Ruth Gipps (1921-99)

[cilgwyn]

Incidentally,I was playing Dark side of the Moon (or Dark side of the Gloom,as I call it) when the Ruth Gipps cd arrived. An interesting contrast! Apart from a brief spot of Blood Sweat & Tears,Gipps was on repeat all day! I don't think I've had many cd's,for quite a while,that I have played as much as that one! Incidentally,I think her tone poem,Knight in Armour,is an an absolute winner!Wonderful! And not a note too long! (There should be a Gipps website and society,too,really! I think she deserves one!)

[Harry]

Incidentally,I was playing Dark side of the Moon (or Dark side of the Gloom,as I call it) when the Ruth Gipps cd arrived. An interesting contrast! Apart from a brief spot of Blood Sweat & Tears,Gipps was on repeat all day! I don't think I've had many cd's,for quite a while,that I have played as much as that one! Incidentally,I think her tone poem,Knight in Armour,is an an absolute winner!Wonderful! And not a note too long! (There should be a Gipps website and society,too,really! I think she deserves one!)

Let me dive into this idea, I have server space enough....

[vandermolen]

Let me dive into this idea, I have server space enough....

Great idea Harry.

My favourite moment is the wonderful tune at about 1 minute and 20 seconds into the last movement of Symphony 4.

[Daverz]

Incidentally,I was playing Dark side of the Moon (or Dark side of the Gloom,as I call it) when the Ruth Gipps cd arrived.

How well does the Gipps disc work as a soundtrack for The Wizard of Oz?

[SymphonicAddict]

Seeing the VERY positive impressions about the new release of Gipps, I can't wait to hear the Chandos CD.

[vandermolen]

Seeing the VERY positive impressions about the new release of Gipps, I can't wait to hear the Chandos CD.

Am sure you'll enjoy it Cesar and I don't think that it's being over-hyped here. I've already played the complete CD through three times in one day. The performance of Symphony 2 makes it into a more coherent work, in my opinion, compared to the (also good) earlier recording. No 4 is terrific and so nice to have a modern recording. 'Knight in Armour' is a most enjoyable discovery.

[SymphonicAddict]

Am sure you'll enjoy it Cesar and I don't think that it's being over-hyped here. I've already played the complete CD through three times in one day. The performance of Symphony 2 makes it into a more coherent work, in my opinion, compared to the (also good) earlier recording. No 4 is terrific and so nice to have a modern recording. 'Knight in Armour' is a most enjoyable discovery.

Bolded text - I don't think that either, what I do think is that this composer is deserving her stature as an accomplished one and we are enjoying her rediscovery for the sake of all us. Chandos would do an important job if they recorded the other symphonies and miscellaneous orchestral works. I'm a champion of unjustly neglected composers, and this release is very promising to show the world how good Gipps was.

[vandermolen]

Bolded text - I don't think that either, what I do think is that this composer is deserving her stature as an accomplished one and we are enjoying her rediscovery for the sake of all us. Chandos would do an important job if they recorded the other symphonies and miscellaneous orchestral works. I'm a champion of unjustly neglected composers, and this release is very promising to show the world how good Gipps was.

+1

[Oates]

This release is also a reminder that there were good women composers. Another reason why Chandos should be encouraged to record more of Ruth Gipps output. Looking at her list of compositions on Wikipedia there is plenty to explore!!

This thread has sensibly avoided the gender issue so far - Ruth herself was only too aware of the great challenge women faced in gaining acceptance with all the "men composers". Any neglect was clearly not due to a perception of lack of quality in her music, as this release proves. Yet of her era I can only think of Doreen Carwithen, Rebecca Clarke, Grace Williams and Elisabeth Lutyens. In the latter case, I can understand why her music has been given a wide berth!

[vandermolen]

This thread has sensibly avoided the gender issue so far - Ruth herself was only too aware of the great challenge women faced in gaining acceptance with all the "men composers". Any neglect was clearly not due to a perception of lack of quality in her music, as this release proves. Yet of her era I can only think of Doreen Carwithen, Rebecca Clarke, Grace Williams and Elisabeth Lutyens. In the latter case, I can understand why her music has been given a wide berth!

Yes, a good point. Of the list of women composers you mention I enjoy the Second Symphony by Grace Williams in particular but also the short orchestral music and chamber music by Carwithen and the fine score for Watership Down by Angela Morley. Don't know much by Rebecca Clarke and have no interest in exploring the work of Elisabeth Lutyens.

[Sergeant Rock]

...and Elisabeth Lutyens. In the latter case, I can understand why her music has been given a wide berth!

no interest in exploring the work of Elisabeth Lutyens.

Never heard of her before this but decided to find out what could possibly be causing the strong negative reactions from you two. Went listening on YouTube. What I found was a composer of strongly varying styles, from Schoenbergian serialism to the Strauss waltz. All of it attractive in its own way (attractive to me anyway). In any case, I thank you for bringing this composer to my attention.

Two examples of Lutyens' music :

https://www.youtube.com/v/nPdM0FXNXJE

https://www.youtube.com/v/di19ZKLZlKQ


Sarge

[vandermolen]

Never heard of her before this but decided to find out what could possibly be causing the strong negative reactions from you two. Went listening on YouTube. What I found was a composer of strongly varying styles, from Schoenbergian serialism to the Strauss waltz. All of it attractive in its own way (attractive to me anyway). In any case, I thank you for bringing this composer to my attention.

Two examples of Lutyens' music :

https://www.youtube.com/v/nPdM0FXNXJE

https://www.youtube.com/v/di19ZKLZlKQ


Sarge

Thanks for this Sarge although I have to say that the combination of Schoenbergian serialism and Strauss waltzes does not sound very appealing to me. Having said that 'En Voyage' sounded rather good and the music for 'The Skull', presumably a Hammer horror film I'd guess, reminded me a bit of Benjamin Frankel's fine score for 'Curse of the Werewolf'. Maybe I should listen to more Lutyens after all.

[vandermolen]

Dropping my wife off at the station this morning I turned on the car radio and guess what? They were playing the scherzo from her 4th Symphony, a listener's request. What struck me was how instantly recognisable her musical style is. It is not especially derivative and although she was the pupil of Vaughan Williams there were moments when her music reminded me more of Malcolm Arnold. Anyway, good to hear Ruth Gipps featured on the BBC.

[Biffo]

Drifting slightly off the subject, of the various composers mentioned above Lutyens is the one I have known the longest though, admittedly, by only one work - 'O saisons, o chateaux'. A few years ago I investigated her work more fully and read a biography  - 'A Pilgrim Soul' by Meirion and Susie Harries. Basically, she was a serialist but not a strict one, she developed her own style. To support herself, her children and her feckless husband she also wrote music for TV and film, mainly Hammer. The film music was more eclectic, hence perhaps the reference to a Strauss waltz.

[Oates]

Elisabeth Lutyens was the militant anti-pastoralist who coined the dismissive phrase 'cow pat' music.  She subsequently went on to compose a beautiful pastoral score for the film The Heart of England, which I really wish someone would record.

[Oates]

Forgot to mention that the Gipps CD arrived yesterday and I'm really enjoying it. However, like on the previous Bostock CD, I'm not sure that the one movement 20 minute 2nd Symphony needs to be split into 8 tracks - overkill.

[vandermolen]

Forgot to mention that the Gipps CD arrived yesterday and I'm really enjoying it. However, like on the previous Bostock CD, I'm not sure that the one movement 20 minute 2nd Symphony needs to be split into 8 tracks - overkill.

Glad you're enjoying it. A marvellous CD in my opinion.

[Biffo]

Elisabeth Lutyens was the militant anti-pastoralist who coined the dismissive phrase 'cow pat' music.  She subsequently went on to compose a beautiful pastoral score for the film The Heart of England, which I really wish someone would record.

I always thought it was Constant Lambert who coined the phrase 'cow pat' music. The author of the booklet note for the Lambert film music I listened to recently certainly thinks so. Not that it really matters, Lutyens was rude about all kinds of music, especially when drunk, which was a lot of the time.

[vandermolen]

I always thought it was Constant Lambert who coined the phrase 'cow pat' music. The author of the booklet note for the Lambert film music I listened to recently certainly thinks so. Not that it really matters, Lutyens was rude about all kinds of music, especially when drunk, which was a lot of the time.

Plus I think that Aaron Copland, who later came to admire his music, said that listening to Vaughan Williams's 'A Pastoral Symphony' was like staring at a cow for 40 minutes.

[Biffo]

Plus I think that Aaron Copland, who later came to admire his music, said that listening to Vaughan Williams's 'A Pastoral Symphony' was like staring at a cow for 40 minutes.

'a cow looking over a gate' was another rude comment, can't remember the author. I have always 'known' the 'cow pat' jibe came from Constant Lambert but now I come to try and track it down I am unsuccessful. In 'Music Ho!' he has quite a lot to say about the 'Pastoral', most of it condescending but nothing downright rude.