DOCSLIB.ORG

North West Branch Newsletter August 2018

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
North West Branch Newsletter August 2018 Elgar and Me : North West Branch Donald Hunt & Tom Hunt, Saturday, 7 October 2017 Newsletter ”Elgar has been for me an inspiration, a pleasure and a comfort in difficult times.” That was the August 2018 summing up of a distinguished life in music by Donald Hunt, choir master, organist, festival organiser, conductor and Leeds United supporter, who held an audience of members with his fascinating reminiscences and his choice of music. Donald is a favourite of the North West Branch. Inspiration was a word that occurred more than once in Donald’s presentation, chiefly This is now the fourth year in which I have produced a branch newsletter which provides with reference to Herbert Sumsion, organist of Gloucester Cathedral and a personal friend of a retrospective look at our activities throughout the season which has now ended. I wish to Elgar. Once when Sumsion had been delayed Donald, one of the choristers, took the choir thank each of those members who have contributed reports about our branch meetings (they are practice. When Sumsion arrived he waited outside and listened. Next morning he went to see credited at the end of their articles) and also to thank Darren Niman who has provided many of Donald’s parents and told them that their son had to make music his career. It was clear from his the photographs taken at meetings - which evoke visual memories for those of us who attended frequent references what an influence Herbert Sumsion had throughout his long life on Donald, meetings and provides additional interest for those who were not able to attend for whatever both as a mentor and a friend. reason. The newsletter also serves to provide a permanent record of our season’s activities. A printed copy of the newsletter will be sent out to all branch members and paper copies will also be available for non-members at each of our branch meetings in the coming season. In addition, a digital (pdf file) copy of the newsletter will be made available for downloading and viewing on the North West Branch webpage of the Elgar Society’s website at elgar.org I would also like to thank our programme secretary, Geoff Scargill, for planning the season’s Donald Hunt programme of monthly meetings, contacting and engaging speakers, arranging the venues, etc. tells us about Without all his invaluable planning and input, none of the season’s meetings would have been possible. Thanks also to other members of the branch committee who have given their support. his relationship with The newsletter also provides a written record of our activities for the archives - so important in this digital age when so much of our communication is done by email and other digital means. Elgar’s music On that score, I would also like to mention that all of our branch meetings this season have been recorded (in digital sound only) by modern recording techniques - directly onto computer disc. Because of copyright issues (particulary with commercially recorded music included) it is not possible to make copies of the recordings for distribution. However, a single copy will be kept for archive purposes and for our internal use only. The progranme for our forthcoming North West Branch season (October 2018 to May 2019) Asked what first made Elgar his hero, Donald said that in 1946 he was ‘blown away by the will begin on Saturday, 6th October 2018. Full details will be circulated to all members by post orchestral colouring’ when he heard for the first time the Prelude to The Kingdom at a Three along with this newsletter. Copies will also be available for non-members at branch meetings Choirs Festival. Another special Elgar memory was another occasion when he went to sit in the and are downloadable from our North West Branch webpage (see page 16 for further details.) transept of Gloucester Cathedral to hear a performance of a work that was rarely played in those days, the Cello Concerto. There was only one other person in the transept, “a pretty girl”. He I send out regular communications by group email to all those who have supplied me (or the went to sit next to her (!). She became Mrs Hunt. parent Society) with an email address. If you are not receiving my group email at intervals, it Donald spoke passionately about his seventeen years as organist and choirmaster at Leeds means that I do not have a current email address from you. The solution is in your hands! Parish Church. It was at the Leeds Festival that he showed his flair for organisation, which stood David L Jones (editor) him in good stead in the eight Three Choirs Festivals where he acted as director and conductor. 1 2 Elgar and Me (continued) : Elgar: His Contemporaries and The Music of The Great War : Donald Hunt & Tom Hunt, Saturday, 7 October 2017 Amanda Crawley & Josephine Peach, Liverpool, 4th November 2017 Our November meeting was held at the Quaker Meeting House in Liverpool – an excellent His move to become Master of Choristers and Organist in Elgar’s Worcester Cathedral was venue! Our performing guest artistes were Amanda Crawley (soprano) and Josephine Peach for him a dream come true and the culmination of his career. When he took up his post (piano) who are professional musicians based in York and they provided an excellent and varied there, to his surprise he discovered that very little of Elgar’s music was being performed programme of music which was interspersed with comments that were both informative and, in his native city. He remedied that by giving over 40 performances in the next few years. at times, quite amusing. The music which they presented was written, as their title suggests, He also told some great stories. When Elgar went to his club in London, members would by Elgar and his contemporaries and some of it was written during the period of the Great War hide behind their newspapers to avoid him because he had a tendency to go on about the but, in fact, the dates of the original compositions ranged from 1872 to 1932. Many of the items state of his digestion. When he conducted Gerontius in Cape Town, Archbishop Tutu which they performed were written by British composers and included works by Butterworth, couldn’t stop jumping up and down during the Demon’s Chorus. After a performance Elgar, Goossens, Hough, MacDowell, Moeran, Quilter, Scott, Stanford and Vaughan Williams. of Verdi’s Requiem in Leeds, conducted by an energetic young Italian, he heard one To provide contrast, they also included works by Casella, Debussy, Fauré, Schullhof, Vierne, lady in the choir say to another: “He could put his boots under my bed any night.” and Villa-Lobos. The items in both halves of the programme were arranged in groups which One unusual theme that Donald returned to was the resistance in his early career by were introduced by the artistes – some contained songs with piano accompaniment and others the Church of England to Latin. As a chorister, he was taught Elgar’s Ave verum in consisted of solo piano pieces. The works performed were very diverse in character and a ‘ghastly English translation’, Jesu, Word of God. As late as 1975 though, he was sentiment which made an interesting programme and held our interest throughout. warned by someone in Yorkshire that he should not be concentrating so much on Elgar’s music. Elgar, he was told, was vulgar and furthermore he was a Roman Catholic. Happy Birthday - and four cakes! Amanda (sop) and Josephine (pno) Geoff Hill (page turner) The works by Elgar which were included were: Like to the Damask Rose (1907), The Shepherd’s Song (1892), Queen Mary’s Song (1892), Introduction (Vesper Voluntaries, 1890), Adieu (1932), Dream Children – No. 2 (1902), Arabian Serenade (1914), Submarines (1918), Sea Slumber- Song (Sea Pictures, 1899) and In Haven (Sea Pictures, 1899). Our new branch treasurer, Geoff Hill (also an accomplished musician) provided his services as an expert page-turner for the Donald Hunt accompanies his son, Tom Hunt (baritone), in one of Elgar’s songs pianist. Michael Derbyshire proposed an excellent vote of thanks ….. Now, if I may be allowed a small personal indulgence here: I was greatly surprised when, just before the interval break, In addition to playing extracts from his own orchestral, organ and choir performances and illustrating his points on the piano, Donald accompanied his son, Tom, in several songs, our chairman, John Knowles, began to talk most mysteriously about the events of the Great War beautifully performed. in 1917 and then continued with a comment about an ‘important event’ (as he put it!) which th . took place just 20 years later, on 4 November 1937 and exactly 80 years to the date before this Asked finally which were the most satisfying of Elgar’s works that he conducted, Donald branch meeting. It was at this point that I suddenly realised that he was referring to my ‘special’ chose a performance of King Olaf in Stoke-on-Trent and (perhaps, because of his emotion) birthday and I was even more surprised when, after a short piano roll, our pianist and soprano the First Symphony with the BBC Philharmonic at his final Three Choirs Festival in 1996. soloist and the entire audience broke into a rendering of Happy Birthday to You! Cake was then That recording ended a memorable afternoon. Geoff Scargill added to the usual interval tea/coffee and biscuits (without charge) Yummy! David L Jones 3 4 Elgar as remembered in Radio Interviews by those who knew him : Elgar as remembered in Radio Interviews by those who knew him : Chris Wiltshire, Saturday, 2nd December 2017 Chris Wiltshire, Saturday, 2nd December 2017 (continued) Chris, who is a member of the East Anglia branch of the Elgar Society, informed us from the Chris played very brief extracts of what other people thought of Elgar.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Vol. 17, No. 3 December 2011
    Journal December 2011 Vol.17, No. 3 The Elgar Society Journal The Society 18 Holtsmere Close, Watford, Herts., WD25 9NG Email: [email protected] December 2011 Vol. 17, No. 3 President Editorial 3 Julian Lloyd Webber FRCM Gerald Lawrence, Elgar and the missing Beau Brummel Music 4 Vice-Presidents Robert Kay Ian Parrott Sir David Willcocks, CBE, MC Elgar and Rosa Newmarch 29 Diana McVeagh Martin Bird Michael Kennedy, CBE Michael Pope Book reviews Sir Colin Davis, CH, CBE Robert Anderson, Martin Bird, Richard Wiley 41 Dame Janet Baker, CH, DBE Leonard Slatkin Music reviews 46 Sir Andrew Davis, CBE Simon Thompson Donald Hunt, OBE Christopher Robinson, CVO, CBE CD reviews 49 Andrew Neill Barry Collett, Martin Bird, Richard Spenceley Sir Mark Elder, CBE 100 Years Ago 61 Chairman Steven Halls Vice-Chairman Stuart Freed Treasurer Peter Hesham Secretary The Editor does not necessarily agree with the views expressed by contributors, Helen Petchey nor does the Elgar Society accept responsibility for such views. Front Cover: Gerald Lawrence in his Beau Brummel costume, from Messrs. William Elkin's published piano arrangement of the Minuet (Arthur Reynolds Collection). Notes for Contributors. Please adhere to these as far as possible if you deliver writing (as is much preferred) in Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format. A longer version is available in case you are prepared to do the formatting, but for the present the editor is content to do this. Copyright: it is the contributor’s responsibility to be reasonably sure that copyright permissions, if Editorial required, are obtained. Illustrations (pictures, short music examples) are welcome, but please ensure they are pertinent, cued into the text, and have captions.
    [Show full text]
  • Journal September 1984
    The Elgar Society JOURNAL ^■m Z 1 % 1 ?■ • 'y. W ■■ ■ '4 September 1984 Contents Page Editorial 3 News Items and Announcements 5 Articles: Further Notes on Severn House 7 Elgar and the Toronto Symphony 9 Elgar and Hardy 13 International Report 16 AGM and Malvern Dinner 18 Eigar in Rutland 20 A Vice-President’s Tribute 21 Concert Diary 22 Book Reviews 24 Record Reviews 29 Branch Reports 30 Letters 33 Subscription Detaiis 36 The editor does not necessarily agree with the views expressed by contributors, nor does the Elgar Society accept responsibility for such views The cover portrait is reproduced by kind permission of National Portrait Gallery This issue of ‘The Elgar Society Journal’ is computer-typeset. The computer programs were written by a committee member, Michael Rostron, and the processing was carried out on Hutton -t- Rostron’s PDPSe computer. The font used is Newton, composed on an APS5 photo-typesetter by Systemset - a division of Microgen Ltd. ELGAR SOCIETY JOURNAL ISSN 0143-121 2 r rhe Elgar Society Journal 01-440 2651 104 CRESCENT ROAD, NEW BARNET. HERTS. EDITORIAL September 1984 .Vol.3.no.6 By the time these words appear the year 1984 will be three parts gone, and most of the musical events which took so long to plan will be pleasant memories. In the Autumn months there are still concerts and lectures to attend, but it must be admitted there is a sense of ‘winding down’. However, the joint meeting with the Delius Society in October is something to be welcomed, and we hope it may be the beginning of an association with other musical societies.
    [Show full text]
  • Vol. 13, No.2 July 2003
    Chantant • Reminiscences • Harmony Music • Promenades • Evesham Andante • Rosemary (That's for Remembrance) • Pastourelle • Virelai • Sevillana • Une Idylle • Griffinesque • Ga Salut d'Amour • Mot d'AmourElgar • Bizarrerie Society • O Happy Eyes • My Dwelt in a Northern Land • Froissart • Spanish Serenade • La Capricieuse • Serenade • The Black Knight • Sursum Corda • T Snow • Fly, Singing Birdournal • From the Bavarian Highlands • The of Life • King Olaf • Imperial March • The Banner of St George Deum and Benedictus • Caractacus • Variations on an Origina Theme (Enigma) • Sea Pictures • Chanson de Nuit • Chanson Matin • Three Characteristic Pieces • The Dream of Gerontius Serenade Lyrique • Pomp and Circumstance • Cockaigne (In London Town) • Concert Allegro • Grania and Diarmid • May S Dream Children • Coronation Ode • Weary Wind of the West • • Offertoire • The Apostles • In The South (Alassio) • Introduct and Allegro • Evening Scene • In Smyrna • The Kingdom • Wan Youth • How Calmly the Evening • Pleading • Go, Song of Mine Elegy • Violin Concerto in B minor • Romance • Symphony No Hearken Thou • Coronation March • Crown of India • Great is t Lord • Cantique • The Music Makers • Falstaff • Carissima • So The Birthright • The Windlass • Death on the Hills • Give Unto Lord • Carillon • Polonia • Une Voix dans le Desert • The Starlig Express • Le Drapeau Belge • The Spirit of England • The Fring the Fleet • The Sanguine Fan • ViolinJULY Sonata 2003 Vol.13, in E minor No.2 • Strin Quartet in E minor • Piano Quintet in A minor • Cello Concerto
    [Show full text]
  • Elgar Organ Works
    THE DOBSON ORGAN OF MERTON COLLEGE, OXFORD Elgar BENJAMIN NICHOLAS Organ wor ks EDWARD ELGAR (1857–1934): ORGAN WORKS THE DOBSON ORGAN OF MERTON COLLEGE, OXFORD Sonata for Organ in G major, Op. 28 Benjamin Nicholas 1 I. Allegro maestoso [9:03] 2 II. Allegretto [4:37] 3 III. Andante espressivo [6:31] 4 IV. Presto (comodo) [7:05] 5 ‘Nimrod’ from ‘Enigma’ Variations, Op. 36 [3:56] transcr. by W. H. Harris 6 Prelude to The Kingdom, Op. 51 [9:43] transcr. by A. Herbert Brewer* 7 Gavotte [5:50] transcr. by Edwin H. Lemare Vesper Voluntaries, Op. 14 8 Introduction: Adagio – [1:33] 9 I. Andante [1:20] 10 II. Allegro [2:57] 11 III. Andantino [2:42] 12 IV. Allegretto piacevole [1:56] 13 Intermezzo [0:44] 14 V. Poco lento [2:03] 15 VI. Moderato [1:57] 16 VII. Allegretto pensoso [2:00] 17 VIII. Poco allegro – Coda [4:27] Recorded on 25-26 June 2015 in Cover design: John Christ Join the Delphian mailing list: the Chapel of Merton College, Oxford Booklet design: Drew Padrutt www.delphianrecords.co.uk/join Total playing time [68:33] Producer/Engineer: Paul Baxter Benjamin Nicholas photo: John Cairns 24-bit digital editing: Adam Binks Booklet editor: John Fallas Like us on Facebook: 24-bit digital mastering: Paul Baxter Delphian Records Ltd – Edinburgh – UK www.facebook.com/delphianrecords *premiere recording of this arrangement Cover & booklet photography © Dobson www.delphianrecords.co.uk Pipe Organ Builders Ltd Follow us on Twitter: @delphianrecords With thanks to the Warden and Fellows of the House of Scholars of Merton College, Oxford Notes on the music The first recording of Merton’s new organ – post of Organist and Choirmaster in his own offering music and seeking commissions with attractively individual, quirky charm.
    [Show full text]
  • Dame Joan Hammond (1912-1966) 2
    AUSTRALIAN EPHEMERA COLLECTION FINDING AID DAME JOAN HILDA HOOD HAMMOND (1912-1996) PERFORMING ARTS PROGRAMS AND EPHEMERA (PROMPT) PRINTED AUSTRALIANA JULY 2018 Dame Joan Hilda Hood Hammond, DBE, CMG (24 May 1912 – 26 November 1996) was a New Zealand born Australian operatic soprano, singing coach and champion golfer. She toured widely, and became noted particularly for her Puccini roles, and appeared in the major opera houses of the world – the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, La Scala, the Vienna State Opera and the Bolshoi. Her fame in Britain came not just from her stage appearances but from her recordings. A prolific artist, Hammond's repertoire encompassed Verdi, Handel, Tchaikovsky, Massenet, Beethoven, as well as folk song, art song, and lieder. She returned to Australia for concert tours in 1946, 1949 and 1953, and starred in the second Elizabethan Theatre Trust opera season in 1957. She undertook world concert tours between 1946 and 1961. She became patron and a life member of the Victorian Opera Company (since 1976, the Victorian State Opera – VSO), and was the VSO's artistic director from 1971 until 1976 and remained on the board until 1985. Working with the then General Manager, Peter Burch, she invited the young conductor Richard Divall to become the company's Musical Director in 1972. She joined the Victorian Council of the Arts, was a member of the Australia Council for the Arts opera advisory panel, and was an Honorary Life Member of Opera Australia. She was important to the success of both the VSO and Opera Australia. Hammond embarked on a second career as a voice teacher after her performance career ended.
    [Show full text]
  • Much to Look Forward To
    Journal of the No.18 June 2000 EDITOR Stephen Connock RVW (see address below) Society In this issue... Much to look forward to... Vaughan Williams and Bach The RVW Society is involved in a Members will also be delighted to learn number of important and exciting that Sir John in Love will be performed G R.V.W. & J.S.B. projects, some of which will come to in Newcastle City Hall by the Northern fruition quickly and others will take Sinfonia under Richard Hickox on by Michael Kennedy place in the 2002-2003 season. Of the September 29th 2000 as part of the Page 4 greatest interest to RVW Society preparation for the recording. There is members is the major Festival of such marvellous, heart warming music symphonies and choral works being in this opera that all members are urged G Lewis Foreman reviews VW planned under the title Toward the to get to Newcastle, somehow, for the conducting the St. Matthew Unknown Region. concert performance on 29th September. Passion. Page 7 Toward the Unknown Region Charterhouse Symposium G This Festival will be conducted by Following the success of the Conference VW and ‘the greatest of all Richard Hickox using his new orchestra Vaughan Williams in a New Century at composers’ the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. the British Library last November, Robin by Timothy Day Eight concerts are being planned for Wells of Charterhouse and Byron Adams Wales and there are likely to be four of the University of California have Page 10 concerts in London. The Festival begins jointly planned a superb series of at the end of 2002 and many rare choral lectures, concerts and other events at works will be programmed alongside all Charterhouse School from 23rd to 29th Postscripts on George the nine symphonies.
    [Show full text]
  • Newsletter Wednesday 10Th March 2021
    Winchester City Festival Choir NEWSLETTER WEDNESDAY 10TH MARCH 2021 Welcome to another edition of ramblings from the conductor! I hope the newsletter continues to find you well. When Vaughan Williams met Shakespeare I think Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 – 1958) has the accolade of being the composer to gett the most mentions in these newsletters! I make no apology for this, or for bringing his music to your attention again this week! I’m going secular for a change, and focusing on some of his music which uses the words of William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616). I’m going slightly off track this week as the first piece isn’t technically written for a choir, so it isn’t choral, but it could be… and is often sung by choirs with four soloists. Before we get to our first piece of music, a little history of the English conductor Sir Henry Wood (1869 – 1944), best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. Indeed, it has been said that Henry Wood made the Proms and the Proms made Henry Wood! Wood studied at the Royal Academy of Music and at first seems to have intended a career as a composer, but his conducting abilities were to win out, particularly from 1895 when still only 26, he assumed the conductorship of a new series of Promenade Concerts to be given at the recently built Queen’s Hall in Langham Place. Nobody would have guessed that the series would survive two world wars and (hopefully) a pandemic! That it did was testament to Henry Wood’s devotion and sheer hard work over a 50-year period.
    [Show full text]
  • Roger Quilter
    ROGER QUILTER 1877-1953 HIS LIFE, TIMES AND MUSIC by VALERIE GAIL LANGFIELD A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Music School of Humanities The University of Birmingham February 2004 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT Roger Quilter is best known for his elegant and refined songs, which are rooted in late Victorian parlour-song, and are staples of the English artsong repertoire. This thesis has two aims: to explore his output beyond the canon of about twenty-five songs which overshadows the rest of his work; and to counter an often disparaging view of his music, arising from his refusal to work in large-scale forms, the polished assurance of his work, and his education other than in an English musical establishment. These aims are achieved by presenting biographical material, which places him in his social and musical context as a wealthy, upper-class, Edwardian gentleman composer, followed by an examination of his music. Various aspects of his solo and partsong œuvre are considered; his incidental music for the play Where the Rainbow Ends and its contribution to the play’s West End success are examined fully; a chapter on his light opera sheds light on his collaborative working practices, and traces the development of the several versions of the work; and his piano, instrumental and orchestral works are discussed within their function as light music.
    [Show full text]
  • A Conductor's Guide to Twentieth-Century Choral-Orchestral Works in English
    INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Order Number 9314580 A conductor's guide to twentieth-century choral-orchestral works in English Green, Jonathan David, D.M.A. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1992 UMI 300 N.
    [Show full text]
  • Choral Chronicle Welcomes Nicholas Freestone and Pays Tribute to Donald Hunt, Pat Thompson and Mike Wilson
    CHORAL Autumn 2018 CHRONICLE News and updates for Chorus members Editor: Toby Hooper (T) CHAIRMAN’S INTRODUCTION Well our next season is upon us! I hope that you are as excited as I am at our forthcoming programme. Having sung the Poulenc ‘Gloria’ some years ago I know what a fun and uplifting piece it is. It will certainly ‘blow away the cobwebs’! Vaughan-Williams is one of my favourite composers, but I have to confess I have never sung or even heard his ‘Hodie’. This having been said, anyone who does know the piece says what a joy it is. So this term we have two wonderful pieces to get to know and learn together. We will certainly be tested and so I do feel that it is important that all members really strive for full commitment to rehearsals. Should any member miss more than three rehearsals a pre-concert audition will be requested to ensure knowledge of the two pieces. These are the existing society rules, but they are not always brought into action when we are performing a better-known piece such as last Spring with Haydn’s ‘Creation’. One of my usual cries at the start of term is, fundraising…. As we all know the society received some very generous bequests last year. These funds guarantee our financial position, but it is very important that we still ‘live within our means’. Excluding the bequests the society still recorded a surplus last season, which is great news. Without the bequests, the society’s funds would not allow us to perform larger works such as Mendelsohn’s ‘Elijah’ (next term).
    [Show full text]
  • Copyright 2014 Renée Chérie Clark
    Copyright 2014 Renée Chérie Clark ASPECTS OF NATIONAL IDENTITY IN THE ART SONGS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS BEFORE THE GREAT WAR BY RENÉE CHÉRIE CLARK DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Musicology in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2014 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Christina Bashford, Chair Associate Professor Gayle Sherwood Magee Professor Emeritus Herbert Kellman Professor Emeritus Chester L. Alwes ABSTRACT This dissertation explores how the art songs of English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) composed before the Great War expressed the composer’s vision of “Englishness” or “English national identity”. These terms can be defined as the popular national consciousness of the English people. It is something that demands continual reassessment because it is constantly changing. Thus, this study takes into account two key areas of investigation. The first comprises the poets and texts set by the composer during the time in question. The second consists of an exploration of the cultural history of British and specifically English ideas surrounding pastoralism, ruralism, the trope of wandering in the countryside, and the rural landscape as an escape from the city. This dissertation unfolds as follows. The Introduction surveys the literature on Vaughan Williams and his songs in particular on the one hand, and on the other it surveys a necessarily selective portion of the vast literature of English national identity. The introduction also explains the methodology applied in the following chapters in analyzing the music as readings of texts. The remaining chapters progress in the chronological order of Vaughan Williams’s career as a composer.
    [Show full text]
  • Elgar's the Dream of Gerontius
    Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius - Some personal observations on recordings of the work by John Quinn Updated 2020 This article originally appeared on MusicWeb in 2007 in connection with the 150th anniversary of the birth of Elgar and I updated it in 2014 when we marked the 80th anniversary of the death of the composer in 1934. The release in 2018 of a newly-issued 1961 live recording conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent caused me to refer to our Masterworks Index for Gerontius whereupon I discovered, slightly to my surprise, that since my 2014 update this was the fifth recording of the work to be issued – although only two of them were brand new. In addition, I’d caught up with two earlier recordings – conducted by Sir Alexander Gibson and by Yevgeny Svetlanov – to which I’d referred in the survey though I’d not heard them. Time, then, to refresh the survey in order to include these seven recordings. For this latest 2020 revision I toyed with the idea of a fundamental re-write, considering all the recordings in chronological order. However, on reflection it seems to make more sense to retain the layout of the 2014 text and to add comments about the seven recordings not previously covered by the survey in a new section just before the summary. I have made as few changes as possible to my original 2007 text because that included detailed comments on several versions that hadn’t, at least then, been reviewed on MusicWeb International whereas the more recently released recordings have generally received full reviews at the time of issue.
    [Show full text]