CHASING A RESTLESS MUSE ERIK CHISHOLM, SCOTTISH MODERNIST 1904 - 1965 “CHASING A RESTLESS MUSE” ERIK CHISHOLM, SCOTTISH MODERNIST (1904-1965) By John Purser Commissioned by Birmingham Conservatoire (University of Central England) and the Erik Chisholm Trust INTRODUCTION Erik Chisholm wished that he had been born with less energy and more talent, but he was prodigious in both. He conducted the first performances in the British Isles of Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, Berlioz’s Les Troyens and Mozart’s Idomeneo, and performed a similar service for Gluck. He brought Bartók, Hindemith and Casella to Scotland; rescued Walton in a performance of Façade; and it was for him that Sorabji deigned to perform his Opus Clavicembalisticum. Above all, Chisholm was an outstanding composer, occupying a vital position in the modernist movement, both in Scotland and South Africa. His output includes symphonic works, three concerti- Piobaireachd Concerto is available on CD- and twelve operas, of which three ran for several weeks in New York, one was televised by the BBC, and two were recently revived in Cape Town. His complete piano works is currently being issued in a major CD series. His music, rooted in a profound understanding of Hebridean traditions, but sometimes inspired by Hindustani rag, combines great beauty and technical mastery with a provocative modernist certainty. His use of traditional music in a classical context is seminal, and he was ever open to experiment in subject matter and idiom. As performer, conductor, teacher and entrepreneur, Chisholm was a vital, even disturbing force. He caused ructions in Bombay, enlisted Earl Mountbatten in founding the Singapore Symphony Orchestra; and musically rejuvenated Cape Town. “Into this stagnant paradise Erik Chisholm erupted like a ball of fire” was how one colleague described his arrival. As a successor recorded - “This human dynamo was a great force for both consolidation and expansion.” At a personal level, Chisholm saw himself as a Scot and an internationalist. He had strong left-wing leanings and a mind open to quality, irrespective of its origins - a matter of relevance in his later years as Professor of Music in Cape Town. He was reckless in his energies, ruthless in driving others towards achievements they scarcely thought possible. Chasing a restless muse across three continents, he paid the price with his early death, Chisholm’s astonishing legacy as composer and entrepreneur has never been properly presented, never mind assessed. This, the first full study of the man and his music, explores a world of unexpected cultural riches. It brings new insight into the characters of some of the seminal figures of twentieth-century music, into the development of the modernist movement in Scotland and into the provision of music for the troops during WWII. It brings new understanding to Chisholm’s own works and it provides a vivid portrait of a life lived fully and provocatively. STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK Chisholm’s life and compositions are intimately intertwined and to date, little has been published about either of them. The book is structured chronologically, with musicological studies placed in between biographical chapters, which follow the story of his life. Music examples are confined to the studies and photographic material to the main narrative. Sources are listed in the Bibliography and Endnotes. The Appendices contain some of Chisholm’s more important writings, as well as a basic list of works, detailed catalogues being available on the Internet. There will be a Bibliography and Discography. The book is about 120,000 words in length and fully annotated; 123 music examples, ready typeset on Sibelius, are projected. Illustrations are in black & white. POTENTIAL READERSHIP Chisholm was a vitally significant figure in Britain and South Africa, made a considerable impact in Singapore, and made important visits to North America and to countries behind the Iron Curtain. The biography will attract the attention of a general and specialist market internationally. Areas of interest covered by this study include: 20th century music up to the 1960s, with special relevance to Bartók, Hindemith, Walton, Bax, Casella, Sorabji and others, whom he knew personally. Scottish music of all kinds, Scottish literature and cultural history in the 20th century. The Modernist Movement, specifically in Scotland but also in the UK and South Africa as well as worldwide. Chisholm made operas from works by Strindberg, Eliot, Brecht and Eugene O’Neill, and promoted the music of many leading figures. Opera and ballet in the mid 20th century. Specialist readers will include Members of the British Music Association and Saltire, Sorabji, Stevenson, Piobaireachd and other Societies. Students of Far Eastern music Chaucerian’s (Chisholm composed a triptych of operas based upon three of the Canterbury Tales, in the original Middle English, in collaboration with Neville Coghill.) Students of bagpipe music at, for instance, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and the Piping Centre. THE AUTHOR Dr John Purser is a leading Scottish musicologist. He is the author of Is The Red Light On? - a history of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, commissioned by BBC Scotland. His book, Scotland’s Music won the prestigious McVitie Scottish Writer of the Year Award for 1992, and his eponymous radio series won a Sony Gold Medal. He is a contributor to the New Grove, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, the Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland and the Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women and has provided chapters and articles on Scottish music for many other books and periodicals. He has lectured and broadcast worldwide on all aspects of Scottish music, and is himself known as a composer, poet and dramatist. He was commissioned to write this work by The Birmingham Conservatory (The University of Central England) and the Erik Chisholm Trust. CONTENTS Foreword by Sir Charles Mackerras Acknowledgments Introduction – Chasing A Restless Muse Chapter 1 Glasgow, Kailyard or Coal Yard? Study 1, Cameos, the Straloch Suite and the Double Trio Chapter 2 The Active Society – Bringing the Heroes of Modernism to Glasgow Study 2, Airs, Petite Suite, Scottish Airs and The Scottish Airs for Children Interlude, The Love of Sorabji Chapter 3 Chisholm’s Scottish Inheritance Study 3, The Sonatine Écossaise and The Piobaireachd Concerto Chapter 4 A Trojan Horse in Glasgow - Berlioz, Mozart and Gluck Study 4, Preludes from the True Edge of the Great World, Piobaireachd and An Rioban Dearg (Sonata in A, 1939) Chapter 5 The Ballet and the Baton as Weapons of War Study 5, The First Symphony, The Forsaken Mermaid and Babar Centrepiece, Rag Sohani and Night Song of the Bards – A Journey from West to East Chapter 6 From Italy to India and Singapore Study 6, The Earth Shapers and Pictures from Dante Chapter 7 Under Table Mountain - Chisholm Reviving Cape Town Study 7, The Hindustani Works Chapter 8 On Tour in the USA and Europe Study 8, The Modernist Operas Chapter 9 Soviet Ambassador – Chisholm Behind the Iron Curtain Study 9, The Chaucer Operas Interlude, The Love of Janacek Chapter 10 Chasing a Restless Muse – The Heart’s Betrayal Study 10, The Last Songs Envoi, Eclectic Fruit Endnotes, Bibliography, Discography, List of Compositions, Appendices, Index. Foreword by Sir Charles Mackerras CH, AC, CBE CONTENTSI am delighted to be able to write this introduction to a long-overdue biography of a remarkable composer, performer and musical polymath. I met Erik Chisholm in Cape Foreword by Sir Charles Mackerras Town during a four-month stint there with the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra. We got on very well, partly because of a common interest in Janacek at a time when there Acknowledgmentswere not so many experts on this composer as there are now. Ever since then I have held Erik Chisholm in high esteem and am very happy that through this volume his Introduction – Chasing A Restless Muse creativity and individuality will become better known. Chapter 1 Glasgow, Kailyard or Coal Yard? Erik Chisholm was a musician of rare capabilities. He was a pianist and organist, a Study 1, Cameos, the Straloch Suite and the Double Trio conductor, a composer, a lecturer on music, an entrepreneur and administrator and to all these he brought a unique blend of originality, flair and energy. After an early start Chapter 2 The Active Society – Bringing the Heroes of Modernism to Glasgow as a performing pianist, Chisholm established himself in Glasgow as an important Study 2, Airs, Petite Suite, Scottish Airs and The Scottish Airs for Children influence on the progress of music in Scotland and Scottish music in general. He founded the Active Society for the Propagation of Contemporary Music and through Interludethis and the, The Glasgow Love ofGrand Sorabji Opera Society; he brought many first performances to that city. Berlioz’ Les Troyens, for example, was first heard in the UK under his Chapter 3 Chisholm’s Scottish Inheritance baton, as was Beatrice and Benedict and Mozart’s Idomeneo. He formed many other Study 3, The Sonatine Écossaise and The Piobaireachd Concerto organisations including the Scottish Ballet Society and in the meantime composed prolifically. Chisholm’s passion for traditional Scottish music should also be noted. Chapter 4 A Trojan Horse in Glasgow - Berlioz, Mozart and Gluck Study 4, Preludes from the True Edge of the Great World, Piobaireachd and An Chisholm’s time in South Africa, notably as Principal of the South Africa College of Rioban Dearg (Sonata in A, 1939) Music and Professor of Music in Cape Town University, was equally productive. Here he focussed on the promotion of opera (including some of his own fascinating Chapter 5 The Ballet and the Baton as Weapons of War works) and introduced much new music to South Africa. Study 5, The First Symphony, The Forsaken Mermaid and Babar John Purser’s biography is written with great affection for Chisholm the man and Centrepiecemusician.