The British Composers Thread

Started by Mark, October 25, 2007, 12:26:56 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

vandermolen

Quote from: Roy Bland on August 05, 2020, 05:18:47 PM
IMHO this is a good disc ,symphonies 2-3 are better than first (devoted to Cromwell too long and rhetoric ) .
https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/114656997?iid=303132533566
Interesting and surprisingly cheap as some of those BBC Radio Classics CDs are absurdly priced second-hand.
"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).

Christo

Quote from: Biffo on August 05, 2020, 02:19:16 AM
It is heartening in a vague sort of way that people are exploring and enjoying these neglected composers but I can't always share the enthusiasm. I have purchased various discs from Dutton, usually as part of special offers. I enjoyed Bate's Viola Concerto but didn't follow it up, perhaps I might try the 3rd Symphony. Arnell's 3rd Symphony I found deadly dull and didn't even make it to the end, likewise the 'Odysseus' Symphony of Cecil Armstrong Gibbs.

I expect I will try more Dutton rarities but there is so much other music competing for my attention (and cash!).
Do try Bate's Third, a masterpiece IMHO not unlike Walton's First:)
... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

Biffo

Quote from: Christo on August 06, 2020, 01:25:19 AM
Do try Bate's Third, a masterpiece IMHO not unlike Walton's First:)

Many thanks
Bates' 3rd is on order from Dutton

Irons

Have listened to Bate's 3rd Symphony three times already and will clock up many more. I didn't find it derivative which is often a criticism thrown at works from this time and place. May have imagined it, but buried in the opening there is a musical figure reminiscent of a similar theme from Shostakovich's 5th Symphony. Again, for a fleeting moment about at 4.10 during the second movement I am reminded of the same work. But most fleeting as I say, Bate has his own voice in this work. In a nutshell the first movement is powerful and the second, with an ageless quality, noble. The second movement is growing on me at a pace. As for the third = WOW Rock n' Roll meets Cossack dance! The most exciting and thrilling symphonic movement since Nielsen I have heard.

Pictures from Dante by Eric Chisholm is a cinematic work. The first half has echoes of "The Isle of the Dead" which I think has already been said, and the second half of Respighi. Again a strong work which should be heard separately from the Bate, I think. The coda is very effective.

That both these works are premiere recordings is depending how you look it either tragic or a joke.   
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.

Papy Oli

Well, that certainly makes the case for me to reassess that CD sooner rather than later, Lol.

As my response to UK works has certainly broadened since my first visit of this work, there's hoping a new listen to it might be more fruitful. Thank you for your review.
Olivier

vandermolen

Quote from: Irons on August 06, 2020, 01:30:03 PM
Have listened to Bate's 3rd Symphony three times already and will clock up many more. I didn't find it derivative which is often a criticism thrown at works from this time and place. May have imagined it, but buried in the opening there is a musical figure reminiscent of a similar theme from Shostakovich's 5th Symphony. Again, for a fleeting moment about at 4.10 during the second movement I am reminded of the same work. But most fleeting as I say, Bate has his own voice in this work. In a nutshell the first movement is powerful and the second, with an ageless quality, noble. The second movement is growing on me at a pace. As for the third = WOW Rock n' Roll meets Cossack dance! The most exciting and thrilling symphonic movement since Nielsen I have heard.

Pictures from Dante by Eric Chisholm is a cinematic work. The first half has echoes of "The Isle of the Dead" which I think has already been said, and the second half of Respighi. Again a strong work which should be heard separately from the Bate, I think. The coda is very effective.

That both these works are premiere recordings is depending how you look it either tragic or a joke.
Glad you enjoyed these works Lol. 'Rock n' Roll meet Cossack dance!' is a great description of the finale of the Bate symphony! On to Arnell Symphony 5 now!  ;D
"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).

Christo

Quote from: Irons on August 06, 2020, 01:30:03 PM
As for the third = WOW Rock n' Roll meets Cossack dance! The most exciting and thrilling symphonic movement since Nielsen I have heard.
A good reason to play Bate's Third again, later today. I remember I was equally thrilled when I first heard it.  :)
... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

Biffo

The Bate/Arnell/Chisholm CD arrived today - very prompt delivery from Dutton. I hope to start listening to it soon but it is going to be very hot here today (and even hotter tomorrow) and so I have to have all my windows open, this means too much ambient noise for serious listening.

vandermolen

Quote from: Biffo on August 07, 2020, 01:19:30 AM
The Bate/Arnell/Chisholm CD arrived today - very prompt delivery from Dutton. I hope to start listening to it soon but it is going to be very hot here today (and even hotter tomorrow) and so I have to have all my windows open, this means too much ambient noise for serious listening.
Well, hopefully you'll enjoy it even more when you get round to it. I guess that headphones would be unbearably hot in this weather too.
"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).

Papy Oli

Ethel Smyth doesn't seem to have her own thread so i'll post this new release here :



Chandos blurb copied from Qobuz:

QuoteAugust 18th marks the 100th anniversary of the 19th Constitutional Amendment, granting women in the US the right to vote. A fitting time then for our release of the World Premier Recording of Ethel Smyth's late masterpiece The Prison.
Smyth left home at nineteen to study composition in Leipzig. In the company of Clara Schumann and her teacher Heinrich von Herzogenberg, she met and won the admiration of composers such as Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Dvorák, and Grieg. Smyth was the first woman to have an opera performed at the MET, in 1903 - the second was Kaija Saariaho, whose L'Amour de loin appeared there in 2016 ! Smyth later became central to the Suffragette movement in England, writing the March of the Women. Her gender politics and sexuality were cause for attacks by critics, and she famously went to prison herself for throwing a stone through an MP's window.
Composed in 1930 and premiered in 1931 in Edinburgh's Usher Hall, The Prison is a symphony in two parts, Close on Freedom and The Deliverance, set for soprano and bass-baritone soloists, chorus, and full orchestra. The text is taken from a philosophical work by Henry Bennet Brewster and concerns the writings of a prisoner in solitary confinement, his reflections on life and his preparations for death. © Chandos
Olivier

Irons

Quote from: Biffo on August 07, 2020, 01:19:30 AM
The Bate/Arnell/Chisholm CD arrived today - very prompt delivery from Dutton. I hope to start listening to it soon but it is going to be very hot here today (and even hotter tomorrow) and so I have to have all my windows open, this means too much ambient noise for serious listening.

It is so hot! Concentration as well as ambient noise makes serious listening difficult.
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.

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: Irons on August 07, 2020, 07:14:14 AM
It is so hot! Concentration as well as ambient noise makes serious listening difficult.
Do you gents have fans and/or A/Cs in your listening rooms?

Thankfully, it's cooler here today.

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

Biffo

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on August 07, 2020, 07:39:20 AM
Do you gents have fans and/or A/Cs in your listening rooms?

Thankfully, it's cooler here today.

PD

I don't have air-conditioning but I do have a powerful fan - it is efficient but makes too much noise. I am using the time to catch up on reading.

André

No AC or fan but the listening room is downstairs (3/4 underground) so almost always cool enough. On really hot days I don't listen with headphones.

Irons

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on August 07, 2020, 07:39:20 AM
Do you gents have fans and/or A/Cs in your listening rooms?

Thankfully, it's cooler here today.

PD

I dislike air conditioning and not keen on fans either. I find it extremely annoying that because a restaurant has invested in Air Con it feels necessary to blow freezing air over the food purchased at great expense. If the food is not stone cold the customer is. I can count on one hand times I haven't caught a cold on a commercial flight which I put down to AC on the aeroplane.   
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.

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: Biffo on August 07, 2020, 07:46:49 AM
I don't have air-conditioning but I do have a powerful fan - it is efficient but makes too much noise. I am using the time to catch up on reading.
I understand...my a/c is noisy!  I do have a fairly quiet stand oscillating fan which I really like.  I can adjust the height, pause it to blow on only one area (like at my tube stereo system--hot in the summertime!  It also has 3-speeds plus a kind of power booster switch you can use (though rather noisy).  At its lowest speed it's pretty quiet.

Quote from: André on August 07, 2020, 08:01:13 AM
No AC or fan but the listening room is downstairs (3/4 underground) so almost always cool enough. On really hot days I don't listen with headphones.
).André, do you have neighbors really close by?  Or are trying to keep the family happy?

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: Irons on August 07, 2020, 10:39:59 AM
I dislike air conditioning and not keen on fans either. I find it extremely annoying that because a restaurant has invested in Air Con it feels necessary to blow freezing air over the food purchased at great expense. If the food is not stone cold the customer is. I can count on one hand times I haven't caught a cold on a commercial flight which I put down to AC on the aeroplane.
Must admit, I don't do muggy well!   :(  I have a problem flying in that I often get sinus infections...which makes for a miserable vacation.

PD

p.s.  Next time that you're thinking of heading off to a restaurant, why not bring a sweater or a jacket?  :)
Pohjolas Daughter

vandermolen

No A/C here either. No fans either and I can't stand this baking hot weather. Hay Fever doesn't help.
"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).

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: vandermolen on August 07, 2020, 11:23:10 AM
No A/C here either. No fans either and I can't stand this baking hot weather. Hay Fever doesn't help.
Considering as it seems that the UK is now experiencing recurrent yearly bouts of hot weather, doesn't it make sense to at least get a couple of fans?  And for you, Jeffrey, what about trying out some kind of air purifier to help at least when you're inside?  :)
Pohjolas Daughter

André

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on August 07, 2020, 10:46:01 AM
I understand...my a/c is noisy!  I do have a fairly quiet stand oscillating fan which I really like.  I can adjust the height, pause it to blow on only one area (like at my tube stereo system--hot in the summertime!  It also has 3-speeds plus a kind of power booster switch you can use (though rather noisy).  At its lowest speed it's pretty quiet.
).André, do you have neighbors really close by?  Or are trying to keep the family happy?

PD

The kids have been gone for years, so the 'family' now consists of only two persons  :D. When my wife goes on an errand or for a day (or a week) to visit one of the kids, I pull all the stops, neighbours be damned !  >:D