Sir Malcolm Arnold(1921-2006): a Catalogue of the Orchestral and Choral Music

[Dundonnell]

This is the final instalment of my catalogues of 20th Century British Composers. Arnold is probably the most 'popular'/'sung' of these composers. Most of his very large body of work is on cd, many of the compositions in more than one version. I have not therefore added information about cd recordings except in those cases where there is only one such recording. I have already posted in the Download Requests section a list of those works which are not available on cd.

SIR MALCOLM ARNOLD: A CATALOGUE OF THE ORCHESTRAL AND CHORAL MUSIC

1943:        Divertimento No.1 for orchestra, op. 1  (lost)
                 Tone Poem "Larch Trees", op.3: 9 minutes
                 Overture "Beckus the Dandipratt", op.5: 9 minutes
1944:       Horn Concerto No.1, op.11: 22 minutes 
                 Symphonic Suite for orchestra, op. 12 (lost)
1946:       Symphony for Strings, op. 13: 24 minutes
1946?:     Festival Overture, op. 14 (lost)
1948:      Concerto for Clarinet and Strings, No.1, op. 20: 17 minutes
                Overture "The Smoke", op. 21: 7 minutes
1949:      Symphony No.1, op. 22: 29 minutes
1950:      Serenade for Small Orchestra, op. 26: 14 minutes
                English Dances, Set One for orchestra, op. 27: 8 minutes
1951:      Symphonic Study "Machines", op. 30: 6 minutes    *   +  (Chandos cd)
                A Sussex Overture, op. 31: 9 minutes
               Concerto for Piano Duet and Strings, op. 32: 22 minutes
               English Dances, Set Two for orchestra, op.33: 9 minutes
1952:   "The Sound Barrier Rhapsody" for orchestra, op. 38: 7 minutes
               Concerto for Oboe and Strings, op. 39: 13 minutes
1953:     Symphony No.2, op. 40: 30 minutes    *
               Ballet "Homage to the Queen", op. 42: 40 minutes
1954:    Concerto No.1 for Flute and Strings, op. 45: 13 minutes
               Harmonica Concerto, op. 46: 9 minutes   +  (Chandos cd)
               Organ Concerto, op. 47: 13 minutes        +  (Classico cd)
               Sinfonietta No.1 for chamber orchestra, op. 48: 12 minutes
               Ballet "Rinaldo and Arminda", op. 49: 23 minutes (and extract: Introduction and Pas-de-Deux: 9 minutes)
1954-57:Symphony No.3, op. 63: 33 minutes    *
1955:     Serenade for Guitar and Strings, op. 50: 6 minutes    + (Chandos cd)
               Overture "Tam O' Shanter, op. 51": 8 minutes
               Little Suite No.1 for orchestra, op. 53: 10 minutes   
1956:     Ballet "Solitaire"(uses the Eight English Dances and a Sarabande and Polka: 8 minutes): 26 minutes
               Song of Praise for unison voices and orchestra, op.56: 4 minutes
               A Grand, Grand Festival Overture for 3 vacuum cleaners, 1 floor polisher, 4 rifles and orchestra, op. 57: 8 minutes
               Concerto No.2 for Horn and Strings, op. 58: 14 minutes
1957:    Four Scottish Dances for orchestra, op.59: 9 minutes
             Toy Symphony for chamber orchestra, op.62: 10 minutes
             Commonwealth Christmas Overture, op. 64: 19 minutes    +   (Reference cd)
1958:   Sinfonietta No. 2 for chamber orchestra, op.65: 13 minutes
             Overture "The Roots of Heaven"; 4 minutes
            "United Nations" for four military bands, organ and orchestra: 13 minutes
1959:   Five William Bake Songs for contralto and orchestra, op. 66: 13 minutes  *
             Concerto for Guitar and Chamber Orchestra, op. 67: 22 minutes
             Ballet "Sweeney Todd", op. 68: 31 minutes (and Concert Suite, op.68a: 12 minutes)
1959:   "The Song of Simeon" for soprano, two contraltos, tenor, two basses, speaker, chorus and orchestra, op. 69: 30 minutes    *
                                    (and extract: "The Pilgrim Caravan" for chorus and orchestra: 3 minutes)   
1960:   Symphony No.4, op. 71: 36 minutes   *
1961:   Symphony No.5, op. 74: 33 minutes   *
             Divertimento No.2 for orchestra, op. 75: 9 minutes
             Grand Concerto Gastronomique for eater, waiter, food and orchestra , op.76: 20 minutes   
1962:    Concerto for Two Violins and String Orchestra, op.77: 17 minutes   *
              Little Suite No.2, op. 78: 10 minutes
1963:    Ballet "Electra", op.79: 15 minutes   +  (Chandos cd)
1964:    Sinfonietta No.3 for orchestra, op. 81: 15 minutes
              "Water Music" for orchestra, op. 82b: 10 minutes
                A Sunshine Overture for orchestra, op. 83    (lost)
1966:      Four Cornish Dances for orchestra, op.91: 10 minutes
1967:     March "The Padstow Lifeboat" for orchestra, op. 94: 5 minutes
               Symphony No.6, op. 95: 26 minutes  *
               Overture "Peterloo", op. 97: 10 minutes
              "A Salute to Thomas Merrett" for two brass bands and orchestra, op.98:5 minutes
1968:     Anniversary Overture, op.99: 4 minutes   +  (Chandos cd)
1969:      Concerto for Two Pianos(Three-Hands) and Orchestra, op. 104:14 minutes
1970:      Concerto for 28 Players, op. 105: 21 minutes
                 Fantasy for Audience and Orchestra, op. 106: 13 minutes
1971:       Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra, op. 108: 20 minutes
1972:       Song of Freedom for chorus and brass band, op. 109: 19 minutes
                 Overture "The Fair Field", op. 110: 7 minutes
                 Flute Concerto No.2, op. 111: 14 minutes
1973:       A Flourish for Orchestra, op. 112: 3 minutes    +  (Chandos cd)
                 Symphony No.7, op. 113: 45 minutes    *
1974:      Clarinet Concerto no.2, op. 115: 18 minutes
1975:      Fantasy on a Theme of John Field for Piano and Orchestra, op. 116: 22 minutes
1976:      "The Return of Odysseus" for chorus and orchestra, op. 119: 30 minutes   +  (Divine Art cd)
                 Philharmonic Concerto for orchestra, op. 120: 13 minutes
1977:      Variations for Orchestra-Variations on a Theme of Ruth Gipps for Orchestra, op. 122: 13 minutes   +  (Chandos cd)
1978:      Symphony No.8, op. 124: 25 minutes
1982:      Trumpet Concerto, op. 125: 8 minutes
1986:      Four Irish Dances for orchestra, op. 126: 11 minutes
                Symphony No.9, op. 128: 52 minutes
1988:     Concerto for Recorder and small orchestra, op. 133: 14 minutes   + (OUR Recordings cd)
               Serenade for Tenor and Strings "Contrasts", op. 134: 9 minutes
               Cello Concerto, op. 136: 21 minutes    +  (Naxos cd)
               Four Welsh Dances for orchestra, op. 138: 10 minutes      + (Naxos cd)
1990:    Overture "Robert Kett", op. 141: 7 minutes    +  (Chandos cd)
              A Manx Suite(Little Suite No. 3) for orchestra, op. 142: 10 minutes         +  (Chandos cd)

[Paul Barasi]

Film music is an important part of Malcolm Arnold's output

[Dundonnell]

Indeed it is

However, since Arnold wrote music for a total of 116 films of one sort or another a list which is already very lengthy would have swollen even further and would have taken much much longer to produce

[Paul Barasi]

And yet film music has valuable, unique qualities that surely deserve cataloging. (1) Obviously, it brings together two of the greatest of the cultural arts: film and music. (2) It reaches a wider audience. (3) It directly funds composition. (4) It includes much excellent  music and can be a significant part of a composer's output and quality.

So there does not seem to be a good case for excluding film music from catalogues, rather, it would be useful to highlight these entries. An alternative would be for lists to be included along the lines of "Sir Malcolm Arnold: a Catalogue of film music". Presumably, there would be plenty of interest in reading such catalogues. Perhaps we have people who have the time, expertise and interest to produce them.

[TerraEpon]

Arnold, at least, has no less than two comprehensive catalogs of his works in print form, so there's that. IIRC from glancing at them they don't much go into detail about the film music, however (unlike the very comprehensive Shostakovich catalog for instance)

But film music surely 'counts' in a catalog of orchestral/choral music just as much as ballet or incidental music does.

[petershott@btinternet.com]

Stick to your guns, our esteemed cataloguer! To be sure, writing music for the film industry was an activity to which composers like Arnold, or Alwyn, RVW, Walton, Shostakovich, Prokofiev and many more gave much time. But it was an activity secondary to the much more serious business of writing for the concert hall or room. I think that's also true of figures like Herrmann or Korngold. All surely would wish to be known or remembered as composers of music proper, not music which, however good or imaginative or finely crafted or appropriate it might be, is parasitic upon a film or visual image.

Sometimes, of course, music written originally to support or illustrate a film might be transmogrified into concert music or arranged into a concert suite. It then has a life independent of the film and goes into the catalogue.

My suggestion, and I can already hear howls of protest and indignation from those wanting to turn the UC site into a film buff's compendium, is thus to leave music written for the movies (or television series or even advertisements) to one side. In any case there would be severe practical problems in its inclusion. For example, in a huge number of cases the music known to us on account of a film has in fact been arranged or rescored for orchestra by someone other than the composer, and it would undermine the integrity of the catalogue to include it along with 'proper' compositions, i.e. those having a genuine autonomy. Again, a composer might write or sketch or draft some possible music for a film which is then not in fact used in the film. What, so to speak, is the ontological status of such music? Does it genuinely exist or not?

It is a simplification (and like all simplifications there will be all kinds of exceptions and problem cases) but, very roughly, if the music has an autonomous life in the concert hall and independent of a film then it should be included in the catalogue of a composer's musical compositions. If not, then it should be left out. Otherwise the catalogue of someone like Arnold who was a prolific film composer would be suffocated, and thus would become less useful.

[Dundonnell]

I have just read your post, Peter. Coming from someone who, I know, has been 'a touch' disappointed that these catalogues were not expanded from the start to include chamber/instrumental music  gives your comments particular point.

The catalogues are what they are. I cannot hope to satisfy everyone but I hope that I shall not end up feeling that I cannot win

I don't want to make a big issue out of this but I cannot but say that, on average, these catalogues probably take between two and ten hours each to compile. Since I have now completed ninety-two of them that represents a fair amount of work over the last eight weeks or so. (Anyone can do the math/maths ).

Yes..I am selective in terms of music which does not meet my definition of purely orchestral music or music written for soloist/s or chorus and orchestra. And yes...my selectiviity does apparently puzzle or, perhaps, annoy some. I believe however that what I am doing is useful to others. Not everyone can have access to Grove. The lists in Eric Gilder's book are out of date now by a quarter of a century and are, in any case, marred by inaccuracy and omission. The Wikipedia entries are-shall we say-variable in quality.

I shall never make the ridiculous claim that my lists are free from error. They certainly are not. But I hope that where there is error others may offer corrections or amendments.

As I have said before, Film Music IS important; for some composers (like Arnold or Alwyn) very important. At the present time however I have omitted this music.
If I live long enough  I can return to those catalogues, update them and add to them. In the meantime, if anyone would like to help by adding music I have omitted then I would welcome such additions with open arms. Another member (suffolkcoastal)-an acknowledged expert on the music of Roy Harris-very kindly made his database of all Harris's compositions available to me and that has been of inestimable assistance in correcting errors I would have made in the forthcoming Harris catalogue

[Jimfin]

Colin, this must have taken longer than usual to compile, Arnold being as prolific as he was. Thank you again and always for this wonderful work, which I know I shall turn to again and again. On a selfish note: I'm not bothered at all about film music (apart from 'The Belles of St. Trinians'): if I were to add another genre to the list, it would be opera or choral music! But since I'm not making the lists I'll be quiet!

[Dundonnell]

Thanks for your kind words   I do very much appreciate the sentiments expressed by you and by others

Yes....Arnold was very much out at the 10 hour end of the time spectrum Checking and double checking that nothing has been missed, trying to get all the compositions in chronological order, finding out opus numbers (if any), recordings (if any) and-often most difficult of all- the duration of a piece, an exercise which alone, for one particular work, can take sometimes the best part of half an hour

......but it's fun and I enjoy it

[violinconcerto]

Yes....Arnold was very much out at the 10 hour end of the time spectrum Checking and double checking that nothing has been missed, trying to get all the compositions in chronological order, finding out opus numbers (if any), recordings (if any) and-often most difficult of all- the duration of a piece, an exercise which alone, for one particular work, can take sometimes the best part of half an hour

Hmmm. sounds like you don't have the following marvelous book:

Poulton, Alan (2000): A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers. Westport: Greenwood Press

It provides exactly the complete (including chamber music, film music, etc) output of 50 or 60 British composers of the 20th century. And for example Malcolm Arnold as well. Maybe your local library has a copy. Would have saved a lot of time, I guess. Sorry for being that late, I really thought you use it.

[albion]

Hmmm. sounds like you don't have the following marvelous book:

Poulton, Alan (2000): A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers. Westport: Greenwood Press

Volume 1 - John Addison; William Alwyn; Denis ApIvor; Richard Arnell; Malcolm Arnold; Don Banks; Stanley Bate; Arthur Benjamin; Lennox Berkeley; Arthur Bliss; Benjamin Britten; Alan Bush; Geoffrey Bush; Francis Chagrin; Arnold Cooke

Volume 2 - Christian Darnton; Howard Ferguson; Gerald Finzi; Benjamin Frankel; Peter Racine Fricker; John Gardner; Roberto Gerhard; Ruth Gipps; Eugene Goossens; Patrick Hadley; Iain Hamilton; Herbert Howells; Gordon Jacob; Daniel Jones; Constant Lambert; Walter Leigh; Elisabeth Lutyens

Volume 3 - Elizabeth Maconchy; E J Moeran; Herbert Murrill; Andrzej Panufnik; Ian Parrott; Priaulx Rainier; Alan Rawsthorne; Franz Reizenstein; Edmund Rubbra; Humphrey Searle; Matyas Seiber; Robert Simpson; Bernard Stevens; Phyllis Tate; Michael Tippett; William Walton; Peter Warlock; Grace Williams; Peter Wishart; William Wordsworth; David Wynne


Since being taken over by Houghton Mifflin, and latterly ABC-CLIO, Greenwood's music titles (their wonderful Music Reference Collection series) have gone to the wall ...



... Poulton's three formidable (average 600 pages each) budget-busting (approximately £125-£140 each) volumes would indeed be nice to have but are unlikely to be easily available unless you have access to a specialist (academic) music library ...



so many thanks, Colin, for doing so much original research and making your catalogues both easily assimilable and freely available.

[Dundonnell]

In response to Tobias.....no, I had not heard of Poulton's work

I have now read about it online.....with mixed feelings  

On the one hand, I feel a bit sick that someone has been there before me and done the work AND had it published. But, on the other hand, the cheapest price I can find online to buy the three volumes is £368 (Blackwells). I certainly cannot afford to pay that sort of money Nor would my local library have a copy

So.....(1) I love doing this sort of work (2) My work-although obviously vastly inferior-is online for free (3) I have moved on to American Composers, with every intention of continuing with the Scandinavians next

[JimL]

...and 4) Anybody who wants to chip with the chamber/instrumental/vocal music of any of these composers can do so.

[Dundonnell]

.....they certainly can