Sir Arthur Bliss

Started by tjguitar, April 16, 2007, 09:20:19 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 3 Guests are viewing this topic.

kyjo

Quote from: relm1 on August 29, 2021, 05:37:31 AM
How do you like Rumon Gamba's recording of Things to Come?  I think this is the most complete modern recording at 32 minutes.


It's great! This exciting and evocative score was a revelation to me.
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

relm1

Quote from: vandermolen on August 29, 2021, 06:02:51 AM
I greatly enjoyed it, although it's a while since I heard it. You're right about it being the most complete version of TTC. It includes 'Machines' but, as far as I recall, it is not played with the same urgency as in Bliss's own recording of the Suite from TTC, which remains my favourite version. As a whole, the Chandos CD is excellent. How about you?

You know me well enough to know there is no single version I love because the suites are so incomplete since the material was lost and has a very complex history (Muir Mathieson added the choral ending after Bliss was done as requested by HG Wells so should that be in the suite?  Depends who you ask and I find it a fantastic finish).  In short, I wish we had a full score reconstruction with modern recording.  I love Ruman Gamba's recording for it's scope, Herrmann's for it's operatic sweep, Mauceri/Hollywood for its grandeur, Bliss' for it's authenticity, but  Sir Charles Groves for its overall impact. 

vandermolen

Quote from: relm1 on August 29, 2021, 04:20:58 PM
You know me well enough to know there is no single version I love because the suites are so incomplete since the material was lost and has a very complex history (Muir Mathieson added the choral ending after Bliss was done as requested by HG Wells so should that be in the suite?  Depends who you ask and I find it a fantastic finish).  In short, I wish we had a full score reconstruction with modern recording.  I love Ruman Gamba's recording for it's scope, Herrmann's for it's operatic sweep, Mauceri/Hollywood for its grandeur, Bliss' for it's authenticity, but  Sir Charles Groves for its overall impact.
I agree with you about a full score reconstruction. I liked your final sentence statement on the virtues of the individual version - I just wish that Groves had included 'Machines'!
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

relm1

Quote from: vandermolen on August 29, 2021, 10:11:40 PM
I agree with you about a full score reconstruction. I liked your final sentence statement on the virtues of the individual version - I just wish that Groves had included 'Machines'!

I wonder why it was omitted since it was part of the suite published in 1940.  You might find this article interesting on the history and construction of the score.  I had no idea HG Wells was such a big part of the creative choices.

https://billsnedden.wordpress.com/2018/07/23/things-to-come-pre-concert-talk/

vandermolen

Quote from: relm1 on August 30, 2021, 05:33:08 AM
I wonder why it was omitted since it was part of the suite published in 1940.  You might find this article interesting on the history and construction of the score.  I had no idea HG Wells was such a big part of the creative choices.

https://billsnedden.wordpress.com/2018/07/23/things-to-come-pre-concert-talk/
Thanks very much Karim. I really look forward to reading it.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

#305
A work that I really enjoy is Bliss's :'Concerto for Two Pianos' - it is very short but highly memorable, inspiriting and enjoyable - haven't seen it mentioned much here. AFAIK there are two recordings - both excellent:


"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

#306
I've been greatly enjoying the new Dutton CD of Bliss's late ballet 'The Lady of Shalott' (1958). This recording brings it alive to a much greater extent than the old BBC Radio Classics recording. It may not have the memorability of 'Checkmate', 'Miracle in the Gorbals' and 'Adam Zero' but the more reflective nature suits the subject matter and I wanted to hear it again as soon as it was finished. I'm very pleased to have this new CD of Bliss's music. The first British production (1975) involved a remarkable collaboration between the dancers from New Park Girl's School and the Leicestershire Schools SO. Bliss, who was right at the end of his life attended some of the rehearsals and we see him playing the piano, talking to the cast and the remarkable young dancer in the title role.

'Girl in a Broken Mirror':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDPNRmLO1Yw

PS Nice to see a different manifestation of the triumphant march from 'Christopher Columbus'.

One of my CDs of the year I think.

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Roasted Swan

Quote from: vandermolen on October 19, 2021, 09:50:19 AM
I've been greatly enjoying the new Dutton CD of Bliss's late ballet 'The Lady of Shalott' (1958). This recording brings it alive to a much greater extent than the old BBC Radio Classics recording. It may not have the memorability of 'Checkmate', 'Miracle in the Gorbals' and 'Adam Zero' but the more reflective nature suits the subject matter and I wanted to hear it again as soon as it was finished. I'm very pleased to have this new CD of Bliss's music. The first British production (1975) involved a remarkable collaboration between the dancers from New Park Girl's School and the Leicestershire Schools SO. Bliss, who was right at the end of his life attended some of the rehearsals and we see him playing the piano, talking to the cast and the remarkable young dancer in the title role.

'Girl in a Broken Mirror':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDPNRmLO1Yw

PS Nice to see a different manifestation of the triumphant march from 'Christopher Columbus'.

One of my CDs of the year I think.



excellent news - haven't managed to hear my copy yet!

Irons



The centenary (7th September 1922) of the first performance of A Colour Symphony.
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

vandermolen

Quote from: Irons on September 06, 2022, 02:37:46 AM


The centenary (7th September 1922) of the first performance of A Colour Symphony.
Most interesting to hear. Thanks, Lol. That is my favourite performance of A Colour Symphony.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Irons

Quote from: vandermolen on September 06, 2022, 02:52:17 AM
Most interesting to hear. Thanks, Lol. That is my favourite performance of A Colour Symphony.

Pleasure, Jeffrey. I played Groves yesterday but for the actual anniversary think I will go for Bliss himself.
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

vandermolen

#311
Quote from: Irons on September 06, 2022, 02:58:01 AM
Pleasure, Jeffrey. I played Groves yesterday but for the actual anniversary think I will go for Bliss himself.
Also, a fine performance - recently issued in this collection:


PS Anniversary of first performance of Vaughan Williams's Tallis Fantasia today as well (Gloucester Cathedral 6th September 1910)
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Irons

Quote from: vandermolen on September 06, 2022, 03:23:49 AM
Also, a fine performance - recently issued in this collection:


PS Anniversary of first performance of Vaughan Williams's Tallis Fantasia today as well (Gloucester Cathedral 6th September 1910)

Colour Symphony at Gloucester too. Along with works by Scriabin, Parry (Ode to Music), Goossens (Silence), Holst (Two Psalms) and a ditty to finish Verdi's Requiem.
I will give Fantasia a spin tonight in celebration.
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

vandermolen

#313
Quote from: Roasted Swan on October 20, 2021, 06:38:31 AM
excellent news - haven't managed to hear my copy yet!
Did you (or anyone else for that matter) ever get a copy of the new Dutton recording of the Lady of Shalott RS? If so, I'd be interested to hear what you think of it. I've been playing it a lot recently with much pleasure. I guess that it was an indication of just how unfashionable Bliss had become be the end of his life (1975) that the first performance was put on by a state girls' school. However, it was very successful and the young dancer in the leading role (Karen Hutton) was excellent (I wonder what happened to her). The interesting film about the production ('Girl in the Broken Mirror' - see link above) shows that she obtained a coveted place at the Ballet Rambert school. I think that Bliss (who we see in the film talking about the ballet and playing extracts on the piano to the young dancers whom he had invited around to his house in St John's Wood) must have died by the time of the first production but, rather movingly, Lady Bliss came on stage at the end to congratulate the main dancer and present her with flowers.
The ballet, despite not having the instant appeal of 'Checkmate' or 'Adam Zero' has grown on me. Also, the Dutton CD features other fine works including the March from 'Christopher Columbus' used, in another guise, as a theme for a radio programme and the moving 'March of Homage in Honour of a Great Man' (Churchill). This would have been an ideal work for the Queen's recent funeral. I think that Bliss was the best 'Master of the Queen's Musik' as he was reliable and wrote memorable works for state occasions.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

#314
Quote from: Christo on June 15, 2007, 02:23:49 PM
For sentimental reasons (I discovered it a a youth, and cannot listen to it with objectivity), the Colour Symphony remains a personal favourite. I still stick to the Nimbus recording of it: Barry Wordsworth conducting the BBC Welsh SO, and coupling it with the late Metamorphic Variations.
I think that's a fabulous disc which I've been listening to recently. Quite apart from your sentimental attachment to it I think that it's arguably the finest recorded performance and I increasingly admire the Metamorphic Variations.

Bliss may not have been amongst the greatest British composers, but I often return to his music. At the moment I am investigating 'The Beatitudes' and enjoying this discovery. Bliss's Wikipedia entry is informative. His wife Trudy lived an impressively long time (1904-2008). Also, he lived in Maida Vale (home of BBC recording studio), where I lived as a child.
He was the visiting composer at Lancaster University in the North of England when I was a student there in the 1970s and I recall writing his obituary for the university magazine when he passed away in 1975.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Bliss
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Roasted Swan

Quote from: vandermolen on October 19, 2021, 09:50:19 AM
I've been greatly enjoying the new Dutton CD of Bliss's late ballet 'The Lady of Shalott' (1958). This recording brings it alive to a much greater extent than the old BBC Radio Classics recording. It may not have the memorability of 'Checkmate', 'Miracle in the Gorbals' and 'Adam Zero' but the more reflective nature suits the subject matter and I wanted to hear it again as soon as it was finished. I'm very pleased to have this new CD of Bliss's music. The first British production (1975) involved a remarkable collaboration between the dancers from New Park Girl's School and the Leicestershire Schools SO. Bliss, who was right at the end of his life attended some of the rehearsals and we see him playing the piano, talking to the cast and the remarkable young dancer in the title role.

'Girl in a Broken Mirror':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDPNRmLO1Yw

PS Nice to see a different manifestation of the triumphant march from 'Christopher Columbus'.

One of my CDs of the year I think.



Frustratingly - I did reply to your query about Lady of Shalott but some technical glitch seems to have lost the post..... In brief I do have this new recording but that work stubbornly stays my least favourite Bliss ballet by some way.  I think the narratives for his other 3 ballets Checkmate/Adam Zero/Miracle in the Gorbals allowed him to be more inventive with his music and all 3 scores are superb.  Lady of Shallot is just a bit twee/traditional as a story for me and hence the music it requires also is relatively dull.  The Colour Symphony remains one of my favourite Bliss works - he finds this fascinating fusion between the ceremonial and the jazzy/syncopated - "Red" is a great example of this as are sections of Checkmate.  I have to say there is very little Bliss I don't enjoy from his piano and chamber works, through The Olympians and choral works up to Morning Heroes (of course) and the other big orchestral works you mention.

vandermolen

Quote from: Roasted Swan on October 18, 2022, 08:29:06 AM
Frustratingly - I did reply to your query about Lady of Shalott but some technical glitch seems to have lost the post..... In brief I do have this new recording but that work stubbornly stays my least favourite Bliss ballet by some way.  I think the narratives for his other 3 ballets Checkmate/Adam Zero/Miracle in the Gorbals allowed him to be more inventive with his music and all 3 scores are superb.  Lady of Shallot is just a bit twee/traditional as a story for me and hence the music it requires also is relatively dull.  The Colour Symphony remains one of my favourite Bliss works - he finds this fascinating fusion between the ceremonial and the jazzy/syncopated - "Red" is a great example of this as are sections of Checkmate.  I have to say there is very little Bliss I don't enjoy from his piano and chamber works, through The Olympians and choral works up to Morning Heroes (of course) and the other big orchestral works you mention.
Thanks RS and good to hear your views. I agree that LOS does not have the memorability of Checkmate, Adam Zero or Miracle in the Gorbals. I need to investigate the Olympians, which I've never heard. Apparently, Tony Hancock asked Bliss to compose the music for the 'Punch and Judy Man'. Bliss politely declined saying that he was too old. Hancock carried Bliss's letter around with him until it fell to bits.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Maestro267

Using this as *inspirato* to revisit Adam Zero which I have not done in a long time.

vandermolen

Quote from: Maestro267 on October 18, 2022, 10:59:12 AM
Using this as *inspirato* to revisit Adam Zero which I have not done in a long time.
A fine work IMO, I especially like 'Dance of Summer'.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Irons

You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.