Daniel Jones(1912-93)-a prolific Welsh symphonist

cilgwyn · September 05, 2011, 02:37:00 AM

They Daniel Jones String Quartets are VERY high on my list now (thanks to Johan!),but for some reason I spent my current cd budget on the unpopular Henry Cowell (Naxos Continum vol 2 & 'Dancing with Henry' Mode)!!! But,when I do,I think I will buy them one at a time. Such,a pity they are now only available as Mp3's,but you can make cd's,so what's the difference,really? On the other hand,if they were on cd's you could probably get the set for a low price,from a seller,instead of having to stump up,nearly sixteen pounds!
The sad thing about this is that,the fact that Daniel Jones's SQ's have been relegated to downloads means that Chandos are,presumably, uninterested in his music. I only hope I AM proved wrong! On that note,it is interesting to observe that most of Chandos's measly representation of Welsh composers has been reduced to Mp3 downloads!!! Interesting that!
Now,if ONLY Havergal Brian had been more interested in chamber & instrumental music. I'm sure Brian's String Quartets could have been every as absorbing as his symphonies. Oh,the great 'might have been's of music'!
On this note. I have yet to see anything on the HB thread about his solo piano music. There IS a cd of it. In fact,I had the Lp once. Unfortunately,I seem to remember that it was one of the few Havergal Brian records,if not THE only one,not to interest me. I remember there was a 'funny' piece at the end with someone talking. But I DID like the opening item on side 1.

cilgwyn · September 05, 2011, 09:28:22 AM

That Lyrita cd with David Wynne's String Quartet & Piano Sonata is going on my list as well. Another one I've just got to hear.
The early Chandos cd of vocal works by Grace Williams (The Dancers,etc) may be interesting,too. Again,MP3,only! Has anyone here heard this cd,all the way,through,I wonder?

Dundonnell · September 05, 2011, 05:38:57 PM

OK....I DO NOT want to raise your hopes too high

.....I have spent a substantial part of this evening crawling about in my attic to try to locate my collection of reel-to-reel tapes(around 260 of them) containing music recorded from the radio back in the 1970s....

...AND, as important, the catalogue of what is on each tape....

These have been achieved

As far as Daniel Jones is concerned I have:

Symphony No.3
Symphony No.10
Violin Concerto
Oratorio "St. Peter"
Tone Poem "Cloud Messenger"
Concert Overture
Overture "Ieuenctid"

...and, if you think that is mouth-watering, imagine what else I have in the way of British music

(all the Fricker symphonies for starters!)

Now...I have talked to a sound engineer friend and he says that IF the tapes have not deteriorated to being worthless he can find me a reel-to-reel player and the technology to convert to digital format.

PLEASE don't get your hopes up too high yet but..........

Hattoff · September 05, 2011, 10:28:30 PM

Quote
Quote from: Dundonnell on September 05, 2011, 05:38:57 PM
OK....I DO NOT want to raise your hopes too high

.....I have spent a substantial part of this evening crawling about in my attic to try to locate my collection of reel-to-reel tapes(around 260 of them) containing music recorded from the radio back in the 1970s....

...AND, as important, the catalogue of what is on each tape....

These have been achieved

As far as Daniel Jones is concerned I have:

Symphony No.3
Symphony No.10
Violin Concerto
Oratorio "St. Peter"
Tone Poem "Cloud Messenger"
Concert Overture
Overture "Ieuenctid"

...and, if you think that is mouth-watering, imagine what else I have in the way of British music (all the Fricker symphonies for starters!)

Now...I have talked to a sound engineer friend and he says that IF the tapes have not deteriorated to being worthless he can find me a reel-to-reel player and the technology to convert to digital format.

PLEASE don't get your hopes up too high yet but..........

As the latest official Daniel Jones convert, that is is more than interesting.

Got to get into Fricker soon.

My old reel to reel tapes, upon which I recorded much Brian, deteriorated badly. My own fault for not storing them properly

What else have you got on those tapes? I'm ever so sorry but I can barely contain myself with the excitment. You must have lots of the same composers I used to have

J.Z. Herrenberg · September 06, 2011, 01:15:34 AM

Quote from: Dundonnell on September 05, 2011, 05:38:57 PM
OK....I DO NOT want to raise your hopes too high

.....I have spent a substantial part of this evening crawling about in my attic to try to locate my collection of reel-to-reel tapes(around 260 of them) containing music recorded from the radio back in the 1970s....

...AND, as important, the catalogue of what is on each tape....

These have been achieved

As far as Daniel Jones is concerned I have:

Symphony No.3
Symphony No.10
Violin Concerto
Oratorio "St. Peter"
Tone Poem "Cloud Messenger"
Concert Overture
Overture "Ieuenctid"

...and, if you think that is mouth-watering, imagine what else I have in the way of British music (all the Fricker symphonies for starters!)

Now...I have talked to a sound engineer friend and he says that IF the tapes have not deteriorated to being worthless he can find me a reel-to-reel player and the technology to convert to digital format.

PLEASE don't get your hopes up too high yet but..........

Unreel...

If these tapes were to be converted, we'd have a quantum leap in our DJ knowledge. Isn't there a Daniel Jones Society to sponsor you?

cilgwyn · September 06, 2011, 04:01:20 AM

We could start one!
An attic should be a nice dry,cool-ish place for audio or video tapes,no magnetic fields or heat sources,electrical wiring or bulb on beam,excepted. that shouldn't do any harm. Reel to reel has a wider dynamic range,doesn't it. I put on a 25 year old cassette.the other night. It worked perfectly. People blame the tape,but it's often the way you store it. Although,there are other factors of course.
I know from my experience of cine & 16mm film,that there are allot of enthusiasts for vintage equipment. Even now in 2011,you can still buy cine & 16mm film,even restored projectors & editing equipment. Film lubricant,brand new super 8 films & even get the equipment repaired. Betamax has followers,so does tape. I still enjoy using cassettes & only the other week I was poring through a users forum on a website called 'tapeheads'. I think they mentioned reel to reel.
I wouldn't be suprised if there are enthusiasts who still swear by video tape!
At any rate,you are a collector extroadinaire,Dundonnell!!!! I would feel a bit like Indiana Jones,if I were you;although,thankfully,no giant rolling balls or snakes up there! Let's hope they're okay!

J.Z. Herrenberg · September 06, 2011, 04:12:56 AM

Quote from: cilgwyn on September 06, 2011, 04:01:20 AM
At any rate,you are a collector extroadinaire,Dundonnell!!!! I would feel a bit like Indiana Jones,if I were you;although,thankfully,no giant rolling balls or snakes up there! Let's hope they're okay!

OT: Talking abut Spielberg, I'm reminded of George Lucas and Star Wars: the new GMG member Thranx, a Brianite, is none other than Sci-Fi writer Alan Dean Foster, who was partly responsible for fleshing out the Star Wars universe in the 1970s, collaborating with Lucas... (didn't want to say this on the HB thread)

cilgwyn · September 06, 2011, 04:16:35 AM

Mums the word!!!!!

J.Z. Herrenberg · September 06, 2011, 04:25:33 AM

The secret is safe in this thread (poor Daniel Jones!)

cilgwyn · September 06, 2011, 04:52:05 AM

An attic does sound like one of the best places to leave tapes for a long period. As long as there isn't a hole in the roof! Cool,but not cold,dry,etc! I don't want to brag,but most of my ancient old cassettes work (& videos!) But I was always VERY careful to store them in a dry area away from heat sources,electro magnetic fields,condensation,the suns rays,blah! blah! But I know things CAN happen to the adhesives and things like that. If you get an old cassette out of a box they're often 'sticky' and,initially,they won't move,so people throw them away. The trick is to hold them by the side and tap them.or even thwack them,against you're palm a few times,then turn the cassette over and repeat the procedure a few times. Then run the cassette backwards and forwards a couple of times BEFORE playing it. If you just put the tape in,even if it plays,it can stick part way & then the tape gets chewed up.
Of course,the user blames the tape!

cilgwyn · September 06, 2011, 04:57:56 AM

I think there might be an old pair of boots in MY attic,a tv booster,a tv aerial & that's about all. Hopefully,that expensive,high gain, fm stereo radio aerial, in the corner,will be up there too,eventually.

J.Z. Herrenberg · September 06, 2011, 05:00:32 AM

Hattoff · September 06, 2011, 05:01:25 AM

Quote from: cilgwyn on September 06, 2011, 04:52:05 AM
Of course,the user blames the tape!

That's me, that is

cilgwyn · September 06, 2011, 05:09:11 AM

D**** that b***** hammer!!!

Dundonnell · September 06, 2011, 06:24:13 AM

Right....now that I have had time to go through my catalogue

Restricting myself to British music for the time being AND excluding everything which is now on cd AND anything which can be downloaded from 'Unsung Composers' I appear to have:

Sir Richard Rodney Bennett: Symphony No.2
Double Bass Concerto
Concerto for Orchestra
"Actaeon" for horn and orchestra

Sir Lennox Berkeley: Nocturne for orchestra
Windsor Variations for chamber orchestra
"Signs in the Dark" for chorus and strings
Four Ronsard Sonnets for tenor and orchestra
Magnificat for chorus and orchestra, op.71
Stabat Mater for voices and instruments

Derek Bourgeois: Symphony No.2
Tuba Concerto
Symphonic Variations
Dance Variations for orchestra
"The Globe"-Orchestral Fantasy

Alan Bush: Symphony No.3 "Byron" for baritone, chorus and orchestra
Variations, Nocturne and Finale on an English Sea Song for piano and orchestra
Dance Overture

Arthur Butterworth: Organ Concerto
"Italian Journey" for orchestra

Francis Chagrin: Symphony No.1

Arnold Cooke: Symphony No.4
Symphony No.5
Violin Concerto
Oboe Concerto

Gordon Crosse: Symphony No.2
Violin Concerto No.2
Ceremony for cello and orchestra
"Play Ground" for orchestra
"For the unfallen" for tenor, horn and strings

Christian Darnton: Concerto for Orchestra

Cedric Thorpe Davie: Symphony
Cantata "By the River"

David Ellis: Symphony No.1
Elegy for orchestra

Peter Racine Fricker: Symphony No.4
Symphony No.5 for organ and orchestra
Piano Concerto
Viola Concerto
Toccata for piano and orchestra
"Laudi contertante" for organ and orchestra
Concertante No.1 for cor anglais and strings
Concertante No.4 for flute, oboe, violin and strings
Three Scenes for orchestra
Prelude, Elegy and Finale for strings
Introitus for orchestra
Oratorio "The Vision of Judgment"
"Musick's Empire" for chorus and small orchestra
"O longs desirs" for soprano and orchestra

John Maxwell Geddes: Symphony

Iain Hamilton: Symphonic Variations
Scottish Dances
Overture "Bartholomew Fair"
Overture "1912"

Anthony Hedges: Symphony
Variations on a theme of Rameau for orchestra

Alun Hoddinott: Piano Concerto No. 3
Organ Concerto
Folk Song Suite
Night Music for orchestra
"The Hawk is set free" for orchestra

Donald Hunt: Te Deum

Maurice Jacobson: Cantata "The Hound of Heaven"

Daniel Jones: Symphony No.3
Symphony No.10
Violin Concerto
Tone Poem "Cloud Messenger"
Suite "Salute to Dylan Thomas"
Dance Fantasy for orchestra
Concert Overture
Overture "Ieunctid"
Oratorio "St. Peter"
Cantata "Hear the Voice of the Ancient Bard"

Wilfred Josephs: Symphony No.1
Symphony No.3
Symphony No.5 "Pastoral Symphony"
Symphony No.7 "Winter"
Aelian Dances for orchestra

Kenneth Leighton: Piano Concerto No.1
Piano Concerto No.2
Concerto for viola, harp, timpani and strings
Passacaglia, Chorale and Fugue for orchestra
Dance Overture

Malcolm Lipkin: Violin Concerto No.2
Mosaics for chamber orchestra

Elizabeth Maconchy: "Genesis" for orchestra
"Ariadne" for soprano and orchestra
Three settings of Gerard Manley Hopkins for soprano and chamber orchestra

William Mathias: Piano Concerto No.2
Concerto for harpsichord, strings and percussion
Serenade for small orchestra

Nicholas Maw: Sinfonia fopr small orchestra

John McCabe: Violin Concerto No.2
Variations on a theme of K.A. Hartmann for orchestra
Harpsichord Concertante

George McIlwham: Symphonic Poem "Cir Mhor"

Anthony Milner: Symphony No.2
Oratorio "The Water and the Fire"
Cantata "Midway"

David Morgan: Sinfonia da Requiem

Robin Orr: Symphony No.2
Symphony No.3

Ian Parrott: Cello Concerto

Alan Rawsthorne: "Carmen Vitali" for soprano, chorus and orchestra

Franz Reizenstein: Piano Concerto No.2
Cantata "Voices of the Night"

Francis Routh: Cello Concerto

Gerard Schurmann: Piano Concerto

Phyllis Tate: Secular Requiem "The Phoenix and the Turtle"

Ian Whyte: Tone Poem "Edinburgh"

Thomas Wilson: Symphony No.2
Concerto for orchestra
Variations for orchestra
Threnody for orchestra
"Touchstone" for orchestra
"Sequentiae Passionis" for choir and ensemble
Carmina Sacra for voice, harp and strings

Ralph W. Wood: Symphony No.3

William Wordsworth: Overture "Conflicts"

plus a few other shorter orchestra pieces by a variety of composers.

(Amazing how much Fricker was performed back in the 1970s!!)

Oh, I DO HOPE MOST of this can be brought back to life in digital format

cilgwyn · September 06, 2011, 06:26:44 AM

If Dundonnell's treasure trove IS recoverable,that would leave only Symphonies 1,5,11 & the 'thirteenth' (In memory of John Fussell). That would be most of the cycle. No 5,if can be located (anyone got it 'out there'?) is regarded by those,'in the know',as one of his best.
Can't believe some of the titles in Dundonnell's posession. It just shows what the Beeb were capable of years ago & how far they have fallen. Thankfully,there are some signs that the newly devolved Wales,replete with law making powers,is starting to take a renewed interest in it's composers. I just hope this leads to more funding for recordings of Wales's greatest composers.

cilgwyn · September 06, 2011, 06:27:52 AM

Dundonnell. Is that all?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That list took a bit of scrolling.

Dundonnell · September 06, 2011, 06:28:18 AM

Apologies if I have included anything which IS on cd or for any spelling mistakes

It took a hell of a long time to write all this

If anyone thinks the post should go elsewhere then please say

Dundonnell · September 06, 2011, 06:29:09 AM

Quote from: cilgwyn on September 06, 2011, 06:27:52 AM
Dundonnell. Is that all?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well I haven't done the non-British stuff yet

J.Z. Herrenberg · September 06, 2011, 06:30:00 AM

Chorus.

He's got 'em on the list — he's got 'em on the list;
And they'll none of 'em be missed — they'll none of 'em be missed.

But that last line isn't true, of course. Wow!