Back in 1983, the late Christopher Palmer provided a small
volume published by Thames Publishing. This modest book was valuable in that it
went some way in providing a basic insight into Dyson’s life and music. However, a much larger biography was
needed, a gap more than filled by Paul Spicer www.paulspicer.com whose large and expertly researched book Sir George Dyson – His Life and Music has recently been published
by Boydell Press www.boydellandbrewer.com
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| Published: 15 May 2014 ISBN: 9781843839033 Pages: 480 |
This new book takes us from Dyson’s humble origins as the
son of a blacksmith in Halifax to Director of the Royal Academy of Music by way
of a Mendelssohn Scholarship to the RCM; the Royal Naval College, Osborne; Director
of Music at Marlborough College and Rugby School; the First World War as a
Brigade Grenadier Officer; his commission as a Major in the Royal Air Force
just after the war, organising military bands; and Director of Music at Wellington
College and Winchester College.
It was his Mendelssohn Scholarship, awarded for the years
1904-1907, that enabled Dyson to travel to Italy, on Stanford’s advice, where
he visited Florence and Rome before heading to Vienna then Berlin, where he met
Joseph Joachin and Richard Strauss. It was this travelling that brought forth
his Three Rhapsodies for String Quartet
www.hyperion-records.co.uk/find.asp?f=dyson&vw=dc
Sir Hubert Parry encouraged the young Dyson to take a post
at the Royal Naval College, Osborne to develop musical activities for the Naval
Cadets, something of an innovation in those days.
Typical of Spicer’s attention to detail are the insights he
gives into other personalities such as the writer, Beverley Nichols, a pupil at
Marlborough College in Dyson’s time. Dyson’s sudden move to Rugby School, in
1914, following a likely scandal over a relationship at the school, possibly
with a staff member’s wife, comes as something of a surprise, though it seems
likely that it was a one sided attraction, with Dyson the innocent party.
Dyson’s well known writing of the first manual for grenade
warfare, a publication that received widespread circulation, is covered in
depth, together with a reproduction of the title page and a diagram from its
contents. But Spicer gives us much more about Dyson’s war time experiences and
subsequent shell shock. There are interesting asides such as Dyson’s opposition
to conscription. He himself had volunteered before being commissioned. Spicer quotes
AJP Taylor who wrote that conscription ‘…was not due to any shortage of men, on
the contrary, more volunteers were still coming forward than could be equipped.
Parliament and the politicians wanted to give the impression that they were
doing something…’ This may be a revelation to many, particularly on this centenary
of the First World War.
Dyson had met his future wife, Mildred Atkey, before the war
and, on his return, married her after ‘proposing’ to her in a rather indirect
and vague way. She was the sister of a Marlborough friend, Freeman Atkey and
the daughter of a solicitor and thus cemented Dyson’s position amongst the
middle classes.
In 1920 Dyson took the post of Director of Music at
Wellington College leading to a fruitful time for composition which brought The Canterbury Pilgrims, St Paul’s Voyage to Melita, The Blacksmiths and Nebuchadnezzar. Spicer gives us much about Dyson’s busy life
organising, teaching, lecturing and writing as well as composing. He goes into
depth about such activities as Dyson’s Presidential address to the Conference
of Educational Associates with a typical Dyson topic Broadening of Education to take account of skills as well as academic
subjects, giving an insight into Dyson’s character and views; and his
involvement with the Rural Music Schools Association.
1938 saw Dyson taking up his appointment as Director of
Music at the Royal College of Music in succession to Sir Hugh Allen. Dyson was the
obvious choice for this post, though its challenges didn’t stifle his creative
urge, composing, in the first six years of his time at the RCM, his Symphony in G, Part I of Quo Vadis, the Violin
Concerto, the Overture to The
Canterbury Pilgrims and At the Tabard
Inn.
Dyson was Director at the RCM during the difficult period of
the Second World War with this volume giving fascinating insights into the war
damage to the RCM as well as the destruction of the Queen’s Hall in London
including a plan for a possible New Queens Hall, something that we know didn’t
occur.
To some, Dyson could be a rather forbidding personality yet,
as his daughter Alice explained ‘…you see these grim photographs and you have
no idea how amusing he was. He was a great and amusing talker.’ Malcolm Arnold,
who could often be pretty forthright, thought he was ‘…a marvellous man. He was
a great friend to me.’ A photograph reproduced in this book on page 286, showing
a relaxed, smiling Dyson at the 1946 Hereford Three Choirs Festival, perhaps
gives an indication of this other side to the man.
During the Second World War he reduced his own salary by half
when, due to a lack of students, it was believed the College might have to
close. His modernising of the RCM took some curious twists such as, in 1938,
when he had just arrived, at his second council meeting announced that £2,000
was required for new lavatories and other internal improvement and £3,000 for
extensions and re-arrangements of the professors’ and students’ dining rooms,
later commenting on the ‘queer new Director you have got, who seems to be so
inartistically concerned with wash basins and food.’
Spicer’s book is peppered with extracts of Dyson’s letters
and writings. One such is Dyson writing, during the war, ‘ There is no doubt
that some of us older people sometimes feel tired, bothered and occasionally
fretful under the responsibility of trying to carry on our normal activities
under quite abnormal circumstances…’ perhaps recognition of how his exterior
demeanour was perceived.
Spicer acknowledges that Dyson was ‘a complex and
controversial person …’ He was certainly unpopular with many over his apparent
attitude to the College’s library and valuable collection of musical
instruments and portraits. Dyson wanted to develop a lending library to
complement the reference library, a laudable idea that would help students.
Sadly, this led to many valuable books and manuscripts being moved to the
lending library and their subsequent loss or damage.
Other aspects of Dyson’s personality are shown by the RCM’s
1948 centenary tribute to Parry. Apparently Dyson’s address didn’t even mention
Parry but talked about economics in relation to the state of the country’s
finances, rationing etc. Dyson, ever the practical one, thought it would be
more useful for students.
His concern for the students seemed to be paramount,
particularly the most talented such as the guitarist, Julian Bream to whom he showed
much understanding over Bream’s choice of instrument, even though during the
1940’s the RCM had no guitar teacher.
Dyson’s music is well covered with analysis and numerous
musical examples of a vast number of his works. There is a complete list of
works, an index of texts set by Dyson, a list of the performances of Canterbury
Pilgrims conducted by Dyson, a select bibliography, an up to date discography,
index of Dyson’s works and a very complete general index.
I could go on at great length about this first rate,
thoroughly researched biography. It is the best kind of musical biography in
that it not only gives a detailed insight into Dyson’s life and music, but
covers so many other related subjects.
I cannot imagine any Dyson enthusiast or lover of British
music wanting to be without this fine volume.
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