Havergal Brian.

[Luke]

But I did notice that one of the bass drums was less audible than the other last week - there were those sudden thwacks at the beginning of the Vivace which also went missing rather, and at the point you mention we really only hear drum I prominently. I actually quite like this as it emphasizes the triplet cross rhythm - more strongly than Brian wanted, perhaps, but at least it is truly audible here. All of a sudden we hear what are to all intents an purposes triplet crotchets in the 3/4 context, and it's a big shock!

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

It sounds as if something is banging on the door to be let in: the F# chord...


UMP have re-issued the score of 'The Gothic', by the way, in two volumes. I wish we could have a critical edition, but I think I'll be dead before that happens...

[Philip Legge]

It seems astonishing to me that we now have five excellent performances of the Gothic to muse over and reflect upon. (And there is also the half performance of Sir Charles Groves' Part One from the year of the Brian centenary, and rumoured Fairfax `61/Stokes `78 bootlegs.) I agree that none of the performances can be held to represent the definitive interpretation of the work, not least because each recording has its own strengths as well as flaws. On a technical note, I believe the higher-quality Brisbane recording doesn't suffer from the channel reversal that the 4MBS internet stream did, so this is a most welcome improvement on the very limited sound of the earlier recording.

In short this is an incredible development from the long days of no recordings at all (except for Aries' pirate LPs of the Boult `66), up until the eventual CD release of Lenárd's `89 studio recording on Marco Polo in about 1991, and then only in the last year or so the properly re-mastered Testament release of the Boult. I hope the Schmidt `80 recording sees its way to perhaps the LSO Live series of discs – the finesse of the orchestral playing is exactly what one would expect from a professional orchestra of this calibre. (I haven't had enough time to fully absorb this reading.)

I spoke to Gary Thorpe a fair deal on the weekend and it's perhaps too early to speculate about a CD (or possibly DVD-video/audio) release of the Brisbane Gothic. For one thing, the publishers/rights managers are unimaginative and unsupportive to such a degree that there would be an unhelpfully large cost barrier to entering the marketplace with a new CD recording. That is a great pity because Curro's `10 performance is in places a white-hot reading of the work from conductor, players, and singers alike, and it has been very well captured on disc. Incidentally, almost all of the stock music used in the documentary "Curse of the Gothic" come from the Brisbane performance, and it comes across marvellously on the big screen as "film music" even when subjected to death by a thousand cuts (there are a few other works heard also: Elgar's King Olaf in an idealised re-creation of Brian's 1896 hearing of the work, which was a powerful spur to Brian's choosing composition as a career; and the QYO are shown rehearsing some Shostakovich).

As for that curious antiphonal bass-drum writing at the end of the Vivace which emphasises the triplets (which of course is what you hear in the timpani immediately afterwards, before the other timpanist returns to the duplet pattern in D minor from the start of the movement), there's something sort of similar in the Tuba mirum of the Berlioz Requiem, where Hector explicitly states the bass drum is to be struck on alternating sides in sextuplet rhythm (in a slightly slower tempo), with the sequence of up and down stems indicating the technique for the players, but very few recordings seem to bring this out. Brian of course has two bass drums to play with, so the two players should be attempting to match the sound of their drums in those two bars before the chord of F# crashes in: they are there in the Brisbane recording, but only faintly. They cannot be heard at all in either the Boult `66 or the Lenárd `89 versions. With Brabbins `11 only one of the two drums can be heard, and the other seems to be swallowed up in the general sound rather than actually punching at its own weight. Only in the Schmidt `80 can you clearly hear both bass drums for those couple of bars — and no, I don't have Groves `76 to compare!

As for a score, if I were living in Canada I'd be tempted to put one up on IMSLP.org on the 1st of January 2023. Since Australia signed a ridiculous free trade agreement with the US that put works entering the public domain on the back-burner for two whole decades, add another 20 years to that date. (Providing I haven't dropped off the twig in the mean time of course.) A critical edition would be nice, but just one with a darn sight fewer errors would be nice too! The long drum and the thunder machine never appear in the course of the full score, but the latter instrument is assumed to be played in combination with the "Scare Crow", as the Bird Scare is termed on page 184 (last page of Judex). Having heard Brian's 4th English Suite, which has a curious movement described as an Ashanti marching song, I'm personally convinced that the former instrument should be heard along with the nine clarinets, cymbal, side drum and bass drum on each of the two occasions that they go a-marching.

Cheers, Philip

[cilgwyn]

The 1980 Schmidt in the LSO Live Series. What a marvellous idea! Everyone should write to/email them.
Hadn't heard of the Fairfax bootlegs. Wonder what the sound quality is like? Not exactly hi-fi I fear!!!! But having listened to allot of old acoustic & electrical recordings from the early years of the last century & some pretty terrible recordings,in pursuit of neglected composers I like,I think I could just about cope?!

[Lethevich]

Nota bene: all this recent Havergal talk has brought the thread to page 96 - a significant number in the mythology

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

The thread has exploded since last week's concert. Brian is now 9 pages behind Mahler (and 9 light years behind in reputation)... I hope this thread won't die before it reaches page 97!

[cilgwyn]

I will tempt fate to say,'I doubt it'!

[cilgwyn]

'An Ashanti marching song'?!!!
Brian ever full of suprises.
Actually,'Ashanti Battle song',to be accurate. Looking at the article on the HBS site. The 'English Suite No 4',sounds allot more more interesting than (no offence to children!) it's 'Kindergarten' subtitle might suggest. But alas,no commercial recording!

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

'An Ashanti marching song'?!!!
Brian ever full of suprises.

I know about that. I remember the Fourth English Suite was once recorded by an amateur orchestra (the George Heriot's School Orchestra, I think). Never heard it... O, I found this on the HBS site:


English suite 4 »Kindergarten«
?1924

2 flutes (2 also picc), 2 oboes (1 also cor anglais), 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, bass drum, side drum, long narrow Indian drum, glockenspiel, celesta, harp, strings

1  Thank you
2  Where is he?
3  Something or nothing
4  The man with a gun
5  Jingle
6  The lame duck
7  Gentle bunny
8  Death of bunny
9  Ashanti battle song

(14´)



Performances

5 July 1977 [first performance] . George Heriot's School, Edinburgh
George Heriot's School First Orchestra, conductor Martin Rutherford

17-24 July 1977 [Ashanti battle song only]. Spanish tour:  Lloret de Mar, Montserrat, Barcelona, Girona and Sitges
George Heriot's School First Orchestra, conductor Martin Rutherford

27 March 2001 . Melbourne Grammar School, Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne Grammar School SO, conductor Martin Rutherford

Article by Malcolm MacDonald: 

http://www.havergalbrian.org/engsuite4_1.htm

[cilgwyn]

A limited release or subscription issue? That Lp would be a nice find for a Brian collector.
And they got to play it in Spain.
The Australians have done that one too!!! Hopefully,we'll get to hear it as well! Brian's 'lesser' (?) works are always well worth hearing,aren't they? Another part of the 'jigsaw',even if it's not one of the most important pieces,I suppose.
Thanks for the handy link.

[cilgwyn]

I'm ashamed to say I have only just ordered the Toccata orchestral Works (Vol 1) now. For certain reasons,eg allot of additional and less intriguing purchases,(anyone want to discuss freezers?) I had resisted. Listening to the Dutton cd on my 'retro-tech' cd changer was the last straw. I HAD to order! Anyway,according to HMV,it's in stock & shipping is 'in 24 hrs'). Hope I won't be disappointed?!!!
I will roll back in time now & have another look at some of the posts about this disc.

Have to say,I DO love my new freezer though!

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

For me the best things, in terms of playing, are 'Ave Atque Vale' and the Burlesque Variations. 'Elegy' is a wonderful piece, but I disagree with the tempo the conductor has chosen. The same applies to 'Reverie' in the Fifth English Suite. Still, I am glad to have this disc!

[cilgwyn]

I hate it to say it,Johan. But you're reservations about the performance of the English suite No 5 & some of the comments about the recording level,didn't help.
I shouldn't be so easily put off though,should I !
Okay,the 'posting thingummy' did warn me,so treat this as a reply.

[cilgwyn]

So you reckon I'll be better off with the earlier recording.
Regarding,the recording level. I hope to goodness it's not like the Hyperion?Helios cd of Holst's 'Choral Symphony'. A case in point. Either it was too quiet or too loud.All I seemed to do was fiddle around with the volume control. I wasn't half relieved when emi finally reissued the Boult recording (which is better anyway).

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Simply see and listen for yourself. It's still an essential CD. Brianites aren't as spoiled for choice as Mahlerians.

[cilgwyn]

Nick Barnard's review on Musicweb refers to the percussion having a 'field day' in the 'Legend'.
I'm definately looking forward to this now!
The Janacek cd's are fine & the case/booklet (they'll get 5 stars!) so,for the time being, I'll dig out the Hull Youth of the 'Burlesque' variations & bung them on as soon as I can.
CURRENT HMV STATUS: Available & awaiting shipment.....

[cilgwyn]

The Plus side. I'll have a new Brian cd to listen to!
Downside:      For a true 'Brianite' (sounds like a rock formation!) I'm WAY behind!

[Hattoff]

Hi Johan & cilgwyn,
I have the 4th English Suite in mp3 format. 
Here it is:  http://www.4shared.com/audio/jgx3ayM1/Brian_English_suite_No_4.html
The sound is not too bad considering the surface noise.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

What do you think?... Yes! I'd love to hear it. Which performance?

[cilgwyn]

Thankyou. We certainly would!