Vaughan Williams's Veranda

[Pohjolas Daughter]

The teenage daughter of my CD nutter work colleague/friend played a wicked trick on him. A large parcel of CDS arrived for him at their house while he was out. So, she very carefully opened the parcel and removed all the CDs, replacing them with CDs from the shelves of his collection and carefully sealed up the package again. She then took great, malicious, pleasure at watching her dad's puzzled expression when he opened the parcel. Terribly wicked!

I wonder if she might have been thinking:  "Will he even realize that he already owns these CDs?"   

PD

[Roasted Swan]

I wonder if she might have been thinking:  "Will he even realize that he already owns these CDs?"   

PD

I am in the process of moving house so all my stashed CD's in the attic are coming down in box after box after box.  Oddly, when I see them all I do remember every one (which is kind of a good thing?) BUT at the same time it is a simply ludicrous number so I am resolving to cut my new purchases right down and actually try to more actively engage with the MANY less familiar discs/works I already own....  Hence things like this new Brabbins/RVW 5 will have to be ignored ..... at least for a bit.........!!!!!

[vandermolen]

I am in the process of moving house so all my stashed CD's in the attic are coming down in box after box after box.  Oddly, when I see them all I do remember every one (which is kind of a good thing?) BUT at the same time it is a simply ludicrous number so I am resolving to cut my new purchases right down and actually try to more actively engage with the MANY less familiar discs/works I already own....  Hence things like this new Brabbins/RVW 5 will have to be ignored ..... at least for a bit.........!!!!!

Sounds like a good plan and good luck with the move. Sometimes 'less is more' but I don't always live up to my own precepts! However, I have, so far resisted the temptation to buy several discs on my radar, including the  Franz Schmidt symphonies on DGG, the John Wilson Respighi disc and the boxed set of Charles Gerhardt conducting Film Music.  0:)

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I am in the process of moving house so all my stashed CD's in the attic are coming down in box after box after box.  Oddly, when I see them all I do remember every one (which is kind of a good thing?) BUT at the same time it is a simply ludicrous number so I am resolving to cut my new purchases right down and actually try to more actively engage with the MANY less familiar discs/works I already own....  Hence things like this new Brabbins/RVW 5 will have to be ignored ..... at least for a bit.........!!!!!

I keep telling myself that I need to thin things out; it's going vvvvvveeeeeerrrrrrryyyyyyy sssssslllllloooooooooooowwwwwlllllyyyyy. 

So, with this new move, will those CDs still be in boxes or will you build/buy shelving for them so that you can listen to them more easily RS?

PD

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Speaking (elsewhere) about David McFall's bust of Vaughan Williams, I went back to the site and clicked on "Bronzes for sale".  Here:  http://davidmcfall.co.uk/page264.html

I was amazed to see many of McFall's works for sale!  And included in that, the famous Vaughan Williams' one!  Surely, these are replicas?  If i'm understanding their notation system correctly, he only had six of them made?  Or does that have nothing to do with it?  Possibly just the sixth bust that he created that year.  Are these miniatures?  Or did they have other ones cast after his death?  Anyone here know?

PD

[Roasted Swan]

I keep telling myself that I need to thin things out; it's going vvvvvveeeeeerrrrrrryyyyyyy sssssslllllloooooooooooowwwwwlllllyyyyy. 

So, with this new move, will those CDs still be in boxes or will you build/buy shelving for them so that you can listen to them more easily RS?

PD

Ahh now there's the dilemma!  My current plan is to leave them in the boxes (which are already catalogued in terms of contents) but stacked on shelving for easy access.  Currently they've been in the same boxes but stacked in teetering piles behind other teetering piles in my attic.  So at least in theory everything should be significantly more to hand than before.  It when the stacking or the double banking starts again that you know the hoarder's curse has struck...........

[vandermolen]

Speaking (elsewhere) about David McFall's bust of Vaughan Williams, I went back to the site and clicked on "Bronzes for sale".  Here:  http://davidmcfall.co.uk/page264.html

I was amazed to see many of McFall's works for sale!  And included in that, the famous Vaughan Williams' one!  Surely, these are replicas?  If i'm understanding their notation system correctly, he only had six of them made?  Or does that have nothing to do with it?  Possibly just the sixth bust that he created that year.  Are these miniatures?  Or did they have other ones cast after his death?  Anyone here know?

PD

If I had a spare few thousand pounds I'd be tempted to buy it as I've loved that bronze head for decades. In fact I had some communications with David McFall's wife about it. She was keen for me to buy it but I could not justify the expense, although it would of course be an investment. So, I had to make do with the one I made myself when I was at school! I expect that the one for sale is probably one of the original six cast. I know that Mrs VW had one, so did the Royal College of Music and the National Gallery as well as VW's biographer Michael Kennedy. That leaves two, in my estimation, unaccounted for.

[Christo]

David Hurwitz' new take on Job on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eintcAt6kUQ&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR3hb1hgnE0EFX2VJc5ULh-HoISisVU9sMAuMrlCuqYKvYi7HDLhBfENpXA

[vandermolen]

David Hurwitz' new take on Job on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eintcAt6kUQ&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR3hb1hgnE0EFX2VJc5ULh-HoISisVU9sMAuMrlCuqYKvYi7HDLhBfENpXA

Thanks for posting Johan. I'll look forward to watching it later.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Ahh now there's the dilemma!  My current plan is to leave them in the boxes (which are already catalogued in terms of contents) but stacked on shelving for easy access.  Currently they've been in the same boxes but stacked in teetering piles behind other teetering piles in my attic.  So at least in theory everything should be significantly more to hand than before.  It when the stacking or the double banking starts again that you know the hoarder's curse has struck...........

or perhaps  ?   

In any event, good luck with it!

PD

If I had a spare few thousand pounds I'd be tempted to buy it as I've loved that bronze head for decades. In fact I had some communications with David McFall's wife about it. She was keen for me to buy it but I could not justify the expense, although it would of course be an investment. So, I had to make do with the one I made myself when I was at school! I expect that the one for sale is probably one of the original six cast. I know that Mrs VW had one, so did the Royal College of Music and the National Gallery as well as VW's biographer Michael Kennedy. That leaves two, in my estimation, unaccounted for.

You would have thought that all of the six would have been 'scooped up' quite quickly?  And yeah, like you, I would love to have one!  I noticed that McFall had done a couple of other works of Vaughan Williams too.  So, how did yours come out Jeffrey?  And do you still have it?

PD

p.s.  I love his ones of animals too; that pig is quite cute! 

[vandermolen]

  or perhaps  ?   

In any event, good luck with it!

PDYou would have thought that all of the six would have been 'scooped up' quite quickly?  And yeah, like you, I would love to have one!  I noticed that McFall had done a couple of other works of Vaughan Williams too.  So, how did yours come out Jeffrey?  And do you still have it?

PD

p.s.  I love his ones of animals too; that pig is quite cute! 

I found it still in its original clay in the attic (I remember that my Art teacher painted it with hardener). However, it would have fallen to bits sooner or later as it is not far off 50 years old. So, when I retired from full-time teaching in 2015 for once in my life I had a bit of money from the Teacher's Pension so, I found someone who could cast it in 'cold-cast bronze' (like fibre-glass) and now it is in the living room - a gift from my 17 year old self 

[Roasted Swan]

I found it still in its original clay in the attic (I remember that my Art teacher painted it with hardener). However, it would have fallen to bits sooner or later as it is not far off 50 years old. So, when I retired from full-time teaching in 2015 for once in my life I had a bit of money from the Teacher's Pension so, I found someone who could cast it in 'cold-cast bronze' (like fibre-glass) and now it is in the living room - a gift from my 17 year old self 

Congratulations - that looks fantastic!  What a wonderful gift to yourself.

[vandermolen]

Congratulations - that looks fantastic!  What a wonderful gift to yourself.

Thank you so much RS 

I remember making it and much as I loved the David McFall Head, I actually used a photo of Ralph from a photo of him and Ursula at Hannover Terrace as an inspiration. The photo is in the James Day biography of VW in the 'Great Composer' series. I can tell that as the page still has dried clay on it! The mould-maker did a very good job of preserving it and I was very happy with the final result.

[Papy Oli]

So you should be, it is brilliant !

[vandermolen]

So you should be, it is brilliant !

Thank you very much Olivier for the kind comment. I have to say that I'm proud that I did that as a 17/18 year old. I only did Art as an extra-curricular subject at school as I had to focus much of my time on re-taking all the exams that I had failed! The Art Master was very kind and supportive and when I finished the VW Head he got it displayed in a Building Society window in Fleet Street near the school. It is weird going back in my mind to 1972/73 like this and I hope that I don't come across as more vain that usual. My wife and daughter think that I'm a terrible 'show off' - but I am proud of that VW head and it was so exciting when the parcel containing the cold-cast bronze head arrived here from the casting studio a couple of years ago - the whole experience was a bit surreal.

[André]

Very impressive Jeffrey !  And yes, facing your creation from all those years ago must have felt like it was from a previous life !

[vandermolen]

Very impressive Jeffrey !  And yes, facing your creation from all those years ago must have felt like it was from a previous life !

Thank you André - that's a good way of describing it, especially as I had not seen it for such a long time.

[Irons]

Very impressive Jeffrey !  And yes, facing your creation from all those years ago must have felt like it was from a previous life !

+1

[vandermolen]

+1

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I found it still in its original clay in the attic (I remember that my Art teacher painted it with hardener). However, it would have fallen to bits sooner or later as it is not far off 50 years old. So, when I retired from full-time teaching in 2015 for once in my life I had a bit of money from the Teacher's Pension so, I found someone who could cast it in 'cold-cast bronze' (like fibre-glass) and now it is in the living room - a gift from my 17 year old self 

Wow!  What a great job Jeffrey! Now that you're semi-retired, have you spent any time pursuing your obvious artistic talents?

PD