Unsung History

[Paul Barasi]

What is there in the unsung music collection that is written on the great events in history - and is there anything on American Independence (declaration or war)? Also especially interested in: Hannibal crossing the Alps; Alfred the Great; Battle of Hastings; Lady Jane Grey; Drake/Armada; Any scientists or writers; Declaration of Human Rights. Hope this isn't crazy!

[eschiss1]

well, just to start with, quite a bit written for the funerals etc. of certain major world leaders most of which is unsung (and some of which may be high quality, even, depending.) One of the less? least? known works by a well-known composer is Liszt's cantata for the unveiling of the Beethoven Monument (which may or may not qualify, here- and the one review of a recording of it I've read wasn't too convinced as to its quality either, but then it was his first choral-orchestral work.)
Eric

[dafrieze]

Charles Villiers Stanford wrote a song, very famous in its time, called "Drake's Drum."

[Christopher]

The Russian/Czech composer Eduard Napravnik (Nápravník, 1839-1916) wrote an opera about the 1066 Norman Invasion called "Harold" - I don't know if it's been recorded (I have one aria from it), but would love to hear it.

[eschiss1]

there are also operas about that invasion by Atterberg and more recently by, I think, Judith Weir (all, I believe, about the Scandinavian leader who after somehow hearing of the battle, arrived and was squashed in the middle by both sides- something like that. It is an interesting tale...) I've only heard the Weir (on BBC). The Atterberg is his "Härvard Harpolekare", his opus 12 (apparently composed 1916-18, and premiered? Stockholm 1919.) (revised as Härvards Heimkehr, 1951.)

[britishcomposer]

"King Harald's Saga" (1979) was actually Judith Weir's first great success. It was premiered by the great Jane Manning who had to sing all eight (!) roles. The work, a 3-act opera, lasts just over 10 minutes. No orchestra, just a solo soprano.

[eschiss1]

yep, that was the work I heard- may have been a new broadcast performance. Cadensa lists a couple of CD recordings in their collection and at least one broadcast performance (from 1991). Google finds at least one more recent one (2008)?.

[Ilja]

Peter Benoit's Pacification of Ghent counts, I think; int he same vein there were quite a few pieces by late-19th C composers alluding to historical events, as one might expect from nationalists. Literary motives are of course much more popular - but also the combination of literary works about historical events in which the historical context is important to the composer: Wallenstein, Goetz von Berlichingen, Rob Roy, Gijsbrecht van Aemstel, Charlotte Corday, etc.

[alberto]

Paul B., you have opened a multiple topic.
Now I limit myself to scientists, admitting I have to recur to semi modern or moderrn composers.
Johannes Kepler: protagonist of the opera "Die Harmonie der Welt" by Paul Hindemith (as the opera is rather unsung, much less is the Symphony which is a by-product: I have heard in actual concert twice, there are recordings by Blomstedt, Mravinsky, Furtwangler....)
Nicolaus Copernicus: Symphony n.2 Copernicana by M.Gorecki, using Copernicus text s (Naxos recording).

[eschiss1]

as to Lady Jane Grey, she was the subject of a cantata, op.309 by Charles Oberthür (1819-1895), for solo voices (SMzA), chorus (SSA) and piano (with optional harp), published in vocal score by Hutchings around 1886. (Text by Edward Oxenford.) Also of one of Schoenberg's songs/ballads (opus 12 no.1) - not unsung, exactly.\

Also one of Luigi Bordese's (1815-1886) 6 Mélodies populaires, op.161 (pub. ca. 1864) and Christian Sinding's opus 109 no. 3 (his opus 109 set is a set of 4 Balladen und Lieder - see Here for the lot, including a complete score of no.3. Same poet (Heinrich Ammann (1785-1849)) as for the Schoenberg.)

[alberto]

Writers:
Pacini: Dante Symphony
G.Bantock: Dante and Beatrice
One may also add: William Wallace The Passing of Beatrice
R.Leoncavallo: Chatterton (opera)
Louis Aubert (first performer of Valses Nobles and Sentimentales): Le Tombeau de Chateaubriand (French Naxos Record)
(I would consider sung Liszt Apres une lecture de Dante (surely), Dante Symphony (fairly). Also sung Liszt Three Petrarch's Sonnets in both versions, vocal or merely pianistic).
Most unsung: Angelo Tortone "The blind of Xios" (Homer), symphonic poem.

[Lionel Harrsion]

Toussaint-Louverture (the leader of the Haitian Revolution which led to the establishment of the independent black state of Haiti) is celebrated by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor in his Concert Overture, Toussaint L'Ouverture, Op.46 of 1901.

[eschiss1]

the no longer unsung (among classical fanatics, I mean...) composer (and work) , the Lament for piano  or strings subtitled or dedicated? "Catherine, aged 9, 'Lusitania' 1915" (ok, looking at IMSLP I am very confused now and probably made a poor edit there also- hrm.)
The 1890s saw several "phonograph waltzes" and similar works, some dedicated to Thomas Edison. Have also seen two works online (by William Dressler) dedicated to Amelia Bloomer, who besides having a style of clothing named after her was also a social reformer (and also, in the case of those works, to the women inspired by her.) (I notice also a Bloomer Polka by Alfred Mellon, etc.) (Going through the LoC American Memory collection of music and other material published in the US in the mid-19th century, and similar digital archives produced by libraries in other countries, can be an education of several kinds- not speaking sarcastically but happily and literally- about what was going on at the time... Alan Walker quotes Goethe, and I paraphrase, that a good specialist becomes a sort of generalist of necessity - at least, if I'm understanding the Goethe maxim right... and learn enough about music and unless you are determined not to, you are learning about many aspects of the musicians' lives and what mattered to them, these things certainly included. apologies for the too-general tangent.)

[kolaboy]

Writers:
Pacini: Dante Symphony
G.Bantock: Dante and Beatrice
One may also add: William Wallace The Passing of Beatrice
R.Leoncavallo: Chatterton (opera)
Louis Aubert (first performer of Valses Nobles and Sentimentales): Le Tombeau de Chateaubriand (French Naxos Record)
(I would consider sung Liszt Apres une lecture de Dante (surely), Dante Symphony (fairly). Also sung Liszt Three Petrarch's Sonnets in both versions, vocal or merely pianistic).
Most unsung: Angelo Tortone "The blind of Xios" (Homer), symphonic poem.

Speaking of Pacini, I have a recording of Pacini's Dante Symphony (paired with the requiem) on Bongiovanni that is without a doubt the worst performance of a classical piece that I've ever heard - on a commercially available recording. Apart from the exceedingly uninspired (I'm being very kind here) performances, I believe half the musicians must have been suffering from influenza judging from all the coughing, sneezing, and snorting. Now, Pacini's Dante Symphony isn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but as a rariety (not a huge number of Italian symphonies written in the 19th century, you know) it certainly deserved better.

[eschiss1]

and many of those Italian symphonies that have been written, have been completely dropped, it seems (along with their composers- Scontrino, anyone? 4 and change quartets the one of which I've heard is very good) - except for Martucci and Sgambati whose fine symphonies (except for the latter's 2nd) are slowly sort of returning to the fringes of the repertoire, etc. - but I've already exceeded space for a tangent (19th century Italian non-operatic Romanticism seems a fine topic of its own though- Mascia, Pappalardo, Scontrino, Martucci, Ferdinando Giorgetti, gli altri (if I use that expression properly.))