EJ Moeran

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Thanks, Jeffrey. I've become a fan of Hurwitz and his channel. This one I had missed. Will watch! The Boult and the Handley are my favourites. But I don't know the Dilkes...

[J]

Might one of the (YouTube) commenters tell Dave he's pronouncing the name wrong.

[vandermolen]

Might one of the (YouTube) commenters tell Dave he's pronouncing the name wrong.

Yes, also the first conductor was 'Leslie Heward' and not 'Leslie Howard' who was an actor killed in World War Two.

[HotFXMan]

Having recently discovered this Forum, I have just read the entirety of the EJ Moeran discussion, and have noted with interest the comments on my Durham PhD thesis that some forum members have been able to read. Forum members may be interested to know that the thesis has finally developed into a full-length biography of Moeran, due for publication in June 2021.

After graduating with my doctorate in 2015, I continued my research into the life and work of Moeran, and was able to uncover substantial additional evidence that has both added to and superseded the conclusions reached in the PhD Thesis - some of which is now obsolete. I hope that the forthcoming book will clarify much of Moeran's life for those still clinging to the extensive mythology, and will interest others in a composer whose full significance in British music is only now beginning to be revealed.

[bhodges]

Hello, Dr. Maxwell, thanks for weighing in, and welcome! Feel free to roam around the discussions here and contribute if you like.

--Bruce

[vandermolen]

That's very good news indeed. We need a proper biography of Moeran dealing with both the man and his music.

[HotFXMan]

Thank you. Since I don't know the Forum policy on advertising and promoting one's own work, I have not given any specific details of the book title or publisher, but a Google search of Moeran coupled with my surname will bring up the relevant information.

[Roasted Swan]

Excellent news - I will be ordering a copy for sure!

[vandermolen]

Excellent news - I will be ordering a copy for sure!

+1

Do you know if and when the paperback edition will be published?

[Roasted Swan]

A tangential query to Dr Maxwell.  I was googling your name as suggested to find details about the Moeran book but found as well reference to Joseph Joachim who you have written about.  Is it coincidental that you were in Durham.... my father was the principal of a teacher training college in Liverpool.  A close friend and colleague of his was Nina Joachim who was principal of St. Hilds in Durham.  She was a relation of Joachim violinist and had a remarkable silver salva on which had been engraved the signatures of the great and the good when it was given to Joachim as a gift (can't remember the occasion).  Did you know Nina Joachim and/or this link?

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Having recently discovered this Forum, I have just read the entirety of the EJ Moeran discussion, and have noted with interest the comments on my Durham PhD thesis that some forum members have been able to read. Forum members may be interested to know that the thesis has finally developed into a full-length biography of Moeran, due for publication in June 2021.

After graduating with my doctorate in 2015, I continued my research into the life and work of Moeran, and was able to uncover substantial additional evidence that has both added to and superseded the conclusions reached in the PhD Thesis - some of which is now obsolete. I hope that the forthcoming book will clarify much of Moeran's life for those still clinging to the extensive mythology, and will interest others in a composer whose full significance in British music is only now beginning to be revealed.

A bit late to the party, but this is excellent news. High time Self's pioneering book was superseded!

[vandermolen]

A bit late to the party, but this is excellent news. High time Self's pioneering book was superseded!

I agree, Geoffrey Self's book was very good but it focused mainly on the music.

The tribute below is both entertaining and touching and worth reading:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/Oct09/Geoffrey_Self.htm

[HotFXMan]

A bit late to the party, but this is excellent news. High time Self's pioneering book was superseded!

Self's brief was primarily an examination of Moeran's music in the context of a theory he had developed during research for an MMus degree in which he proposed that M's music incorporated loci classici, referencing other music believed to evoke particular emotional responses. His biographical content was constrained both by space and a lack of primary evidence. However, at the time he was writing, several people who knew Moeran were still alive, and Self relied on their testimony for much of his necessarily superficial account of the composer's life. Unfortunately, he had little possibility of verifying this evidence, and accepted it is it stood. The result, in combination with the personal evidence provided by Lionel Hill in Lonely Waters, which was published around the same time, was an uncritical assumption that, because these people actually  knew Moeran, their testimony must have been authoritative. Together with earlier evidence published by Philip Heseltine during the 1920s which derived from his friendship with Moeran, the two 1980s books contributed substantially to the "Moeran mythology".

While my book substantially rewrites the Moeran biography, the music, of course, remains the same. But my hope is that a clearer and more realistic appreciation of its composer's life will enable a better understanding of the circumstances under which the music was conceived, and so enhance the listening experience.

[HotFXMan]

+1

Do you know if and when the paperback edition will be published?

No plans for a paperback edition at the moment. However, there will be an eBook version alongside the hardback.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

No plans for a paperback edition at the moment. However, there will be an eBook version alongside the hardback.

That's excellent news (eBook)!

[HotFXMan]

A tangential query to Dr Maxwell.  I was googling your name as suggested to find details about the Moeran book but found as well reference to Joseph Joachim who you have written about.  Is it coincidental that you were in Durham.... my father was the principal of a teacher training college in Liverpool.  A close friend and colleague of his was Nina Joachim who was principal of St. Hilds in Durham.  She was a relation of Joachim violinist and had a remarkable silver salva on which had been engraved the signatures of the great and the good when it was given to Joachim as a gift (can't remember the occasion).  Did you know Nina Joachim and/or this link?

The Durham connection is coincidence, but was more or less imposed because it was the only UK university music department sufficiently interested in my research project to offer me a place. However, I did meet Nina Joachim once when I was about 10 years old. She was the sister of Jo Joachim of Wigton (grandson of Joseph Joachim) whose wife Bernice was my piano teacher during the 1960s. I have been examining the British Joachim family archives with a view to writing a book on "the British Joachim".

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Self's brief was primarily an examination of Moeran's music in the context of a theory he had developed during research for an MMus degree in which he proposed that M's music incorporated loci classici, referencing other music believed to evoke particular emotional responses. His biographical content was constrained both by space and a lack of primary evidence. However, at the time he was writing, several people who knew Moeran were still alive, and Self relied on their testimony for much of his necessarily superficial account of the composer's life. Unfortunately, he had little possibility of verifying this evidence, and accepted it is it stood. The result, in combination with the personal evidence provided by Lionel Hill in Lonely Waters, which was published around the same time, was an uncritical assumption that, because these people actually  knew Moeran, their testimony must have been authoritative. Together with earlier evidence published by Philip Heseltine during the 1902s which derived from his friendship with Moeran, the two 1980s books contributed substantially to the "Moeran mythology".

While my book substantially rewrites the Moeran biography, the music, of course, remains the same. But my hope is that a clearer and more realistic appreciation of its composer's life will enable a better understanding of the circumstances under which the music was conceived, and so enhance the listening experience.

Many thanks for this answer, and for the fact that you wanted to put the record straight about Moeran. I have always been a bit miffed about Self's idea that Moeran was some sort of brilliant magpie, taking things from other composers, recombining them, and then the war trauma comes in to give the music its own bittersweet stamp. I cannot wait to see the varnish taken off this wonderful composer!

[HotFXMan]

Many thanks for this answer, and for the fact that you wanted to put the record straight about Moeran. I have always been a bit miffed about Self's idea that Moeran was some sort of brilliant magpie, taking things from other composers, recombining them, and then the war trauma comes in to give the music its own bittersweet stamp. I cannot wait to see the varnish taken off this wonderful composer!

Regarding Moeran's originality, this is a paragraph from the Introduction to my book. There is, of course, much more detail in the main text.

"Opinion has been divided as to what extent Moeran created a distinctive voice in his music, with writers being reluctant to credit him with freshness of idea or style. Indeed, discussion of Moeran has almost always taken place within the context of seemingly obvious influences from other composers, such as Ireland, Delius, Warlock or Sibelius, and the higher profile enjoyed by these composers has ensured that when apparent similarities are identified, it is always Moeran's music that is presumed to be the derivative. The notion that he exhibited a unique style that may even have inspired other composers has never been considered seriously, and his compositional skill has been relegated to an expertise in the re-working of influences. The existence of creative individuality is difficult to establish effectively, as it ultimately requires the identification of the nebulous quality of originality. Nevertheless, if it may be reasonably asserted that Moeran's music could not have been composed by anybody else, then it is equally reasonable to assert that Moeran did have a distinct voice."

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Hear! Hear!

[HotFXMan]

Hear! Hear!

Having already quoted from my Introduction, I thought I may as well quote the final paragraph - just in case any appetites need to be whetted!

"While Moeran's music, as with that of many of his contemporaries, must now find an alternative relevance in a world that can no longer remember the traumas experienced and witnessed by its creator, its appreciation can surely only be enhanced if it is accompanied by a clear understanding of its composer's life. Moeran's achievement is available for all to experience in the one hundred and twenty or so musical compositions that posterity possesses, and which technology has now ensured most of which may be listened to by almost anybody at almost any time. It is the enduring legacy of a life that, as this book will show, was filled variously with promise, achievement, disappointment and despair. While bearing in mind Igor Stravinsky's admonishment that if music appears to express anything beyond itself, this can only ever be an illusion, it is nonetheless suggested that the sensations and emotions that much of Moeran's music still has the capacity to arouse in attentive listeners may, in themselves, be regarded as evidence that he successfully expressed himself. It is the nature of music that each response to it is an individual one, informed by the unique experiences of each listener, and it is the lasting power of Moeran's creation that it still resonates so vividly. This book presents a definitive and candid study both of Moeran (the man) and of Moeran (the composer), each finally revealed after decades of opaqueness and misunderstanding. The journey of discovery is both challenging and fascinating."