down reproofs from the Olym i C pians on the heads of the budd ng hampions , consisting G Leedham C the now of ran , , laude , and , finally , sister, ’ C n The al m o nie . usu children s ga es of course played their part ; but the passion for trains seems to have had deeper roots than usual and to have appealed e m m hi to som athe atical instinct , w ch has apparently a re ppeared in still greater force in the next generation . The for al m i passion anim s , too , which has re a ned with him through life , appeared thus early ; and squirrels , 1 6 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

z snakes , toads , li ards , white rats , etc were stowed His n e d away somehow . old urse has d scribe to me her disgust when the white rats ran over her at meals . As ll dr some a eviation of this cramped life , the chil en T G had friends at urnham reen , then a country place , H whither they sometimes went to stay . ere there On was a large garden where they could play freely . e G one occasion , while at their games ther , ran got An a splinter of glass into his little finger . operation was necessary to remove it but the finger got drawn

e . up , and has never fully r covered A tat 1 6 G al bout 1 884 (ce . ) ran began to take a re

n . interest in music , and a liki g for his piano lessons This slowly developed into a wish to take up music as a profession but of this — the usual story— the doctor would not hear , and the boy began to prepare for the C S E r o Indian ivil ervice xaminations , fi st at sch ol , A and finally under a coach . physical trouble saved the situation . Had Schumann not injured his hand we should probably have had one pianist the more , and been the poorer by much of his finest work . In the present case it was an affection of the eyes that H intervened like the good fairy in di sguise . e was e a examined by a sp ci list , who found no radical defect , r and said that it was due to general overwo k , and that i all read ng and study must be given up for six months . T e his , as he was now about seventeen , necessitat d relinquishing the idea of the Indian Civil Service ; and he again tried to persuade his father to let him r Th e . e adopt music as a p of ssion doctor , however , Hi S was inexorable . s cottish nature was not very readily responsive ; he was somewhat autocratic his and reserved , being much absorbed in exacting

mi him. practice and the boy was ti d of In the result , EARLY LIFE 1 7

he after a good deal of uncertainty, was entered as a pupil for chemical engineering at the City and Guilds

S . Institute , in outh Kensington H r e ere again the pa all l with Schumann appears . Just as S chumann neglected hi s law studies for his r e — pianoforte p actic , so Bantock hating his task of

l n six- two fi i g down inch cubes to inch cubes , and such diversions —spent his time at the S outh Kensington

- f r Museum over music scores . Lectures were j ilted o concerts ; he plunged into the ocean of music as into his e m native le ent , and became a devoted worshipper of Wagner and Lisz t— in those days the symbols of He all that was daring and revolutionary in art . had n had no teachi g at all , beyond his piano lessons , and knew none of the shoals and rocks of that ocean of m o wn f usic , but he must build his little cra t and go — T a sailing on wider j ourneys . here are some songs Th of this period still remaining in MS . e one that r l S weet Maid appears to be the ea liest is cal ed , and

A - w has mostly an lberti bass , changing to ards the i h end nto repeated chords ; the armonisation , too , e m se ms to indicate a first atte pt . Next comes a set ou r S on s called F g , though there are actually five , D r 1 888 . W dated ecember, hen one remembe s that

he had never had a lesson in harmony in his life , one e wonders more espe cially at th feeling for harmonisation . ’ There are a setting of Goethe s Leise z ieht durch mein Gemitth Love S on Love in Ma I n the (in a g, y, ’ orest H Du bist wi e eine B lume al F , and eine s ( so in There is also a Grand Galop that shows a

distinct idea of plan , having a regular episode , and a

return with coda and cadenz a . Another piano piece seems to suggest that he was acquainted with Bach ’ s

- two part Inventions .

C 1 8 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

At last the Principal of the Institute sent for him his and told him he was doing no good , and that bent e e was evidently for art . Bantock agreed , and b gg d him he e to see the doctor , and do what could to persuad Ar him of the true state of affairs . Prof . mstrong

Dr . accordingly wrote to Bantock , who called to see ll e him . Very unwi ingly he at last realis d the position , and allowed Granville to leave the College and take some private harmony and counterpoint lessons of Dr . G r S Tr C M o don aunders , at the inity ollege of usic , T onl lasted three m L . ondon hese , however , y onths after which Bantock , finding his desires confirmed by this tentative measure , and feeling the necessity for a wider ll and fu er training , succeeded in persuading his parents to send him to the R oyal Academy . D m Re uiem Mass uring this ti e he was at work on a q , and a symphony , of which last I shall speak in the The R e uiem next chapter . q shows the influence of R ossini in the cast of the phrases . I was surprised to

e . notice this , as the two writers seem absolutely ali n

Bantock , however , explains that he went , about the S tabat Mater time of writing it , to a performance of the , m m r A and was uch i p essed . nother influence is apparent — Lohen ri Pr lud The that of the g n e e. work opens with C a long arpeggio passage on a chord of , first major and e r th n minor , which ises to the extreme treble range , descends a little , and then floats away into the heavens . A m Amen si ilar passage , followed by an , closes the work , evidently symbolising the entering of the soul into its T . f rest here is a distinct feeling for harmonic e fect , and altogether the mass is a remarkable effort for one

. The entirely untaught work was never scored . 1 olonaise I will only mention further ( ) a P for piano ,

- T t . he which , for a self aught youth , is certainly good EARLY LIFE 1 9

t l e polonaise rhy hm is caught , and there is an intel igibl t r Two Meditaions . plan . And (2) for pianofo te and violin m r The The first is rhyth ically alive and full of ve ve . second is more remarkable , in a way . It shows very ’ W Trau me clearly the influence of agner s , and the rm r c i u n ha onic f eedom of the pie e is strik ng , in an taught tyro . i It was about th s time , or rather earlier , that I made ’ Bantock s acquaintance ; and in the late July and early August of this year he and I went together i ars al Tristan . We to Bayreuth , where we saw P f and r Niirnber al we e greatly delighted with g, and especi ly m R Lorenz kirche . the with its many emories eturning , m R z K Oln The we ca e down the hine from Main to . r whole t ip was a memorable experience , and one which neither of us has forgotten . ’ At last the fir st goal of Bantock s ambition was and a S reached , after the summer holid ys , in eptember, M 1 88 R A . 9, he entered the oyal cademy of usic CHAPTER III

OY L C D MY OF M S IC 1 88 — R A A A E U , 9 93

I N S 1 88 eptember , 9, then , Bantock entered at the R A M oyal cademy of usic as a student of composition , He under Frederick Corder . also studied at various clarmet i times , and in varying measures , the , viol n , viola , organ , piano , and kettledrums , during his stay in the Institution and has since played also the horn and tuba , thus gaining experience that has been of u service in his instr mentation . The first competition for the Macfarren S cholarship C 1 88 eu occurred at hristmas , 9, j ust a term after his H . e e trance determined to comp te , but thinking that C r order might consider him p esumptuous , he kept his He m own counsel . sent in two movements of a sy phony ’ C Monolo u es M S in minor, some g for ilton s atan , and a few songs— all written without advice of any kind The r and was successful . scholarship was awa ded not so much for attainment as for promise , and provided ’ r t At th ee years free uition at the Institution . the end

e - r fi of this time he was appoint d sub p ofessor , an of ce

r d . which carries no sala y , but a re uction of fees Of the S cherz o . symphony , only the can now be found m resto e It is in ti e , P , and is evidently influ nced by ’

e z . The l e e Be thoven s scher os mirth is a ittl h avy , and m m the instru entation , as might be expected fro one e M e ntirely without experience , very uncertain . or

20

22 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

— Mrs . o Place proved an excellent concert room . Bant ck e gave a warm welcom ; and the doctor , having some thing of the statelier manners of the older school , added C m a touch of courtliness to the proceedings . ha ber e e music and songs were given , besid s , as a rul , compo i s r m e sit on by membe s , and fro time to time l ctures on Wagner and various burning questions by Corder and others . Bantock po ured out a profusion of compositions — a during his student period . One of these continuation of his Miltonic work— was an overture called S atan in ’

Hell al e e . , a typic stud nt s subj ct It was tried one A afternoon at the orchestral practice . fter some fearful caco hanou s hi p passage , in w ch the players had all got M z inextricably tangled up , acken ie , who was conducting , W P To exclaimed in despair , here are we now which ” came the demure reply , In hell , sir . d But Milton soon proved stale . Bantock yearne for newer and greater things he was under the influence W er r of the fact that agn had w itten his own poems , e r e and d te mined not only to do the same , but to achi ve i r Th dist nction in pure lite ature as well . e opulence of his schemes is illustrated by the fact that , besides the grandiose plan of twenty- four symphonic poems on ’ S K ehama r E m outhey s , he p oj ected six gyp tian dra as , hi — Rameses II — of w ch one was written and published . He r — Ph llis wrote also anothe play , outside this scheme y , u Th een o race . S Q f hortly after this , however , he came see to that his true work lay in music , and wisely limited himself in area for the sake of the additional e e str ngth ther by gained . The musical works for which he wrote his own words the Caedmar The earl o I ran were operas and P f , and the ’ R M Thorvend T as Dream. e r ecitation usic , his is an a ly M OF M S C 1 88 - 2 ROYAL ACADE Y U I , 9 93 3

r e A wo k in character as w ll as in period . nother piece e The B lessed Damoz el of the sam class is but Bantock , having come to feel the unsatisfactory nature of this

enre r the . g , w ote nothing more of kind Two more pieces on somewhat the same level may be mentioned be fore w e come to the larger works . Both te m are for pianofor , and both have ottoes prefixed , for ’ o l p etic basis was Bantock s early flame , as we l as Th R e erie in i . e v E his l felong love first is a b, in a some e l what facile vein of musing , but suitabl for popu ar Th B a ar ll r c m . e rc o e onsu ption other, a in F mino , m e with a motto fro Browning , mak s more demand

the an d m r . e e upon player , has o e character Both pi c s ere A r w published by shdown , the composer eceiving nothing for them but a few copies— an arrangement the m which , at ti e , was very welcome to one yearning m to see hi self in print . Of e ll r the larger works of this p riod , we wi speak fi st of the proj ected K ehama cycle of symphonic

- e . T er e e po ms h e wer to have b en twenty four of these , corresponding with the twenty- four divisions of the m e poe , but only fourteen w re actually written , of e e which two were published . They ar found d on ’ S The Cu rse o K ehama outhey s Indian poem , f ; and se e the r thus we Bantock , on th eshold of his career , showing that bent of mind for which he has since e e b come c lebrated , and turning instinctively to the E ast as a relief from the stiffening trammels of classical T e m The uneral . h tradition first nu ber , F , is now rocessional e e er called P , and has been p rform d sev al

m . r e f r r ti es It epr sents the une al p ocession , by night , ’ R K ehamas e r e of the aj ah son , whos corpse is bo n e e onward in his palanquin b n ath a crimson canopy , e O — e and surround d by lavish riental pomp torch s , 24 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

Brahmins , maidens , soldiers , drums , gongs , and the The myriad life of India . striking rhythms and tone colours have j ust that flavour of the biz arre which is A necessary to visualise the scene . flowing melody which forms the second subj ect , represents the two e e chief wiv s and a train of lesser ones , who are forc d to perform suttee. Finally comes the lighting of the m pyre and amid the blare of horns and tru pets , and the maddened cries of the crowd , the piece comes to an — o herfi a a- Naut end . The character of the t j g is of i al . t the same order It is h ghly pic ori , and shows the lofty car swaying as it ploughs its course onwards through the crowd of devotees who throw themselves Y in its way and are crushed , while a band of ogis dance in honour of the god This piece was per S formed by the Philharmonic ociety , but it so shocked their sensibilities that they made a vow of never e r again as r ga ded Bantock . Another work which foreshadows the future is the u E t e pict resque ballet , gyp , in thre scenes , in which C e some optic phrases are used , and in which the scal e The instru with two augmented seconds app ars . i the mentation is still uncertain , and the handl ng of material simple but the piece is certainly one of the shadows cast before by coming events .

V di - ery fferent is the case with The Fire Worshippers . ’ The words are taken from Moore s Lalla R ookh and ’ we have here a young man s romantic work written Of with technique adequate for its purpose . course , did Bantock , even if he it at all , would not carry out the work in the same way now but that is not to say e m that he would r ally i prove upon what he has done . ’ As M it stands it suits oore s poem , with its somewhat m facile senti ent and Byronic passion . The point of M OF M S C 1 88 — 2 ROYAL ACADE Y U I , 9 93 5

Y o view is changed . outh has its own way of lo king at and feeling things ; and that way is quite as true , t m and represents a reality , jus as uch as the views of ’ e r maturity . Both are int gr al pa ts of man s nature as a whole— a point on which S tevenson enlarges

i is u e The ire- Wor admir ably in Virg nibu s P uer q . F shippers deals with the loves of the daughter of a Mu ssul m C e the m man e ir , and the hi ftain of ore ancient race

fir e - b r The e of worshippers (Ghe irs) of Pe sia . scen is laid in the emir ’ s palace overlooking a romantic region G e ai on the Persian ulf , and aft rwards in the mount n t Ghebirs are e fas ness of the , who finally ext rminated Y r m by the Mohammedans . oung o ance and the vigour of youth suffuse the whole ; and the advance made since the two so ngs mentioned above as written early The 1 8 0 . in 9 , is remarkable overture , a striking piece r C l e of wo k , was performed at the rystal Pa ace und r M The e rme ann s . work has been p rfo d in its entirety e rec ntly , and would suit many a choral society which might hesitate before undertaking the later works .

Caedmar - , a one act opera , is on the whole surer in — m . e musical technique i. e it is wov n in a ore continuous — T a The earl o I ran . he web th n its successor , P f reason The work in of this we shall see shortly . shows the _ flu nc r e e W of agner throughout , more especially , pe haps ,

he - S r The Rin that of t Siegmund ieglinde po tion of g,

crest- Murmurs the e and of the F but whole conc ption ,

r r W . texture , and phraseology of the wo k eek of agner

This is not said as a reproach ; it is quite natural . E M z e arly Beethoven is o art dilut d , and every one must m m e t learn fro , and assi ilat , the best hat has gone before e r l him. It is w ll that Bantock had tho ough y mastered his r i e c aft in th s way he was now fl dged , and ready l to think out his own individua methods , develop his 26 GRANVILLE BANTOCK o wn i e r indiv duality , and l arn in the la ger school of The m The earl o I ran life . dra a , like that of P f , is simple C dmar e i m i . ae and so ewhat na ve , a wand ring kn ght , comes into a forest—glade as the shadows of evening ee the e deepen , prays , goes to sl p , and elv s appear and im H m h . dance around ulda then enters , fleeing fro her e tyrannical husband , who has desecrat d the dm rr e . Cae ar ma iag bond awakes , and the two vow Andred al . The etern fidelity husband , , then appears , Hul and Caedmar . he and fight da , rushing between ’ m Andr ed s them to separate the , receives sword and falls ; Caedmar then slays Andred . A scene ensues H between him and ulda , who then dies and the opera closes with a vision of her spirit floating heavenwards . ’ m r m al al Bantock s aste y of his usic materi is , however , The r r e remarkable . sco ing of the wo k was finish d about

Se 1 8 2 . S La ptember , 9 ignor go was at that time under

ill - L s taking his starred ondon sea on , and Bantock sent d . an him a copy of the vocal score It took his fancy , Ol m ic was produced at the y p , receiving three or four performances under the conductorship of the compos er

- a e - r wond rful send off for the young a tist . A little earlier in the year he had given an invitation concert R A M al Caedmar at the oyal cademy of usic , where so s had been performed, though without orche tra or stage

action . The charges o f Wagnerism levelled against him in the criticisms of Caedmar induce d Bantock to design r em s his next wo k on different lines , and to ploy choruse ,

- . The P earl o I ran e r r etc f is a one act op a , like its p ede Ur M cessor , and the scene is laid in the al ountains . Lhara m l e , a Persian aiden , is travel ing und r the pro tection A m T The of her lover h ed, a artar prince . t Ou r en convoy is at acked on her account , by g with M OF M S C 1 88 — 2 ROYAL ACADE Y U I , 9 93 7

z A Lhara his Kirghi , and hmed is slain , whereupon kills ’ The herself to avoid falling into Ourgen s hands . piece is picturesquely laid out ; there are E astern phrases al C to give loc colour, dances of ircassians , slaves , women ,

T r r t - artars (with ba ba ic rhy hms) , love duets and a Persian song with lute accompaniment which I s worth The e publishing separately . whol is handled with S e difli cul th t kill , musically but y of welding together this greater variety of material has caused that lack of s Caedmar the sen e of unity , as compared with , of which The r o I have spoken . pe s nality of the composer is not yet mature and the work (like Caedmar) has not ’ the M r e . advantage of oo e s v rse It , however , taken in the conjunction with the other two , shows writer to be e e r far w ll equipp d for his wo k , so as training could T r make him so . he e was now only needed the growth of his own individuality . Du ringhis time atthe R oyalAcademyof MusicB antock r me fi had seve alworksperfor dattheof cial concerts , among

The ire- Worshi ers Wulstan them the overture to F pp , , a scena fo r e an d e bariton orch stra , and the suite of T f r m Rameses I I . ballet music written o the dra a his is , l of course , a smal work , but is picturesque , and shows e al e r source and an ear for loc colour , if the expr ssion m may be allowed . The aterial was incorporated in the D larger Egyptian ballet already mentioned . uring the latter part of this period his mind began to be e r occupi d with , among othe things , the idea of those S ongs of the East which did not become an actuality e r A till lat r . He now felt that his wo k at the cademy

1 8 . was done , and in 93 he left the Institution CHAPTER I V

DI FFI C LTI E S 1 8 — U , 93 7

I T is a commonplace that the course of the artist never : r are runs smooth the exceptions , at any ate , so few ul as to be almost negligible . Bantock in this partic ar; r e if in no other , was o thodox ; for there now follow d four years of struggle in which he was obliged to turn his his hand to anything and everything , and in which lavish instincts (in things material as well as artistic) r hi s r were severely rep essed, while outwa d means were m precarious , dwindling at ti es almost to a minus As quantity . the lives of artists go , however , he can not be said to have had an unusual S hare of hardship for when these four years were over he at least got a permanent engagement which , though an uncongenial one him in many ways , enabled to do good work and after three more years he entered upon an ever- widening e course of influ nce and reputation . On leaving the R oyal Academy of Music he found m f H hi self in a di ficult position . e had no particular

. He et connection , musically could g no pupils for harmony or composition; and he was not a pianist He or violinist in the sense of the professional teacher . e r play d the o gan on and off , and applied for some ’ organists posts ; but nothing definite resulted ; and he was glad to avail himself of an invitation on the p art of the Trinity College of Music to correct some

28

30 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

j ournal which actually ran for some years , and obtained ’ r e a succés d estime if not mate ial succ ss . The ew uarterl Mu sical R eview This was N Q y , which e 1 Bantock start d on a capital of about £ 5, and which he managed and edite d entirely on his own responsi A W ll bilit . E y rskine llon , since dead , a ace , and I d were associated in the scheme in a sense for we forme , with Bantock , the inner circle of the staff, and the last ’ Of two e dited during Bantock s absence in America . course no one was paid— it was hoped that would follow : and it will strike all as remarkable that Bantock was able to infect so many good men with his own ideas and induce them to contribute , when I state that men S M z S r a f ild Dr . W t e t e like eidl , of eimar , acken ie , , New R r dl r H D D S e C . r S e all . t man , oge s , h ock , orde , avey , gg ; A W G e m bdy illiams , and raves , wrote from tim to ti e L M Gi W o while egge , Fuller aitland , and lbert ebb were r l regula contributors . I myse f wrote the opening e sonn t and Introduction , and one or two larger papers , r r The l besides o dinary eviews . on y article bearing Bantock ’ s own signature was one (a significant fact) n i n z on Co fuc a ism and Music. The mag a ine struggled on for three years but there was not a suffi cient public ’ and Bantock s absences from home made the work of i difli cul t t carry ng it on very ; so hat ultimately , in 1 8 6 February , 9 , the enterprise was given up . It was Th a spirited attempt . e review was of the highest m an r class , taking the status , for usic , that the st da d reviews such as the Contemporary and Nineteenth Cen tur y took for ordinary literature .

' “ l is not in mortal to omm n e s c a d succ ss ,

’ A d r ai says d ison s hero ; but ce t nly, like him, this s venture did more , and de erved it . D C LT ES 1 8 — 1 IFFI U I , 93 7 3

Before its relinquishment , however , as the reference ’ A ll e e to Bantock s absence in merica wi hav sugg sted, me r em Th he had secured so regula engag ents . e first e e r m of th s , a conductorship in a tou ing opera co pany , t t e e was obtained hrough a thea rical ag nt , and he w nt r i for m ound the prov nces so e weeks , under this contract , h t B t e Li tle o Blu e . u ncon with burlesque , y It was genial work the music was far from his ideal he cou ld get little time for hi s own writing and the constant n flrv travelli g and e e escence of theatrical life grated im h . H i upon owever, it was the only th ng to be done , ak he e S ex and he had to m e t b st of it . ome of his p eriences in finding pro lodgings were amusing ; and it seems that he had a curious way of providing for e On i new his bodily sust nance . arriv ng at a town , and

i his ied- d- terre secur ng p , he would adj ourn to the market , buy a huge cabbage , and present it to his landlady with instructions to serve it in instalments as long as it lasted . This contract led to others of the same type but a as stage higher, inasmuch it introduced him to the m He me Gaiety Co pany . got an appoint nt as conductor ’ G r E dwardes s in one of eo ge touring companies , and went through the provinces on a fresh round with two e The Gaiet Girl Gentleman oe or three pi ces such as y , j ,

O E ne . d good thing , however , arose from all this wardes determined to arrange a tour round the world c The Gaiet Girl with two or three pie es , including y , and o f T Bant ck was o fered the post of conductor . he opportunity of seeing the world in this way was too the r me good to be lost , in spite of i kso nature of the occupation thatgmade it possible ; and he accepted The without hesitation . pieces were played , during 3 2 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

1 8 — A A 94 5, in various towns of merica and ustralia e er r and the xp ience of other lands , men , and manne s ’ made a great impression on Bantock s mind and H broadened his outlook in many ways . e was es eciall C m H S m p y delighted with olo bo , onolulu , and a oa , H e . e where th y touched , though they did not play

Visited Niagara and received the orthodox thrills . I have a letter describing his sensations ; but Niagara

vieux eu r . is now j , and I ref ain from quotations r He met with one o r two adventures du ing this tour . r r r He Pe haps the most st iking was at S an F ancisco . m C used someti es to go , after the performance , to hina town ; and on one occasion was returning late , when m He he was chased by so e rowdies . ran they followed

- : he e er m revolver shots ensued m ged into a ain street , cannoned into a constable , and after explanations , f r e he was only called a fool o being ther so late alone . In the circumstances of travel his inborn love of collecting curiosities and of animals was bound to assert he m itself, and arrived ho e with a wonderful assortment of beasts and other properties of various kinds . When in Melbourn e he scared everyone out of the hotel lou nge by appearing with what looked like one of their deadliest snakes wound round his arm . It was one he had bought S al in ydney , where an almost identic species is non He poisonous . brought back , too , like the traditional

. T er al sailor , a parrot h e were so an opossum and an Australian bear : but all these early amours were Hi destined to end in loss . s most beloved acquisi — — o r m - tsz e an a tion was Nancy , ore exactly , Nan p e S e which he bought in ydney . Nancy us d to walk the M him di streets of elbourne with , hol ng his hand like a

She - child . would gambol in the tree tOps in the Botani G Her cal ardens , but always returned at his whistle . D C LT ES 1 8 — IFFI U I , 93 7 33

S H diffi imian ighness , however , got him into some l cu ties . Oneday she escaped from his room in the hotel r d and found her way into the pantry , whe e she enjoye herself by throwing down various piles of crockery an amusement which resulted in a nice little bill for the o m m e c nductor . I re e b r going up to his study just after

his return , and being greeted by Nancy , who then fled T e S . h to his houlders young lady, however , was one day found swinging on the chandeli er : the family did not

approve of its new member, and Nancy retired to the

Shortly after his return from this tour Bantock was

d e H . W engage , in succ ssion to enry J ood , to take ’ ha u T in S m s O B rien round the provinces . his tour l E nu m c uded not only the regular nglish round , but a — l W L ber of Irish towns as well Be fast , aterford , imerick , T C D . he ork, and ublin first night was a terrible ex

perience . A member of the band had been married All during the day . his comrades attended the wedding , “ D Swiveller and passed the rosy , as ick says , so often that when they came to performance they were still I n a hilarious condition ; and— averse to taking life e — hin s riously played scales or anyt g they fancied , the instead of parts set down for them , with results that may be imagined while the management kept sending

round to the front to know what they were doing .

It was about this time , also , soon after returning from A e e e m rica , that Bantock met and b came engag d to the — lady who afterwards became his wife Miss Helen F . S e the is Schweitz er . h has written words for many of h r e e wo ks , and has be n of inestimabl help to him in count her r e less ways , besides showing own powe s as a po tess in a little volume issue d about the time of their engag e l l ment , and a so in the more mature col ection of poems D 34 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

’

Woman s Love 1 1 1 . One entitled A , published in 9 of the the first results , musically , of this engagement was ’ realisation of Bantock s long - cherished scheme of a S on s o the E ast e i e series of g f , which now took d fin t M S z shape , iss chweit er undertaking to provide the poems . With these songs we arrive at some of Bantock ’ s

ar . e really ch acteristic production Naturally , in a colle tion of thirty- six songs some will be less interes ting than others ; but in all of the six albums there is fine and individual work ; and while there may have bee n r earlie isolated pieces cast somewhat in this mould, there had been no previous attempt on anything like this scale to bring the mental outlook and fe eling of the E ast into European music so that the publication is in its way an event . a The Tak S on s o ersi NO . 2 ing first the g f P , we find ,

H mn o the Ghebirs i . e . H S u n y f ( a ymn to the , by the

- W ancient Fire orshippers) , which arrests the attention Th mur h u l . . af e e S i by its nusua idiom No 3 is named t r g , ul the fab ous bird of wisdom and might , that dwells

- amid the whirling winds of the desert mountain , and is probably the original of the mysterious roc of the h m Arabian Nig ts . It will be re embere d that when A di u laddin , by the prompting of the sg ised magician , demanded to have a roc ’ s egg suspended from the dome his l S of palace , the genie was a most ready to lay him i s for hav ng insulted his master . The answer ha puz z led many generations of children : but the refer ence seems to be to this mysterious genie - bird of wisdom The e and power . song is full of th rush of monstrous wings and whirling winds ; while the central portion hints at the glamour of the bird ’ s magical treasures and wisdom . Perhaps the songs which appeal most directly D C LT ES 1 8 — IFFI U I , 93 7 3 5

to the heart , however , are the two following ones . a . The H rem w No 4 , , ith its languorous atmosphere , its i delicate arpegg os , and its passages constructed on an E r u n o f aste n scale with two a gme ted seconds , is full Charm and conj ures up the scene vivi dly before the

mind . The song is a tragic one the light of the harem is Slain by a j ealous rival but the tragedy is not of the

- — ff i d blood and thunder order , being su used w th ten er The s beauty . peculiar clo e at the end of the verse is — al i . The N Z O . al especi ly character stic next 5, , has m lan ui a the sa e kind of g d charm , but without the tr gic m H w e . R ele ent ere have a story like that of apunz el . The maiden lets down her long torrent of hair from he r r — turret , fastening it above , and the p ince the nur sling Sirnur h i — of the magical g , climbs up and k sses her this happy dénou ementben again portrayed by a character istic O e ri ntal passage with two augmented seconds .

S on s o E t NO . 1 I nvocation to the Nile In the g f gyp , , , T t N . 2 u O he Un terable . B ridal S on , , and No 3 g, are all i . 13 l good But the glory of th s group undoubted y No . 5, The Lament o I sis for O ri f ( the lost si s) , with its deeply m a One m i pressive p thos . see s to feel here a foretaste of i I loved thee Atthis S a o S on s . the po gnancy of , , in the pph g The fir st of the Chinese set is a highly picturesque ” S on o the B ells r g f , constructed on th ee changes , the i . 2 For last being a mod fied version of the first Nos . , saken Love S on L ullab , 3 , g, and 5, y, are pleasant , but O h . not , per aps , so charged with riental colour Nos . 4 , I n the alace 6 War S on i P , and , g, are mostly in un son , ai z and characteristic , with a cert n exotic bi arrerie .

' The S on s o a an u g f j p , tho gh dainty and pretty , are l i W hard y so conv ncing , being rather more estern in phrasing and harmonisation : but the dance in the ’ Mu mé s on I . su S . t To me g (No ) , has the rue ring , per 36 GRANVILLE BANTOCK sonall The S on o the S word y, the last , g f , is the most attractive . S on s o I ndia The Nautch Girl is Of the g f , the first , ,

al . B the full of colour and character, as so is No 3 , y Gan es g , which has since been published separately as

- I n the Villa e The ire Fl . . F y No 5, g , too , seems to call up a vision of an Indian pastoral settlement with the pungent odours of the smoke rising into the morning air . As m n suits the subj ect it is si ple , bei g constructed upon ' T akir s on ri . he S two phrases slightly va ed F g, too , with its unresting movements , symbolising the soul hurried

i . The along in the whirlpool of rebirth , is character stic Pra er to Vishnu Dir e S dis y , and the g , also how a very tinct vein of Oriental imagination . The S on s o Arabia i g f preserve on the whole , I th nk , e T tin . 1 he Mee the most uniform lev l of excellence No . , g, e with its ceasel ss ripple and flow,

W ere the ter e an d n ere h wa splash d wa d d , mingled with the love - atmosphere that enrays the maid Ar C and the ab hieftain , must prove attractive at once

. . 2 Lament to any hearer No , , is full of idyllic beauty of O . . I n the Desert s an riental cast No 3 , , call up the ’

l . . The Ni htin ale s S on scene vivid y No 4 , g g g, with its warbling lilt and throbbing passion No . 5, a vigorous ’ Chie tain s B att - le S on . 6 The R etu rn h f g ; and No , , wit h . e its eager triumph , are each in its own way fine T last has been since issued by Breitkopf and Haertel as m a duet and in this for , with its passionate responsive phrases , is even more captivating . T hese songs have all been scored , and many are now e a good d al sung . On the whole they form a fine body r of wo k , and have helped to inoculate the West with the E life of the ast . Sometimes one feels that the use of

38 GRANVILLE BANTOCK although a manager had been appointed they wanted a Musical Director and would he be willing to under take the duties of this position P The letter came from

Mr . Ybarr ndo de o , who afterwards proved a good friend The T to Bantock , and the offer referred to ower , New The L . Brighton , near iverpool enterprise was a new

. one , and the buildings were in course of erection It appeared to Bantock in much the sam e light as the offer of the Bournemouth authorities appeared to Dan God He do— frey at about the same time . hoped to and for a time actually did— something for real music under the T e conditions imposed . h authorities at New Brighton , however , proved less enlightened than those at Bourne mouth and while the one organisation has gone on for some twenty years with growfling reputation , the other had to be abandoned in the ush of its artistic success , and the orchestra reverted to its original status of an

. As ordinary amusements band will have been gathered , r then , f om these remarks , he accepted the engagement ,

r L t . and , breaking away f om his ondon work , went nor h i Before th s , however , Bantock announced , for ’ D m e 1 th 1 8 6 H ece b r s , 9 , a concert at Queen s all , at a d which , with ch racteristic generosity , he gave , besi es his own compositions , works by five other young E viz W e E A H nglish composers , allac , rskine llon , inton , H S e all . awley , and t gg A note in the programme the sounded pathetic cry of the artist in all ages , unable not only to win acceptance , but even to obtain a hearing . The idea of a clique among the composers repr esented m is disclai ed , and the note goes on For the moment m m r e any spirit of co mercialis is set aside , and the p dominant de sire has been to advance the cause of Britis h music . When the National Picture Galleries of Europe and America compete with one another for paintings D C LT ES 1 8 — IFFI U I , 93 7 39

i i wh by Brit sh art sts , there is no reason y the concert - rooms of this country should be empty when native music is performed ; and when that British m e l co poser whose coming we await , do s arrive , it wi l be well for his fellow countrymen to be ready with the bread instead of waiting to place the traditional stone his T over grave . hose whose privilege it is to go before , to form as it were the mere stepping - stones for the god

to h l - who is follow , have their little s are in their ife time , even thou gh they may be forgotten hereafter ; they will continue to work in hope as long as earnestness ” brings no disgrace , and enthusiasm casts no slur . It was in this spirit that the concert was given but The the result was almost a foregone conclusion . public w did not hurry for ard with the bread , much less with ’ H e . u the butt r Q een s all was nearly empty , though the affair was an artistic success . I can see even now H W e . i J . ood , th n comparat vely little known , as he ’ came eagerly to congratulate Bantock in the artist s room after it was over and it was here that I first met

’ Bantock s own pieces were the overture to E ugene Aram , an opera upon which he was then at work , but S on s o of which he only wrote a small portion , the g f

Arabia The uneral The Curse o K ehama . , and F , from f cycle The The last two items we have already discussed . E ugene Aram overture produced a very favourable The i e . impr ssion , and is a fine piece of work open ng fu t (B minor is ll of agi ated syncopations , referring to the stormy and passionate nature of the man . But Bantock took of him the view indicated in S hake speare ’ s lines

T ere o me o of oo ne in t i n ev h is s s ul g d ss h gs il , Co men o er n distrl it ou t uld bs vi gly , 40 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

’ and there is a good deal in the overture that is con ’ T Aram s . cerned with the better side of nature hus , before the actual crime is reached there are tender s e glimpses and the second subj ect it elf , an expr ssive melody in D for violins and clarinet , with triplet ’ accompaniment in Violas and cellos , evidently refers to the pleadings of his higher instincts against the T e uls meditated crime . his b tter imp e is interrupted

- T by the sinister murder theme in the brass . hat dies down , however, and we reach a moment of false peace (ten bars Molto lento) before the fury of the p sychologi e cal struggle is let loose in the working . Th murder theme becomes ever more insistent , and at length , in The i s C . a big limax , the deed is done music then d e away to a pp , as the man awakes to the reality of his E ” action . Now follows , in , and in place of the return , the third principal subj ect representing the love of ’ Aram s S weetheart who refuses to the las t moment A to believe in his guilt . further passionate working follows in which this third theme soars to a splendid exaltation , with full orchestra , in B , mingling with the murder - theme which appears amid wild rushes for the W a strings , the whole forming a fine finale which , as all ce says in his programme notes : Brings a strikingly ” dr amatic and imaginative work to a close . Two other works written about this time call for some

r . The Russian rema k first is the suite for orchestra , S cenes O , which pens with a picturesque movement called At the air F , the fair in question being the celebrated

. The Nij ui Novgorod market themes are racy, and the i To u . hi scor ng full of life and colo r say this last , w ch i ahn appl es to the whole suite , is now becoming ost a ’ platitude . In Ban tock s hands the orchestra always T sounds well . he skilful handling and interweaving of D C LT ES 1 8 - 1 IFFI U I , 93 7 4

the various strands of orchestral colou r blend into a h armonious and homogeneous whole of iri descent hues . At the air e In this movement , F , the alternat bars of and 3 /4 about forty bars in have a striking effect and still more is this the case with the fi ve - bar rhythm The r in the middle section . initial ph ase is worked to more completeness on the return and the movement

i resto . Al ends with a brill ant P together , the stir , bustle ,

and barbaric life of the fair are vividly suggested .

. lka 2 Maz u rka. A o No is a bright and piquant P follows , e a z T e lt . and . h W full of Vitality v rve , No 3 , is founded

i al . 1 . on the niti phrase of No It has many good points , but to me personally is less interesting than the preced

s r . L ing movements , e pecially the fi st ast comes a C D r t i ossack ance which , with its arresting hy hm , aga n T i stimulates the interest and grips the mind . h s rhythm consists of a succession of phr ases made up of 2 three bars of 3 /4 followed by one of /4, which seems

to represent two Violent stamps in a barbaric dance , and which seiz es the hearer and clinches the subj ect with

O r r - forceful decision . ve lapping th ee bar phrases follow in the second section : an d this pictorial movement i l brings the suite to a stirring finish . The suite is a h gh y coloured and effective piece of work and would be a suitable piece for many orchestras whose resou rces are

i . di fi not unl mited It presents no unreasonable f culties , and the orchestra consists only of the usual strings and

wood with two horns , two cornets , three trombones ,

- drums , bass drum , and cymbals . The remark just passed on the Waltz will perhaps ’ have prepared the reader s mind for the fact that the other work is less succes sful . Just as the first and last numbers of the Ru ssian S cenes are better than the less i l z z dist nctively foreign po ka , ma urka , and walt , so 42 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

his s here . Bantock is at be t , usually , in subj ects that

m - have so e exotic interest ; and the companion work, E n lish Countr S cenes g y , seems to belong to an inferior The Pastorale branch of the family . scenes are (the central portion of which consists of a duet for a drunken d e : Ro fid l r and piper . who cannot keep together) a mance I ntermez z o I n air land B enedictus an , F y ; a , in Church ; and a Hornpipe . AS regards this suite m Bantock is the unnatural father of melodra a , and is almost inclined to disown his inconvenient offspring . At any rate the work is not up to the level he had other e tirne l wis attained by this , especially in the qua ity of its imagination . ’ The Queen s Hall concert was the culminating event in this painful four - years episode in the life of an h artist . T e period was undoubte dly a ve ry trying one i while it lasted , but one cannot say that , in compar son Sc c with others , such as hubert , for instan e , Bantock Th s n u sta d i . e re a om was exceptionally unfortunate g , r 1 8 L at any ate , now ceased , and early in 97 he left ondon and settled at New Brighton to take up his new duties . CHAPTER V

NE W B I GHTO 1 8 —1 00 R N , 97 9

I t aut cultiver notre ardin V f i , says oltaire at the end of Candide and if the garden be a wilderness which needs endless patient toil before it can be made to blossom like the rose— as was so often the case with the great monas f — ter es your born gardener feels a peculiar satisfaction , f the joy of triumph in di ficulties overcome , and of good M work done for the world . usically speaking , Bantock found New Brighton a wilderness ; and for a time he i T e l did make it blossom l ke the rose . h p ace was a as ple ure resort , somewhat of the type of the Blackpool W G inter ardens , though on a smaller scale ; and the music actually provided at the time of his advent was

- The di an open air military band . buil ngs , however , c r ul were to be ompleted sho tly , and there wo d then be an indoor ballroom orchestra to provide music for the ’ a dancers . Bantock s duties were to conduct these b nds such were the conditions into which he was now thrust . It would have been the end of many an ambitious E G ’ career . I remember dward erman s walking up and down Hanover S quare with me discussing the wisdom of accepting an offer to conduct a theatre band . I urged him to take it . Ultimately, after consultation with e to led many friends , he decid d do so ; and it to his n Henr VI I I getting in with Irvi g and doing the y music , ’ which gave him his real start . Bantock s case , however , was apparently far less hopeful . He had to conduct

43 44 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

- waltz es , barn dances , and such things , for five or six i S i. e . hours a day , undays included ; the m litary bands S played , on undays , music which was not exactly dance intelli music , but which was on about the same level of gence . There was apparently no possibility of any thing more or higher and it was only Bantock ’ s irrepressible energy and hopefulness that enabled him to achieve as much as he did . He began by fulfilling his duties punctiliously as

- i military band conductor , thus show ng the manage ment that he was thoroughly competent for his work . And r then , with some caution , he aised the question s of the indoor band , which might al o , he suggested , be used for concerts of a somewhat different cast . By e degrees , and more specially by the support and assist

Mr . Ybarrondo f ance of de , whose o ficial position on the directorate gave his opinions weight , these suggestions were acted upon . The band was formed ; gradually enlarged and in less than a year from the time of his arrival Bantock was conducting S unday afternoon concerts at which music of the highest type was given . I turn to an old weekly programme for the week ending

- th 1 8 8. T n June 4 , 9 here is dance music every eveni g from to 1 0 ; and there is also an afternoon pro M Ma gramme from to 5, that for onday, y 3oth , being as follows

Coronation March Henry VIII German Waltz Moonlight on the Rhine Vollstedt Polka Chin Chin Chinaman Waltz Trés joli S election The Geisha Waltz Blue Danube Invitation alaPolka Galop Troika Race

46 GRANVILLE BANTOCK local amusement hall with a theatre band should ever have consented to such a proposal ; but the concerts The N w took place : and the place became famous . e Brighton Tower Concerts achieved a reputation in the musical world ; and the idea spread to Bournemouth , Da G Mr . n where odfrey , with a more amenable e gov rning body , has been able to carry it on over a A m long series of years . l ost as I write , in fact , he is n celebrating, amid a distinguished gathering , the comi g A of age of his Bflournemouth concerts . t New Brighton this sudden ef orescence of music was like the work of ’ magic— asortof Aladdin s Palace of Music that appeared in a night and vanished in a night . C Concert Ma 28th 1 8 First came a owen ( y , 99) con Dvoiak ducted by the composer , and followed by ,

R . On 2 h ubinstein , and French concerts June 5t there S C was a tanford oncert , conducted by the composer , z T which was succeeded by a Berlio Concert . hen came C E C C C a Parry oncert , an lgar oncert , a order oncert , W C and a allace oncert , all conducted by the respective A T . C C composers chaikovsky oncert , a British oncert , and a German Concert followed : then a Mathieu Con M z C e cert , and a acken ie oncert , the compos rs conduct L z ing and the list was closed by a is t , a Belgian , and W r C a agne oncert . Other men whose work Bantock H H McCunn brought to a hearing are inton , amish , H . T olbrooke , Bell , etc hese various composers stayed with Bantock , whose hospitable instincts would hear of no other arrangement and in many cases the friend ship thus formed has lasted for many years and ripened e into a clos r intimacy . Another writer— whose first visit to England was due — S for to Bantock was Jean ibelius , whose work Ban A ’ tock has a great admiration . t Bantock s invitation NEW R GHTO 1 8 - 1 00 B I N , 97 9 47

S ibelius came over to conduct his first symphony at Liverpool ; and the friendship thus begun has become S e closer with years . ibelius d dicated his third symphony to Bantock ; and at the time of the production of the u t 1 1 2 fo r h , at the Birmingham Festival of 9 , he stayed with Bantock and renewed the intimacy of former days . As a not unnatural result of his position at New B righ o the ton , Bant ck was invited to take post of conductor R i S of the uncorn Ph lharmonic ociety , a position which He he filled for some time . has held many such offi ces f r od nt w r at di ferent pe i s , and has done excelle o k in Hi n . s these conditio s pioneer views have , however, sometimes urged him forward faster than the members of such societies were willing to be dragged— at his

- e i led chariot wh els , as it were ; and th s has in some ' H cases to t . e a disas er , of course , owing to the rep ut C r tion earned by the New Brighton once ts , formed many musical acquaintances in Manchester and Liver m m pool , and has conducted fro ti e to time in both e citi s . As a conductor he is especially characterised by readi m he ness , resource , and rhyth ical vitality , though is not i e in the r want ng in d licacy , or powe of bringing out the Clear ly all the points in work under performance . He is especially averse to those who set themselves to produce new effects regardless of the original intentions He of the composer . is rather impatient , too , of the finickin g, meticulous anxiety of some conductors , and H . e prefers a more robust , simple , and virile style prefers to S it in an informal society and hear qu artets tried through by good and understanding players , to going to formal concerts and hearing the over- refi ned ai renderings , which are only att ned by endless rehearsals , H with their consequent lack of vitality . e is fond of 48 GRANVILLE BANTOCK saying that the test of a great conductor is not so much what he can do with a symphonic poem after weeks of he laborious rehearsal , as what will do if , suddenly , on an emergency, set to conduct an unknown work at a ’ he e e day s notice . If can giv a r al interpretation in S conditions like these , and how insight and sympathetic he e understanding , has giv n the best possible proof of i his capacity . Bantock is also w lling to take practical r ih conditions into conside ation , and not to be too sistent in making demands that mean financial disaster . On one occasion the Live rpool Philharmonic had an

nc d Heldenleben . W e nou e hen the date approach d , r ke C however , the conducto was ta n ill , and the ommittee T W were in a serious quandary . hey applied to ood ; but he required so many rehearsal s as to make it im possible for monetary reasons to accept his proposals . They then asked Bantock if he would undertake the matter ; and on consideration of the Circumstances he r agreed to do so , the esulting performance being a great success both artistically and financially . The programme notes for these concerts at New L Brighton , iverpool , and the north generally , were E written by rnest Newman , who was at that time in a L bank in iverpool , and between whom and Bantock a S incere friendship was formed . A few years later he ’ migrated to Birmingham at Bantock s invitation , and accepted a position on the staff of the Midland Institute S M chool of usic , which he afterwards relinquished for r purely critical wo k . On M th 1 8 8 o arch 9 , 9 , the marriage t ok place between Bantock and Miss S chweitze r ; and their home was L a formed at iscard, close to the river , and a ple sant L journey from iverpool by steamboat . For the wedding Weddin March Bantock wrote a special g , a good piece NEW R GHTO 1 8 — 1 00 B I N , 97 9 49

of work which , however , calls for no special remark . ’ Dr S e all s so n R e i A . t . It was played by gg , g nald lthough e i m e r ll it involv s a personal touch, I th nk y r ade s wi r e pardon this , and be inte est d to learn that I sent a ’ copy of Omar Khayyam s R u baiyat as a wedding present

-a e hi . S s ed w ch bore fruit ome years afterwards , when I had congratulated him on the production of “ his Omar me M (Part I) , Bantock wrote to any thanks for your kind congratulations . It was your Omar e copy of that I have us d throughout , and I am most grateful to you for my first acquaintance with the e glorious old sag . I might say that I have had the intention of setting the poem ever since your kind e e e al present reach d us , but I have only be n abl to re ise T ere re my wish at this present occasion . h fo I hold you as sponsor or godfather to my child . Pray for his sins O e ( ctob r Bantock still possesses this copy , full of marks and notes as to his intentions for musical treatment : but amid the gorgeous array of fine cop ies he s— c C that now possesse opies in Persian , opies with editions de luxe pictures of all sorts , , and what not this humble little copy bound in vellum cuts a sorry

figure and looks like a poor relation . The first child of this marriage was an orchestral r Helena Variations er wo k , the but four oth s , in the The Helena ordinary sense , have arrived in due course . Variations were produced by the Liverpool Orchestral T S H L e . ociety at the Philharmonic all , iv rpool hey S i ar e how conclusively , I th nk , that his m riag had stirred M i Bantock to the depths of his nature . any w ll prefer T ar e l this to any other of his works . hey usual y con mar c e . O erned with outsid ideas , if one may put it so , e it is tru , deals with various illustrations of a philosophy which appeals very strongly to Bantock : but still E 50 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

The such illustration is comparatively external work . Helena ar ations V i are more psychological , and go more ’ e r his into the inner rec sses of man s natu e , because into e m i own fe lings in particular, at a ti e when those feel ngs The were exceptionally and profoundly moved . dedi refl cation speaks of the variations as thoughts and ec tions on some of your moods during a wearisome abse nce and I do not think there is elsewhere in ’ Bantock s writings so intimate a piece of work . They are hardly variations in the usual se nse of the

T - word . he first strain of twenty four bars is followed V : by ariation I , it is true but the variations do not e gen rally follow out the whole phrase , being concerned mainly with fresh groupings and developments arising — - E H B B Mrs . from the motto phrase ( ) , F , B ( b) Ban ’ T a . he tock s initi ls work is full of resource , technically o speaking , and shows great variety of treatment , th ugh e i ther is always a certain note of serious brooding wh ch , e e l as I have said, does not app ar so cl arly e sewhere , r T . he H befo e or since actual notes , F , B , do not al As ways appear . the music gets into other keys the phrase founded on the initials is accepted for the notes m i e the selves and somet mes , of course , the conn ction is a little abstruse . But thr oughout the work the motto is never far off one feels it as a gracious presence near one , though one cannot always hear the actual tones . One feels and hears

the to of n e n uch a va ish d ha d, And the so und of a voice that is still though in the present case fortunately the separation was only temporary . The motto is first whispered out by the violins alone : s bassoons and horns j oin in then the re t of the strings . NEW R GHTO 1 8 - 1 00 1 B I N , 97 9 5

V i i ariat on III is somewhat l ghter in character, though the fact of absence seems to cast a certain seriousness I V in even over thoughts of mirth . No . is remarkable ’ Bantock s work for showing an influence very unusual

h ahm . do with him , t at of Br s I not suggest any actual m i e reminiscence ; but there is , to y m nd , a f eling of ’ V - Brahms s serious moo ds here . No . is lighter hearted VI r No . agitated , with the motto hinting its p esence

- . . VI I wi s everywhere No is sad , th its serious horn strain i against the figure in the basses . At the beg nning of r VIII we get an anticipation of the Bantock of Oma . 'I i No . is sorrowful and del cately scored ; the imita tional passage for tuba and trombones is a striking i The po nt . variation ends with a melancholy phrase i i i dy ng away in first viol ns alone , and lead ng into ' I I im . al No , the fin e , which is triumphant and i i passioned, look ng forward to the approaching reun on T with joy and exultation . he work is scored for ordinary iffi orchestra , and presents no great d culties . About this time came Bantock ’ s first appearance at Th — aul . e S a Festival work was an orchestral one , a S m honic Overture c C y p , and was produ ed at the hester

al 1 8 . Festiv of 97 It is scored for large orchestra , and bears the motto And all the people went to Gilgal and they made S aul king be fore the Lord in Gilgal

am . 1 e 1 S x . Th ( grave opening for brass , followed by the stri ng tremolando with an agitated figure in

u ar - the bass , while tr mpets bl e with ever increasing vehemence— all this seems to suggest the general idea of kingship and the increasing desire and expectation e of the people . After this introduction comes th mo ve e Alle ro con anima C i ment prop r, g ( m nor, an agitated subj ect for strings , wood , and horns , which ’ se t s i S ul his pre nts the empestuou s de of a s nature, and 52 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

S i in a j ealous unrest . ome th rty bars , a p ssage for horns e e the and trumpets , follow d by full orch stra , hints at stronger side of his char acter and his masterful d e S e m cision . till later comes a touch of the dr a y and me poetical moods , changing at ti s to a certain black W are . melancholy , to which , we told , he was liable ith e Andante E 2 e e the s cond subj ect ( , b, /4) we hav the b tter

e D a - i influenc of avid , who , with his h rp play ng , calms ’ ’ the S aul s dark moods . Browning s portrayal of D e r scene is well known . avid t lls how he ente ed the rm r e tent and found the king erect , with a s st etched wid S l so agonised au , drear and stark , blind and dumb

Then I tun ed my harp- took off the lili es w e twine round its chords ' Le t t e n ne t the tre of the noont e t o e sun s h y s ap a h s ss id , h s beams like swords And I fi r t e the t ne o u r e e no one ter one s play d u all sh p k w as , af , ” m - S o docile they co e to the p en doo r till fo lding be d one .

Various other tunes follow till at last S aul ’ s dark mood ’ ’ melts away . Browning s poem was not in Bantock s mind when writing but it may help one to realise the

. Af the gist of the music ter this quieter mood , passion ate agitation returns but a sweep of the harp - strings l l again lu ls it , ti l it is finally subdued, and the strong — self control of the idea of kingship , as given at the Maes opening , again appears , this time on the organ ( toso H e i e , er follows a portion wh ch occasion d dif l m some little ficu ty at the ti e . In the development is Alle retto G r e a picturesque section ( g , mino , d picting e Ark T e a procession of Israelit s with the . h chief part is an oboe solo on the E astern scale with two aug mented : er seconds and, as is v y natural in such a

e e . T sc ne , a triangle is employ d his gave offence to the authorities as unsuitable to a cathedral ; and after

54 GRANVILLE BANTOCK ing this prelude comes a recitative telling how Jesus An al withdr ew himself into the wilderness . orchestr symphony of 459 bars then deals with his meditations M stic Chorus during this period and is succeed ed by a y , in eight parts unaccompanied , in which there is much Air l r . A fine and impressive wo k very attractive fol ows , O al with more than a touch of rient colouring , to the The wilderness and the solitar lace shall be made words , y p 6 e ic . lad or them and the desert shall r o e. g f , i No , the

E Arise S hine - pilogue , , , is for eight part chorus and r e o chestra , and is a broad and elevated pi ce of writing , hr tu s The l founded on the Epilogue of C is . work is ful of fine musicianly qualities , as will be expected by all who know the lofty standard Bantock sets before and i n . himself , the h gh level he mai tains Much the same may be said of the other Episode — Th from the life of Christ Gethsemane . e plan too l H a . is simi ar, though on a somewhat smaller sc le ere

. Th n we have , first , a Prelude of about eighty bars e a recitative— Then cometh ]esu s to a place called Geth mane se . . His , etc No 3 is a symphonic representation of i The thoughts and feelings , one place be ng marked , A on The g y. cry for the removal of the cup is given in s the Wh slee e P Rise and words , as al o is interlude , y p y

ra . T i P ra er hi p y h s is succeeded by the y , w ch is broken

e - While into by the ight part unaccompanied chorus , et he s ake lo udas — y p , ] and the Betrayal S cene follows .

The - F ear thou not or I am with thee eight part finale , , f ,

r c - is b oad in con eption , and has , as a centre piece , a daring reversion to old plain - song methods which is very striking . And yet , in spite of the high musicianly qualitie s of the work , one cannot bu t feel that Bantock is here l e not moving in his natura lement . He has been de NEW R GHTO 1 8 - 1 00 B I N , 97 9 55

fi ected He from his true orbit . is writing as an artist ,

produces good artistry , and contends that any subj ect

can be , and should be , undertaken from that point of a r m . hi pp oach It is an i portant issue , and one w ch is

well worth some little discussion . It is true that an artist must work as an artist and unl ess he do this his work must fail for no amount of goo d intentions will make great art if the technique be

t . r l i faul y Pe haps , however , that shou d be mod fied to faulty according to the standard of its time for Fra ’ An elico s i ures g p ct , to take one instance only , are great The art in spite of their technical limitations . art of the e — : artist , however , must not be too s lf conscious it must have become second natu re before he is ready to deal with great themes and yet produce a feeling of

n c t . si eri y But , in addition to that , the subj ect he deals with must be an integral part of his own nature if he x al feel it to be to some e tent ien , this is almost sure to

. The make itself felt same is the case , too , in the s T repre entation of character . his can be achieved by e the dramatic po t as a matter of artistry , in a sense e but he should not think of the matt r so , at the time Hi instinc of creation . s technique should have become

: . tive he should think , consciously , only of the Idea h r Besides that , it s ould be noted that the characte

an as ect o himsel i . e . represented must be p f f, one side of H R f u . his own ampler nat re amlet , omeo , Falsta f, s C inn Brutu , leopatra , Imogen , are all facets of the l nite y larger nature of S hakespeare . He is the myriad

e . minded man , the man of many asp cts It is true that a dramatist sometimes represents a hero whose character seems gr eater than his own : but he is potentially the

larger nature , though his imagination may present a

moral standard which he has not yet actu ally attained . 56 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

The perfection he bodies forth has not yet passed into hi s own character through the action of will and deed, though it is there in reserve in hi s subliminal natur e . This accounts for the unsatisfactory effect frequently produced by novelists and dramatists when they try The to represent the great men of history . character is not truly part of thems elves : in many cases he is far larger and ampler than themselves : and they re r i ai his cannot , the fo e , th nk with his br n , feel with

e hi s . S o heart , and sp ak with voice clearly has this come to be re alised that the better novelists have given up the att empt to make the great characters of history ’

T r . T speak and act . ennyson s Arthu is a failure enny son was— if I may be allowed an American slang phrase — off r T — biting mo e than he could chew . hink, too to —oi e r take another instance Plato , as r p esented in ’ Landor s I ma ina a L g ry Convers tions . andor was very ’ far from being able to think with Plato s brain . A great deal , however , may be done by severe reserve

. al C and restraint Bach , in de ing with hrist in the Matthew Passion e , was dealing with the obj ct of his sincerest and most heartfelt devotion— a devotion that had be come a passion for his work is full of the sort m Ye of devotion that we find in Tho as aKempis . t his n c r m Bach , with all tech i al resou ce , li its himself

. He al C sternly de s with hrist only in the simplest , m a . W C almost archaic nner hen hrist speaks , it is in recitative r rr his wo ds being su ounded by an aureole , as r a it were , in the st ings , inste d of the usual harpsichord m . And r e e accompani ent in the case of la g r utt rances , m they are given to the chorus . There is no atte pt to r r f t eat the characte dramatically . The e fect is rather that produced by the vast mosaic portraits in some l e . . cathedra s , g that grand archaic figu re in the apse NEW R GHTO 1 8 - 1 00 B I N , 97 9 57

M T of onreale , that dominates the whole church . hose who are students of biblical literature will follow me e e with und rstanding , if not all with agre ment , when I say that the same failure is apparent even in the ’ G ull ee Bible itself . John s ospe l is f of sp ches put into the C r i i mouth of h ist , wh ch do not , I th nk , and many s T e critic think , ring true . hey are usually found d upon some profound germinal phras e— which appears to be one the di lo ia— e a of tra tional g which th y amplify , and usu lly ’ e weaken . W find long speeches embodying the writer s platonising philosophy : w e do not find the profound m insight of so e of the short sayings in the synoptics , ere wh we seem to have authentic logia prese rved . We fi ul r ll , if success be so dif c t , it is hardly surp ising that in the case before us one cannot feel that it has To al he ff ai . t been altogether att ned me , person ly , e ect ’ produce d is rather that given by R enan s amiable and e al e pathetic figure of J sus , than that of the ex t d Per so nality who— in one way or an other— has actually affected the world ’ s history though he is still so little ’ e S m und rstood . o e say that this was Paul s doing but As C . Paul was transformed by the Idea of hrist music , the two little works are fine and interesting— all will admit so much ; and no doubt to many they will make T their own appeal on the psychological side also . hese m a i e are y own person l views , wh ch I give for what th y are worth doubtless there will be differences of opinion on the subj ect ; and each hearer must form his own be r e conclusions , which will influenced la gely by his vi ws and feelings with regard to the Personality who forms the central idea at the heart of the works under con r h e . W t e side ation ith oratorio as a whol , Bantock , as

I have said, is dissatisfied, feeling that his technique has not been adequate to the subject . He has there 58 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

nl fore withheld it from publication , o y using it as a basis fi i for these more n shed portions , whose production will be chroni cled in the proper place . During part of the time when Christu s was being written Bantock was engaged also on the first of his a really l rge scores , embodying a symphonic poem on ’ the subj ect of Southey s Thalaba the Destroyer . Its appeal to Bantock ’ s mind will be easily understood

' when the nature of the poem is considered . It is a fan tastic o i i st ry , perhaps deserv ng the h gher epithet imaginative though such scenes as those in the Dom e l dani l or he l of the sorcerers , with their apparatus are tera hs e . of p , d ad hands , warm skulls , etc , hardly The G of the loftiest type of imagination . ardens of W — S — Irem , the fabulous Bird of isdom the imorg and T ir a . all kinds of m aculous events , pl y their parts halaba is a youth whose father has been slain by the powers l c of evi , sin e they hoped to destroy in him the great T . i enemy of their race halaba h mself is , however , in reality the destined one ; and the murder of his l He father on y brings their own doom the nearer . is thenceforth a being set apart

R eme m er D e tin b , s y H t m r e e r m I . a h a k d the f o mankind . (Book )

’ He is to avenge his father s death by extirpating the f o . e whole race the sorcerers It sounds rather crud , and like the pitiless creed of the vendetta among the

C . And ai l e orsicans cert n y it is dangerous doctrin . Personal and private vengeance is only too ready in all ages to masquerade as a holy z eal for the destru ction

Go d . of the foes of It is only just to add , therefore , that before the consummation is reached Thalaba at least thinks that this element of personal vengeance is NEW R GHTO 1 8 - 1 00 B I N , 97 9 59

conquered and eliminated : and the poet evidently

- intends us to understand that he was not self deceived . T the r e urning now to musical t eatm nt of the story , ’ m r we may give the co pose s intentions , as quoted by

Mr . Newman in his pr ogramme notes at the time of the production of the work : The composer has in View a form of musical expression in which the orchestra may be regarded as a canvas upon which various pictures illustrating certain characters and situations in a given poem are depicted according to the development of the

plot . Prominent ideas and dr amatic episodes are dl associated with the themes , and there is har y a phrase or modulation without its special significance tendi ng e a T to the lucid tion of the subj ect . halaba is the r e m p ototype of the man who m ets and co bats adversity ,

r - and, c ushing the serpe nt brood of his own lower pas

- a u i . sions , fin lly tri mphs through self ann hilation The spiritual influences leading hi s soul to the heights of aspiration and noble endeavour are typified first by the the Oneiz a spirit of his mother , and second , by spirit of , ’ A hi s i the rabian maiden , under whose father s care ch ld T l hood was spent in the desert solitude . hat ear th y love Oneiz a s may not distract him from his allotted task , die ri his upon their wedding night , and her spi t is henceforth di H al gui ng star . ere we have the ascetic ide the body C e must suffer and die that the soul may live . hast ned T ai by his anguish , halaba goes forth , str ght on , with ” D i his hr al est ny guide , and t ough strange orde s and al temptations reaches the goal at last . But death one

can complete his work ; and, in the final and supreme He surrender of his will to aven , death brings him

. S fl victory uch were the ideas under whose in uence Bantock worked ; and he car ries them out and em

bodies them with musicianly skill . 6o GR ANVILLE BANTOCK

I have said that this was the fir st of the really large E al scores . ven this , however , is not on the sc e of the The score of Omar. instruments employed are such The as now constitute the ordinary festival orchestra . Mesto lu ubre m opening ( , g ) consists of an evil and enacing e re e the passage for brass , r p s nting sorcerers in their abode (or Domdaniel under the R oots of the A i r O . cean gainst th s , however, as if to fo eshadow at ar once the overcoming of evil , appe s a figure in the r basses , from which sp ings the second subj ect , the e Oneiz a his e A them representing , belov d rabian maiden and good genius , mentioned above . Following this comes a vigorous semi - quaver passage (Animato) e r e T m r p es nting halaba hi self and immediately after , r (fl, ma ked with the motto a theme in the horns ) quoted above R emem er De t n b , s i y m m Hath marke d thee fro ankind .

T D his may be conveniently called the estiny theme , and is used a good de al during the course of the piece . Upon this follows a melody for violins (four th string) ’ representing one of the spiritual aspects of Thalabas l a s l . nature , and which so plays ome part in the seque T e r hen , aft r another eference to the more energetic

i - e e end w ll el ment in him , we r ach the of the intro ductor m me y portion , and enter upon the ain move nt , Alle ro con u oco at the g f , with this energetic motif in the strings . It is not long before the Destiny theme is added ; and this becomes more and more insistent Moderato ostenuto till we arrive at the second subj ect , s , a tender and somewhat melancholy melody on a scale with two augmented seconds . It is given mostly to ’ - wood wind at first , but cellos and Violas are soon

62 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

n its yet in a sense this is the fact . I strumentation at truest can really not be separated fr om the ideas it m e e e bodi s , but is the one inevitabl incarnation of those And ideas the ide a and the form are one . this is the The instru case here . cast of the ideas being finer , the T i mentation is involved with them . remolando viol ns , with a touch of the harp , and a solo violin soaring above , cor an lais answered after a few bars by the g , create a

- r . O delicate and subtle vision , as it we e ther wood wind ’ r o g adually j oin in , then s lo cello and the music gradually descends to the lower register of the strings bar 2 till , at 3 , we reach the second section

’ Ti s s she fi r t n e nto o r aid was s cha g d i a vap u , And t en nt o fli t o o h i a cl ud , such cl uds as L e en o r win e mot o t t e r ik spl d u g d hs ab u a ap , R o n th r i u d e ed west when the sun dies in t.

S s ustained chords for muted trombone , with harp ar r L peggios , and a f agment of the first subj ect (the ady) e for solo viola , answered by solo violin , open this s ction .

It is carried on by elaborately divided strings , solo violin , solo viola, solo oboe and horn , and is full of delicate poetical suggestiveness . At bar 59 comes the third section

And old S en n reen t il us , shaki g a g s ick

Of li e and the oo - o in re li s , w d g ds a c w C me t e in the ohve - o e t a bli h , as , c ps s hick, C e ar e r n t the no on d ew icada , d u k wi h day And D rio e and n o o e p Fau us f ll w d q uick, Teasing the god to sing them so mething new ; T l in the e t e o n the one il cav h y f u d lady l , ' S itt n on e t of emer i g up a s a ald stone .

There is less of the Silenus element than some might ’ expect from Bantock s later work : indeed he and his rout ar e only j ust hinted at in a qui et passage of semi

o - quaver repeated ch rds for wood wind and trumpets , NEW R GHTO 1 8 - 1 00 6 B I N , 97 9 3 pp . And it is a sure instinct that has led the composer to l i this restraint , as any en arging on th s idea would have thrown the picture out of focus . His imagination

the - is more concerned with olive copses , the noonday the dew, the beauty of assembled gods , and of the lady i in the magic cavern , upon her seat of emerald and th s e in is expr ssed a suave melody , an expansion of the La t first subj ect (the dy) , streaming out in the s rings

i - aga nst tremolando wood wind . The next section (bar 98) tells how the nymphs and shepherdesses came marvelling at the beauty of the

L T - ady . here is a fresh figure of semi quavers in the

- mai the i wood wind, but the n subject is still orig nal L p hrase for the ady, who is the central figure of the A 1 whole picture . t bar 37 we have a fresh subj ect of r a: g eat beauty , still dwelling upon this central ide

For she was be autiful her beauty made The bri ght world dim ; and e verything beside S eeme hke the flee tin m e f e d g i ag o a shad .

H - ac ere we have a long drawn melody for four horns , i di i h compan ed by vided strings , w th touches of the arp ; the melody being taken up later by violins in the upper T al im register . his passes into the next section most e perceptibly ; in fact the two are practically int rfused . The re di next portion , however, is mo stinctive . It m Marz iale con anima ll e is arked , and i ustrat s with much pomp and pageantry of sou nd the following stanz a :

And then she called ou t of the holl ow turrets Of t o e i o te o en and erm on h s h gh cl uds , whi , g ld , v ili , The armi es of her ministering spirits I n m t e on mi on ter m on igh y l gi s , lli af illi , T e me e c troo em z on n its mer ts h y ca , a h p bla i g i

On meteor - fla and m n ro gs a y a p ud pavilion Of the intertexture o f the atmosphere T e t e n e th m h y pi ch d upo th plain of e calm ere . 64 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

e Following upon this , a long harp cadenc leads to e r L the last piece of fr sh imagery , whe e the ady gives to the most beautiful of her adorers a magic drink H r f er r e . e which fills them with a ull , la ger lif e the melody used is a fresh presentment of the subj ect for me 1 horns which is ntioned above as occurring at bar 37 , an d which may al most stand as a motif of beauty itself . This leads to a resumption of the delicate opening and the whole dies away like a vision . The work was produced at the Worcester Festival of m be 1 02 . r 9 It is of ext e e beauty , and ought to in con E r tinu al request . nglish orchestral wo ks are singularly neglected : but here is one that would repay any conductor , and that is not beyond the powers of good orchestras such as are now not uncommon . It requires delicacy of playing , and imagination , certainly ; but the passages present no great difficulty . It is scored r for ordinary la ge orchestra . Another piece belonging to this period is the E legiac ’ P oem for cello and orchestra . It is on an altogether ’ m e iéce d occasion s aller scale , b ing merely a p , and running only to some 1 1 2 bars ; but it is a fi ne piece r he . T of wo k , and very effective in performance score i nl i is small , hav ng o y two horns in addition to str ngs and wood but the most is made of the r esources em

- T . he ployed, and the tone colour is rich and full piece e D Molto lento e stenu so to . A op ns in , fresh phrase , Molto in mosso i p , in B minor , follows , the v olins giving ’ new e e out a melody which is then tak n up by the c llo . A a itato C fter this comes an g passage in it; minor , in which , m f however, the accompani ents are kept down su ficiently ' ’ to allow thef not very powerful cello tone to come '

. The becomes u ieter through mood then q again , and a ’ Meno mosso in tran uillo fresh cello melody appears , , p q , NEW R GHTO 1 8 - 1 00 6 B I N , 97 9 5

So in B . the changeful feelings succeed each other as i a f in eleg acs gener lly , as di ferent thoughts of the lost ’ e m A friend come to on s me ory . noticeable point occurs D at the return to , where the main subj ect is given out ’ b by cello , imitated y clarinet a tone higher , resumed by ’ cello a tone higher , and again imitated by oboe a tone i l e t h gher sti l, the mind se ming to dwell wi h ever ai the l A incre s ng vehemence on be oved memory . fter e d a cad nce for the solo instrument , a peaceful co a speaks of resignation in the sense of loss . The piece is f e ef ectively writt n for the instrument , and , along with n e S a hic oem the still fi r pp P , of which we shall speak ’ r al the re ertoire late , forms a v uable addition to cello p . The score is publis hed by Joseph Williams and Co ’ and an arrangement for cello and pianoforte has been s W ll L a n i sued by the same firm edited by i y ehm n , the ’ t r cellis , with whom Bantock fo med a friendship a year or two later , at Birmingham . T ’ m ‘ hus went on Bantock s ore intimate work , in ever n e His increasing volume and fi eness of structur . ex r e ternal wo k , meanwhil , was in a less satisfactory con He dition . was receiving recognition in more ways than alma mater li him one , and his old comp mented with the title But the divergence of views between him and the management at New Brighton gradually am e e Y o d e Mr . barr n o b c e more clearly d fin d . de was o e m obliged , for various reas ns , to r sign fro the Board of Directors and the Chairman— hi s influence remove d — H e r . The T became more and mo e hostile viewed ower , r f ai : New B ighton , purely as a business a f r Bantock was trying to make it subserve his artistic aims . It is m s easy to see that the situation had become i po sible , and Bantock began to look round for other employment . m By this ti e his reputation , and that of his concerts , F 66 GRANVILLE BANTOCK were fully established ; and it was not long before he The ir received offers from two sources . B mingham and Midland Institute had some years before added a music school to their educational organisation but this music M f r r . school had never had an o ficial P incipal , though

S tockley had occupied the post of conductor , and that

- of a sort of unofficial quasi principal . It was now the decided to have a regular Principal , and to organise

S chool of Music on a more complete and careful plan . Elgar had recently been a good deal associated with the r m e w musical life of Bi mingha , larg ly o ing to the pro T duction of some of his vocal works in that city . hus ’ El ar s it came about that , mainly through g influence , the position of Principal of the Midland Institute School Th f of Music was now offered to Bantock . e other o fer was that of a position on the staff of the R oyal Academy M of usic . Bantock took some time to think the matter over , as the choice was an important one but he finally decided that he would have opportunities wider and more varied in an organisation whose musical policy was as i yet not very clearly defined , and whose position was st ll to be achieved, than he would as one among many , and al with purely profession duties , in an already established e Institution . He ther fore concluded to accept the post at Birmingham and conveyed his decision to the R oyal Academy of Music in the words of Milton already referred to

etter to re n in e t n er e in e B ig h ll ha s v h aven .

r e e Befo e he went to his new sph re of action , how ver,

m co - one more undertaking clai ed his operation . A concert of British music had bee n organised to be given at A e he e e ntw rp , and this had und rtak n to conduct . It k 1 00 . T too place in February , 9 he programme include d NEW R GHTO 1 8 —1 00 6 B I N , 97 9 7

m a a- naut so e of his own works , among them ] g of the K ehama cycle , which won a warm reception , and was repeated about a year later at a Philharmonic Concert

M 1 0 1 . in arch , 9 S hortly afterwards Bantock took a final leave of New r his r re Brighton , receiving f om o chestra an address rettin e r g g his loss , and acknowl dging the fine wo k he As v had done . was ine itable , the band relapsed to their r al i m o igin status as an ord nary amuse ents band . Ban k an r e e m e toc , me while , p oce d d to Birmingha , settl d in ’ e K t te mm r a hous at ing s Nor on , and af r the su e vacation , S e m r 1 00 r r in pte be , 9 , ente ed upon his new esponsi bili ies M l t at the id and Institute . CHAPTER VI

PART I MI DLAND I NS TI T TE 1 0 0 CON B I RMINGHAM ( ) U , 9 , ’ D T NG E Tc S ONGS CE LLO PI E CE S GRE E K PLAY S UC I , , , , RAL WORK S OMA R 1 06— CHO , , 9 9

THE Birmingham and Midland Institute was incor ora ed Act r i m 1 8 p t by of Pa l a ent in 54, at the instance

The - a of the Municipality . foundation stone was l id by e C the Princ onsort , and the Institute has had a long C series of distinguished Presidents , among them harles D H e T l D S anl ickens , uxl y , Kingsley , yndal , ean t ey , Max Miiller R L l S S li , Froude , ussell owe l, eeley , ul van , The m and Freeman . Institute is a sort of co bination m of club and educational establish ent . Not that there are arrangements for dining but the weekly lectures

di - C C for members only , the rea ng rooms , hess lub , and

e e - e various soci ties , give a ting of the club el ment .

The educational value of the Institute has been great . It has been a sort of forerunner to make straight the : the e paths of the University and , though Univ rsity e di r has now appear d , has still its own stinctive wo k to E e do . v ning classes for such as cannot conform to di university con tions have provided , and do provide , invaluable means of education , and some flavour of e m university lif . For the nu bers are large and social intercourse combines with the influence of various allied societies to give the students an emulation and an es rit de cor s p p which private classes can hardly arouse . H l istory , literature , mathematics , languages , commercia

70 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

S . Debussy , ibelius , etc have been given by Newman ’ The 15 n e 5 a and others . orchestra u d r Bantock person l r S his direction , and the list of wo ks performed ince

e s e . coming is a fine one , many mod rn piece being includ d ’ There have also been full performances of Gluck s Or eo I hi enia in Aulis I hi enia in Tauris f , p g , and p g , as

' a ote l e Die Z uberfl, we l as the great r part of entirely by D the students . uring the last few years , too , Bantock has conducted a composition class which is free to any student who S hows himself capable of profiting by it . H e ere they m et , on equal terms , university students to hi whom , also , the class is open ; and t s intercourse is e i of ben fit to both alike , and constitutes a l nk between M e d the two institutions . uch promising work has r sulte , al S al a good de even howing actu attainment , and all being , of course , of the modern type . This appointment led to Bantock ’ s being invited to accept the post of Conductor to the B irmingham Ama teur Orchestral S ociet y, which went on for some time di n under his rection , but fi ally found the pace he set e He al too great , and succumb d . was so appointed Worcester Philharmonic S ociet conductor of the y, in E . H i e . succession to lgar ere , too , h story r peated itself These so cieties all played the part of Maz eppa to Ban ’ i A T ” tock s w ld steed artar of the Ukraine breed, i — as Byron has t and found the spe ed a killing one . ’ Berlioz s Romeo and ]u liet was too great a strain on this ’ r society s powe s of endurance , and they , too , gave up The Li r . ve ool Orchestral S ociet the ghost p y, as already Heldenleben 1 . described , gave in 904 Bantock was then r e appointed conductor, and they p ov d to be of firmer m . T ettle hey stuck to their guns , and fought a slowly m ll losing battle for so e years ti they, too , finally went under . Another society whose conductorship Bantock BIRMINGHAM 71

the W C undertook was olverhampton Festival horal , e T here for the second time in succ ssion to Wood . his society gave the first provincial pe rformance (after the production at Birmingham) of The Dream of Geron ’ t u He e i s e . th , und r Bantock s direction found duties e e too much of a tax , how ver , in addition to his oth r S t work, and resigned after three years . hortly af er his settlement at Birmingham a second concert of British music was organised at Antwerp and Bantock ’ s S services were again in demand as conductor . ome of s his work was given on thi occasion also , with great success . Such were the conditions in which Bantock ’ s lot was

his . now cast , and amid which work was to be done L e him ooking at that work broadly , we may r gard as e i having reach d , with this Birm ngham period, his own The r maturity . Birmingham sun is pe haps not the most genial to art but it was here that his grain ripened A ’ and that he gathered in his harvest . man s mature work reveals the structure of his mind in its larger aspects as well as in its more individual features : in r l discussing the wo k of this time , therefore , we wi l r e change our plan somewhat . This wo k s parates itself readily into broadly defin ed masses and we S hall get r r a more pe spicuous View by conside ing these , each i as a whole , and in relat on to each other , than by the chronological method that has hitherto sufficed . The difficulty of gathering from his writings the views and mental outlook of a dr amatic poet has frequently been enlarged upon and certainly it is easy to go astray ’ and follow false scents in this quest of the; dramatist s And are central personality . yet there some broad principles which may guide us even here . Where r are er for e autho ities alt ed , instanc , we may find 72 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

Om e a clue . issions , too , sometimes t ll us much silences e speak eloquently . But , specially , where a particular o t type of subj ect , or a tendency towards s me par icular conclusion appears as a common trait throughout a ma considerable body of work , we y fairly suspect that ’ we have found a hint as to the writer s mentality . But if this be so with the dramatist much more is it the case m m e musicran . S too with th lyrical poet or o eti es he , , m writes dra atically, it is true , as in the instance of ’ Browning s Dramatic Lyrics : but normally he is uttering — ds il his own emotions passing moo , possibly , but st l And his own personal views and feelings . if we find large masses of his work tinged with the same cast of t in thought , we may be pret y sure we are gaining an ’ S sight into the writer s mental outlook . ongs give a clue to the mental calibre of a composer in another way . The man who contentedly sets the trivialities which are sent round to us in sheaves by the writers of lyrics for the r l fil Do ave age popu ar song , unconsciously ful s g ’ m berry s aspiration and writes hi self down an ass . ’

. hi I Bantock s work , in the period to w ch we have

e . We now come , is most interesting in these resp cts m find a predo inant vein of thought . The mass of songs ’ s which we now proceed to discuss , the cello piece , and the i Omar S choral works , includ ng , how mostly the same broad tendency and it is one which is character ’ istic The of Bantock s mind . philosophy of Hafiz is

O K . S much the same as that of mar hayyam appho , while not so conscious of philosophical views , has ideas of life which are based upon much the same r foundation and the case of the B owning songs , which s fir run i eems at st sight to counter to this v ew, in al S re ity confirms it , as we hall see later . The fir st two sets of songs with which we have to deal BIRMINGHAM 73

- — the S eraglio S ongs and the ester S ongsc do not throw any very striking new light upon our. subj ect . The S ongs of the S eraglio follow up the S ame vein that Bantock had already so successfully worked in the r T ere are r r ea lier S ongs of the E ast. h fou numbe s in the

Mrs . : album , the poems being by Bantock and we e e r s hav her , both in wo ds and music , the inten e eroticism E er d m suffused with an astern atmosph e and i io , which we find later carried to an enormously higher power of

S a ho S on s . beauty , range , and exaltation , in the pp g T i u r r . I he Odal s e No , q , opens with a cha acte istic E astern phrase on the scale with two augmented seconds . T m r here is a iddle section , rather less pictu esque , and

A ersian Love- S n . . 2 o the first part is repeated No , P g, T is less like the earlier Eastern songs in idiom . here is al : e i less actu harmony in its place , th re are waver ng thr eads of sound amid which the voice interweaves its r e e exotic ph ases on the same scal as in th last song .

This and the Lament of the B edouin S lave- Girl are the most striking songs in the book they are both highly pictorial and vividly suggest the Oriental atmosphere

. The The Demon o Maz inderan and surroundings last , f , al e is less individu , though it is built upon a pictur sque figure with a quintuplet and diminished third which is rather arresting . The ester S ongs are perhaps due to a wish on Ban ’ tock s part to enlarge his range and break loose from O e he e the ri ntal manner , which may have f lt was in T e ar danger of becoming a mannerism . h y e not in ’ Bantock s own characteristic vein . They are light e the the heart d for most part , though j ester is the pathetic figure who has become a tradition S ince the K in Lear e fool in g , and who carries a sor heart under his 1 The ester motley . No . , j , is a cheery song with a 74 GR ANVILLE BANTOCK

h taking tune , only changing to a sombre mirth w en h e speaks of creeping

to r ene orner to die a da k d c , W i e t the or o e n h l ligh ly w ld g s laughi g by ,

’ Will 0 the Wis and ending with a laugh . No . 3 , p , tells ’ of Poor Will who fell in love with the moon s reflection re in a fo st pool , and pined and died when a cloud came

her . e and took away It , too , has an asily caught e melody ; and the accompaniments , with the l aping i nis atuus and flickering of the g f , are suggestive even l in the piano version , and high y picturesque in the b osa e e . . S u R Oh orch stral form No 4, , b gins , the life ”

ee al . of a fool is fr , and this so has a j olly rollicking tune The m m S acco pani ent is implicity itself , being merely ’ a few chords suggesting a j ongleur s touch upon the e lute . It t lls how a knight and a lady in love avoided ’ e ach other s glance ; but their very caution told the

the . tale to fool From a musical point of View, No . 5, S erenade m er m , is the ost int esting , with its ti e and r The individual hythm . melody in this pecu liar idiom re is quite readily app hended and taking , though one

— - - e . The Trala la lie might perhaps expect otherwis last , , is a gay and j ovial little song with a touch of the fool ’ s

dle . A hardships in the mid ltogether , if the humorous , quasi - antique style is not the most characteristic manner r e eithe of Bantock or his wif , who wrote the words , the are e rifls t e an d songs pl asant , musicianly of their kind , with a sure appeal to many whom the profounder songs would leave untouched . From these to the Five Ghaz als of Hafiz is an enormous stride that reminds one of the seven - league boots in

- r the fairy sto ies . Bantock was now in the thick of his Omar R u ei Om studies and his setting of the b iyat. ar BIRMINGHAM 75

H z mm and afi have much in co on , and in them Bantock found thoroughly congenial spirits at whose contact e h was himself kindle d into flame . Omar died about 1 1 22 Hafi z e er al , the gr atest of P sian lyric poets alf The haz als about a century and a h later . g are con

e etc. cerned with win , flowers , damsels , , so that he has been called the Anacreon of Persia . This imagery li O scanda sed the orthodox , though he , like mar , is said the al S u fi s to have belonged to mystic sect of , and to i have had an esoteric mean ng hidden under these figur es .

Nearly all such poems have been explained in this way . The S ong of S ongs has been said to be S peaking in fi gura tive language of the Church and the S hakespeare son e em n ts to have been addre ssed to Poe try . Yet it se s i clear that in passages like the follow ng , more is meant than meets the ear :

’ o o i ni r e rt - fe flitted d t o t n t an o F l sh gga d h a li s , h u dids pluck o ne ro se ’ ’ Fro m life s re d bush ; what s re mainin g — name and fame at ' life s dull close ’ Ye t e e t fro m r n r e t Go or o w ne , xc p d u ka ds fuddl d wi h d s gl i us i , none learns i What was ve iled the bigot Zabud nothing of himse lf d scerns .

The drunkenness and the wine clearly refer to the e i exaltation of spirit in which po ts see v sions , and with

o - out which human life is a dull j g trot . Nay , in the very S tabat Mater e we Cruce hac inebriari P T , hav not here s n e e m is nevertheles an u doubt d le ent , and a very strong H r one , of the o atian philosophy ; and it is no wonder that Hafiz was looked sourly upon by the bigot ” Zahu d . There was evidently no love lost on the o ne H e S ide more than on the other . afiz cl arly thought of Z m H W abud uch as Burns thought of oly illy . ’ The version use d by Bantock is S ir Edwin Arnold s and in these Ghaz als we find the composer in one of his 76 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

T e E ss most characteristic aspects . h astern scales are le in evidence : these poems have appealed to him so strongly that that kind of surface pictorialism is swept s aside, and we have instead a pontaneous and passion The ate utterance that carries one away . striking and r f i i da ing harmonic e fects , the rush ng passages , the wh rl m m of excite ent in the rhythms , leave one al ost breath One hi less . peculiarity in t s kind is very noticeable r for he e , and the first time , I think , though it is often ’ An e found in Bantock s later work . instanc occurs on

1 Hear what the heart- S u bduer in page 7, at the words , tends er crescendo accelerando , wh e we have a and passage ri of repeated chords in t plets on a ninth , with a rising dl mid e part , the whole rushing at the end of the bar from triplets into the tumultuous hurry of semi

quavers . The collection opens with a short P relude Hafi z

- improvises consisting mainly of harp arpeggios . T O al riangle and tambourine give touches of rient life , We and the whole makes a picturesque introduction . then plu nge into a torrent of passionate emotion with G z 1 Ala a' send the Cu round The ha al , y p composer s m s is very succe sful in e phasising the sense of the word , s following and reflecting their various mood , keeping the

rhetorical accents , and at the same time making a con tinu ou s r T and cohe ent musical whole . his is by no i means an easy task , his pecul ar success in which is m W ’ m always acclai ed as olf s supreme erit . The second

0 Glor o ull- mooned Fairness e c song , y ff , is ven more su cess ful m , co bining lyrical and dramatic feeling in a more per f ect e . A r r to the eace bl nd charming ph ase at the wo ds , p o th lace e f y p , is used lat r in such a way as to constitute e S it a sort of theme of the Belov d and a horter figure , growing from the phrase used in speaking of the love

78 GRANVILLE B ANTOCK

cal phr ase twice referred to follows , and the song ends G z . T with a note of irony hese ha als are scored , but the score is not yet published . The e H z e one I last of th se afi songs is a separat , f ’ that An el o S hiraz McCarth s . g f , to Justin y translation m It is perhaps in some ways the most mature of the all . The rather unfortunate phr ase to a lovely face what need is there of paint or powder — is given in a quasi the e r recitative , which is certainly b st way of t eating it , r r though the ph ase j ars , anyhow , with the atmosphe e of er e the song . There are oth passag s in this quasi e be e recitativ , and it must allow d that the procedure is e r right , and in consonance with the charact r of the wo ds and yet the style of passage seems to arrest the torrent em of poetical otion . It is here that there occurs a refer e i set ence to the insolubl mystery of th ngs , to a remark mistico S able passage marked , to which I hall refer again Th shortly . e last lines

T o t r me th z t o t tr n th e r h u has hy d y gha al , h u has s u g y p a ls ; Come O H fi z and S n it w e et t t H e en ma e on , a , i g s ly , ha av y sh d up thy song the glory of the P leiades are set to a beautiful lyrical melody that grows out of

e e . a prec ding phrase , and worthily nds the song Ban m e e G z al e r tock hi s lf lik s this ha b st , and I can unde stand e r m m . a e er e the pr fe ence I inclin d yself , howev , to giv

. fer the precedence to No 3 in the cycle , for its lyrical r m vou and happy ingling of various styles of beauty . A rm eal ltogether , the group fo s a r addition to song m m literature , and must surely, in no long ti e , beco e e more wid ly known . Undoubtedly there is more than a tinge of scepticism in Hafi z — a qual ity which is more prominent still in O mar Khayyam , whose arraignment of Providence, BIRMINGHAM 79

z al . nevertheless , is considerably intensified by Fit ger d z i Bantock , however, sei es upon th s and underlines it ’ e i n man s or iveness ive and h av ly in his setti g , as in the f g g take m . the e r , already quoted It is mor e arkable at first S r H z sight , therefore , that he hould have turned f om afi O the and mar to set Browning , poet who , of all others , m e O is ost characteristically , and ev n pugnaciously , pti mistic in his Views of the dealings of Providence with

the world . The remark I made a little way back about m r the o issions of an artist he e finds a vivid illustration . What Bantock seiz es upon in Browning is not this S ide

- n r of him , but his full blooded , bou ding vigou , and exultation in this present life

Man I am and man o l be o e — mere t man and not n , w u d , l v s hi g more

Bid me see m no other 1 E agles boast of pini ons- let them soar ’ I ma u t ort n e m n manne b t r e o e n u not e o e . y p f h a g ls plu ag c u d , b f Browning was so certain of himself on the religious side that he liked occasionally to dally with the other S ide m . H z O as an adventure Bantock, in co mon with afi , mar, ’ S r and appho , takes the more typically a tist s position . For it mus t be owned that between artists and the re li giou s world there is generally a feud . It is rare to find either a great artist or a great saint who can see the other S ide and harmonise the two Views . Yet there is no necessary antagonism between art and religion , any more than between science and religion they move on f re d n m dif e nt planes of thought an life . Brow ing hi self is sufficient to S how that this is true ; and an even t D e s ronger instance is ante , one of the gr atest of artists m e er . S th as well as of seers i ilarly in oth case , Newton , C R m fi rookes , and o anes are suf cient to prove the point . The public are often misled by such men as Huxley and H e aeckel , and do not distinguish betwe n their scientific 80 GRANVILLE B ANTOCK

S e and their philosophic utterances . cience is order d W knowledge . hen these men speak scientifically they S peak with S pecial authority : when they give us their m e e S views , and reason fro sci ntific facts , th y peak not e as scientists but as philosophers , and are ntitled to no A l e special deference . rtists are exceptional y s nsitive to the beauty of the visible world ; and it must be confessed that their defiance is largely the fault of the T e m religious world . hes deny with dog atic intolerance e k n what th artist nows to be true and the artist , seei g his i them deny gosp el , refuses in his turn to believe the r ’ B urns s H W r gospel . oly illy is the natural esentment of e e flou ted the artist at se ing his gosp l by a hyp ocritical A al e e ignoramus . nother typic case is the c l brated ’ u s n and co é passage in A cas i Ni l te. It is not Browning s m his opti ism , then , or religious views , that attract

- oie de vivre Bantock , but his full blooded energy , his ' , hi s emphatic counsel to make the most of the sphere in which you actually are . At the same time it is true that Bantock is sometimes seiz ed by his own sub ar S conscious personality , as all real tists are , and hows i that there is , below the surface , a feel ng of this deeper n n meaning and reality of thi gs , to which he respo ds though he would never put it into intellectualise d form His . l e or acknowledge it in words intel ect rej cts it , or suspends judgment : his instinct at times tacitly The accepts it . instinctive genius is sometimes too ali i man strong for the intellectu sed opin on of the , as is

m i We ‘ co mon with art sts and prophets . find this even O S in mar, as we hall see , and Bantock responds to it We H at once . find it in afiz

For none in t e r om e e er o e or w e r h i wisd hav v s lv d, ill ve solve,

rom I (F f that A ngel of S hiraz . ) BIRMINGHAM 81

At these words Bantock gives us an extraordinary s mistico pa sage which he marks , just as he is instantly move d to a similar expression at I sent my soul through the I nvisible Omar m one the m , in , and arks of otifs in ind ei He r beh the v l. in the same wo k , cannot help an stinctive n is feeli g that there something in the Invisible , o r e the b hind veil , though he would not acknowledge m Th . e it in words , or only in the ost guarded manner l e : m m er poet norma ly controls P gasus so eti es , howev , Pegasus takes the bit betwee n his tee th and carries him r he i whithe would not if he be a true Pegasus , h gher than he would . Whe w e H z r n turn , then , from the afi to the B owning ’ Ferishtah s ancies songs ( F ) , we are sensible at once of a e T he er differ nce . here is not quite t f vid glow of the Hafiz Ghaz als the peculiar emotional intellectualism of r n e B owni g takes its place , and is well xpressed in the m Feris ah an i r . ht circ 1 0 usic was a Persi h sto ian ( . 55 1 61 2) whom Browning uses as a mouthpiece for his own z philosophy . In a do en apologues various teachings are set forth : to e ach is appended a lyric : an d these lyrics Bantock has set , the whole be ing rounded off with ’ E ilo u e The r The E a le r n an p g . fi st , g , utte s Brow ing s re e e p ferenc for toil amid the ways of men , h lping n r e f in~ and strengthe ing , ath r than for li e in artistic , tellectu al e , or religious isolation , support d by the He e labour of others . desires an hon st life of struggle man as a among men , tasting the true human lot — a e sentim nt to which Bantock responds instinctively . The one e e song is a most attractive , min ntly sing The e r f . 2 Melon abl , and tingling with eage li e . No , seller m er e : e , is si pl , but full of tend r feeling the kern l it— re e o r f r for of take appa nt injustic , any suf e ing , ’

e : . The love s sak love overpays all motto , so to 82 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

S hah Abbas the l speak , of No . 3 , , lies in ast line but two e o r t and tr t o r e w t t e e e ore B e lov y u ligh us y u guid , i h h s xpl ' my heart and the music covers the sometimes crabbed verse of The The mil . a Browning with a robe of beauty next , F y, l has evidently appealed to Bantock with pecu iar force . It is from this that the lines already quoted are taken :

Man I am and man o be o e mere t man and not n , w uld , l v , s hi g ” more, etc. ) and this is in fact the central conception of the whole

- A song cycle . mid the eager torrent of song there is a momentary slackening , and a beautiful phrase at the d u ic e c Now on earth to stan s es t . hi words , fi , , w ch Ban he tock uses as a sort of motto , for brings in the phrase ni d again as a closing reflection , after the singer has fi she . A e ltog ther a noble song , and peculiarly characteristic T un . he S . both of poet and composer , No 5, does not give up its meaning very readily without a preliminary study of the poem that precedes the lyric . And in fact al Le this is true of all this bum . t no singer undertake ’ them , or any other of Bantock s work , who is not pre e m u Th par d to undergo so e intellect al labour . e type of song that depends for its charm merely upon a suave melody and a beautiful voice must be sought elsewhere . The MihrabS hah next , , is a specially striking effort , and deals with the function of pain and of our physical The s bodies . lyric expre ses it well , but this too , like all the rest , can only be properly grasped by a study of the whole poem , which the music illustrates and eu

e . 8 forces with much b auty and impressiveness No . , Two Camels , is another to whose understanding a knowledge of what goes before the lyric is essential BIRMINGHAM 83

but , this being known , the song is fine and interesting . Another in which the composer has poured himself out

lot- ultu r er o . 1 0 c e in s ng is No , P , wh e the central idea of this group of songs is again forcibly expressed

Take S ense too - let me love entire and whole Not with my S oul 1

The E pilogu e is a noble piece of work with its kindling “37

’ Was it for mere oo m e - e e e or m mm n f l s play, ak b li v u i g,

S o we tt e it hke men not bo - hke e or ne ' ba l d , y sulk d whi d ’ ” Each of us he ard clang Go d s Come l —and each was co ming — S o er to or r ace not ne to la e n . ldi s all, f wa d f s aks g b hi d

The W sudden chill , too , amid the enthusiasm hat if ' — hi all be error is very touc ng , and reminds one of Bunyan ’ s honest portrayal of the same doubt in his i hero , almost at the end of his pilgrimage . Brown ng , however , concludes

W t all the o ri e ro n m e ere o e t ne ha if hal i s d u d y h ad w , l v , hi arms

In all this Bantock has found a thoroughly congenial dl him spirit which has kin ed to a fine response . In some ways , indeed , these songs are the finest of all . There is none of the haunting pessimism of the others in a but , its place , that heroic and e ger determination to if it which make the best of l e as it is , and to see the best in , r w was so strong in B o ning . It is to be deplored , though h perhaps it is not strange , t at we do not hear this cycle m more fr equently . It makes an enormous de and upon the l ul a singer, certain y ; but wo d rep y a man with suffi cient mental grip as well as artistic temperament

- The a combination not often found . songs are

i u - st mulating like mo ntain air but audiences , too , l would have to study the poems beforehand and this 84 GRANVILLE BANTocK

e is more than the average audience cares to do . Th re songs a scored for orchestra , but the full score is not yet published . Of the S appho S ongs it is difficult to speak tem l The p erate y. peculiar beauty of this phoenix among poetesses seems to have entered into the composer ’ s T r relu de heart . he e are a P , and nine fragments ; and m we have the same fervid glow , the sa e daring har m r m Haiz S on s onies and varied hyth s , as in the f g , but The relu de with less of the pessimistic tinge . P is opened an d r by the harp , l gui ly in with spread cho ds that m are e look like two chords co bined , but which r ally , of r T ar . e course , high powers of single cho ds hese answered ’ al r C first by cellos one , and afterwa ds by larinets and elu de fi l s . The r t string P is full of passion , and y ushers T e mn hr in the songs that follow . h Hy to Ap odite has something of the beauty of a lovely girl before the altar flame i r ascend ng f om a rocky height overlooking the

e Me e . . 2 I loved marvellous viol t of the diterran an No , thee once Atthis lon a o , , g g , is laden with the most poignant

r . r i g ief and passion Nobody who has once hea d th s song , one r m would think , could possibly fo get it it goes ho e the e the m m to heart , and burns its lf into e ory at once , r The by virtue of its be auty and since ity . opening phrase m r m cor an lais for uted t o bones and harp , with g giving

rr - e S h the so ow lad n melody , ets at once the tone w ich e e One swells to a flood of gri f, passion , and b auty . of m e r T . he Moon has set the most striking nu b s is No 5, and it is fr om this that some of the most poignant material of the Prelude is taken

— I yearn and se ek I know no t what to d o And I flr utte like a child after her mother Fo r love masters my limbs and S hakes me

t re t re tter- ee t Fa al c a u , bi sw

86 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

h who mostly ride buses , t is will not matter much , as the gait of a horse is unknown and the song is a S pirited piece of work . Other songs will be found in the list of

A . works , in the ppendix

Before we leave this part of our subj ect , however , we must mention a considerable labour which was under

Co t . taken by Bantock for the Oliver Ditson . of Bos on This was the editing and arranging of three collections of songs which were published in separate albums . The first two were 1 00 Folk- S ongs of all Nations and 60 atri tic S on s o all Nations P o g f , to both of which Bantock Th i . e prefixed h storical and critical notes third , 1 00 n The on s o E n la d . S g f g , is at present in the press whole forms a valuable collection of some of the best folk O or songs of the world , in a handy form and is very p p tune in these days when intelligent interest is being awakened in the subj ect . C II . onnected psychologically with the last great ’ S a hic P oem cycle of songs , is the pp for cello and orches ’

for W L hrm . tra , which was composed illy e ann , the cellist l It is written for smal orchestra , and is very effectively laid out for the solo instrument which is not overloaded m with accompaniments , so that the tone co es through well . It is full of the erotic sentiment which we have S a ho S on s found in the pp g , though not of the same T e . h t intensity rhy hmical scheme is somewhat peculiar , varying between 3 /2 and and almost the whole is woven upon the motto - phrase with which the Poe m opens . It dies away at the close in languorous tender

ness and the whole , material and scoring alike , is full r of wa mth and colour . A third piece for this instrument is the Celtic Poem L rm Ma , written , also for eh ann , in the y of

1 1 . f 11 9 4 It is entirely di ferent character , having BIRMINGHAM 87 nothing in common with the German idiom on which ’ w i l Bantock s style as orig nal y formed . It S hows the c S influen e of his later acquaintance with cottish music , and the chief subj ect is really a phrase from one of the H The ebridean songs . idea of the piece is as follows :

The Celtic heaven Tir—nan- O THE LAND OF THE E R , g, VE O NG lies somewhere to the west o the Hebrides where Y U , f , Celtic s ul er w the su n sets . And the o ev aits on the shore of the reat S ea or the comin o the White B ar e which g f g f g , ear in ear out erries the elect across the waves to the y y , f e And t sa I sle where th y would be. hat me B arge needs wind nor sail nor rudder to make her speed like a bird over the sea the wish of the Fate that gu ides her is her all and her in all The e m . delicat ystery and poetry of this e subj ect is well illustrat d by the music , which is full of ’ the Celtic glamour . It is certainly one of Bantock s The most individual efforts . nearest approach that I ’ know elsewhere to its peculiar quality is S ibeliu s s S wan o Tuonela e f , which , however , is charged with a deep r and o t ea . T l he d d r the gloom here , it is the f , he e , of ever oun the the e y g, as title says and id a is full of a r serious gladness as of a luminous vision , ather than of he Ele ia t . T t c oem error hese two pieces form , with g P an i discussed in the last chapter, ndividual triad in the literature of the instrument . f III . It is seldom in human af airs that one period is completely rounde d off before the next begins there is usually some overlapping : and we now come to an Omar instance of this . Before was finished Bantock was asked to write music for a performance of the Hi ol tus E e be e pp y of uripid s , which was to giv n under C A M ’ the auspices of the las sical ssociation . urray s translation was used ; and the work was performed in the L r T M u O a ge heatre of the idland Instit te , in ctober, 88 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

1 0 8 G T Man 9 , as well as for a week at the aiety heatre , A l e chester . ittle lat r on , Bantock was invited by the r C e L e Bedfo d olleg , ondon , to writ music for a perform ’ e r e S ance which th y we e cont mplating , of ophocles t T G C T re Elec ra. his was given in reek , at the ourt heat ,

L 1 th 1 6 1 th 1 0 . A r ondon , on s , th , and 7 July , 9 9 thi d work in this kind is the music to the B acchae of Euripides ’ M r r re e . ( ur ay s t anslation) , which is at p s nt unfinished This appe al of the classics is an index of a loosening ’ of the exclusive grip of Orientalism upon Bantock s e m see him mind . It has always b en rather a using to d r m m e e t iscove from ti e to ti e , p opl and subj ec s e e else that v ryone admired , but that he had always He S violently disparaged . now announced that ophocles , E r e G e e u ipid s , and the old r ek poets , w re not old fogeys e e m and slanged his fri nds , who had tri d in vain to ake

r for ri . him see their me its , not admi ng them It is a form of self- defence against the chaff to which he was subj ected— the bellum in hostes inferre of our school The i books . classics now began to share his alleg ance with the E ast and after Omar was completed he cer l e er m a tain y show d a bett ent l balance in this respect . E e uripides , inde d, has come to be one of his paragons , the rationalist element in him (as e xpounded by Ver rall) appealing strongly to his sympathies . The problem of Greek music is still unsolved we do not know exactly what the procedure of the ancients was . Bantock was anxious to produce an impression as the r near as possible to o iginal , in modern conditions , r di r and studied seve al books , inclu ng a t anslation of Ari H stoxenu s . e thought he had arrived at a fair idea of the subj ect ; but since then another book has ap p eared which takes different Views and throws fresh O doubt on the matter . ne can hardly give the whole

90 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

r t that sweeps through the fo est of humani y , bending The the great trees before it . opening section is full

z - (after a couple of striking bar phrases for strings ,

an d - s brass , wood) of rushing string passage and throb

i - C bing w nd harmonies on a pedal , while the chorus cry A out in the midst of the tumult . fter a reference to the

z - opening bar phrase , which may be taken as sym bolising the rending of the storm there comes a change . There is now less of the lower register : we have repeated

e - e n - s mi quav rs in the wind , and flashi g string passages ,

o The in clouds are its ennons etc. , fl , at the w rds y g p

T r z - hen , after anothe reference to the opening bar L ento cantabile motif , comes a complete contrast , , at the words :

’ Ah e in the w or e nt e I , y , ld s pl asa plac s Do ye not see the symbol H ere we have broad lyrical phrases in imitation , for the sostenuto tr chorus , with s ings , quaver triplets for wood , l and sestup et arpeggios for the harp . There is a pic torial the r B ou r warm res sittin and touch at wo ds , y y fi g slee in — a l an p g anguid passage on eleventh, p , into

the Tm - which steals a breath of i e wind, pp , increasing k fl, quic ly to a great at

H ear ou not in r t e n er y , u hl ss a g I ts mighty voice of warnin g and followed by a call to action which is given in alter r e nate ph as s by male and female chorus . Then comes a march- like passage for male voices :

H r the r t of m t men o f th n a k, spi i s igh y e bygo e ages To your spirits calling and crying '

The mal w irnitational fe e choir j oins in ith phrases , T urging them to follow fearlessly into the darkness . hen , BIRMINGHAM 91

after another vigorous section , imitational for choir , and Tran u illa finely scored , we come to the conclusion , q mente e i al e accom , op n ng with choir on , but with quiet animen s e ar p t aft r the first few b s , and urging the soul gu ided wanderer not to fear the flail of the time- wind

Like w heat it shall w innow and cl ean thee B u t ne ver was goo d grain garnered ’ That be nt not neath rain and tempest

As well as waved in the sunshine .

i e It is a st rring work , fine in t chnique and in spirit , and e w ll suited for competent choirs . The orchestr al parts the a : are not easy , and orchestra is l rge but it would G repay trouble . It was produced at the loucester

1 0 . Festival , 9 4 It will be seen that The Time- S pirit links itself on to ’ other work of Bantock s of which we have already Th di . e spoken next cantata that we have to scuss , S ea Wanderers i the , wh ch is also a product of j oint n perso ality of husband and wife , is similarly akin to much of his previous work . This is the case more — in especially in two respects its agnosticism , and in its energy in face of the unknown

Fo r in haven we will never lie — — Fare ou e ver onwar d o ur cry.

But these two ideas are swathed in a sense of the beauty e and mystery of things , that are esp cially strong in this T work . he poem is based upon the idea expres sed in Longfellow ’ s line

S t t in the n t and e h ot er in n . hips ha pass igh , hail ac h passi g Another thing that is dwelt upon is the pain of the M the . an isolation , separateness , of each human soul ri comes he knows not whence, yearns and st ves his little 92 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

e t : spac , and passes in o the unknown and the close is a faint hope

r en ma w e meet ou and reet ou n ' F i ds , y y , g y agai followed by an orchestral passage from which emerges lontano e e pp and , the r new d motif

We are i o n the sea as sh ps up , S ailin g into E ternity the voices (four only to a part) accompanied only by a E r n single high in the st i gs , ppp , and dying away to e E e nothing whil the is prolong d till it , too , ceases , one The e r e . ha dly knows wh n work is call d , not a cantata but a Poemfor Chorus and Orchestra and there is some e e n r m thing here in a name . The pi c is si gula ly ho o geneou s in mood ; and there is little of the laying out of the ordinary cantata . The mysterious orches

e e the - e tral op ning , sugg sting supra sensuous oc an from e e which all lif springs , and the motif of m lodic fifths r the sea ou r rep esenting of Visible life , recur from time e e e to time , h lping to k ep the impr ssion of this primal The mystery alive . technique is good , the choral m al writing simple and mostly i itation , though there are to harmonic passages also . One such is that (Len sos tenu to re m e e ) whe , unacco pani d xcept for an occasional the the touch of harp and strings , choir enters p after r a f climax , with the wo ds m Or to re on e e on t e e . a gi , ayb , b y d h s

The work is quite within the powers of an ordinarily

eflicien . e t choir It was produc d at the Leeds Festival 1 0 e e r of 9 7, and has b en perform d mo e than once since , W C L notably by the elsh horal Union , at iverpool , under H E an R a o e arry v s and by utl nd B ughton , a littl

BIRMINGHAM 93

O 1 1 0 rm T H later ( ctober, 9 ) at the Bi ingham own all , r r e m whe e I hea d it and was de ply i pressed . The production of S ea- Wanderers (1 90 7) brings us to the first performance of another work already dis e r— Christ in the Wilderness cuss d in the last chapte , h t T a remodelled portion of C ris u s . his also came to fi he G er t . its rst hearing this year , at loucest Festival At the ensuing Gloucester Festival (1 91 0) the other revised portion of Christus— Gethsemane— was produced ’ e r succes d estime and both th se wo ks achieved a , if not ’ the hearty welcome usually accorded to Bantock s really characteristic work . We have now reached what I think must always be ’ regarded as Bantock s magnum opu s— that in which he m e m e e —Omar is most co plet ly hi s lf and unlik all others . Portions of the R u bdiydt had been set before but until the r Bantock undertook wo k , the idea of setting the i alm . Primt acie whole might appear ost fantastic f , this r m st eam of melancholy and pessi istic verse , always of m e e a editativ cast , would not se m to lend itself to

e . treatm nt as a whole Bantock , however , began to turn the matter over in his mind soon after making e em acquaintanc with the po , and his solution of the He constructional problem is ingenious and successful . e r e divid s the wo k into thre parts , each of which forms a unity in itself and yet takes its du e place in the scheme And when the work is performed in its entirety . in addition to this he has invented three persons to whom certain portions of the work are assigned in accordance r T The with their characte . hese are , Poet (tenor) representing the central core of Omar himself ; the Philosopher (baritone) representing the more intellec tual and sceptical side of the man and The Beloved to r are (contralto) . In addition these the e a few sub 94 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

ordinate parts for the conversation of the pots in Part Ru i — 0 III ( ba yat, 84 9 ) and there is of course the chorus and the general perspective and unity of effect which Bantock has succeeded in achie ving by this ll Mr a otment of parts is , as . Newman said on the pro f z : He duction o Part III , ama ing has the genuine architectonic mind— the mind that spans at a leap a al m great structur sche e the mind that , as Pater says , e o i foresees the end in the beginning , and nev r l ses s ght Birmin ham Dail ost A u 1 0th of it ( g y P , ug st , S e i tructural d s gn alone , however , will not save a work if the essential texture be poor and it is only right to add that the imaginative quality of the music is on an T equally high level . hat this may not be thought merely a the p rtiality of a friend, I quote further from the same source : there is little in the music of our own day to equal it for variety and intensity and sustained One l S plendour of imagination . is a most crushed n under the mag ificence of some of the choral passages , with their bold sweep and their enormous weight of

The e - expression . tend ncy towards surface painting is perhaps over- strong but in many cases Bantock

works , not from without inwards , but gets at the heart i e of his subj ect and portrays ts v ry essence . The score is remarkable for its ingenuity in one par

ticular - T the division of the strings . here are two e complete string orch stras , one on each side of the conductor ; and this makes possible with the utmost n i diffi ease , a large ra ge of effects which are otherw se m On cult to anage . e orchestra is frequently muted while the other is not and this of itself gives a wonder ful T . too variety of colour and contrast hen , , the elaborate subdivisions so frequent in modern work can a t e be m de instantly by hese means , and of cours

96 GRANVILLE BANTOCK by a regretful mood at the transience of things earthly u ow how littl t me w ha t sta Yo kn e i e ve o . . y (No 3 , B and e e E l K a W 2 . h n the chorus ceas s , the motif of yf ( 4, B H r ansien . tr ce and ) appea s in the orchestra , and then the e z 6 theme and then follows a s ction , stan as 4 , 5, and , e re given to the po t , a notable featu of which is the pass Th ni h h e tin ale cries to t e rose 1 8 . age g g ( , B and The e z 8 are e n xt two stan as (7 and ) giv n to chorus , e H r r a di m T and pr ach the o atian doct ine c rpe e . he B eloved then carries on the thought of the transience of things (stanz a 9) —even conquerors like Jamshyd and K aikobad pass : but the chorus break in impatiently e 1 0 What have we to do with K aiko~ in twelv parts , ( ) bad ' After this mass of sound comes a charming contrast at the opening of the next section (1 1 the chief feature of which is the lovely duet between the ‘ e A B ook o Verses underneath the Poet and the Belov d , f bou h— r g one set of strings being muted , the othe not . The chorus break in upon this with the quatrain (1 3) ’ containing one of Fitz gerald s most deplorable lines Ah take the cash and let the credit o , g , and an anticipa the z 1 am i tion of music of stan a 7 . I inclined to th nk Bantock has here been misled by his penchant for pic ” torialism. At d m e the rumble of a istant dru , he br aks away with an agitated passage in the strings and drums , i e m W wh ch interfer s , to my ind , ith the general tone e of this part of th work . The e z 1 6 n xt portion begins at stan a , but quickly e e Think in this bat r aches the picturesqu chorus , lered caravanserai al the lories o this , set to the motif c led g f

world ass 8 . The e p ( , B and Poet and the Belov d e e e u now tak up the tale again , still b wailing regr tf lly the r en e e the r m t ansi c of love and lif , and cho us chi e in with the same burden (1 9 S o far the meditations BIRMINGHAM 97

vanitas vanitatum omnia vanitas on the text , , , have been e d carried on by the Poet and the Belov d , in a moo of e m . f t po tic pessimis now a slightly di ferent , a bi terer er and more ironical tone appears , with the int vention e The M z z of th Philosopher . ue in from the Tower of Dar ools our reward is neither her nor kness crying , F , y e there the saints and sages whose mouths are stoppe d with dust the futility of the obstinate questionings h about the nature of t ings and other similar images ,

e - r are insisted upon with h art b oken emphasis , but with never - failing beauty of utterance (25 A notable point occurs in quatrain 43

S o w hen that angel of the dar ker drink

At t fi nd ou the r er- r n las shall y by iv b i k , And o er n his n te o r o l , ff i g cup , i vi y u s u — u fl ri n . Forth to your lips to q a yo u shall no t sh k

The e words are sung by the Belov d , at first with trem em bling agitation , but the last four with bitter phasis

and H . di e M 26 . and the aster theme ( , B ) is imme at ly

r . The thunde ed out by all the strings , wood and brass a climax of this portion of the work is not a gre t chorus , but a wonderft beautiful and intensely mournful duet for the Poe t and the Beloved— When you and I behind the veil are past— o ne of the loveliest themes in the the work , one perhaps that remains in the memory as wi a most typ ical of the whole , and worked out th be utiful irn r iveness elaboration and p ess . Now comes one of the most striking episodes in the r — L C I o—1 2 whole wo k the figure of ife as a blind aravan ( , the D B . and stumbling through esert , no one To knows whence or whither . have heard it seems an

r . The unfo gettable experience composer, who some

- n e m times gives us surface painti g from the outsid , see s here to have penetrated to the heart of the idea , and H 98 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

m w t al n calls up the i age i h magic Vivid ess , so that one seems actu ally to see the arid waste of sand beneath a e burning sun and sky , the bleached bones of form r e the the trav llers , and camels lurching blindly on as r phantom caravan passes from nowhe e to nowhere . It is

r . The a bitterly pessimistic image , but a mi acle of art

- r the scene is conj ured up by ninety eight bars of o chestra , “ chorus humming part of the time and these last then re h i s b ak in with quatrain 48 . T e Ph lo opher next pro ceeds with his musings (49 And here we find one Om z ral of the cases in which ar , Fit ge d , and Bantock

- alike are mastered by their sub conscious selves . In the midst of this blankly sceptical meditation comes the thought that perhaps after all The Master (50) is nearer to us than we know and the motif so - called is given out gravely and impressively by brass and wood . Part I closes with a gre at climax in the form of a chorus in eight parts to quatrain 54

W te not o r o r nor in the n r t as y u h u , vai pu sui Of this and that endeavour and dispute Be tter be jocun d with the fruitful gr ape

T an en ter none or tter r it. h sadd af , bi , f u Here we have again the bitter philosophy of this melan choly schoo l of thought but Bantock characteristically gives it a twist that the text does not really suggest . His W estern vigour is too much for his theory, and he closes the whole by giving out with insistent emphasis the r Waste not our hour wo ds , y , in such a way as to suggest , E cclesiastes not the actual context , but the passage in , i Whats oever th hand ndeth to wh ch he has set later , y fi do do it with th mi ht: or there is no work nor d vice , y g f , e , ” wled e nor wisdom in the rave whither t u nor kno ho oest. g , , g g — Part II includes quatrains 55 81 . It Opens with an Interlude representing the revels of which the Philo

1 00 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

6 as The I n quatrain ( 7) a persistent figure , b ed upon visible u t u theme , keeping p an i eration s ggestive of mysterious destiny . Now comes one of the most striking portions of this 68 the Part II ( preparing for , and leading up to , ’ defiant climax at the close . We have had Isaiah s o i e e fu e a image of the P tter , and th s is to r ceiv ll r tre t A ment yet . t present one or two bitterly fatalistic figures give the composer a great opportunity of which L he makes the most . ife is conceived , first as shadow shapes thrown by the lantern of the Master of the

S : - His how then we are will less , helpless pawns in chess game then the ball from His hand comes striking

- at random . But even here the sub conscious spirit already mentioned forces itself up — — H e knows abo ut it all HE knows HE knows .

he Very picturesque is the treatment of this portion . T

- 1 vivid representation of the shadow dance ( 3 , B .

1 . and of the ball flying about ( 4, B and once heard , are almost un forgettable ; as also is the meditative solemnity of the line j ust quoted , which is followed by

- Master theme 26 . z 1 the ( , B and In stan a 7 the B elovéd carries on the same idea ; and the pictorial treatment of the writing of Fate ’ s finger is again very 1 B z 2 the vivid ( 5, and In stan a 7 Poet j oins in , and the two together cry in passionate impotence against the natu re of things— IT— the inverted bowl under Th r which we crawl and die . e Philosophe j oins in ; an d all these fatalistic figures lead up to the great defiant

80- 81 outburst of all , chorus included , at the end (

0 T o who t w t t and t in h u , dids i h pi fall wi h g e et the ro I to w n er in B s ad was a d ,

' M r - w an s fo giveness give and take . BIRMINGHAM 1 0 1

T i Omar — o r c h s last is not in , but is added oncentrated tock seiz es upon it and thunders out the passionate cry ru D with full orchestra and cho s on a chord of b, the C A trumpets blaring out a in defiant protest . number are c hi a e of motifs here ombined , w ch are an lys d with ’ - music typ e in Newman s notes . It is not merely a e u d he matt r of c riosity, but is inten ed to suggest t ri va ous ideas for which the motifs stan d .

Part III is in some ways the finest . It seems a sort e h of quint ssence of the whole , so that having heard t at , you have heard all ; except that one would not wish to miss such things as The Caravan or The S hadow da — nce . A l z 82 0 fter the Pre ude , stan as 9 are occupied with a humorous but ironical scene between the pots ’ — an extension of Isaiah s figure in which the old fatalism

A t i f er a short orchestral interlude , the Ph losopher a G 1 cries out gain for the rape , and oblivion (9 And a after th t , we come to the beginning of the real — a climax of the whole work climax reached , not by

li O In - pi ng Pelion upon ssa the matter of sound masses , A but in the subtle , essential quality of music . deeply — H . Re ret 1 6 . touching theme ( g , , B and ) perhaps the s — mo t touching of all is given out by the orchestra, a theme which appears for the first time in the Introduc The o e tion to this Part . P et and the Belov d then , to these deeply pathetic strains , sing the lamentation (96—99) of love and beauty in the grip of inexorable t 1 8 death and no hingness ; the beautiful theme ( , i H . B . and ) appearing at the reference to the n ghtingale

r . L singing in the b anches ike passionate children , they

i e - confi dence w sh to shatter the univ rse to bits , in the self of children that they could te - make it better themselves. 1 02 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

It is a generous , though a foolish , thought ; and the m e usic , with some of the other them s woven upon the

Re ret . T main warp of the g motif , is loveliness itself his leads into the final section for the three soloists and chorus (1 00 - 1 01 ) in which the transience of all things

- is again dwelt upon with heart breaking poignancy . The we The moon will rise and wane , but chorus sigh out their last words pp , and the orchestra con tinu es r Re ret e e for a few ba s , the g th m being the most m pro inent , though others are again interwoven , of which ’

e r . an account is giv n as befo e , in Newman s notes Just

H . before the end the lovely strains of No . 9 (B . and )

When you and I behind the veil are past

are heard on muted horns , and the whole ends with the

s . most inten e pathos , ppp

If a work of genius , as distinguished from one of talent , be written in a state analogous to that of clairvoyance , ’ so that the writer s deeper self does things which his ordinary self could never do , then this is emphatically a work of genius . Its impressiveness and beauty are at times quite indescribable and its pathos is intensified by those Views of life hovering for an instant in the j aws of oblivion with which all thinking men are familiar . ' The question has been sometimes raised whether Omar r really gains by being unde lined in this way , and having its images and thoughts enlarged and emphasised as by

m - a agnifying glass . Is it not more impressive when spoken by the still small voice of the printed page f In some ways it is . Many subtleties seem to su fer own many passing thoughts , which have their truth taken as fugitive images and speculations , seem to lose their fineness and to be distorted into untruth when T e subj ected to this magnifying process . h beauty of

CHAPTER VI I

B I RMINGHAM PART I I NIVE RS ITY WORK B I RMINGHAM ( ) U , PHI HA N L RMO I C S OCI E TY , COMPE TI TI ON FE S TI VAL

WOR K AD DI CATING ETc. NACCOMPANIE D , J U , U

CHORAL M S IC PART- SONGS A TA L A N TA VA NI TY U , , , op m a e nn r . INS TR UME NTAL WORK S TRI NG ORCHE STRAS D AN TE 'r B E A TR I CE FI FI NE E TC TH E , , , , GR E A T GOD P A N

I N the year 1 904 the Richard Peyton Chair of Music was founded at the University of Birmingham . Its first occupant was S ir E dward Elgar and he delivered an address which caused some little stir at the time . He found , however, that the duties it involved were too much of a tax upon him in addition to his artistic work T and in 1 908 he resigned . he Chair was then offered 1 08 to Bantock , who accepted it in November, 9 , thus for the second time succeeding Elgar in an artis tic re appointment . This addition to his duties (for he tained his position at the Midland Institute Schoo l of M in usic) was a heavy one , and caused considerable roads upon the time available for composition and the energy with which he has fu lfilled these multifarious — we S t duties increased still further , as shall see hor ly , — by outside calls of a serious nature is remarkable . One of the operative reasons for his acceptance was the hope that he might be of service in bringing a breath of life from the actual world into university i musical teaching , wh ch has sometimes shown a ten

104

1 06 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

’ e T flu in combin . his union was aided by Bantock s e e the S nc , and Birmingham Philharmonic ociety was r r r formed , and included rep esentatives f om all quarte s

m G. . S e n Mr . of Birmingha musical life , the cretary bei g J — . r e 1 1 0 1 1 Bowker In the fi st s ason , 9 , eight concerts i e were g ven und r various distinguished conductors , W S afonoff m ood , , and Beecham being a ong the num T ber . here was a Wagner night and a Beethoven night r r m er M z and the p og a mes w e eclectic , including o art , S E r H D m Cé chubert , lga , von olst , ukas , Brah s , sar ’ r M F anck , oussorgsky , etc . Beecham s night was a m m r Heldenleben emorable one , the programme co p ising , ’ the Electra S D and Finale from , of trauss ; ebussy s ’ ’ ’ ’ L res - Midi d un aun r s Ap F e ; and Delius s Pa i . For the second season Beecham was engaged on terms which were r hi A e very gene ous on s par t. mong the works giv n were ’ E S u t he ec s R Dr . Overt re o t Wr ker thel myth s , imsky ’ ’ ’ K orsakov s Antar Strau ss s Til E ulens ie el S alomé s , p g , ’ Dance S r S alome W , and the Final cene f om ; agner s Good Friday M usic and Ride of the Valkyries ; S chu ’ ’ “ bert s Unfinished S ymphony Deliu s s Romeo and f uller ’ ’ E ntr acte and Elgar s S econd S ymphony besides other a works of similar character . The following year w s the time for the Triennial Festi and to avoid clashing it was decided to omit part of the season and to give

C r m . four concerts only , two before h ist as and two after S afonoff R al Balling , Beecham , , and on d were the con ductors r m e , and the p ogra mes were of the same charact r l . The S u as in previous years ociety , though very successf did ffi r in an artistic sense , not receive su cient suppo t from the public ; and the result was a considerable T call upon the guarantors each season . his lack of enthusiasm gradually tired out the energies of the r er r for o ganis s , who had to wo k very hard little apparent BIRMINGHAM 1 07 result ; and in the fourth year the Society was given up . Bantock had throughout been an energetic member of the Committee and the work had involved a serious di ad tion to his labours . Another organisation with which Bantock became e me connected , and which he was larg ly instru ntal in i the m M M found ng , was Birmingha and idland usical C m e al ere o p tition Festiv , whose first meetings w held

T i e e Mr . Ma 1 1 2 . r in y, 9 h s also was fo tunat in g tting fi er er Hon . S Bowk as ecretary , an of ce in which his partn ,

Mr . S e e e r t vens , became his coll ague and to th i inde fatigable labours the success of the organisation is largely e e nu m due . It immediat ly establish d a record in the ber of entries its artistic standard was correspondingly i M dl e high and th s i and Festival has , in its thr e years

e e the . of xist nce , taken a foremost , if not foremost , rank Bantock had for some years be en conn ected with the movement outside Birmingham as adjudicator in various H rme E W S . e towns of ngland , ales , and cotland had fo d McN u h H E Dr . a t close friendships with g , arry vans wa him (whose recent loss s a great blow to ) , W r D er men e m alfo d avies , and oth engag d in the sa e work ; and when the time seemed ripe for focusing the musical work of the Midlands 111 this way they all c - s o operated with a will , the re ult being a striking T e l the success in every way . h educationa value of movement is very great ; and Bantock has be en in r e sympathy with it from the fi st . It appeal d to his m o r n . dem c atic i stincts , for one thing It was a move ent he e r r by the people for t peopl , and was f ee f om the tinge of snobbery which sometimes makes itself felt

M r r - ir e . in society conc rts ine s , artisans , wo k g ls ,

r - i dr di teache s , school ch l en , society la es , students , and — university men all classes , in fact , mingled in friendly 1 08 GRANVILLE BANTOCK emulation and on equal terms ; and the beauty of music and poetry was brought into the homes and e hearts of the humbl st , to brighten and inspire their

li . se ves Besides all this , Bantock had seen how the contests had improved the technique of choral singing a point to which we S hall return in a moment . In the T McNau h H E Dr. Dr . t first year , g , arry vans , and erry were among the adj udicators , and the entries were close D 000 . W upon 7 In the second year , alford avies and Dan G odfrey took part as judges , and the entries 1 1 approached 8000 . In the third year ( 9 4) the number was 7900— all three being records— and the standard T e i . r has steadily r sen h oughout , Bantock has be n an an active member of the org isation , which has made All heavy calls upon his time and attention . who know will agree that his share in the success of the festivals is no inconsiderable one . The improved technique in choral singing , of which I spoke a moment ago as arising from this movement , has exercised an important influence upon Bantock ’ s artistic development as well as upon his external life . The original impulse came from outside whe n Miss Wakefield inaugurated her choral contests in the Lake

District . But it could not have gone on long as a mere matter of te chnique among choirs . The old style of

— - H music that of the ordinary part song , or the andel M — or endelssohn chorus was too limited, and offered no field for further attainment and if the work of the choirs had not reacted on composers , and their fresh al ul work again on choirs , no re artistic gain wo d have T resulted . echnique would have become an end in And itself ; and mere virtuosity spells decadence . in fact even as things are we have sometimes to deplore

i Festivalitis . C s v rulent attacks of omposer , how

1 1 0 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

’ The i er o Dundee s and P p , are picture que and happy, a particu larly stri king specimen being The Pibroch of T e e he G O C Donu il Dhu . o hav h ard t lasgow rpheus hoir sing this piece with all their native gusto is a memorable

A he - experience . glance at t list of part songs at the end of the book will show the reader that to discuss them in detail is impossible I can only select a few of A i e the most striking e xamples . ll d to the pieces last ’ ’ e B urns s Address to the De il mention d is a setting of ,

- though this is of course not folk song arranged , but al m original . Person ly I think this is one of those poe s e that are best left in th ir first form , and not enlarged as in a magic - lantern ; but the part - song is a clever r T e piece of wo k and full of vivid touches . h satire of the hymn - tunes at the words And let poor damned — G th bodies be and, reat is thy power and great y u Wha fame the l rid passage at , in yon cavern grim and sootie the eerie dr one at the reference to ghosts on the moors the imitation of the Walkilrenritt ’ at the witches revels the suave passage at the reference to E den and the humour thr oughout— all these com bine to make a highly coloured piece . But sarcasm and satire are weapons of the boomerang order ; and the S use of the last line of cots wha hae at the end , to ” r e e r e S a the wo ds , v n for you sak , suggests that cotl nd is the very devil , and that Bannockburn was an infernal

. A r me business nothe fine speci n , and a complete con ’ as e S i The Glories o trast to the l t , is a s tting of h rley s f d nd ta our B loo a S te . It is grave and elevated in style , and is a really impressive piece . ’ One of Bantock s most remarkable efforts in this line ’ Luc er in tarli ht r M r is if S g (six pa ts) . e edith s sonnet e a would not , at first sight , se m to lend itself very re dily to musical treatment but Bantock ’ s instinct has served BIRMINGHAM 1 1 1 him r S z well , and the portion whe e atan ga es at the stars and se es them wheeling rank on rank The army of

- r e m re Dr . unalte abl law is profoundly i p ssive . McNau ght spoke of it at a rec ent Competition Festival as follows How anyone could set these words to e a music , and how anyon could re lise them , is most I marvellous . t is one of the most remarkable pieces Ban tock has ever composed . It is a gr eat piece because ” it is a big conception . Of The L ost Leader e it is not nec ssary to say much . e er It has b en heard so often at festivals , sup bly sung by r M O the best choi s , such as the anchester rpheus , Nelson A S r rion , and tou bridge Institute , that many words now would be foolish . I shall not quickly forget the thrilling performances of these three choirs at the

Midland Competition Festival of 1 91 2 . The style is m rather harmonic , the elodic parts being mostly on a background of harmonic masses , not on quickly

- changing and only half suggested harmonic effects . ’ S ometimes one feels this rather strongly in Bantock s work : and in fact it is sometimes charged against him as a fault : but it seems to be due to his recogni tion of one of the limiting conditions of unaccompanied choral writing . We are often told that choirs can now conse do anything , and are all sometimes tempted in The q u ence to write as freely as for instr uments . The r m i . limitation of the voice , howeve , re a ns singer has to imagine the note before he can find it he cannot the get it mechanically as a player can , and if harmonic structure be too elusive choirs cannot imagine their

i . notes , and uncerta nty of performance is the result Bantock ’ s realisation of this fact seems to be the reason why Vanity of Vanities produces so much more certain an effect in pe rformance than Atalanta. 1 1 2 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

This seems to be the drawback in the case of K u bla K han i , wh ch , as absolute music , is one of the finest and T subtlest specimens . hat kind of harmonic subtlety , l however beautifu and suitable to the words , is not r suitable to choral work . Bantock has here app oached the extreme limits of practicability ; and the con sequence is that there has never been a good i performance , though the work is a del ght to read l r l fu l of poet y and suggestiveness , and wonderful y suc ’ cessinl in realising the atmosphere of Coleridge s

- dr eam poem .

The are . II . pieces for female choir altogether slighter di i al It is evident that this me um , w th its p er colouring mall and s er range of effects , does not appeal to Bantock His very strongly . instinct is for the stronger flavours

- and colouring of fu ll blooded male life . There are settings of three poems by Blake— all effective— of e A which I think To the Mu s s is the most interesting . Youn Love r fourth , g , the wo ds again by Blake , has piano T t . accompaniment , and is a pleasant lit le piece here he are three specimens to words by Mrs . Bantock . T

r S out- S tar fi st is , unaccompanied , a soprano melody with mez z os and contraltos winding about in thirds and

m - sixths . It is a s all part song (or trio) but excellent

- The Love S on r . in its kind . next , g, is more elabo ate e It is in three parts with accompanim nts for harp , solo ’ — T l or . violin , and solo ce lo , in their place , piano his , is too , well written and of course well scored , and would f The The prove very e fective in performance . third , Ha I sle m ppy , is perhaps the finest of the fe ale choir

pieces . It is in seven parts , divided into two groups , s z z the first consisting of soprano , me os , and contraltos , and the other of first and second so pranos and first and r T second cont altos . he tropical luxuriance of the

1 1 4 GRANVI LLE BANTOCK thoughts nor her own childhood and the charm of her poems is here a very strong element in our pleasure .

Of one — The Fl - t the two Blake songs , y is very pre ty — — The The B irds . and suitable . other is more It would suit a couple of older singers with pure young voices a and rises to a real rapture , so as to c ll up the delight of

- l the bird chorus at sunset (I wi l not say sunrise , for it is doubtful if Bantock ever heard that) . His love for ani mals of all kinds has here found voice in a real ecstasy

- of bird song .

- fin d I V. Among the part songs for mixed choirs we ’ a striking group of S cottish pieces which show Bantock s A o later preoccupation with the Celtic spirit . part fr m S i S cotland et arrangements of cott sh airs , such as y , and S cots wha hae G H , there are two or three aelic and ebri dean folk - songs which are really remarkable for their m atmospheric and ps ychological truth . S ome i pression of their quality may be gained by referring to the ’ quotation given in speaking of the Celtic Poem for cello . S o Bantock has cottish bl od in his veins , and here the al aasa Lament . A R raci spirit seems to speak y , and

Cradle- son : The Deat - Croon g, are both arresting but h , ’ The S eal- Woman s Croon and , are specially interesting m technically as well as spiritually , inas uch as we have here a treatment of a solo voice which I have desir ed m u for so e time . Instead of the piano with its perc ssive n i tone , the backgrou d is given by chorus singing w thout

s r fi ve- words , the fir t song being for cont alto with part m m for acco pani ent , and the second contralto with ’ - - accom Mrs . er eight part chorus . Kennedy Fras s piano p animents for the Hebridean Songs are wonderfully suggestive , but the subtlety of this treatment is beyond all comparison . The S Irish songs cannot compete with the cottish , BIRMINGHAM 1 15

’ t The Le rehaun Bmer s Lament or C hu n hough p , f uc lai , The S on o Finnuola and g f , are good in their several

There are also some good arrangements of English

innish R u e- son songs , and a F n g but we will pass on r T to the o iginal English work . here are seven settings m H ri e Mr. tw o of poe s by his f nd , ayes , the best , I think , Awake awake ' z r being , with its bree y f eshness , and Nocturne al , in which the allusion to the nighting e seems as usual to have made a special appeal to Bantock . His e sympathy for Bohemians of all class s , and his aver H Wi m i sion for oly llies , misled him so ewhat , I th nk , when it prompted him to set that brilliant scallawag ’ V B allade The illon s . music is a clever piece of work , and contains many touches , such as that of the corpses i swing ng in the wind , of a gruesome and realistic vivid ness but it does not appear to me suitable for setting ,

- and the hymn tune seems to lack sincerity, though V illon probably intended the prayer to be sincere, at a eant o Human Natu re the time . The P g f is a setting of o Sir T h a short cycle of p ems by homas More . T e m E ver man al manner is so ewhat that of y , and the chor suite is very suitably dedicated to Walford Davies . ’ r It is not a subj ect , howeve , that suits Bantock s type i l of m nd , and the work is certain y not in his happiest i . The r r vein wo kmanship is good , and the style is ght , but the essential spiri t has proved elusive . It is a plea sure to turn from this to a really magnificent piece of r r wo k . Blake often seems to touch a responsive cho d ’ The T er e in Bantock , and yg , one of Blak s most striking pieces , has given Bantock one of his most T arresting concep tions . hose who have heard a good choir sing this piece (eight parts) with real dramatic force must have felt the music overwhelming in places , 1 1 6 GRANVILLE BANTOCK and fully worthy of the poem— and what can one say more T er t er rnin ri t yg , yg , bu g b gh I n the ore t o f the n t f s s igh , What immortal hand or e ye Could frame thy fearful symmetry

The tyger seems clothed in the haunting terror of an

- T opium vision in verse and music alike . here is a setting ’ W The World is too much with u s of ordsworth s sonnet , , to which I shall have occasion to refer again and there are four settings of Shelley who always seems to stir

Bantock , and whom we have seen really kindle him T h with he Witc of Atlas . It is not surprising therefore rit o that two out of the four call for remark . S pi f Night (eight parts) is in the harmonic style of which I have al spoken . It is full of happy effects , antiphon and er e r oth ; and it has evidently form d a p eparation , if T n Atalanta. he e O not a preparatory study , for oth r , Himala m y, is simpler, and owes its i portance entirely The T er to its own intrinsic charm . If yg is terrific , this is equally striking in its way . It has a wonderft subtle magic : one seems actually to see the sunny slopes of the Himalayas stretching away into infinite

- distance , with the happy shepherd boy singing and c feeding his flocks . It is a remarkable piece of lairvoy u i ance , f ll of lovel ness , and comparable for sureness of he C Omar insight with t aravan in . The climax in this typ e of work is reached in Atalanta anit o an t The fi in Calydon and V y f V i ies . rst is a setting for unaccompanie d choir of the choral odes in S win ’ bu me s a and dr ma , is most interesting both in the matter a of technique and s a daring experiment . An un accompanied work that takes forty or fifty minutes to perform needs great variety of treatment ; and Ban

1 1 8 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

The e s the s ential quality of musical conception , the al f e antiphon e fects , and the changing colours are r mark One ou S all r able . might go noticing pecial points th ough , e s for the interest never flags . Th clo e

H e e e and ot e w t er on w av s , is cl h d i h d isi S ow and he not re s , shall ap H rs hfe is a watch o r a vision Betw ee n a sleep and a sleep

is touched , as are all the odes in fact , with the philo sophy we have already found in Omar ; and Bantock

i e . is at once aroused , so that the rony is driv n home

The end is a peaceful fading away .

No . 3 , for female choir , is less than half the length We of the others , but forms a good contrast have ”

0 L . seen thee , ove ; thou art fair But the terror is Two L . u always near fig res accompany ove , and

te the n me of her Fa is a , And n me D e t his a is a h . T his chorus is in twelve parts , four groups of three each , and is full of brightness and happy sunshine until this grave close is reached .

di . 2 . In No . 4 the choir is vided as in No It is a e and as wonderful pi ce of work , is full of that p sionate protest against the very nature of things which is d characteristic of Swinburne as of Omar . Go covers us with hate and makes us transitory and slight : He has fed one rose with the dust of many men : He is He stron we : against us , gy feeble therefore

All w e are ain t T ee O Go d mo t H I ag s h , s igh which is thundered out defiantly in responsive masses of h h The O God most i . sound , all uniting for the phrase , g musical treatment throughout is very fine and impres BIRMINGHAM 1 1 9

r r i t sive , and the wo k as a whole is a remarkable a t s ic é . H S o achievement It was produced by the all ciety , Man e at ch ster , in January , The t m same spiri is apparent in the co panion work, Vanit o Vanities y f , but the technique is in some ways

e . The n r differ nt writi g is mo e harmonic , the divisions of the choir less elaborate , and the result is a gain in e al ffe t e r e c rtainty and in actu e c in p formanc , though for quiet reading Atalanta is perhaps the finer of the

. The an d O two work is in twelve parts , pens with a

- the the e s r r n motto phrase to words of p ssimi tic ef ai , ni — a a e r Va ty of vanities ll is v nity. This r f ain and

- r r r motto phrase f equently recur du ing the wo k , which is the outpouring of a he art overburde ned with satiety Th m r . e and disillusion treat ent is b oad , a fine instance in the first section being the passage :

One ener ti o n et g a pass h away, An d not er ener ti on omet a h g a c h , B u t the earth endure th fo r ever where the broken passages of the flying generations contrast well with the massive grandeur at the last line . s The wind whirleth about Other pictorial passage are ,

continuall All the rivers run into the sea. A e y, and v ry a e r Animando the characteristic pass g occu s at the , to ” Th e There is no remembrance . e words , section clos s

e - with a referenc to the motto phrase , and fades away into a melancholy dr eaming . s I said in S ection 2 is very striking . After the word , I will ove thee with mirth and en o leasure my heart pr j y p , e an Eastern dance is sung with closed lips , and sugg sts

men- - n e h the singers , the women si g rs , and the arem of The an Eastern court . languor of satiety succeeds at

m e me r e t w o r I ad g a ks , I builded me houses . 1 20 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

A i l gayer dance , but still with the underly ng me ancholy the E — a of ast , follows passage of major thirds on a

e - e e rt whol tone scale , above an augm nt d fou h drone e And behold all was but is broken by the xclamation ,

- vanit and vexation o s irit m . y f p , to the otto phrase T e m re e And there h n , after a broad and i p ssiv passage at was no ro t under the sun di p fi , the music es away with e e a r fer nce to the dance . The Then I saw that wisdom exceedeth third section , ” oll f y, is powerful , and has a recurring cadence on a F A r chord of minor that is rather striking . great ho ror and revulsion of feeling are thundered out at Therefore ” I hated li e s the a f , with a strong di cord and sopr nos and mez z os on the top B and A and the section closes M “ ” this al o an with s is v ity. The fourth part , To e verything there is a season A ti me to be bo rn And me o t t di e etc. a i , , is cast in antiphonal phr ases and cadences . It is a

m e e . si pl but striking conc ption It is a little risky , e f u however, and might asily fail of its e fect in nskilful H E hands . Under arry vans , at the production , the choir had all the necessary flexibility and rubato , and the result was good . S I returned and saw that the race is not to ection 5, ” the sw t one if , contains of the most poetically imagined r As he came orth o passages in the work at the wo ds , f f ’ ” hi ther w mb naked hall eturn s mo s o s he r . , etc The sixth part opens with a more cheery tone Eat th w th o an re y bread i j y. But the old mel choly soon turns , for the gaiety hovers but for a moment above the ’ W abyss of nothingness . Bantock s vigorous estern nature again asserts itself however, and there follows

1 2 2 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

a n m e le d up to , the song , and was give by ass d brass

. T i e bands h s , too , is largely built upon the figure alli d The a ira ff . to that of C , and has a fine rousing e ect march and song were performed at the Labour Con A 1 1 r ference at Bradford , in pril , 9 4, and a oused great enthusiasm . C u e oming now to the p r ly instrumental work , we find first a piece that is akin to the editions of Eliz abethan — n i h u i authors already mentioned the Old E gl s S te. T his consists of five pieces arranged for small orchestra , effec without antiquarian accuracy , and forms a very e The antasia tive concert suit . pieces are , the F , by ’ O G arthenia Dowland s Lac rlando ibbons , from P ’ ’ ’ im e The K in s Hunt u odlin s Deli ht r a ; Bull s g ; Q g g , Gi Farnab the i al by les y, scoring of wh ch is speci ly i C strik ng , only oboe , two larinets , and bassoon being ’ S ellen er s Round i employed ; and g , by Byrd , wh ch makes a brilliant and j olly finish . Allied to this are the piano albums of pieces of the

- same period . Ban tock has a fellow feeling for Bull who was of a pioneer nature ; and his e diting of his a e r con mor . work was done Byrd , too , is one of his late enthusiasms and for Famaby he took quite a fan cy . The whole preoccupation with these E liz abethan writers formed a distinct phase in his own mental expansion . We come next to two works for string orchestra h I n the Far West and S cenes from the S cottis Highlands . The first is a picturesque and racy piece woven upon

- - The e nigger tunes and folk songs . basis of th first i movement is a figure with an augmented second , all ed

- to a scrap of nigger song . No . 2 is a beautiful and ex ’ Wa down wannee Ri pressive presentation of y S bber .

z And . No . 3 consists of a scher o and trio . No 4 is a

Yankee- doodle e symphonic working of with its p ndant , BIRMINGHAM 1 23

ohnn et our Gu n e j y g y , in regular form , sav that at the return the subj ect is modified and a beautiful reference

- . 2 r T e to No is int oduced . h part writing is full of re S r e f source and variety , and the e enad makes an e fective

e - conc rt piece . It was produced at the Hereford Festi val O b 1 1 2 . , cto er , 9 S cenes from the S cottish Highlands contains five ’ e — aS traths e The B raes o Tull movem nts p y on the air , y met Dir e The I sle o Mull u ickste a g on the tune , f a Q p I nverness Gatherin Gaelic Melod B aloo baloo ( g) y ( , ) ’ Reel The De il amon the Tai r The and a ( g lo s) . pieces

. B aloo baloo a are full of colour and life , is specially t G tractive but all are charged with the aelic spirit , and ’ t e n r h fi al reel makes one s feet itch . The wo k is emi uently suitable for the string bands which are now r e springing up so widely . It was p oduced at Sheffi ld ’

1 1 . in November , 9 3 , under Bantock s direction ’ Another fru it of Bantock s later enthusias m for all S S cottish Rha sod s things cottish is the p y, for full orche tra, which is not yet published . A good deal of it was written during various visits to Scotlan d in 1 91 3 . It is a spiri ted and racy piece that smacks of the heather and the peat o i r sm ke and the clash of d sc epant harmonies at times , a when the various tunes are going against e ch other, adds a piquant touch of the barbarism of the natural r man . It is written for o dinary orchestra and we have first Tullochgorum then The B irks of Aberfeldy then ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ Wi a hu ndred i ers an a an a ll P p , , , which wi make those who have felt the magic of Caledonia stem and i wild feel as if on spr ngs , while they see the vision of e t r h the pip rs , wi h thei peculiar swinging gait , marc ing The gaily along a mountain glen . slow movement is G l Mairi Bhoideach i represented by a ae ic tune , , wh ch has A z all the latent tenderness of the Gael . clarinet caden a 1 24 GRANVILLE BANTOCK then ushers in the sound of the pipes with The Reel ’ ll T s 0 Tu och . , and the fun grows fast and furious hi Cutt man and Treladle tune is then combined with y , the _ S S cots wha peed and the excitement increasing , till

hae . The is thundered out If, in a maddening coda piece would stir the blood of e ven the average polite audience : to those who have worn the kilt among the heather of the highland lochs and glens it is like champagne . Ou r grouping of the S cottish works has led to the temporary omission of an earlier orchestral piece Lalla R ookh— which was fin ished at Northfi eld in ’ f l A u 1 0 . ug st , 9 3 It belongs to Bantock s more youth u , — — oriental phase that of The Fire- Worshippers in spirit and conception , though it is more mature in technique . ’ It may be remembered that Moore s scheme is as follows L l R r z be 1 6 —1 o Auru n e . 8 al a ookh , the daughte of g ( 5 7 7) , B u charia r and the Prince of , are bet othed by their r o respective fathe s , upon which the bridal pr cession Cashmir met sets out for , where it is to be by the lover Th l and the nuptials performed . e way is begui ed by e z the poetical tales of a young minstr l , Feramor , who the The Veiled P ro het j oins train , his stories being p ,

Paradise and the P eri The ire- Worshi ers The , F pp , and ’ Li ht the Lall R o g of Harem. a okh s heart is touched by m d the handso e poet , and she is accor ingly uneasy at

r m . To her app oaching arriage her great j oy , however , she recognises in the young king the minstrel of the

o . j ourney , who has taken this way of w oing her unknown Bantock ’ s composition is perhaps the climax of his work in this vein of orientalism . E astern scales and d sumptuous colouring are freely use , and the usual e a i festival orchestra is employed , with thre of e ch w nd timbre an unusual point , however , is that the violins ,

1 26 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

Th to the Greek plays already discussed . e stri king subj ect at the opening , with its response in the horns , leads to a figure in the basses which forms one of the chief features of the development and the working of the Fate element throughout is very finely suggested . The second subj ect is a beautiful passage for four horns s A with solo violin , repre enting ntigone ; and the ele ’ vated close refers to ( Edip u s s mysterious disappearance The o and subsequent apotheosis . work was pr duced W S r 1 1 1 at the orcester Festival , eptembe , 9 , Bantock conducting . Of s r we The the other orche tral wo ks , take first ierrot o a Minute u P f , a fantastic piece fo nded upon ’ E r D l r r nest owso n s poem . It wi l be emembe ed that du T be the Pierrot falls asleep in the Parc Petit rianon , H m i side a statue of Cupid . e drea s that he is v sited by

- a Moon mai den with whom he falls rapturously in love . S he warns him of the fatal sweetness of the kisses of the moon ; but he persists in his passion which she then A e allows . t last dawn approaches and she must leav m S o i hi . the poem ends ; but Bantock cont nues the piece to his awaking from the long dr eam which— like ~ that in the Ar abian tale has re ally lasted but a minute . The e o strings are divid d throughout int ten parts , and at the Opening the violins enter one after another with

i - The tambour ne and crisp harp notes . gambolling piz z icato figure that follows at the Allegro Vivo stands ll l especia y for the Pierrot , whose love is kept wel in r character throughout , the e being always an element of the fantastic— the gambolling scherz ando — e ven in the A 1 the are passionate portions . t bar 60 strings muted ee his u s as he falls asl p and fig re , given to the horn , tell

m M - e . The of his a orous state oon maiden app ars , coy

. M O and capricious uted strings , as at the pening , but BIRMINGHAM 1 27

c with an added viola solo , des ribe her coquetry with him. She then grows more tender , and the passionate mood ec li l e b omes more enthral ng , til it r aches its climax in u Molto lento cantabile a beautif l section , (bars 423 a e m e er r the f ntastic le ent , how v , being neve lost sight Du she of . ring the last portion has left him (to the music O i his w of the pen ng) , and a aking is now touched upon in d T e co etta. h c m i a brief pie e is delicate in i ag nation , m an d f work anship , and scoring , very e fective in per formance ; but it needs a well equipped and capable

. r orchestra , or its daintiness is lost It was p oduced W s S r 1 08 at the orcester Fe tival , eptembe , 9 , and has had many performances since among them three in A C Mos merica , and one each at Paris , Nancy , ologne ,

cow St. r S . , Petersbu g , and hanghai In the case of Dante and B eatrice there is no attempt The r to illustrate a story . wo k is a psychological study , r e i e rathe , d al ng with the influenc of an uplifting ideal l in . the life of a man Broad y speaking , the opening stands for Dante himself and his condition before his marvellous love for Beatrice shone forth in all its splen m dour . Into the middle of this agitated usic , however , ’ e e th re enters forcefully (on cellos , trombon s , bassoons , e r , fl) , as the ov rpowe ing love really and cor anglais D enra ed loveli struck ante , a theme which , later , is y in D ’ e . ness , and which represents B atrice ante s theme does not remain unchanged , but undergoes several modifications , and appears , now in an agitated , now in t m r ul r a poetical and exalted mood , his last o e partic a ly r m at bar 92 and onwards . It is wo ked up to a cli ax at r 1 1 0—1 20 e r me ba s , aft r which the e co s a silence , and the t e er e beautiful Beatrice h me , h ald d by a harp passage , is m r given by solo violin , acco panied by violins at fi st ,

bar cadenz a. T a but , after one , alone , in a lovely his tre t 1 28 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

The ment is then thrice repeated . effect is most happy , m and stands out in the emory after a single hearing . The working of these two themes is carried on with great resource and beauty through various moods of tender ness , passion , and exaltation , till , after a great climax , ’ H r Dante hears of Beatrice s death . e theme now ap Lentamente pears with poignant grief ( ) in the basses , the ’ r r D uppe parts being added one afte another . ante s a her e desol tion , and his thoughts of in the id alised state al as most divine , are then expressed in the last portion S ostenuto cantabile beginning , with great elevation and beauty ; and the interweaving of themes is carried on m l t with uch skill , but is a ways subservient o the poetic A he o ento . t t M lto l intention very end , , the two themes the are united, and bring piece to a noble and elevated The r for l d . an close work is sco ed festiva orchestra , was produced at the London Musical Festival at Queen ’ s H Ma 1 1 1 all , y, 9 . — The sub - title of Fifine at the Fair A Defence of In ’ tan — He cons cy is only Bantock s fun . is not a specially a r giddy, fickle , or inconst nt butte fly ; but he has a e passion for a striking phrase , ven though it be a flash

Fi ne i - one . fi is v gorous , full blooded , and before all things human . The subj ect has seemed to some an im l u possible one for music and , of course , the intel ect al ’ m fi nessing of Browning s poem is so . Bantock si ply takes the broad human situation and treats that . Neither ” m c poem nor usic is a defen e of inconstancy , but merely a defence of those normal intellectual and spiri tu al relations which men and women alike need with ‘ their peers— the same sort of freedom of intercourse as s C r L A the friend hip between a lyle and ady shburton ,

f e M . e which so o f nded rs Carlyl . In the case before us Don e n : Juan goes wrong , and suff rs accordi gly but

1 30 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

’ Fifine s influence grows , sometimes and the mere tricious charms of the Fai r (or the ordinary world) often ’ s captivate the man s enses . Finally he is unfaithful

E him. The E ilo u e O Lento to lvire , who leaves p g pens at ’ con malinconia : , and shows the man s lonely musings

W en in moment t no l cr h , a , jus a k ck, cal , y,

and the two are united again , while the memory of r The Fifi ne and the fai fade together . reunion is brought L about , in Browning , by death ; and he ends ove To an o . a is all , and death is nought B t ck this is lien , and in his view the wife simply returns to the man bring Ea ’ ing forgiveness . ch view has its merits and Bantock s work as a whole is remarkably fi ne— perhaps the most al E effective piece of purely orchestr nglish music . We have now arrived at the climax of this second The reat an portion of the Birmingham period . G God P weaves together the two strands of choral and orchestral development which we have been tracing into a single The web . work raises some interesting questions . It embodies a sort of artistic neo - paganism which is a ’ ali The real expression of Bantock s later person ty . conception as a whole is his , though the fine execution h of it on the literary side is due to Mrs . Bantock . T e f style , musically , is di ferent in many ways from that C Omar . a s of ontempor ry veins of thought , and e pecially R S fl in u those of the French and the ussian chools , have ’ enced Bantock s mind , and we see evidences of the fact m here . It is someti es said that to be up to date is to be quickly out of date but in this case there is no effort T to be up to date . hose who know Bantock know how his mind has been working in sympathy with these developments : and if his work showed no traces of this ul His enthusiasm it wo d not truly express him . admira

1 32 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

n that of the same hand that wrought Atala ta. Pan is God o orests od o libert invoked as f f , g f y and the central

Pan r portion , a tenfold cry of , with discordant semi tones and augmented fourths , followed by the words , n T God o the u ettered mind . he f f , is very striking follow come i in loud and wild ing section , , p p g , is highly pic tures ue q , as also is the analogous passage

The eet n er the t n er the er e r and sw si g , ligh da c , wild pip cl a where the choral technique is very free and su ggestive The e e i of the idea . Pr lude nds w th a great shout , Pan reat Pan all hail ' , g , in massive harmonies by the combined choirs . The scene of Part I is supposed to be a woodland glade with mountains beyond ; and the characters are E Pan (bass) , a shepherd (tenor) , cho (soprano) , and the M m oon (contralto) , with choruses of ny phs , dryads ,

- T a . fauns , satyrs , m enads , earth spirits , and hunters hese represent that purely natural sylvan life , and that m mythical golden age , which poets have i agined d always in the past . An there are seasons when one does long for a return to the youth of the world, as one ’ e looks back with longing , som times , upon one s own

We m - youth . see such a mo ent of heart hunger in ’ The world is too much with as Wordsworth s sonnet , e — ih which , as we hav noted, Bantock has set the ex clamation at the end

’ Great Go d I d rather be A n e in re e o tw orn aga , suckl d a c d u , 0 mi t I t n n o n t e nt lea gh , s a di g his pl asa , Have ghmp se s that wo uld make me less forlorn H e t of Prote r n rom the sea av sigh us isi g f ,

0 1 hear old Triton blow his wreathed ho rn .

e and These lines have evidently appeal d to Bantock , might stand for a motto for this work— even to the BIRMINGHAM 1 33 creed outworn W , in which ordsworth indicates that such

t . a re urn is for ever impossible B ntock , too , knows that the bar is inexorable : that the flaming sword forbids in the return to the past , save the universal present of mind and thought . The arrangement of the orchestra is less elaborate Omar The than in . strings are divided into two each the wind consists of the usual festival brass and wood and there are percussion , harp , and celesta . The 1 22 i orchestra opens with bars of prelude , with wh ch the chorus of nymphs and dryads who are S porting in the l r forests and poo s , mingle two short bursts of song (fou t i r een bars and three bars) in their na ve delight , me ely to

E ia Th . the exclamation , is prelude is very attractive A chorus of hunters (six parts) now crosses the scene :

’ 0 w e I O w e I D n w n are n r e a ak a ak ia s i gs u fu l d , M en w t M en ee t the ro e o f the or aid s if , aid sw as s w ld

The w - music is for male chorus ith hunting horns , and is m mostly tonic and dominant , the voices oving in pro ressions f e g of fifths , and the e fect b ing picturesquely P h . an bucolic now enters laug ing , the figure

Tw - orne o t- oo te t air y h d , g a f d , wild wi h shaggy h ,

The of the ancient statues . nymphs and dryads fly in He dismay and hide in the thickets . , however, espies e m : th m , and after a few oments they are reassured em i e he chases th they , laugh ng , elud him , and at last The m i . sl p away , leaving him alone usic of his song has that touch of biz arrerie which suits the uncouth savagery He his of his nature in its present aspect . exults in primal energy and force

H e r en 0 or a k , w ld To thy heart I blow : And I tw t it and t e it is , ak

I n tron n and re it. s g ha ds , b ak 1 34 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

Yet he , though powerful , has not really this supreme c : off ontrol he is torn by passion and woe , and rushes M with wild laughter . ist and darkness overspread the scene in sympathetic accord and there is an orches tral interlude of fifty- eight bars during the latter part of which the light returns and the nymphs and dr yads re- We enter . now have a chorus (six parts) for

e w - - — - elfi sh th se ood sprites and water sprites non human , — nature largely in progressions of fifths , and with m acco paniments which , while at times freakish , have yet , at times , a certain suavity . Between the strophe r T and antist ophe Pan is heard piping without . hey ’ r i an resume thei song , with wh ch P s piping presently mingles and when they have finished there follows the i E ep sode of Pan and cho , of whom he is enamoured , but who eludes him . A great rock slowly glows with an internal light , and , c She E . be oming transparent , shows cho in its heart o sings an attractive s ng of an elemental tinge , though not without a touch of the passion that the gods of H l i A e las are represented as feel ng . line or two from stanz a 3 will give the general tone

Old Pan is sighing His o s ul is sad , Through the ree d - pipes crying F r h o joy e had .

The light fades ; Echo becomes invisible ; Pan re enters , playing the syrinx and asks the nymphs and m dryads in elancholy strain s whither Echo is flown . The t i al music , bo h of his play ng and of his singing , reve s here a certain melancholy tenderness which is hidden r He he beneath his ough exterior . then fancies sees E an apparition of cho , and in great excitement springs H l after it . ereupon fo lows a conceit that was a favourite

1 36 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

ri and t es to j oin in the dance , which becomes wilder but his strength fails and he sinks to the ground . A tender passage follows as his thoughts dwell upon all the beauty and j oy of the earth - life which is being torn from H s him . e takes a pipe and blows a few notes trie to x rise sinks back e hausted and is borne out , to sorrow e he last ful strains which die away pp . Th n follows t r A of the dances , and the close of the o gy . band of a m enads (5) rush in with wild hair and garments , waving mze nads i their thyrsi and fauns , satyrs , and wh rl together in the very delirium of transport . The music is a frantic torrent of riot in time , constructed entirely on a whole - tone scale and rises to a frenz ied im i al cl ax , after wh ch the dancers gradu ly vanish into the woods and leave Pan alone . He e sinks down exhaust d , and a pleasant contrast after all the delirium is afforded bythe simple pastoral strains of ’ a shepherd s song as he crosses with his flock , going to fold . T o We now reach the final scene . he M on rises in V i . serene splendour, sing ng ery beautiful is the passage

L et me e en and re d sc d , ba Am o r ro e id y u s s , To Night my breast

— and very characteristic the chorus of earth - spirits (6 1 2

. She parts , without words) in response descends and his finds Pan sleeping , and is horrified by monstrous ll form , which the music i ustrates with uncouth passages e and harmonies . Pan awakes , and she , in t rror , tries to : : fly . Pan urges his passion she resists then at length ,

e s r . A o mt the br ak away , and rises heavenwa d p in music , noticeable for its pictorial suggestiveness , occurs at the lines ’ I am held in the net of the wild one s hair I fl — r y to heaven c an he fo llow me the e BIRMINGHAM 1 37

- ri Pan now summons the rain and dew spi ts , changes M himself into a cloud , and envelops the oon . This l the r r also is vivid y portrayed by o chest a , an extra ordinary chord being held for twenty- four bars by

- e e - bass instrum nts , whil wood wind , harps , and celesta

sestu let- have p passages of semiquavers . This embrace of the Moon— the radiance — by Pan in the form of a e s cloud , is the attainm nt of his de ire and the culmination ’ The Moo of Part I . n s shrinking terror is changed into

e - — n rapture the arth creatures fau s , satyrs , dryads , and nymphs— join in with sympathetic gladness (twelve part chorus and two soli) this last portion being full of passion , tenderness , and beauty . The estival o Pan in In Part II , F f , which is as yet only the rough , Bantock develops his conception to its ulti m e The at R t e Ela at issue . scene is ome in the im of gaba A D 2 1 8—222 m lus ( . . ) in a portico of the i perial palace . ’ The emperor is giving a banquet in Pan s honour and bands of revellers and dancers pass and repass . In an alcove is a statue of the Youthful Pan (a beautiful piece of work now in the British Museum) . The chief characters S am e s e— z z are a yrian d s l ( oprano) , a lut player (me o) , E r Gr lagabalus (teno ) , egory , a monk (baritone) , and the Youthful Pan (tenor) and the chorus consists of r bacchanalians , soldie s , monks , dancers , buffoons , and female slaves . The work opens with a prelude which leads into one of those saturnalia for which the Court of Elagabalus The e z was notorious . chorus utter fr n ied cries of Io E e E e — Pan vo , vo and the whole is worked up to a A wild pitch of bacchanalian frenz y . song for the lute player follows and then a seductive chorus for female t voices only , interspersed with fragmen s of song for the S ’ yrian damsel , on whom the emperor s desires are at 1 38 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

present centred . It will be remembered that Elagabalus - perhaps the most degraded of the R oman emperors r the S u n S had been high p iest of in yria , and brought e e E R m T S an all the d bauch ry of the ast to o e . his yri element gives Bantock an opportunity for the u se of O e i we that ri ntal colouring to wh ch , as have seen , he has El s always been so partial . agabalus him elf speaks next ; then comes a dance of Circassian slaves ; then ’ r e B u oons dance the empe or r sumes , and orders the fi , which accordingly follows . This leads into a renewal O And e of the pening orgy . now comes a trem ndous c an d ontrast , the sharp antithesis of two ideas of life r for amid all this riot , the sound of a distant p ocession s er The of monks is heard chanting the Mi er e. chant G grows louder ; and at last regory , the monk, bursts in with the prop hetic fervour of a S t. John the Baptist and fiercely denoun ces the lasciviousness of the imper ial

Court . At the climax of his invective Bantock makes use of the mediaeval legend which says that at the birth of Christ a mighty voice was heard re - echoing over land

GreatPan is dead . So r G and sea with the cry , he e regory , e Great Pan is dead adopting the words , cri s , , and strikes al the image so that it totters , f ls , and is shattered , amid the consternation of the revellers —aconsternation which is increased by a mysterious darkne ss which e ar swiftly env lops all . In this d kness a curtain is drawn the e i over alcove , and b hind it is seen a red light wh ch r e r The slowly inc eases to an intens adiance . curtain then falls and in place of the statue is seen the living

r Y f r e . figu e of the outh ul Pan , who then p oceeds to sp ak His Monologue is a protest against the monastic view e of life , and an exposition of that of the calm r seeker He r after beauty and truth . p otests against the wor God as e ship of a of Pain , and denounces slav s those who

CHAPTER VIII

PE RS ONAL MATTE RS AND TRAI TS

UNLE S S I have altogether failed hitherto in my present r l c ment of Bantock , the reade wil have re eived by this hi s time a very fair impression of the man and work . A i few more deta ls , however, may be welcome , and may serve to deepen the lines and make the portrait stand out more clearly in the mind . On coming to Birmingham the family lived first at ’

S trathfi eld r n . , King s Norton , about five miles f om tow

Here Bantock performed a character istic action . Josef H r m olb ooke was at this ti e quite a young man , and in him family difficulties . Bantock invited to live with m e l him for a ti e , and gav him a room in which he cou d e uncon write at leisure . Holbrooke was ven then very

ventional Mrs . had di , and Bantock some amusing plo matic fencing - matches with him to get him to wear a collar when going to some important concert . Bantock i himself , l ke many of us , rebels against the insatiable m — de ands of etiquette , and avoids a black coat and , — - The l a ortiori r . f , evening d ess like the plague on y dress he really does fancy himself in is Oriental— such A e as that of an rab sheikh , in which he app ared at a

- e fancy dress ball , and in the newspap rs (by photo) next

. d M day It is recorde of orris that , once , being on a

D - Board of irectors , he kept a top hat to attend the and Mrs . G : meetings , as a sacrifice to rundy that , on

140

1 42 GRANVILLE BANTOCK named after the R oman emperor usually called

The A . for postate It is an unjust label ; , considering the character of the so - called Christianity in which he r e was b ought up , it was to his honour that he rej cted ’ The r m it . name , howeve , aroused Bantock s sy pathy, R 1 00 which he thus expressed . aymond arrived in 9 H 1 His 0 . the third , also a boy , amilton , in 9 4 advent ’ z occurred during Bantock s Japanese cra e , and he was e K intoki consequently dubb d , which is now with much r labour being dropped . Fourth and last came a gi l H M Shereen of whose names , ermione yrrha , the ’ last is specially du e to her father s enthusiasm for all things Persian . The Japanese craz e which I have j ust mentioned lasted a long time and was a virulent attack . The house M was filled with Japanese prints , and Broad eadow O S became a sort of riental museum . hrines , gods , prints , drums , carvings , and curios were everywhere ; and some horrible crapulous Japanese ghosts leered at you as you left the study so that you were glad to escape . One ' e room , however, was reserved for anoth r and — ’ r . Ga different hobby Napoleon . All M s Bantock s ins boroughs and modern pictures were ignominiously m turned out , and the roo filled with portraits and relics te etit ca oral r of p p , of whose ca eer Bantock has quite a library . It is a marvel that he ever consented to live S trathfi eld al in a house called , a name so closely lied to ’ Strathfi eldsa e bite noire cc Vilain y , the place of Nap s , ” m . I have spoken of Bantock ’ s way of discovering

- perfectly well known men , and slanging his friends who '

tern eratel . admired them p y, for not caring for them An He amusing instance occurred recently . saw some

M e . pigs by orland , and was quite captivated by th m PERSONAL MATTERS AND TRAITS 1 43

He t M r : began to s udy o land bought books upon him . The i disease ncreased , and his temperature rose to 2 1 2 degrees . He is at present a melancholy martyr to Morlanditis , and buys pictures which a year ago he would have thrown into the dustbin . This capacity for new m him e r e enthusias s stands in good stead , how ve , and ke ps al l w u . r arnab him ays sing arly alive By d, Bull , and F y inoculated him with mild doses of their respective e A er viruses , and corr sponding attacks followed . t anoth time it was geology that absorbed him ; he got up the m m subj ect with re arkable rapidity , and visited any e ri Mr H interesting d posits with his f end . ayes . He is of a generous , lovable nature , very free from al r a artistic je ousy , and wonde fully re dy to hold out a T r r ro helping hand to others . he e is a sort of t opical p r fusion in his natu e . Just as he plans out K ehama in

- six E twenty four symphonic poems , and sketches gyp m new tian dra as , so , on going to a place , he buys , not — z r to start with. half a do en picture post ca ds , but fifty M e t e any peopl like to have a tor oise in the gard n , but he sees some on a barrow and arrives home with ten . They become a regular nuisance and have to have a m He t garden frame devoted entirely to the . mus have him living things round , and delights to see them all H ee enjoying themselves eating . e insists on f ding the fowls , pigeons , geese , etc . though he knows that over feeding will stop the egg—supply : he must at all costs At M he have them all round him , gobbling away . oseley , had two Great Dane pups which grew quite unmanage At r M able and had to be got rid of . B oad eadow there was a tank in one of thej conservatories in which he He 2 decided to have goldfish . spent £ or £3 on fish , and stocked the place with rocks and weeds but as the tank had a dark bottom no fish were ever seen , and he 1 44 GRANVILLE BANTOCK might as well have thrown the money into the A E r gutter . t dgbaston there were fou dogs in an e all ordinary suburban house , and the gard n had to be latticed and gated to keep them moderately within bounds . He With books the case is the same . buys reck lessly , and has to clear out periodically for want of room . He He e . is oft n fortunate , however buys mostly good i ed tions , and when he sells often gets good prices , in His some instances actually making a profit . taste in m all m . literature , as in music , is for the ode s Just as e an d e pione rs feel a certain impatience at , intol rance of ,

ll - e the we known and trodden ways of life , and y arn to be the e e out in open , so Bantock is apt to be intol rant of ven r e e Off f good write s till th y are far nough , or su ficiently

re - d forgotten , to be almost in need of iscovery . I once said to him You care for no music written earlier He e e than the day before yesterday . r tort d I care ” i - for none written earl er than the day after to morrow .

The e e . S cases , therefor , run parall l In music , trauss ,

e S C L etc. S iu . ibel s , etc ; in literatur , haw , onrad , oti , Ar m l tistic rationalis , and revolt against the estab ished , is almost a formula for him . Akin to this phase of his mind is his love of books of travel and we have made many pleasant fireside excursions together, among them one with S ven Hedin through Tibet and Central Asia to

The T - M m Peking . ime achine , too , has worked its iracle for r e the us , and we have watched the slow p oc ssion of ’ e e G centuri s unroll th mselves , in ibbon s pages , before

. A us nother book , which we have read together , an d one interesting him more particularly on account ’ his T War and of devotion to Napoleon , is olstoy s

P eace. He has a fine sense of orchestral colour and balance;

1 46 GRANVILLE BANTOCK Bantock has many such traits— some at times a

- little exasperating but they are only skin deep . His f is essentially an af ectionate , generous , and large nature all and , taking him for all in , he is a real artist of great attainments , a picturesque personality , and a true fri end .

1 48 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

The Fire - Worshippe rs (Cantata fo r Choir and Orchestr a) Novello The P e arl of I ran (Op era) Breitkopf H aertel Caedmar (Opera) London Music P u b li hi s ng Co . Ball et- Music to R ameses I I Breitkopf Haertel 4 ( Overture to E ugene Aram S ongs of the E ast (six Albums of six S e : I C ongs ach ndia , hina , P er a E t Ar re t H erte Japan , si , gyp , abia) B i kopf a l R S e e for Or e tr rt ussian c n s , ch s a Boswo h E nglish H e en V r t for Or e t re t H erte l a a ia ions , ch s ra B i kopf a l S aul (Tone - Poem fo r Orchestra) j Christus (Oratorio for Chorus and Orchestra) Thalaba the D estroyer (Tone- Poem for Orchestra) The Witch of Atlas (Tone - P oem for Orchestra) Novello) ’ E legiac P oem for Cello and 0 1 os W m chestra J . illia s

S ONGS

S ongs of the S eraglio (four) Oliver Dits on S ix J ester S ongs Breitkopf H ae rtel Ghaz als of H afi z (fi ve) I f that Angel of S hir az Oliver Dits on ’ Ferishtah s Fancies (thirteen) Breitkopf Haertel S appho S ongs (nine) (full score and parts als o) S ong of the Genie ’ As I rid e (Browning s Throu gh M etidja to Abd - cl- K adr) Boosey Tw o S ongs (E astern L ove - S ong and Winter) Three Blake S ongs (I n a Myrtle ’ S e The W er S had , ild Flow s ong , ’ and Lo ve s S ecret) Novello l ’ TA Lover s K iss LIST OF WORK S 1 49

Tw o Chinese S ongs (The Moo - Le e er and M tr e W re t H erte Flow , is ss ang) B i kopf a l TS w ord and Blossom Poe ms (six)

ro o S N t n er Folk ongs of all a io s Oliv Dits on Co . 60 National and P atriotic S o ngs 1 0 0 S ongs of E ngland

’ CE LL O PI E CES

’ S apphic Poem for Cello and Or chestra (Piano score and full score) Novello ’ ( Ce ltic P oem for Cello and Orchestra

GRE E K PL AYS j The Hippolytus of E uripid es (Murray) The E lectraof S ophocles (Gree k and E nglish) Breitkopf H aertel tThe B aeckea of E uripid es (Murray)

CH ORAL WO RK

( Mass in B); for Male Choir The T me S ir t for C r s i p i , ho u and Orchestra Breitkopf H aertel

The S ea- W erer for C r s and and s , ho u Orchestra Christ in the Wild erness Gethsemane m r K am for C r and O a hayy , ho us Or e tr P rts I I I I I I ch s a ( a , , )

P ART- S ONGS F OR MAL E VOI CES

Three Cavalier Tunes N e ( 1 ) Mar ching Al ong (Browning) ov llo (2 ) Give a R ou se (3) Boot and S addle

Two P art- S ongs ( 1 ) H ymn to the S u n ( 2) There was a Fairy 1 50 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

War S ong (Blake) The I nch - Cape R ock ’ The P ip er o D und e e The Pibroch of D onu il Dhu ’ The Lai rd o Co ckp en e t S for the Na F s ival ong , tional Union of Teachers (And erton) The L os t L ead er (Browning) The Glori es of our Blood and S tate (S hirley) Novello L ucifer in S tar- light (Meredith) ’ My L u ve s like a red red R ose (Burns) Cu rw en ’ Two Od es from S ophocl es ( E dipu s in Colonos 1 S tr er t art t ( ) ang , hou s anding now 2 w r ter t t ( ) No a. b igh Boas han all Ze L r H e e 1 ]E sch lu s us , o d of av n ( y ) Wilt thou be my d earie (Burns) Bonnie w ee Thing Down among the d ead Men K u bla K han The Charge of the L ight Brigad e R une - S ong H unting S ong ’ Address to the D e il ’ ( 1 ) The King s Messenger (2 ) The P ear - Tree 3) Through E aster Gates from (4) Good K ing Wu The S hih K ing 5) The City of Chow (Chinese) Princely Visitors The Lady of the L agoon Ballad e (Villon) Novello

PA RT- S ONGS (OR TRI o s) FOR FE MALE VOI CE S Three Blake Poems ( 1 ) To Morning Cu rw en (2 ) To the E vening S tar (3) To the Muses

1 52 GRAN VILLE BANTOCK

P ART- S ONGS F OR MI ' E D VO I CE S (O RI GI N AL )

The silken Thread (H ood) Bayle y Fergu son A e w e rts H e N el wak , a ak (4 pa ) ( ay s) ov lo E vening has lost her Thr one (4 parts) Oh t e M i , wha a lov ly ag c (4 PartS ) Nocturne (6 parts ) Ou t of the D ar kness (8 parts) I n the silent W est (8 parts ) The Moon has risen The Tyger On H imalay Wake the S erp ent not S pirit of Night One with E yes the faires t M e t V es d ie Cu rw en usic , wh n sof oic S ri E N el tme t H . t p ng nchan n ( F . Ban ock) ov lo Co ronach (S cott) Cu rw en They that go down to the S ea S P 1 0 in hips ( s . 7) The World is too much with us (Wordsworth) Novello ’ My L u v e s like a red red R os e (Burns) Cu rw en B e of good Cheer (Omar) Breitkopf H aerte l (Old E nglish) 0 Mistre ss mine (S hakespe are) Full Fathom fi v e Willow e low (Traditional) S umer is icu men in The thre e R avens Ah the S t t me , ighs ha co my H eart

(S cottish) S cotland yet 0 saw ye bonnie L esley Cu rw en ’ Ca the Y owes S cots wha hae LIST OF WOR KS 1 53

The D eath - Croon Curwen ’ The S eal - woman s Croon A R aasay L ament L 0 can e sew C n ullaby , y ushio s Mar ch of the Cameron Men ’ D u mbarto n s Dr ums Cu rwen E ttri ck Banks Annie L aurie

(I ris h) The L ep rehau n (Joyce ) Nove llo Arranmore (Moore) Breitkopf H aertel The S ong of Finnu ola Novello ’ t B mer s L ament for Cuchulain (H . F . Ban ock) The W e aring of the Green Breitkopf H aertel H t N e The Cruiskeen Lawn ( . F . Ban ock) ov llo

Atalanta in Calydon (un (Swinburne) accompanied) Vanity of Vanities (E cclesiastes) God e the K n for sav i g , Chorus and Orchestra R le r t n for C r u B i a nia , ho us and Orchestra S L e rt e t ong of ib y , F s ival M r and C r t a ch ho us , wi h H t Brass Band ( . F . Ban ock) Chorus Curw en

S mit Co . Brass Band R . h Piano so lo No vello Organ

CHU RCH MUS I C

Anthem God in the gre at M t Ass embly stands (PS . cxxxii . ) ( il on) H ymns (in the New H ymnal) ( 1 ) Bo ne Fid e (5) Julian (2 ) Concord (6) Mecca (3) Hamilton (7) Mos ele y d (4) I spahan (8) No rthfi el 1 54 GRANVILLE BANTOCK

(9) R aymond ( 1 2 ) Temple 1 0 W ulstan 1 re ter r t i ( ) S t. ( 3) G a B i a n ( 1 1 ) S trathfi eld Twelve Anthems (edite d) Cu rw en ( 1 ) I will exalt Thee (Tye) (2 ) I call and cry (Tallys) (3) Call to R emembrance (Farrant) (4) S ins joyfully (Byrd) (5) O L ord my God (Bull) (6) H osanna to the S on of D avid (Gibbons) (7) H e ar my P rayer (Batten) 8 M m ( ) y God , y God (Blow) (9) I will arise (Creyghton) ( 1 0 ) Ou t of the D ee p (Aldrich) ( 1 1 ) O Lord God of Hosts (P urcell) ( 1 2) P u t me not to R ebuke (Croft) Anth em (edite d) Bow Thine Cu rwen

Madrigals (edited ) I thought that Love had b een a Boy The Nightingale

I NS TRUME NTAL W ORK S

Albums of selected Pie ces for

P 1 l . 2 iano : ( ) Bu l ( ) Farnaby . T ree D e e (3) Byrd . (4) h anc s (Byrd) Nov llo Old E ngli sh S uite for Orche stra Novello j Lalla R ookh D ramatic D ances for Orch estra

( I a) S nake- dance ( 1 b) Cymbal - dance Novello (2) S apphic - dance (3a) Veil - dance (3b) Dagger- dance Overture to a Gre ek Trag edy (for Orchestra) L eu ckart I n the far West (for S tri ng Orchestra) Breitkopf Haerte l S cenes from the S cottish H ighlands (for S tring Orch estra)

W O R K S BY TH E AUTH O R OF TH IS VO LUM E

Bal dur (L yrical D rama) Fisher Unw in

The S ong of Alfred (E pic) Constable Co .

MUS I C

The So ng of the Morning S tar C r Od e for em e C r r t Co ( ho al F al hoi ) Fo sy h . Thr ee S hakespeare S ongs (Tenor) Y o u S po tted S nakes (P art- songs Te ll me where is for Fe mal e r Fancy b ed Choir) . ’ Fear no more the H eat 0 the S u n (P art- song for mixed Choir) Adagio Cantabile (Violin and Piano) Album- leaf (Violin and Piano) ’ The L ord is my S hepherd (Boys Voice s) ’ Twelve Child re n s S ongs Dible Od e to Autumn (K eats ) (Part- song

for Mixe d Choir) J osep hWilliams Ltd . The Cheshire Man (K eats ) (Folk - song) Flower- d e - L u ce (P art- song for mixed Choir ) Breitkopf H aertel The S o ng of the Down - Trodden (Part- song for Mixed Choir) S tainer Be ll S pring- I dyll (for S mall Orchestra) S core and parts of the Author L IV IN G MASTE R S O F MUSIC

An Illus trated S e rie s o f Monog rap hs d e aling with C te m r r M fe R e te on po a y usical li , and including p s e ntatives o f B r e o f th Ar all anch s e t. Ed d R O S A NE M ite by W AR CH .

Cr h 8 0 Clot P r ice 2s . 6d ne t ow n 71 . . . .

V OLUME S ALR E AD UB LI S HE D Y P .

H E OS A E MAR CH RY O O D B R N W . W . N J . y S I E D D B UCK LE R W AR E L AR R . B . G . y J . Y U LE R AITL AND O S E H OA H M . A F L M J P J C I . By ] . . T H E O D R E S C H E T Z Y B ANNETTE O L I K . y HULLAH .

A W AK E LI NG D R Y CO MO UCC . GI P INI . By

AL R E D R B ARTHUR H E R E . F B UN EAU. y V Y

AZ D E R B E A B AUGHAN . IGN P A E W S KI . y . .

LA D E B MR S . RANZ L I E B ICH . C U D E US S Y . By F

R C HAR D S TR A S S E RNE S T EWMAN . I U . By N TH E SINGING O F TH E FUTUR E

FF N N- I E B D . R A GCO DAV S y . With an I ntro ductio n by S I R E DW ARD E LGAR and a P o to r re Po rtr t o f the A t o r h g avu ai u h . m nd d D e 8vo s 6d net S eco E ition P os ta e d. ex tra. y . 7 . . . . g 5 On almos t every p ag e there are sentences which might well be committed

MUSIC A N D MUSIC IANS B E A B AU HAN y . . G .

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