Granville Bantock (1868-1946)

[kyjo]

I am going to see the 'Celtic Symphony' at the Proms in London next Wednesday. Probably the first and last time I will hear any of Bantock's music live.  Can't wait!

Lucky you! I adore Bantock's Celtic and Hebridean symphonies. I'd especially love to see the six (I believe) harps that Bantock calls for in the Celtic in concert! What a spectacle you are about to witness!

[vandermolen]

Lucky you! I adore Bantock's Celtic and Hebridean symphonies. I'd especially love to see the six (I believe) harps that Bantock calls for in the Celtic in concert! What a spectacle you are about to witness!

Yes, I can't wait. I wonder if they will use all six harps! I'll let you know. In anticipation I am listening to a 1948 performance of the work.

[vandermolen]

Why is it that the last movement of A Celtic Symphony stirs up all these feelings inside of me? Like, for example, being complete as a human being and with knowing the noble cause of helping others and being dedicated to that cause is why we are put here? Anyway, the first time I heard this work, I thought I walked into a dream or something, because this was music I had thought about, but didn't know it existed. Bax touched on the Celtic thing, but Bantock really did a beautiful thing with this symphony.

I guess what I just wrote above is really stupid...I'll go back into my hole now and never speak of this again.

I had not noticed this post before John and find it rather moving, certainly not 'stupid' in any sense at all - quite the contrary in fact. The effect that music can have on us is a wondrous and magical thing.

[Mirror Image]

I had not noticed this post before John and find it rather moving, certainly not 'stupid' in any sense at all - quite the contrary in fact. The effect that music can have on us is a wondrous and magical thing.

Ha! I had forgotten about that post, Jeffrey. I still feel this way about Celtic Symphony. A work that stirs my soul deep within, especially that last movement.

[Mirror Image]

I am going to see the 'Celtic Symphony' at the Proms in London next Wednesday. Probably the first and last time I will hear any of Bantock's music live.  Can't wait!

Fantastic Jeffrey! I hope you enjoy it! Please let us all know your impressions of the performance.

[vandermolen]

Fantastic Jeffrey! I hope you enjoy it! Please let us all know your impressions of the performance.

Of course I will. 

[vandermolen]

Don't forget to listen in to the wonderful Celtic Symphony at the Proms in London tonight if you are able to. I hope to be there although I have not received the ticket in the post yet. This could be the second time that I receive the ticket from the BBC the day after the concert  .

[Klaze]

Nice to hear this piece in a different performance (only know Handley).
The harps were quite audible!
I think he took the first theme of the introduction a bit slower than Handley, and I think I noticed some sudden accelerations in the third movement.
All in all i liked it.
Curious about your impressions vandermolen, if you made it to the concert: how were the harps positioned actually?

[vandermolen]

Nice to hear this piece in a different performance (only know Handley).
The harps were quite audible!
I think he took the first theme of the introduction a bit slower than Handley, and I think I noticed some sudden accelerations in the third movement.
All in all i liked it.
Curious about your impressions vandermolen, if you made it to the concert: how were the harps positioned actually?

Well, I just got back from the Albert Hall and can tell you that all six harps were used - it was great to see them all lined up next to each other at the back of the orchestra. I was very moved to hear the Celtic Symphony live. It was taken slower (especially at the start) than in the Handley recording but I thought that Sakari Oramo gave a fine performance and the harps were very much in evidence. My brother, who was with me was not so impressed with the work and described it as a composite of Elgar and Vaughan Williams with a bit of Moeran added to the mix and thought it a rather anachronistic work for 1940. All true of course but I do not really see them as weaknesses and I got fully into the haunting and magical atmosphere of the piece. Nice performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto too by Lisa Batiashvili and the concert ended with a powerful rendition of Elgar's Enigma Variations. I thought that the opening work by Param Vir was unappealing. Still, a great concert and I'm really glad that I went.

[Moonfish]

I just have to bump this thread and cross post as I was so impressed with my recent exposure to Bantock's music! 
Eighteen months without any Bantock posts is toooooooo long!

3x

Bantock:
Celtic Symphony
The Witch of Atlas
The Sea Reivers
Hebridean Symphony

Royal PO/Handley


My first listen to Bantock (ever) and I find myself loving this music!  I listened to this recording three times over the last 24 hours! I simply cannot believe that I have not come across his works earlier in all my listening sessions. The soundscape invoked by Bantock is mesmerizing - it feels like reading romantic poetry while being surrounded by Waterhouse's art. It is a very romantic soundscape for sure. I wonder what his other works are like, but this is a true winner in my eyes/ears.  Wonderful! Perhaps one can argue that the Celtic Symphony is a bit simplistic with the combination of strings and harps, but it works very well. It was refreshing to have such a contrast in tone poem The Witch of Atlas as the orchestra's soundscape became more complex compared to the Celtic Symphony. Great stuff! I am surprised that Bantock has not been recorded very much (as far as I can tell). Did Handley really become the champion for Bantock with these recordings on Hyperion? What about all the choral works? Regardless, the Royal PO sounds marvelous in these performances. Fantastic! You have to excuse me now as I need to listen to this recording one more time...   

[vandermolen]

I just have to bump this thread and cross post as I was so impressed with my recent exposure to Bantock's music! 
Eighteen months without any Bantock posts is toooooooo long!

3x

Bantock:
Celtic Symphony
The Witch of Atlas
The Sea Reivers
Hebridean Symphony

Royal PO/Handley


My first listen to Bantock (ever) and I find myself loving this music!  I listened to this recording three times over the last 24 hours! I simply cannot believe that I have not come across his works earlier in all my listening sessions. The soundscape invoked by Bantock is mesmerizing - it feels like reading romantic poetry while being surrounded by Waterhouse's art. It is a very romantic soundscape for sure. I wonder what his other works are like, but this is a true winner in my eyes/ears.  Wonderful! Perhaps one can argue that the Celtic Symphony is a bit simplistic with the combination of strings and harps, but it works very well. It was refreshing to have such a contrast in tone poem The Witch of Atlas as the orchestra's soundscape became more complex compared to the Celtic Symphony. Great stuff! I am surprised that Bantock has not been recorded very much (as far as I can tell). Did Handley really become the champion for Bantock with these recordings on Hyperion? What about all the choral works? Regardless, the Royal PO sounds marvelous in these performances. Fantastic! You have to excuse me now as I need to listen to this recording one more time...   

Great to hear that you are enjoying this music. When you finally tear yourself away from the Witch of Atlas etc I suggest that you try the equally good Hyperion CD with the Pagan Symphony on. In the old BBC Guide to the best 1000 classical CDs they chose that one as their favourite. 

[Rons_talking]

I saw this thread and thought.."another composer from the UK I've never heard of." So I streamed a very low-fidelity recording of the Hebridean Symphony and loved it. I just downloaded the Handley recording of the Celtic and Hebridean Symphonies as well as The Witch of Atlas. Funny, I don't usually care for Romantic music much but these works really speak to me--a great musical atmosphere...and so I listen.

[Mirror Image]

I just have to bump this thread and cross post as I was so impressed with my recent exposure to Bantock's music! 
Eighteen months without any Bantock posts is toooooooo long!

3x

Bantock:
Celtic Symphony
The Witch of Atlas
The Sea Reivers
Hebridean Symphony

Royal PO/Handley


My first listen to Bantock (ever) and I find myself loving this music!  I listened to this recording three times over the last 24 hours! I simply cannot believe that I have not come across his works earlier in all my listening sessions. The soundscape invoked by Bantock is mesmerizing - it feels like reading romantic poetry while being surrounded by Waterhouse's art. It is a very romantic soundscape for sure. I wonder what his other works are like, but this is a true winner in my eyes/ears.  Wonderful! Perhaps one can argue that the Celtic Symphony is a bit simplistic with the combination of strings and harps, but it works very well. It was refreshing to have such a contrast in tone poem The Witch of Atlas as the orchestra's soundscape became more complex compared to the Celtic Symphony. Great stuff! I am surprised that Bantock has not been recorded very much (as far as I can tell). Did Handley really become the champion for Bantock with these recordings on Hyperion? What about all the choral works? Regardless, the Royal PO sounds marvelous in these performances. Fantastic! You have to excuse me now as I need to listen to this recording one more time...   

Welcome to the wonderful world of Bantock, Peter! Yes, Handley was a champion of Bantock's music, although you'll find several scattered recordings on Naxos and Lyrita. I can't say why his music hasn't fared well on disc, but it's a shame as I love this guy's music. I take it you own the Hyperion box set? Love the whole set.

[Moonfish]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Bantock, Peter! Yes, Handley was a champion of Bantock's music, although you'll find several scattered recordings on Naxos and Lyrita. I can't say why his music hasn't fared well on disc, but it's a shame as I love this guy's music. I take it you own the Hyperion box set? Love the whole set.

Thanks, John!  It is always exciting to discover new composers. Perhaps liking a composer from the get go is a bad sign? This is one I was instantly attuned to, but it remains to be seen if that will last. I hope so. Even if it doesn't I will definitely treasure the symphonies on this disk. The Witch of Atlas was also marvelous. 
Yes, I do own that set and cannot wait to slowly move through those six disks!      It is surprising that Bantock's works are so absent from the repertoire. After all, it seems like he was quite productive. The soundscape really surprised me in its warmth and nuances. Especially so as this impression lasted throughout all the works I heard on that recording even though the style/scope of the work shifted a great deal. Very engaging.  I hope that Chandos in the future will pick up the banner once again and record additional works by Bantock. Go Chandos!

[Moonfish]

Great to hear that you are enjoying this music. When you finally tear yourself away from the Witch of Atlas etc I suggest that you try the equally good Hyperion CD with the Pagan Symphony on. In the old BBC Guide to the best 1000 classical CDs they chose that one as their favourite. 

Yes, it is beautiful and the witch's incantation is long-lasting. The Pagan Symphony is lined up for tomorrow. I very much look forward to the encounter! Yay!

[Mirror Image]

Thanks, John!  It is always exciting to discover new composers. Perhaps liking a composer from the get go is a bad sign? This is one I was instantly attuned to, but it remains to be seen if that will last. I hope so. Even if it doesn't I will definitely treasure the symphonies on this disk. The Witch of Atlas was also marvelous. 
Yes, I do own that set and cannot wait to slowly move through those six disks!      It is surprising that Bantock's works are so absent from the repertoire. After all, it seems like he was quite productive. The soundscape really surprised me in its warmth and nuances. Especially so as this impression lasted throughout all the works I heard on that recording even though the style/scope of the work shifted a great deal. Very engaging.  I hope that Chandos in the future will pick up the banner once again and record additional works by Bantock. Go Chandos!

I agree with every word you wrote, Peter. Bantock draws the listener into a mystical sound-world. If you couldn't tell already, he was really into Greek mythology. One of my favorite works in that entire box set is actually one of the shortest: The Sea Reivers. The ending crescendo never fails to leave me breathless, especially with that last horn call.

[vandermolen]

Yes, it is beautiful and the witch's incantation is long-lasting. The Pagan Symphony is lined up for tomorrow. I very much look forward to the encounter! Yay!

Let us know what you think of the Pagan Symphony. You will also recognise some of the themes from the Hebridean Symphony in the shorter works on the same disc. I also like Symphony 3. Happy listening!

[vandermolen]

I saw this thread and thought.."another composer from the UK I've never heard of." So I streamed a very low-fidelity recording of the Hebridean Symphony and loved it. I just downloaded the Handley recording of the Celtic and Hebridean Symphonies as well as The Witch of Atlas. Funny, I don't usually care for Romantic music much but these works really speak to me--a great musical atmosphere...and so I listen.

Sibelius dedicated his Third Symphony to Bantock. He must have been much better known at that time and had done much to popularise Sibelius's music in the UK. He is an unjustly neglected figure although I know that this is an over-worked expression. It was great to see the Celtic Symphony live in London a while back.

[North Star]

Much better known indeed!

From the first Bantock was regarded by his young contemporaries as a musical leader -- in modern parlance a 'role model'. The critic Ernest Newman reported how: 'Those of us who were then "young" and "modern" regarded Bantock as of much more importance than Elgar .... Bantock was definitely "contemporary". Indeed it was Elgar himself who referred to Bantock as "having the most fertile musical brain of our time".'

[Dax]

Back in the late 1970s I went to hear a performance (presumably for a BBC broadcast) at Maida Vale Studios of a 4-movement Choral Symphony - googling suggests this may have been Atalanta in Calydon, but I have no recollection of the title. The music was pleasant enough without being particularly memorable. What was odd was the assertion that Bantock intended each movement be bathed in a different coloured light (Prometheus-like?) which the Maida Vale people made some attempt to reproduce.