Masters of the King’s and Queen’s Music

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies is the Master of the Queen’s Music and on 9^th June 2012 Vasily Petrenko will conduct the premiere of Sir Peter Maxwell Davis’ Ninth Symphony www.maxopus.com at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall www.liverpoolphil.com. This new symphony is dedicated to Her Majesty the Queen, in celebration of her Diamond Jubilee.

So what are the origins of the title Master of the King’s or Queen’s Music? There are many and various holders of this post and some of their music has been recorded. Sources are vague about the earlier Master of the King’s Band, so I have stated where there is doubt.

The custom of English monarchs to retain, as part of their household, a band of musicians is very ancient. Edward IV had thirteen minstrels, ‘whereof some be trumpets, some with shawms and smalle pypes.’ In 1526, Henry the VIII’s band consisted of 15 trumpets, 3 lutes, 3 rebecks, 3 taborets, a harp, 2 viols, 10 sackbuts, a fife and 4 drumslades. Elizabeth Ist’s band in 1581 included trumpets, violins, flutes and sackbuts, as well as other non-specified instruments.

In 1625 Charles I gave the title Master of the King’s Musick to the director of the monarch's private musicians.  The first to hold this post was Nicholas Lanier (c.1588 –1666).

In 1660 in imitation of Louis XIV, Charles II established a band of 24 performers on violins, tenors and basses, popularly known as the ‘four and twenty fiddlers.’ This band not only played while the king was dining, but was also introduced into the Royal Chapel where, together with the gentlemen and children of the Chapel Royal, they performed odes annually composed for the King’s Birthday and New Year’s Day. After the discontinuance of such odes, they were used on the occasions of royal weddings, baptisms and other state occasions.

By 1837 the band had been reduced to a small body of wind instrumentalists, but Prince Albert reorganised it three years later. Edward VII abandoned the giving of state concerts and the band was rarely called upon to perform.

Since the reign of King George V, the position has had no fixed duties, although the Master may choose to produce compositions to mark Royal or State occasions. It is now honorary and held by a distinguished British composer from whom occasional works are commissioned.

Nicholas Lanier, (1588 –1666) was appointed in 1625. He was an English composer, singer, lutenist and painter. He was first taught by his father, John Lanier, who played the sackbut. In 1613 he composed a masque for the marriage of the Earl of Somerset jointly with Giovanni Coperario and others. He also wrote the music and made the sets for Ben Jonson's The Masque of Augurs and Lovers Made Men.

In the 1610s, Lanier was appointed as a lutenist to the King's band, also singing and playing the viol. In 1625, Lanier became the first to hold the title Master of the King's Musick. During the Commonwealth of England he lived in the Netherlands, but returned to resume his duties in 1660. Lanier died in 1666 in East Greenwich. One of his grandfather's direct descendants is said to be Tennessee Williams.

Metronome Records  have issued a fascinating disc of works by Nicholas Lanier. www.metronome.co.uk

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Davis Mell (1604 - 1662), an English violinist and composer was appointed in 1660. He served as a violinist under Charles I and during the Commonwealth and in 1660 became Master of the King's Band. His instrumental works include masque music and many dances for violin and bass, grouped in suites.

George Hudson (c. 1615/1620–1672) (appointed 1660?), was an English viol player, violinist and composer. Some sources name Hudson as a Master of the Kings Band but he appears to have been merely a member of the King's Private Music from 1660.

Thomas Baltzar (c. 1630 –1663) (appointed 1661?), was a German violinist and composer born in Lübeck.  In 1655 he travelled to England, leaving behind his newly attained position of Ratslutenist of Lübeck. He was employed as a private musician for Sir Anthony Cope at Hanwell House in Banbury before, in 1661, entering Charles II's service as a member of the king's private music ensemble. Again some sources refer to Baltzar as being appointed as the Master of the King’s Band but this seems unlikely.

MSR Classics have recorded his complete works for unaccompanied violin. www.msrcd.com

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John Banister (1630 –1679) (appointed 1663), was an English composer and violinist and the son of one of the waits (municipal musicians) of the parish of St. Giles-in-the-Fields. His expertise on the violin attracted the interest of Charles II, who sent him for further education to France. On his return, Charles appointed him to the post of leader of his own band, vacated by the death of Thomas Baltzar in 1663. 

Linn Records have a recording by the Palladian Ensemble that includes Divisions on a Ground by Banister. www.linnrecords.com 

(also can be seen on Youtube www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ-E5uVJvn4 ) 

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Louis Grabu or Grabut, Grabue, or Grebus (1665 – died after 1693) (appointed 1666) was a Catalan-born, French-trained composer and violinist. In his youth he moved to Paris, where he was thought to have been trained by Lully. At the time of the Restoration he went to England, where Charles II appointed him as a composer for his own private music in 1665. With the death of Nicholas Lanier in 1666 he became Master of the King's Musick. The Parley of Instruments directed by Peter Holman have recorded the Incidental music for Rochester's play Valentinian and the Concert of Venus from Albion and Albanius by Grabu for Hyperion Records together with, amongst other music, a piece by John Banister. www.hyperion-records.co.uk

CDA 66667

Pelham Humfrey (1647–1674) (appointed 1672?) died at the age of only 27, but in his short time strongly influenced other composers such as Henry Purcell and John Blow. He studied in Paris and later became Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal, and some sources say he was jointly appointed Master of the King’s Band in 1672. He wrote many anthems, some of which were recorded by Harmonia Mundi with Romanesca and the Choir of Clare College Cambridge directed by Nicholas McGegan and available through Amazon www.amazon.co.uk

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Thomas Purcell (d. 1682) (appointed 1672?), was Henry Purcell’s elder brother. He was also a musician and a gentleman of the Chapel Royal. He sang at King Charles II’s coronation. Some sources say he was jointly appointed Master of the King’s Band in 1672.

Dr Nicholas Staggins (d 1700) (appointed 1678), was made Master of the King's Music by Charles II in 1674. In 1682, he was granted a musical doctorate by Cambridge University and from 1684 until his death was Professor of Music at Cambridge. His work includes odes for the various birthdays of William III.

John Eccles (1668 – 1735) (appointed 1705) was born in London, eldest son of professional musician Solomon Eccles. John Eccles was appointed to the King's Private Musick in 1694, and became Master of the King's Musick in 1705. Eccles was very active as a composer for the theatre; he wrote a large amount of incidental music and songs and composed music for the coronation of Queen Anne.

Chandos have recorded Eccles’ Masque The Judgment of Paris (or the Prize Music) with the Early Opera Company conducted by Christian Curnyn. www.chandos.net

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Dr Maurice Greene (1696 –1755) (appointed 1735) was an English composer and organist. Born in London, the son of a clergyman, Greene became a choirboy at St Paul's Cathedral under Jeremiah Clarke and Charles King. He studied the organ under Richard Brind, and after Brind died, Greene became organist at St Paul's. Following William Croft’s death in 1727, Greene succeeded him as the Chapel Royal organist. In 1730, he became a Professor of Music at Cambridge University and in 1735 was appointed Master of the King's Musick. He wrote a good deal of sacred and secular vocal music, including operas and oratorios. His best known work is the anthem 'Lord, let me know mine end'.

Edward Higginbottom and The Choir of New College Oxford have recorded a CD of anthems by Maurice Greene for CRD Records www.crdrecords.com

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Dr William Boyce (baptised 1711 – 1779) (appointed 1755) was born in London and became a choirboy at St Paul's Cathedral before studying music with Maurice Greene. He was employed as an organist at the Oxford Chape and went on to take a number of similar posts before becoming Master of the King's Musick in 1755. He became an organists at the Chapel Royal in 1758. Boyce is best known for his set of eight symphonies, his anthems and his odes.

There are many more recordings of Boyce’s music available than most of the other early Masters of the Kings Musick. Most people’s favourite works will probably be the eight symphonies Op.2. Kevin Mallon and the Aradia Ensemble have recorded a period instrument performance for Naxos www.naxos.com

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Boyce’s Trio Sonatas are attractive works which have been recorded by Hyperion on an inexpensive 2CD set featuring The Parley of Instruments directed by Peter Holman.

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John Stanley (1712 –1786) (appointed 1779) was an English composer and organist born in London. An accident left him almost blind, but he went on to study music from the age of seven, later under the guidance of Maurice Greene, composer and organist at St. Paul's Cathedral.

He was organist at All Hallows, Bread Street, London before becoming organist to the Society of the Inner Temple, a position which he held until his death in 1786. In 1779 Stanley succeeded William Boyce as Master of the King's Band of musicians. Alongside his concertos, cantatas and voluntaries for organ, he composed many New Year and Birthday odes for the King. His music features on a number of recordings but the much praised recording of his complete organ voluntaries played by Margaret Phillips is one to go for.

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Sir William Parsons (1745/6 –1817) (appointed 1786) was an English composer and musician who became Master of the King's Musick under George III between 1786 and 1817. Following his choristership at Westminster Abbey, he sought employment abroad before returning to England. He acted as assistant director at the George Frideric Handel commemorations in Westminster Abbey in 1784 and gained a doctorate in music at Oxford University in 1790. His compositions include a number of anthems for royal occasions.

There is little of his music recorded but I have seen a Harmonia Mundi recording available from Amazon with Paul Hillier and His Majesties Clerkes featuring just one work by Parsons  The Lamentation Of A Sinner ('O Lord turne not away thy face') together with works by John Farmer, John Dowland and others. (William Parson is not to be confused with the earlier Robert Parsons c. 1535–1572)

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William Shield (1748 –1829) (appointed 1817) was an English composer, violinist and violist who was born in Swalwell near Gateshead and studied music with the composer Charles Avison in Newcastle upon Tyne. Shield became a composer for Covent Garden and there he met Haydn. In 1817, he was appointed Master of the King's Musick and wrote a large number of operas, other stage works and instrumental music.

I have found a Hungaroton recording of Shield’s Trios for Strings played by the Szabadi Trió. http://partner.hungaroton.net

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Christian Cramer (d. 1834) (appointed 1829), born in Hannover, was a composer, arranger, musician and Master of the King's Musick between 1829 and 1834. He served under George IV and William IV. It was said that he could play all of the instruments in his orchestra to a remarkable degree.

Francois Cramer Franz or François Cramer (1772 – 1848) (appointed 1834) was an English violinist and conductor who was Master of the King's/Queen's Musick from 1837 until his death. He was born in either Mannheim or London, the son of Wilhelm Cramer and the brother of Johann Baptist Cramer a pianist admired by Beethoven The king died in 1837, and he continued as Master of the Queen's Musick to Queen Victoria. Little seems to be known about his compositions.

George Frederick Anderson (1793 –1876) (appointed 1848) born in London in 1793. He was a violinist in a variety of orchestras and in July 1820 he married the pianist Lucy Philpot, who, as Mrs Anderson, taught the piano to Queen Victoria and her children. He was a professor of music and Treasurer of the Royal Philharmonic Society, a position he held until his death. In 1848 he was appointed Master of the Queen's Music by Queen Victoria, succeeding Franz Cramer. He remained in the post until 1870; the circumstances of his departure are not known. He was the last Master of the Queen's Music to leave the post before his death, and the first since Nicholas Staggins in 1700. It is not known that he wrote any music.

Sir William George Cusins (1833 –1893) (appointed 1870) was an English pianist, violinist, organist, conductor and composer. Born in London he studied music in Brussels and later at the Royal Academy of Music under Cipriani Potter and William Sterndale Bennett. He toured as a concert pianist and composer in England, Leipzig, Berlin.

He was appointed organist to Queen Victoria's private chapel and played the violin in various orchestras in London. He became professor at the RAM and, in 1867, succeeded Sterndale Bennett as conductor of the Philharmonic Society. He was appointed Master of the Queen's Musick by Queen Victoria in 1870, succeeding Anderson, who had retired and knighted in 1892. His compositions include a Piano Concerto, an oratorio, marches and songs.

Sir Walter Parratt KCVO (1841 – 1924) (appointed 1893) was an English organist and composer, born in Huddersfield, son of a parish organist. From 1854 to 1861 he was an organist at St Paul's Church in Huddersfield and succeeded John Stainer, in 1872 at Magdalen College, Oxford.  He became Professor of Music at Oxford University in 1908, taking over from Hubert Parry. He became president of the Royal College of Organists and was knighted in 1892. In 1893 he was appointed Master of the Queen's Musick to Queen Victoria, holding the same office under Kings Edward VII and George V. There are monuments to him in the grounds of Huddersfield Parish Church and in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

What little of Parratt’s music has been recorded is perhaps not worth buying a whole CD for, but for those interested there is a Chandos recording  entitled A Choral Festival that includes a very short work by Parratt called Confortare together with works by such composers as diverse as Brahms, Stanford, Dyson and Vaughan Williams all performed by the Choir of Westminster Abbey directed by Douglas Guest.  www.chandos.net

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Sir Edward William Elgar, Baronet, OM, GCVO (1857 - 1934) (appointed 1924), the most famous holder of the post of Master of the King’s Music, was born in the small village of Lower Broadheath, outside Worcester. The son of a piano tuner and music shop owner, Elgar was almost entirely self-taught. He went on to become the first internationally recognised composer since Henry Purcell. His compositions include the choral work The Dream of Gerontius, two symphonies, a violin concerto, a cello concerto and of course the Variations on an Original Theme (Enigma).

Working outside of the musical establishment, he held no academic posts except for a brief unsuccessful period as Peyton Professor of Music at Birmingham University. He was appointed Master of the King's Music on 13 May 1924, following the death of Sir Walter Parratt.

Elgar had written works for Royal Occasions earlier in his career, but after his appointment as Master of the King's Music, he wrote very little. His Nursery Suite (1931) was written for ‘Their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of York and the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. So Many True Princesses was written for the unveiling of the Queen Alexandra Memorial outside Marlborough House in London in 1932 and has been recorded by Dutton Epoch along with the re-constructed Piano Concerto. www.duttonvocalion.co.uk

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The Nursery Suite has been recorded many times but can be heard on a Naxos CD from the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Judd. www.naxos.com

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Sir Henry Walford Davies KCVO OBE (1869 –1941) (appointed 1934) was a British composer, born in Oswestry on the Wales-England border. He was a chorister at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, coming under the influence of Walter Parratt with whom he was an assistant for five years before entering the Royal College of Music in 1890, where he studied under Parry and Stanford.

Davies taught counterpoint at the RCM from 1895, also holding a number of organist posts in London. In 1919, Davies was made professor of music at Aberystwyth and from 1927 he was organist at St. George's Chapel, Windsor. In 1924, Davies became Professor of Music at Gresham College, London, this a part-time position giving public classical music lectures. A series of recordings of lectures followed in the 1920s, followed by radio broadcasts on the BBC.

Davies was knighted in 1922 and succeeded Elgar as Master of the King's Music in 1934. His compositions include 2 symphonies and the oratorio Everyman which has been recorded by Dutton Epoch with the London Oriana Choir and Kensington Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Drummond. www.duttonvocalion.co.uk

CDLX 7141

                                    

Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, KCVO (1883 –1953) (appointed 1942) was an English composer, born in Streatham, London, into a Victorian upper-middle-class family. He was accepted to the Royal Academy of Music in 1900.

In 1911 he settled in Rathgar, Dublin where he was introduced to the intellectual circle which met at the house of the poet George William Russell. At Russell’s house, Bax met the Irish Republican Patrick Pearse, whose execution following the Easter Uprising in 1916 prompted Bax to compose several laments, the most noted being In Memoriam Padraig Pearse (1916).

With such Irish republican sympathies, Bax was then a surprising choice for knightoood in 1937, let alone his appointment as Master of the King's Musick in 1942. Bax was further honoured by appointment as a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO).

Bax was a prolific composer who wrote seven symphonies, orchestral tone poems, chamber music, piano music choral works and songs. He has been well served on CD in recent years but in connection with his appointment as Master of the King’s Music is his Coronation March (1947) and Royal Fanfare for the Wedding of Princess Elizabeth (1953) both recorded by Decca and available through Amazon with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent and the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble. www.amazon.co.uk

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Sir Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss, CH, KCVO (1891 – 1975) (appointed 1953) was an English composer, born in Barnes, London, son of a businessman from Massachusetts. Bliss was educated at Bilton Grange preparatory school, Rugby and Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he studied classics, but also took lessons in music from Charles Wood. Bliss graduated in classics and music in 1913 and then studied at the Royal College of Music. Bliss was knighted in 1950 and succeeded Bax as Master of the Queen's Music in 1953.

His compositions include his Colour Symphony as well as opera, choral music, ballet and film music, concertos and chamber and piano works. Of his music for Royal Occasions his A Song of Welcome (1944) for baritone, chorus and orchestra, with words by Cecil Day Lewis, and Welcome the Queen (1954) for soprano and baritone soli, chorus and orchestra are on an EMI disc with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by the composer. www.emiclassics.com

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Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson AO (honorary), CBE (1931 – 2003) (appointed 1975) was an Australian composer, born in Sydney who studied composition and horn at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. His teachers included Eugene Goossens In 1950 he moved to London where he worked as an organist, a proof-reader and a nightclub pianist. From 1953 he studied with Elisabeth Lutyens.

Williamson was a prolific composer at this time, receiving many commissions. Following Bliss’s death in 1975, he was appointed as Master of the Queen's Music, a surprise choice given the possible alternatives such as Benjamin Britten, Michael Tippett and Malcolm Arnold.

He wrote a number of pieces connected to his royal post, including Mass of Christ the King (1978) and Lament in Memory of Lord Mountbatten of Burma (1980). His failure to complete the intended "Jubilee Symphony" for the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 1977 courted controversy and his output slowed considerably towards the end of his life due to a series of illnesses.

His compositions include choral works, symphonies, concertos and chamber music. His Royal works include Jubilee Hymn (1977), Symphony No. 4 - Jubilee (1977), Ode for Queen Elizabeth (1980) and Songs for a Royal Baby (1985). The Fourth Symphony doesn’t appear to have even been performed let alone recorded but Chandos have started a series of Williamson recordings that includes his Symphonies 1 and 5 www.chandos.net

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Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE (born 8 September 1934) (appointed 2004) is an English composer born in Salford, Lancashire. He took piano lessons and composed from an early age.

After education at Leigh Boys Grammar School, Davies studied at the University of Manchester and at the Royal Manchester College of Music (amalgamated into the Royal Northern College of Music in 1973), where his fellow students included Harrison Birtwistle, Alexander Goehr, Elgar Howarth and John Ogdon. Together they formed New Music Manchester, a group committed to contemporary music. After graduating in 1956, he studied in Rome before working as Director of Music at Cirencester Grammar School from 1959 to 1962.

In 1962, he secured a Harkness Fellowship at Princeton University where he studied with Roger Sessions, Milton Babbitt and Earl Kim. He then moved to Australia, where he was Composer in Residence at the Elder Conservatorium of Music, University of Adelaide from 1965–66. After returning to Britain, he moved, in 1971, to the Orkney Islands, initially to Hoy, and later to Sanday. Orkney hosts the St Magnus Festival founded by Sir Peter in 1977.

Sir Peter was made a CBE in 1981 and knighted in 1987. He was appointed Master of the Queen's Music in March 2004. The tenure of the appointment now changed from life to ten years, giving more composers the opportunity to take up this honorary position.

Sir Peter, or Max as his friends call him, is a prolific composer whose compositions include opera, choral music, nine symphonies, concertos, chamber music including ten Naxos Quartets and piano music. Sir Peter has written a number of works for Royal Occasions which brings us back to his Ninth Symphony that will be premiered in Liverpool on 9th June 2012.

In the absence of any recordings of music for Royal Occasions, try Hyperion’s wonderful recording of the Westminster Cathedral Choir directed by Martin Baker in sacred choral works by Davies including his Mass (2002) and Missa parvula (2003). www.hyperion-records.co.uk

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 The works on this disc will not disappoint nor will the performances.

A Trombone Concerto from Finland’s Kalevi Aho

I always try to hear any new work by Finland’s Kalevi Aho but sadly I missed the premiere of his Percussion Concerto broadcast recently by the BBC.

Thankfully I managed to record BBC Radio 3’s broadcast of the UK premiere of his Trombone Concerto to listen to later.

As always with Aho, the writing for the solo instrument is at the service of the work as a whole and not merely virtuoso display.  Yet what virtuosity there was from trombonist Jorgen van Rijen. From the moment the trombone rises quietly from the orchestra there are sounds that are almost ancient and primitive. Yet Aho also brings a warmth to his melodic writing for the solo instrument.

The ancient feel to the music has a ritualistic feel in the final movement, with percussion providing rhythmic support. The way Aho blends strange trombone sounds with the other instruments of the orchestra is truly inspired.

Alexander Vedernikov and the BBC Symphony Orchestra provided excellent support in this concert that also included Shostakovich and Sibelius. Alexander Vedernikov, formerly Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre, has recently had a live recording of Rimsky Korsakov’s opera The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh issued by Naxos which I will feature in a future blog.

It must be difficult for BIS Records to keep up with recording Aho’s works given how prolific he is, but I do hope that they will soon record both the Percussion Concerto and this new Trombone Concerto, not to mention his recent Symphony No.15.

We should be grateful for what BIS Records have done to promote Aho’s music, but I do hope that they will soon complete the recordings of all his symphonies to date with recordings of numbers five and six.

With the constant flow of such fine works, surely Kalevi Aho must rank as one of the world’s greatest living composers.

See also:
 

Why does Finland continue to produce so many fine composers?

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4426380832683701817#editor/target=post;postID=2431285985926819287

Marvellously played Chamber Symphonies from Kalevi Aho 

http://theclassicalreviewer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/marvellously-played-chamber-symphonies.html

 

More Olympic opera

Since my Blog of the 13^th May 2012 there is more news on performances of L’Olimpiade based on the libretto by the Italian poet Pietro Metastasio (1698-1782).

At 7.30pm on Monday 28^th May 2012, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/music/classical there will be a concert performance in the form of a ‘pasticcio’ with music by many of the composers that set the libretto to music.

The Venice Baroque Orchestra will be directed by Andrea Marcon with the soloists Romina Basso (mezzo-soprano), Delphine Galou (mezzo-soprano), Ruth Rosique (soprano), Luanda Siqueira (soprano), Jeremy Ovenden (tenor) and Nicholas Spanos (countertenor).

This complete performance will use arias by Caldara, Vivaldi, Pergolesi, Leo, Galuppi, Perez, Hasse, Traetta, Jommelli, Piccinni, Gassman, Myslivecek, Cherubini, Cimarosa and Paisiello.

In my last Blog I said that more than thirty composers had used the libretto but it seems that there were more than fifty composers that set this story of friendship, loyalty and passion! Is this the greatest use of one libretto ever?

Of the composers featured in this performance only the names Vivaldi, Pergolesi, Cherubini, Myslivecek and Cimarosa will probably be known. So who were the others?

Antonio Caldara (1670 – 1736) was born in Venice the son of a violinist. He became a chorister at St Mark's in Venice, where he learned to play the viol, cello and keyboard. After posts in Mantua and Rome, he went to Vienna to serve as maestro di cappella at the Imperial Court. He wrote over 1000 works and his operas and oratorios made him a central figure in the creation of music drama.

Lionardo Oronzo Salvatore de Leo (1694 –1744) was born in San Vito dei Normanni in Italy. He became maestro di cappella in Naples and taught at the Turchini Conservatory becoming primo maestro in 1741. He composed over 60 stage works, mostly for Naples.

Baldassare Galuppi (1706 –1785) was an Italian composer, born on the island of Burano in the Venetian Republic. He worked in Florence and Venice as well as London, Moscow and St Petersburg where he was music director of Catherine the Great’s chapel. He wrote around 30 opera buffa and around 70 serious operas.

David Perez (1711–1778) was an Italian opera composer born in Naples. He held posts in the Royal Chapel in Palermo becoming maestro di cappella and later became maestro di cappella at the Portuguese court. He wrote over 35 operas.

Johann Adolph Hasse (c.1699–1783) was born in Bergedorf, Germany from a family of musicians. He studied in Italy under Alessandro Scarlatti and later became Kapellmeister to the Saxon court. Besides operas he composed oratorios and a large amount of church music.

Tommaso Michele Francesco Saverio Traetta (1727 –1779) was born in Bitonto, Italy. He studied in Naples and had his first operas staged there. He became maestro di cappella to the court in Parma and later music director to the Russian court chapel in St Petersburg. He wrote over 40 stage works.

Niccolò Jommelli (1714 –1774) was an Italian composer, born in Aversa. He studied in Naples and presented his first comic opera there. He later became Ober-Kapellmeister at the Stuttgart court as well as composing for the Lisbon court. He wrote over 100 stage works.

Niccolò Piccinni (1728 -1800) was born in Bari, Italy and was a composer of symphonies, sacred music, chamber music, and opera. He studied with Leo (above) in Naples and had operas produced there. He was second maestro di cappella at Naples cathedral before travelling to Paris where he composed French opera. His Italian operas number over 100.

Florian Leopold Gassmann (1729 –1774) was a German-speaking Bohemian opera composer who studied in Italy and worked in Venice. He later succeeded Gluck as Viennese court ballet composer. He wrote 15 operas as well as 33 symphonies.

Giovanni Paisiello (1740 –1816) was a Neapolitan composer, born in Roccaforzata, who studied in Naples where he became a leading comic opera composer becoming dramatic and then chamber composer to the King of Naples. Most of his over 80 operas are comic.

If you can’t get to the Queen Elizabeth Hall then you can hear this concert live on BBC Radio 3 www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/programmes/schedules/2012/w22/grid             

Such a novelty is well worth getting to hear.

Celebrating British Music – Part 4

I begin my fourth part of this survey of British music with the tragic Philip Arnold Heseltine (Peter Warlock) (1894-1930). An extremely gifted musician and composer, he led a somewhat dissolute life eventually committing suicide at the age of only 36 years. In the 1920’s he shared a cottage in Eynesford, Kent with the composer Moeran, together with a Maori housekeeper, a mistress and whoever was visiting. The drinking and riotous living often scandalised the locals.

A good disc to consider for a sample of Warlock’s music is from EMI with Ian Partridge and the Music Group of London directed by Neville Dilkes. This recording gives the most famous of Warlock’s works, the Capriol Suite as well as his beautiful song cycle The Curlew and other songs and carols. A second disc in this set is given over to songs by Vaughan Williams. www.emiclassics.com

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Ernest John Moeran (1894 –1950) or Jack Moeran as he was known to all his friends, was done no favours by Warlock, for during those riotous years Moeran seemed to get a taste for alcohol which, combined with a shrapnel injury in the First World War, cut short Moeran’s life when he was just achieving his maturity as a composer.

The son of a vicar he was brought up in Norfolk but had a love of Ireland, the land of his forebears. It is this dual influence of Norfolk and Kerry that infuses his Symphony in G minor available in an unbeatable recording by Vernon Handley and the Ulster Orchestra from Chandos. www.chandos.net

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Moeran’s Violin Concerto and Cello Concerto are also beautiful creations which are both available on another Chandos CD with again Vernon Handley and the Ulster Orchestra with Lydia Mordkovich (violin) and the Bournemouth Sinfonietta under Norman del Mar with Raphael Wallfisch (cello). www.chandos.net

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Finally don’t overlook what is perhaps Moeran’s masterpiece, his Cello Sonata in A minor, dating from the last year of his life, 1947. It is again Raphael Wallfisch that gives a superb performance with John York on a Marco Polo disc. This disc also gives you Ireland’s G minor Cello Sonata as well as Edmund Rubbra’s G minor sonata. www.naxos.com

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Patrick Hadley (1899–1973) was the son of a lecturer in classics at Pembroke College, Cambridge who went on himself to become Professor of Music at Cambridge. He lived his whole life at the old family home in Heacham on the north Norfolk coast where he was a keen walker despite losing a leg in the First World War.

Matthias Bamert directs the Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus with David Wilson Johnson (baritone) in a fine performance of Hadley’s Symphonic Ballad The Trees so High on Chandos. This bargain priced two CD set also has works by Phillip Sainton (1891–1967) who studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music under Frederick Corder and viola under the famous Lionel Tertis. www.chandos.net

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Another fascinating recording that had only just recently arrived is of Hadley’s Fen and Flood a work from 1954 concerning the appalling floods of the night 31^st January-1^st February 1953 that took so many lives, not only in Norfolk but also across the sea in Holland. A setting of various texts it includes the words of the Superintendent of Police used during the rescue work. www.albionrecords.org

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Available from Albion Records, the record label for the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society www.rvwsociety.com this CD also includes an early choral work by Vaughan Williams himself, the Garden of Proserpine. This is a disc worth discovering for British music enthusiasts.

Alan Bush (1900–1995) born in London, was the son of a director of the manufacturing chemists, W. J. Bush & Co. He studied composition under Frederick Corder at the Royal Academy of Music and later with John Ireland.

His career was probably not helped by his outspoken Marxist beliefs. He held posts as conductor of the London Labour Choral Union and in 1936 was co-founder of the Workers' Music Association, and later its President.

His music was subject to an embargo by the establishment at the end of the war leading to Ralph Vaughan Williams refusing a BBC commission in protest. Though Vaughan Williams did not agree with Bush’s views this was typical of the man who also supported Michael Tippett as a conscientious objector, though again not agreeing with his views.

Two of his four symphonies are available on the Classico label through Amazon. www.amazon.co.uk

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Gerald Finzi (1901–1956) was a quintessentially English composer yet he was of German Jewish decent. Born in London, and after the death of his father, the family moved to Harrogate, where Finzi began to study music at Christ Church, High Harrogate under Ernest Farrar. After the death of Farrar, Finzi studied privately at York Minster with another well known name in British music, the organist and choirmaster Edward Bairstow.

After moving to to Painswick in Gloucestershire, where he began composing, Finzi moved to London to study counterpoint with R. O. Morris, where he became friendly with R. O. Morris’ other students, Howard Ferguson and Edmund Rubbra. He was also introduced to Gustav Holst, Arthur Bliss and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

After teaching for three years at the Royal Academy of Music, the now married Finzi moved with his wife to Aldbourne, Wiltshire before eventually settling in Ashmansworth, near Newbury, where he founded the Newbury String Players, an amateur chamber orchestra which he conducted until his premature death at the age of only 55 years.

His output only numbers 40 works but within this are some works of great stature such as the cantata Dies Natalis Op.8 and his ode for tenor, chorus, and orchestra Intimations of Immortality Op. 29 available on a single CD from Hyperion with Matthew Best directing the Corydon Singers with John Mark Ainsley (tenor). www.hyperion-records.co.uk

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Of his orchestral music, the Cello Concerto and Clarinet Concerto should not be missed. For the Cello Concerto I always have an affection for Raphael Wallfisch’s Chandos recording with Vernon Handley and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. The coupling is another fine Cello Concerto from another British composer, Kenneth Leighton (1929-1988). www.chandos.net

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For the Clarinet Concerto you can’t do better than Robert Plane’s fine recording for Naxos with Howard Griffiths and the Northern Sinfonia. www.naxos.com

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Edmund RUBBRA (1901-1986) was born in Northampton and his father had a business selling and repairing clocks and watches. Although showing some early musical promise, he left school at the age of 14 to work in the office of one of Northampton's many boot and shoe manufacturers.

Rubbra continued his musical studies around his daily work, eventually obtaining an open scholarship to the Royal College of Music.

It is his eleven symphonies that are the backbone of his musical output but he also wrote much chamber and choral music. Richard Hickox and the National Orchestra of Wales have recorded all eleven symphonies for Chandos. www.chandos.net

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A rather special recording of Rubbra’s Missa Cantuariensis directed by Richard Hickox in the presence of the composer has been re-issued by Chandos. www.chandos.net

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Whilst this recording is a re-mastered copy from the original LP issue (the original tapes had become damaged beyond repair) there is something special in this recording that no other performance seems to give.

Of Rubbra’s chamber music I would look to the Naxos recordings by the marvellous Maggini Quartet. www.naxos.com

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Here you will get the four string quartets as well as the Piano Trio No.1 with Martin Roscoe (piano).

Finally I must not forget the wonderful Naxos recording by Takuo Yuasa and the Ulster Orchestra of Rubbra’s Violin Concerto coupled with the Improvisation for violin and Orchestra and the Improvisations on Virginal Pieces by Giles Farnaby. www.naxos.com

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Born in Oldham, Lancashire, Sir William WALTON (1902-1983) was the son of a music teacher and choirmaster who had been one of the first students at the Royal Manchester College of Music when it opened in 1893.

He became a chorister at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford and at the age of only sixteen became an undergraduate there. It was at Oxford that Walton became friends with Sacheverell Sitwell. Walton was sent down from Oxford in 1920 without a degree so Sitwell invited him to stay with him and his literary brother and sister, Osbert and Edith. It was to poems by Edith Sitwell that Walton set his music for Façade – An Entertainment and possibly his best known work.

There followed two symphonies, a viola concerto, violin concerto, a Sinfonia Concertante for piano and orchestra, as well as chamber music, choral music, two operas and film music.

The first symphony has been recorded a number of times but Andre Previn’s 1966 RCA recording with the London Symphony Orchestra is still for the finest although only currently available second-hand through Amazon. www.amazon.co.uk

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Alternatively there is Paul Daniel’s fine Naxos recording with the English Northern Philharmonia.www.naxos.com

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Walton’s great choral work, Belshazzar’s Feast should be explored with Andrew Davis and the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. This great recording from Warner Apex has the wonderful Bryn Terfel (baritone) in a live 1994 Proms performance. www.warnerclassics.com

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You can get superb performances of both the violin and viola concertos on an EMI disc with Nigel Kennedy (violin) and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andre Previn. www.emiclassics.com

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In the next part of my survey of British music I will look at composers such as the much misunderstood Michael Tippett and two female composers, Grace Williams and Elizabeth Maconchy, before arriving at Benjamin Britten.

The Olympics – an opera

Pietro Metastasio (1698-1782) was an Italian poet and melodramatist but what has he got to do with the Olympics?

Well he had an interest in Greek Tragedy and studied classical authors, as well as translating and commenting on Aristotle and Horace. More to the point, he wrote an opera libretto L’Olimpiade, set at the very first Olympic Games.

More than thirty composers set this libretto to music including Pergolesi, J C Bach, Arne and Vivaldi. It was quite normal in the 18^th century for composers to use the same libretto. Composers also tended to adapt their music to the demands of the particular theatre and singers. Vivaldi would often merely add to his score by pasting over a piece of paper. The overture to L’Olimpiade was slightly lengthened in this way.

If a singer had a different range to that written in the score things became slightly more complicated, often resulting in an aria being replaced as well as more extended passages of recitative. There again, if a character was only one of a number of singers he would merely ink in the notes in vertical alignment with the original notes.

Vivaldi’s L'Olimpiade is an opera in three acts premiered in Venice at the Teatro Sant'Angelo on 17 February 1734.

If you can still get a ticket, you can catch a concert performance of this opera by La Serenissima directed by Adrian Chandler at the Lufthansa Festival of Barogue Music at St. Johns Smith Square, London tonight (Saturday 19^th May 2012) at 7.00pm. www.lufthansafestival.org.uk This is billed as the UK premiere of the work.

Alternatively, on 3rd, 5th, 9th, 14th, 22^nd and  29 June 2012 Garsington Opera are producing Vivladli’s L’Olimpiade conducted by Laurence Cummings www.garsingtonopera.org . Set in the beautiful surroundings of the Wormsley Estate, home of the Getty family, in an expanse of rolling parkland, complete with lake and deer, secluded  by the wooded slopes that enclose it, this is the ideal opera venue.

If you can’t get to either, or just want a recording of L’Olimpiade, then Rinaldo Alessandrini with his vibrant Concerto Italiano on Opus 111 www.naive.fr can provide the answer.

 

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The genius of Brahms with Emma Johnson

Brahms is surely recognised as one of the great composers of all time so why is it that Sir Thomas Beecham is alleged to have referred to him as ‘…not that old bore.’

Philip Hale of the Boston Herald is once said to have proposed that there should be an inscription over the doors of Boston Symphony Hall reading ‘Exit in case of Brahms.’

The Wagner and Brahms factions in his own day were more the product of such people as Eduard Hanslick, the music critic of the Neue Freie Presse, who, whilst ardently supporting Brahms, vehemently disliked the music of Wagner. This factionalisation didn’t necessarily do Brahms any favours.

Brahms conformed to the classical standards of form and structure which his enemies said made him conservative and boring.

It’s true that the symphonies and perhaps the German Requiem can be performed in a way that can make them sound dull. But Brahms was an emotional man whose music, in the right hands, is just as emotional as any other. This is particularly so in the wonderful late pieces, the two Clarinet Sonatas Op.120.

Brahms’ last four chamber works featured the clarinet. The Clarinet Trio in A minor Op.114, the Quintet in B minor for Clarinet and String Quartet Op.115 and the two Clarinet Sonatas Op.120.

We owe the principal clarinettist of the Meiningen orchestra, Richard Mühlfeld, a debt of gratitude for these pieces for, though Brahms was fond of the clarinet, it was the polish and sensitivity of Mühlfeld’s playing that inspired these works.

Visiting Meiningen in 1891 to hear the orchestra under its new conductor, Fritz Steinbach, he first heard Mühlfeld’s playing. Once the sonatas had been published Brahms presented his autograph manuscripts to Mühlfeld with the dedication ‘To Richard Mühlfeld, the master of his beautiful instrument, in sincerely grateful remembrance.’

So, coming to a new recording from Nimbus Alliance www.wyastone.co.uk of Emma Johnson and John Lenehan, I was looking forward to hearing how they would perform these works.

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I was not disappointed, as I must say straight away, that these performances have everything you could wish for, with playing of supreme mastery, at turns sensitive and poetic, following every nuance and dynamic. There is a very distinctive sound to Emma Johnson’s playing that is immediately beguiling.

The first movement, Allegro appassionato, of the first Clarinet Sonata in F minor provides some fiery playing, never strident, the melodic flow seamlessly played. In the Andante un poco Adagio there are the most touchingly quiet and gentle passages played exquisitely. It is Emma Johnson’s ability to bring out so many different shades of tone that is astounding.

I defy anyone not to be totally beguiled by the playing of the third movement with its lively ländler style Allegretto grazioso before the rousing rondo finale.

In contrast to the first Clarinet Sonata, the second Clarinet sonata in E flat has a softer quality to the opening, a gently undulating melody in which Emma Johnson brings a warmth and beauty and, at times, passion.

In the Allegro appassionato-Sostenuto again there are wonderfully controlled dynamics following every ebb and flow of the music. Slowly building from a thoughtful andante, the final allegro, in variation form, receives some spectacularly virtuoso playing.

This generously filled disc also has a wonderful performance of Mendelssohn’s early Clarinet Sonata in E flat written in 1824 when the composer was just 15 years of age. It was the following year that he would write his marvellous E-flat major   Octet but this sonata has much of the same confidence of that work.

The gentle opening soon turns to a light and vibrant theme with some intricate music superbly played by both Emma Johnson and John Lenehan. The second movement opens with the clarinet alone before being joined by the piano with some beautiful and sensitive playing from John Lenehan before a finale that dashes along with playing of enormous bravura.

Schuman’s Phantasiestucke for clarinet and piano Op.73 completes this terrific disc with a wonderful performance that brings out the melodic beauty of this attractive piece.

Emma Johnson and John Lenehan are perfectly attuned to each other’s playing, with John Lenehan providing an equally memorable contribution to these performances.

The recording is finely detailed and there are excellent notes from Emma Johnson.

If you already have a recording of the Brahms Clarinet Sonatas then this new issue will make you fall in love with them all over again. If you haven’t a recording then this is the one to get.

Celebrating British Music – Part 3

Frank Bridge (1879–1941) had for many years been only remembered through his famous pupil, Benjamin Britten. Britten paid tribute to his old teacher in his Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge.

However, in his time he was very popular even though, after the First World War he radically changed his style to embrace a more advanced style influenced by the Second Viennese School. This change doesn’t render his music difficult to modern ears but in his own time it was considered radical.

Bridge is now well served on CD especially with the recordings of his orchestral works on Chandos. The six CD’s in this series are all with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Richard Hickox. As usual the recordings are first rate. www.chandos.net

Of the six discs I would suggest volumes 1 to 4 are the most representative of Bridge.

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Volume one includes the wonderful Enter Spring, Volume two the earlier tone poem The Sea, Volume three Phantasm for Piano and Orchestra with Howard Shelley in fine form and Volume four includes the late work for Cello and Orchestra, Oration, effectively a Cello Concerto played wonderfully by Alban Gerhardt.

Naxos has also provided fine performances of the quartets with the Maggini Quartet and piano works with that fine pianist Ashley Wass. www.naxos.com

John Ireland (1879–1962) featured in my blog of 23^rd April 2012 when I reviewed a new book The John Ireland Companion edited by that great champion of British music, Lewis Foreman.

I still think Ireland is underrated as a composer. His finest work is probably the Piano Concerto in Eb, but Legend for Piano and Orchestra as well as his works for solo piano are to my mind equally fine.

Ireland is another composer recorded by both Chandos and Naxos. Chandos have issued a number of orchestral discs including the Piano Concerto, Legend for Piano and Orchestra and Symphonic Rhapsody Mai Dun. These represent the best of Ireland’s works with orchestra conducted by Bryden Thomson with Eric Parkin (piano). www.chandos.net

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Naxos have recorded John Lenehan on four CD’s of all the piano works including the Piano Concerto and Legend which feature John Wilson conducting the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. www.naxos.com

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Chandos are also the company that has recorded much of the music of Cyril Scott (1879–1970).  The son of a shipping magnate he studied in Frankfurt where he met the composers Norman O’Neill, Roger Quilter, Balfour Gardiner and Percy Grainger known as The Frankfurt Group. 

The four Chandos discs include the symphonies 1, 3 and 4 together with Three Symphonic Dances taken from the abandoned Second Symphony, Piano Concertos 1 and 2, Cello Concerto, Violin Concerto and various orchestral works including a particular favourite of mine, Neptune. www.chandos.net

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Sir Arnold Bax (1883-1953) was an extraordinarily gifted musician, able to sight read any orchestral score. His early music took the form of tone poems influenced by Celtic legends and his love of the coast of western Ireland. A friend of nationalists involved in the Easter uprising of 1916, he was an unlikely figure to become Master of the King’s Music in 1942. In 1921 he wrote a piano sonata that was of such symphonic proportions that, with a different middle movement, it became his first symphony. He went on to write six more symphonies, one of the great symphonic cycles of the 20^th century.

That great champion of British music and of Bax in particular, the late Vernon ‘Tod’ Handley recorded all seven symphonies as well as many of the tone poems for Chandos. These must be the finest recordings of these works ever recorded.

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Sir George Dyson (1883–1964) was very much involved in musical education as Director of Music at Marlborough College, Rugby School, Wellington College and finally Director of the Royal College of Music from 1937 to his retirement in 1952. This gave him little time to compose yet he produced works that were very popular in his time and have since been recorded. His choral Canterbury Pilgrims was a favourite with choral societies for many years and is set to be revived at this years (2012) Hereford Three Choirs Festival. Richard Hickox has made a fine recording on Chandos as he has also done with Dyson’s other large choral work Quo Vadis. www.chandos.net

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Dyson also wrote a fine Symphony in G as well as a Violin Concerto which are included on an attractive CD. Again Richard Hickox conducts.

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George Butterworth (1885–1916) was a victim of the First World War, killed at the age of 30 years on the Somme. He left a small number of works that showed such promise that he may well have gone on to greater things had he lived.

You will not get a better performance of his Six Songs from A Shropshire Lad than that by Bryn Terfel on Deutsche Grammophon. You also will get equally fine performances of Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel, Ireland’s Sea Fever and Finzi’s Let Us Garlands Bring. www.deutschegrammophon.com

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Another tragic figure from the early 20^th century was Ivor Gurney (1890-1937).  The son of a Gloucester tailor and a seamstress, he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in 1911. Gurney was not only a talented musician but also a fine poet. As a composer it was mainly in the form of song that he worked.

Sadly Gurney’s health was never good but it was severely worsened by his First World War experiences, eventually leading to his internment in the City of London Mental Hospital where he died of tuberculosis in 1937 aged only 47 years.

My favourite recording of Gurney songs is from Hyperion and includes songs by other composers affected by the First World War including Butterworth. www.hyperion-records.co.uk

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Sir Arthur Bliss (1891-1975) was the son of an American businessman but brought up in England being educated at Rugby and Pembroke College, Cambridge. He too was affected by the First World War when he lost his brother Kennard. His later work for narrator, chorus and orchestra, Morning Heroes, is in memory of his brother.

I particularly like his Colour Symphony based on heraldic ideas and recorded by Barry Wordsworth and the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra for Nimbus. I particularly love this performance well recorded in Brangwyn Hall Swansea and still available form Amazon. www.amazon.co.uk

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Bliss’ favourite of all his compositions was his Meditation on a Theme of John Blow coupled on a Naxos CD with his Metamorphic Variations with David Lloyd-Jones and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. www.naxos.com

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Bliss succeeded Bax as Master of the Queen’s Music in 1953. Although a significant figure in British music between the wars, he continued writing into the 1960’s and 1970’s.

A friend and contemporary of Ivor Gurney was Herbert HOWELLS (1892 – 1983) who also rose from very humble origins in Lydney near Gloucester. His father was a plumber, decorator and builder who eventually went bankrupt. Thanks to a local benefactor he was able to study with Herbert Brewer the organist at Gloucester cathedral before going on to the Royal College of Music.

Surely his masterpiece must be Hymnus Paradisi written in the wake of the tragic death of his nine year old son Michael. Anyone who doesn’t know this wonderful  work should try to hear it as I’m sure they will not be disappointed particularly in such a fine performance as that by Vernon Handley and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir with Julie Kennard (soprano) and John Mark Ainsley (tenor). www.hyperion-records.co.uk

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Chandos have issued a two CD set of Howells’ orchestral music with Richard Hickox and the London Symphony Orchestra. www.chandos.net

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My next British music blog will look at the tragic Philip Heseltine alias Peter Warlock, his effect on E J Moeran and move on through Edmund Rubbra and William Walton.