The CPO CD of orchestral music by Josef Holbrooke has now been released. It contains the early tone poems, The Viking and Ulalume + the late overture Amontillado (in effect, another tone poem based on E.A. Poe, a perennial source of inspiration for the composer) and the delicious orchestral variations on "Three Blind Mice", a tour de force of invention. The orchestra is the Brandurburgisches Staatsorchester, Frankfurt an der Oder, under Howard Griffiths, and they play superbly. The booklet notes by Franz Groborz are excellent. My only quibble is that one of the music examples is incorrectly printed: instead of the love theme from The Viking, which is what is being referred to, the printer has duplicated a theme referred to earlier from Amontillado! A pity. But it is marvellous to have these works available in good modern sound and splendidly committed performances.
This is a terrific disc, Gareth. I am not all that familiar with Holbrooke's music on CD, but I'm guessing that his music has never been performed with such commitment. What wonderful playing and what a clear and sonorous recording! My goodness, the orchestra - the Brandenburg State from Frankfurt (Oder) - sounds superb under Howard Griffiths! You just can't do this gorgeous late, late-Romantic stuff with a sub-standard orchestra and this is emphatically not the case here.
Overall, if you are a fan of, say, the Bantock series on Chandos, you'll love this!
I'm very glad you enjoyed it. All the team are very happy with it. Let's hope the critics are too - and, of course, that sales are good. Then we may get more.
Your team, including yourself of course, Gareth, are to be congratulated on a thoroughly professional production which shows Holbrooke's music in the best possible light. The CD undoubtedly deserves to be a hit.
Yes, "hear, hear" to that. It's a very persuasive release which shows these four works in the best possible light. Even cpo's usually tortuous/tedious sleeve notes are lucid and interesting!
I'm glad you say that about the booklet notes, Mark. When we originally discussed this recording I suggested Rob Barnett be asked to write them, as he is very knowledgeable about Holbrooke's music - and CPO agreed. That idea seems to have got lost on the way, but Franz Groborz (Dramaturgie und Presse für Kultur und Wissenschaft in Brandenburg) has done an excellent job. When I sent Howard Griffiths some Holbrooke scores initially, Franz got very interested in the composer and spent days at the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin researching his life and works: he seems to have become a valuable convert to the cause, which is all to the good.
What an interesting story. I'm sure we are all grateful to you, Gareth, for your advocacy.
Is there any further indication that CPO intend to make their superb Holbrooke disc the first of a series? I did read on another post that enquiries had been made last year about scores and parts of the Symphony No.3 ('Ships), 'The Raven' and the 'Auld Lang Syne' Variations. These would make a truly splendid release!
I fully support the points made in preceding postings. In particular:
First, the recent CPO disc is absolutely top drawer. Some remarkably fine performances, wonderfully recorded, and, most important of all, music that has been calling out for such treatment for a long time.
Second, Albion's plea that CPO should 'adopt' Holbrooke and embark on a series of the orchestral (and, hopefully, the choral) works. That would be great!
I've never heard of a note of Holbrooke in performance (perhaps I just go to the wrong places!), but my interest was aroused in his music a number of years ago by a compelling recording of 'The Birds of Rhiannon' conducted by that stalwart hero of thoroughly worthwhile music, Vernon Handley. I've been keenly anticipating more Holbrooke ever since.
However, unlike for example, Bantock, Bax, Parry or Stanford, he has been shamefully neglected. There was a very useful Marco Polo CD of the two Pf Quintets Op 21 and 44, together with the St Sextet Op 43. More recently there was a fine Dutton CD of two St Quartets played by the Rasumovsky (and there are several other Quartets yet to be recorded). There is quite a number of key chamber works that seem both unsung and certainly unrecorded.
When it comes to the orchestral works things are even worse. True, we have got the Pf Concerto recorded by Hyperion. But until the CPO disc came along there seemed precious little else. As Albion remarks, what of 'The Raven', or indeed the early 'The Bells', both products of Holbrooke's enduring fascination with Poe? These would seem major works judged by my own reading. And - but maybe it is akin to crying for the moon - will we ever hear the ambitious trilogy of operas 'The Children of Don', 'Dylan' and 'Bronwen' whose first performances were given by the likes of Beecham and Nikisch? In general there are around 120 published works, and those mentioned above represent a tiny proportion of his overall output.
Holbrooke's reputation I suppose deteriorated after about 1920 when music (and audiences) began to change enormously. We now know better than to discard earlier works. I suspect a further problem with Holbrooke is that some of the orchestral works call for huge forces, which militates against performance. It also seems to me that some of his most ambitious writing can appear clumsy and awkward, and if not given by highly accomplished musicians, can sound a real dud despite the rich and exciting passages.
End of manifesto. CPO have shown the way with their superb release. Please, CPO, more of the same!
Peter
The Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester, under Howard Griffiths, will perform Holbrooke's "Auld Lang Syne" variations in concert in Frankfurt an der Oder in May. In the autumn they plan to record that work + the Violin Concerto "The Grasshopper" and either Symphony No. 4 or No. 3. Both symphonies are planned for recording in the future, together with The Raven, the Cello Concerto "The Cambrian", the Variations on "The Girl I Left Behind Me" and, if possible, other compositions, including choral works.
Cameo Classics has embarked on a survey of Holbrooke's piano music, with Panos Trochopoulos, which will eventually run to 4 CDs. The 1st was released last year, and No. 2 should be out shortly.
There is a lot of delectable chamber music that has not been recorded: the 1st Violin Sonata (called sonatina, but longer than both the others), 3rd String Quartet "The Pickwick Club", Piano Quartet No. 2 "Byron", Sextet for piano and wind instruments (a very distinguished work), the beautiful Horn Trio, the early Cello Sonata (which I believe Rafael Wallfisch is interested in playing), the splendid Serenade for Wind Instruments Op. 63 and more. The chamber music (and songs) are repertoire that Toccata Classics might be interested to consider.
Chandos had planned to record some of Holbrooke's large scale works with Vernon Handley, but since his untimely death that project has been put on hold.
Of course, I would love to hear the operatic trilogy "The Cauldron of Annwn" but we'd need a sponsor with a lot of bucks for that to happen. However, a CD of "bleeding chunks" might not be impossible.
That's truly fantastic news that more substantial Holbrooke is indeed in the pipeline from Griffiths and his very fine Brandenburg orchestra. As I understand it, the 'Auld Lang Syne' Variations are Holbrooke's tributes to some of his musical contemporaries written in (affectionate) imitation of their own styles - do we know who the composers were that he paid tribute to in this way?
I recently read through the full score of the 3rd Symphony ('Ships') on IMSLP and it looks to be a very substantial and fascinating piece in three highly-contrasted and colourful movements, but without the extravagant scoring which characterises his pre-1914 works. It would certainly get my vote for early entry in the CPO series.
As to choral/ orchestral works, I would put in a plea for 'Queen Mab' over 'The Bells' any day if a choice had to be made: the latter has always seemed to me to lack the white-hot inspiration of the former and to deal with less distinguished thematic material. One large-scale (or should that read huge) work which I would dearly wish to see recorded is 'Apollo and the Seaman' which is such a vividly coloured score that the ear is dazzled just by reading it (again, it can be read on IMSLP).
I have not yet acquired the Cameo discs of the piano music, but fully intend to in the near future. I have hacked through the remarkably dissonant 'Bogey Beasts' series at the piano and would dearly love to hear these pieces played properly!
Tremendous news, Gareth, and congratulations on your very substantial role in getting the Holbrooke revival kick started!
Thank you, Mark. And to Albion re. Auld Lang Syne Variations, they are supposed to be portraits of Holbrooke's friends and associates, but it is not always clear who is being referred to in which variation as many bear just a set of initials. However, No. 1 is the composer himself, 4 is Coleridge Taylor, 5 Vaughan Williams, 9 Elgar, 10, Delius and the Finale is Granville Bantock.
I should have said that Queen Mab is on CPO's list. Yes, it is an extremely beautiful work - a real masterpiece in my opinion. I don't know whether Apollo is under consideration, but it is another of Holbrooke's major works, stunningly orchestrated, and I do hope someone will record it soon.
This is all very encouraging. If the subsequent cpo CDs are as good as the first one (which was truly superb), we have an absolute treat in store...
Dear all, I've read with great interest all the posts on Josef Holbrooke. His music is totally new to me and could be a pleasant discovery.
Do you have some recommendations to start with? I love orchestral music, but also chamber music and solo piano, as long as it isn't atonal or very noisy.
Hi Peter, these are the strongest recommendations:
Piano Concerto No.1 (Hamish Milne/ BBC Scottish/ Martyn Brabbins) Hyperion CDA 67127
Symphonic Poems (Brandenburg State Orchestra/ Howard Griffiths) CPO 777 442-2
Sextet, Piano Quartet, Symphonic Quintet (New Haydn Quartet) Marco Polo 8.223736
Piano Music, volume 1 (Trochopoulos) Cameo CC9035CD
Piano Music, volume 2 (Trochopoulos) Cameo CC9036CD
the Cameo discs are available from their website cameo-classics.com, the others from Amazon, etc. I would seriously avoid the two Marco Polo discs of orchestral music recorded in the 1990s. Hopefully, as the CPO series unfolds there will be much more to add!
Hello Albion,
Thanks for taking the time to list these CDS. You're doing some good work on Holbrooke, and your initial posting has brought responses sufficient to put joy into our hearts!
How have you found these discs of the piano music? I ask since I don't know the piano music at all and I recall reading (in Grove I think) the suggestion that Holbrooke's piano music (and the songs) just weren't up there with the orchestral, choral or chamber music. True, false, an odious claim, or what?
But the other discs you mention: yes, what terrific music! And that last CPO disc is a veritable cracker!
Peter
Whoops. Having gone back a page I see your response, Albion, is directed at Peter1953, and not to me! No matter, I still thank you for it and give you every assurance that Peter1953 is a very sound chap and would be an even better man with some Holbrooke in his CD player!
Peter (born 1948 actually!)
Thanks very much for your suggestions, Albion.
Yes Peter, in the very near future I hope to give one of my new Holbrooke discs a first spin...
The younger Peter (1953) ;)
My interest in Holbrooke is being piqued. Is his music tonally progressive like Nielsen or does it have an established key center?
No, Holbrooke is fully-fledged late Romantic. Think Bantock, perhaps?
Yes, think Bantock but much more quirky! Where Bantock's melodies are smooth and regular, Holbrooke's are angular, where Bantock's orchestral colours are burnished gold, Holbrooke's are like the ever-changing glints from a diamond-cut crystal. One could occasionally accuse Bantock of blandness, but Holbrooke's music is like quick-silver and even if a theme is not particularly distinguished, he dresses it in such arresting orchestral clothing that the attention is gripped. When listening to the Variations on 'The Girl I Left Behind Me' (another fascinating Cameo disc), I frequently thought of early Havergal Brian (especially the Comedy Overture 'Dr Merryheart') in the rapid transitions, impish humour and idiosyncratic scoring.
Up to around the First World War, Holbrooke's music could be described as predominantly tonal with an increasingly sophisticated chromatic overlay, but he began to expand his harmonic palette in the 1920s and used more dissonant chromaticism much more freely. This is perhaps more apparent in some of the piano music ('Futurist Dances', 'Bogey Beasts') than in the orchestral/ instrumental works - although the opera 'Bronwen' (completed around 1920) has some amazingly bold passages which are almost atonal in feel if not in construction (judging from the vocal score and extracts broadcast by the BBC in 1995 in the series 'Britannia at the Opera').
Holbrooke was very much his own man when it came to compositional style - I honestly think that his was one of the most individual voices in early twentieth-century British music. No two of his works are really alike but the name of the composer is never for one moment in doubt.
Peter, I forgot to list another strong recommendation: Lyrita SRCD.269. Here you have Holbrooke's lovely 'The Birds of Rhiannon' based on themes from his operatic trilogy 'The Cauldron of Annwyn', and you also get Cyril Rootham's First Symphony and Nicholas Braithwaite's recording of Bantock's masterly 'Overture to a Greek Tragedy: Oedipus at Colonus' into the bargain.
The performance of the Bantock is, in my opinion, far superior to Handley's on Hyperion (his only failure in the entire series) with the development section taken at a proper driving speed rather than the curiously stodgy tempo that Handley adopts.
Hi Gareth, regarding the 'Auld Lang Syne' Variations, op.60, if you have access to a score (pf or full) please could you possibly post a list of the initials as published at the head of each variation? George Lowe specifies
1. Josef Holbrooke
4. Coleridge-Taylor
5. Vaughan Williams
9. Edward Elgar
10. Frederick Delius
Finale. Granville Bantock
I think that 19, cited in Lowe as 'J.H.F.' must be John Foulds (Lowe's description of octaves moving in contrary motion is a bit of a give-away), whilst 15 'C.F.' could possibly be Cecil Forsyth.
Unfortunately, the score is not one that has made it onto IMSLP yet so it's difficult to read it and work out whose styles Holbrooke is imitating in the remaining variations, but it might be fun to have a guessing game!
Thank you Gareth for getting cpo to record Holbrooke. I will buy Vol 2 when it comes out.
Your description of the differences between Bantock & Holbrooke are pretty near the mark,Albion. Although, I don't find any of his music particularly bland. I was wondering what had happened to the cpo Holbrooke project,as I was reading the Gramophone Mag article about Rachmaninov's version of 'The Bells',on the 'throne',and thinking when are we going to hear THAT one! By the way,does anyone know what has happened to Cameo Classics ambitious plans for Holbrooke works. I know that they were hoping to record his 'Dramatic symphony' in Eastern Europe.
Obviously not!!!
Interesting to compare Bantock's 'Helena Variations' with Elgars famous 'Enigma' set. Bantock's are not as deep,but superbly & spectacularly orchestrated. An early effort,but still a fantastic & exciting showpiece,which really does underline the difference in aesthetic & mindset of the two men. The 'Helena Variations' should be heard and performed more often.
Yes, the Bantock and Elgar make a fascinating comparison. The period 1895-1910 saw a blossoming of the variation form in Britain with many significant and attractive sets:
Hurlstone: Variations on an Original Theme (1896); Variations on a Hungarian Air (1899); Variations on a Swedish Air (1904)
Holbrooke: Variations on 'Three Blind Mice' (1900); Variations on 'The Girl I left Behind Me' (1905)
Havergal Brian: Burlesque Variations on an Original Theme (1903); Fantastic Variations on an Old Rhyme (1907)
Parry: Symphonic Variations (1897)
Stanford: Variations on 'Down Among the Dead Men' for piano and orchestra (1898)
Coleridge-Taylor: Symphonic Variations on an African Air (1906)
Elgar: 'Enigma' Variations (1899)
Bantock: 'Helena' Variations (1899)
Mackenzie: 'Under the Clock' [variations on the Westminster Chimes], forming the first movement of the 'London Day by Day' Suite (1902)
Any obvious omissions?
Very interesting. I'm ashamed to say,I haven't heard any Hurlstone,although I know a bit about him. I keep meaning to try his music,but there are so many other composers and music on my 'want to hear list'. I think the Mackenzie is the only item that hasn't received a commercial recording,although I may be wrong. But,I can't see any thing of importance missing from that period,although there probably is something..........
Must put the Hurlstone higher up my 'list', though! (It's Scandinavian & French symphonists at the moment). A major gap in my knowledge of the so called English musical renaissance ,tut,tut!
Yes, all except the Mackenzie have now been recorded at one time or another, with Brian's 'Burlesque' Variations due out soon from Toccata (BBCSO/ Garry Walker). His 'Fantastic Variations on an Old Rhyme' (another set based, like Holbrooke's, on 'Three Blind Mice') are also worth hunting down on Marco Polo 8.223731. Hurlstone was particularly adept at this form and each of the three sets listed is well worth getting to know (all are available from Lyrita). We really do need another couple of discs of Mackenzie's orchestral music to supplement the excellent Hyperion issues - I feel another thread coming on!
Regarding Albion's post above. While I wouldn't exactly want to recommend the Marco Polo cds of Holbrooke. I would certainly suggest that the Marco Polo cd of tone poems,including 'The Raven',and Prelude to 'The Bells',is in my opinion well worth acquiring in the absence of anything better. The performances of 'The Raven' and 'The Bells' prelude are not exactly virtuoso performances,but they do convey the dark hue and gothic atmosphere of these haunting pieces,quite adequately;and unlike some of the wonderful Tournemire symphonies, or the Cyril Scott disc Marco Polo did, they are at least reasonably proficient. Of course,when cpo or some other really good recording company do them,these performances will be completely blown away. But until then,I personally wouldn't want to be without this cd. This is music which really does need to be heard somehow or another! And I would certainly prefer to listen to the Marco Polo cd, of some of Holbrooke's most imaginative music,than the Hyperion cd of Holbrooke's rather derivative Piano Concerto No 1,even if the performances are top notch. Believe me, I'm a big fan of Holbrooke,but the Piano Concerto No 1 is not Holbrooke at his most representive or personal. Also,well worth obtaining is the Dutton cd of his Violin Sonata No 3 'Orientale',which is one of the finest Holbroke recordings I have ever heard. It is also a very fine and satisfying work in itself & superior to any of the chamber works on the Marco Polo cd,cited. The couplings aren't Holbrooke, unfortunately,but they are well worth hearing,especially the Walford Davies Violin Sonata No2.
On the other hand,I wouldn't bother with the cd of bits from his opera's. Although I find it useful for reference purposes.
The first Holbrooke disc from Marco Polo ('The Raven', 'The Bells' Prelude, 'Bronwen' Overture, 'Byron', 'Ulalume') was a much more worthwhile offering then their second (orchestral extracts from 'The Cauldron of Annwn') and I should really have included it in a 'second-tier' category. It would be very interesting to hear John Poole's 1978 performances of 'Byron' and 'The Bells' (centenary concert - BBC Concert Orchestra with the BBC Singers), Malcolm Sargent's 1954 performance of 'Byron', or Bantock's 1938 performance of 'Queen Mab' (all recordings held at the National Sound Archive)!
I agree that the Gwyn-ap-Nudd concerto is less than top-drawer Holbrooke, but Hyperion's recording is essential listening given the quality of the performance by Hamish Milne with Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Scottish.
Indeed,I was being a bit harsh. The concerto is good,schmaltzy fun,and as per usual with Holbrooke superbly orchestrated. I just,think the music on the Marco Polo cd is more representative,and the performances aren't so bad you can't enjoy the wonderful music. Having said that,you only have to compare the cpo of 'Ulalume' with the performance on the Marco Polo to see what's wrong. But,yes,you are right to include the Hyperion disc.
Regarding the 1978 performance of 'The Bells'. John Poole did a very good 'Das Siegeslied',(Brian). Another performance mouldering away in the BBC archives department. What a waste. Incidentally,Gwydion Brooke didn't like that performance of 'The Bells', referring to it as a 'travesty' (in a letter he wrote to me, in response to some Josef Holbrooke fan mail!!!)
I have to say.I had no idea Bantock had recorded Holbrooke. Sounds like a job for Dutton,if they could get hold of it. Incidentally,I wish Dutton would release their cd of historical recordings of Bantock conducting. One I missed!
Finally,I wish Hyperion would do Holbrooke's second Piano Concerto. Unfortunately,they don't seem very interested in Holbrooke.
There are so many marvellous neglected composers out there. I'm listening to one right now.actually, a cd of a symphony of a symphony and tone poem by the Belgian composer Adolphe Biarent. Very exciting & spectacularly orchestrated. Lovers of Gliere's 'Ilya Murometz',take note! You'd like this!
The Bantock "Queen Mab" is very interesting, but the sound quality is poor, there are cuts (and what sounds like a break in transmission) and the choral section has been axed altogether.
Gwyd didn't like the John Poole performance of "The Bells", it's true. I haven't heard it myself, but I do know that they did not use all the instruments Holbrooke calls for. In particular, the very important (in this work) part for concertina was omitted and the almost equally important (in terms of sonority) mushroom bells were also cut. The orchestral forces are large, admittedly, but no larger than for Messiaen or Strauss - and if Messiaen can have an ondes martenot why should not Holbrooke be allowed his concertina?
"The Bells", "Queen Mab" and "Byron" - the three early tone poems with chorus - could all be fitted comfortably on one CD. I do wish very heartily that first rate performances of these pieces could be committed to disk. "Queen Mab" and "The Bells" represent Holbrooke at his individual and accomplished best.
Quote from: Gareth Vaughan on Saturday 17 April 2010, 21:25
"The Bells", "Queen Mab" and "Byron" - the three early tone poems with chorus - could all be fitted comfortably on one CD. I do wish very heartily that first rate performances of these pieces could be committed to disk. "Queen Mab" and "The Bells" represent Holbrooke at his individual and accomplished best.
This would indeed make a fantastic show-case for Holbrooke. I'm sure that 'Byron' is a better piece than it seems to be from the Marco Polo disc - one of the problems there, besides the dry acoustic and the dodgy playing, was the very peculiar pronunciation of the non-English-speaking choir. Follow-up recordings of 'Apollo and the Seaman' and 'A Dramatic Choral Symphony' would, of course, be more than welcome! Now that Holbrooke's purely orchestral works are beginning to show above the horizon, it surely can't be too long before we are revelling in his choral scores.
I'm convinced that "Byron" is a much better piece than the rather lack-lustre Marco Polo recording suggests. There was little sense of orchestral "line" in that performance and the chorus might have been singing in Hindustani for all the sense they made. After the opening "Ah! Byron..." I couldn't distinguish a single word. Shocking!
Quote from: Gareth Vaughan on Sunday 18 April 2010, 12:07
the chorus might have been singing in Hindustani for all the sense they made.
I thought it was Klingon!
K'plaQH!
Perhaps it is Hindustani! Actually,lacklustre is a very good way of describing the performances on the disc. I just didn't want to put someone off buying it,since there's no alternative at present. And I think the music is more representational of Holbrooke than the Piano Concerto on the Hyperion cd,however well performed. At the same time,when a suitable alternative emerges.I doubt I will want to play the Marco Polo cd,again. Unless I'm an idiot!
I agree about 'Byron'. It has a haunting quality about it,which made me think how difficult it must have been for Holbrooke. All that flush of success,and then decades of neglect and bitterness,always hoping for some chink of light,some change........but,alas,it never happened! At least,not for poor Holbrooke,himself. In that respect,I think the actual choice of 'Byron' as a sort of pay off to the disc was a quite inspired one. Which is more than you can say for the performance.
The Cyril Scott cd was another disaster from the Marco Polo stable. I also remember their cd of Bantock's 'Hebridean Symphony'. I remember quite enjoying it,but when I got the Hyperion cd,the RPO horns practically blew me away. You could hardly hear them on the MC disc. I never played it again. What was the point?
Indeed the Marco Polo Cyril Scott disc was pretty unpleasant in places, but still quite useful for including the 'Two Passacaglias on Irish Themes' (1914) and the 'Neapolitan Rhapsody' (1959), neither of which managed to make it into Chandos' fantastic 4-volume series. The 'Suite Fantastique' was neither-here-nor-there, but these other two works were very interesting.
It would be great to have recordings of his wonderful one-act opera 'The Alchemist' (1917/18) [excerpts were broadcast on Radio 3 in 1995], his major choral works 'La Belle Dame sans Merci' (1915/17), 'The Nativity Hymn' (1913) and the 'Hymn of Unity' (1947), together with the concertos for harpsichord (1937) and oboe (1948).
I missed 'The Alchemist',unfortunately. Although I managed to tape the Bronwen' excerpts,thank goodness. It's encouraging to see Chandos bring out another cd of Scott. Only chamber works,but I snapped it up via their site (to try and encourage them to do more). Very enjoyable too. Even if they have lost interest in the orchestral works maybe there is a some hope that they might explore some other aspects of his music.
Actually,using a provincial orchestral really isn't an excuse for poor ensemble and shoddy playing. The Adolphe Biarent cd I mentioned is a case in point. Not exactly an orchestra of the first rank or one of the most highly rated conductors,although an admirable one. The Biarent cd is everything that allot of those Marco Polo cd's aren't. The performances,full of fire and conviction sweep one along;and the sound quality is excellent too. What a difference!
According to the latest British Music Society Newsletter, the next CPO Holbrooke disc will be a dream release containing the Grasshopper Violin Concerto, Symphony No.3 (Ships) and the Auld Lang Syne Variations. Recording is scheduled for next Spring - I'm sure that many people are really looking forward to this on the strength of the previous outstanding releases from CPO and Dutton.
Thanks, this is great news!
David
Yes, that is great news. Should be a wonderful CD.
Having helped prepare a new set of parts for "The Grasshopper", the originals being in a pretty poor state, I can confirm that this project is going ahead. Jean Holbrooke told me earlier this week that she was in the process of collecting up the orchestral parts for Symphony No. 3. The performing material for the Auld Lang Syne Variations is already with the Brandenburgers who gave a couple public performances in Germany in the spring of this year.
Further to the puzzle of the musicians 'commemorated' by Holbrooke in his Auld Lang Syne Variations, Op.60 could the following be plausible candidates - some are fairly obvious, others somewhat less so! Discrepancies in the initials given on the flyleaf of the full score, in the body of the full score and in the piano score add to the confusion:
1. J.H. - Joseph Holbrooke
2. F.B. - Frank Bridge
3. A.B. - Arnold Bax
4. C.T. - Coleridge-Taylor
5. W.W. in the full score - William Wallace/ V.W. in the piano score - Vaughan Williams
6. B.D. - Benjamin Dale
7. E.S. - Ethel Smyth
8. R.W. - Richard Walthew
9. E.E. - Edward Elgar
10. F.D. - Frederic Delius
11. J.S. - Joseph Speaight
12. F.C.N. - ?
13. S.H. - ?
14. H.B. - Havergal Brian
15. C.I. on the flyleaf of the full score - ?/ C.J. in the body of the full score - ?/ C.F. in the piano score - Cecil Forsyth
16. C.S. in the full score - Cyril Scott/ C.D. in the piano score - ?
17. R.S. - Reginald Stegall
18. G.M. - ?
19. J.J.I. on the flyleaf of the full score - ?/ J.I. in the body of the full score - John Ireland/ J.H.F. in the piano score - John Herbert Foulds
20. G.B. - Granville Bantock
As "An impression of my musical friends and their work", in certain variations Holbrooke's homage is remarkably fickle! Hopefully, the CPO recording may shed a little more light upon this tangled web.
Any other suggestions (particularly for variations 12, 13 and 18)? ???
Seems like the wrong period, but G.M.- George MacFarren??
F. C. N. might be Francis Cotter Nixon, whose name I know only because an article was written about him and his now completely unsung music in the British Music Society newsletter some years ago.
Whoops - I just realized that was Henry Cotter Nixon. So - never mind...
Quote from: jerfilm on Sunday 20 February 2011, 16:01
Seems like the wrong period, but G.M.- George MacFarren??
It seems unlikely, as Macfarren died on Halloween in 1887, when Joseph was only nine - all the other variations seem to be 'portraits' of Holbrooke's early-twentieth-century contemporaries.
Quote from: Albion on Sunday 20 February 2011, 16:33
It seems unlikely, as Macfarren died on Halloween in 1887, when Joseph was only nine - all the other variations seem to be 'portraits' of Holbrooke's early-twentieth-century contemporaries.
Nor is G.M. Georges Mac-Master (Irish despite the French name), I suspect, who died in 1898. I wonder who, then... (btw the full score is dated July 1906??)
Quote from: eschiss1 on Sunday 20 February 2011, 20:23
I wonder who, then... (btw the full score is dated July 1906??)
Although the full score is dated July 1906, the first performance did not take place until 8th May 1915 (Queen's Hall Orchestra/ Basil Cameron). The piano version was written later, first performed by Rita Neve in Steinway Hall on 23rd March 1918 and published in 1920.
It is highly possible that there are substantial differences between these presentations of the score, given the lapse in time - the changing of initials in variations 5, 15, 16 and 19 would support such a conjecture (Vaughan Williams was still relatively unknown in 1906, his first 'big' premiere being
Toward the Unknown Region at the 1907 Leeds Festival).
Unfortunately, not having immediate access to either the full or the piano scores, I can't confirm or refute this! Given Holbrooke's pugnacious nationalism it is probable that all the musicians depicted were British, but can we be sure? ???
I think that R.S. and G.M. are Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler respectively. FCN is almost certainly Frederick C. Nicholls, whose songs Holbrooke admired.
I hardly dared suggest Mahler. Is it at all possible, do you think?
Quote from: Gareth Vaughan on Thursday 07 May 2009, 09:38
The CPO CD of orchestral music by Josef Holbrooke has now been released. It contains the early tone poems, The Viking and Ulalume + the late overture Amontillado (in effect, another tone poem based on E.A. Poe, a perennial source of inspiration for the composer) and the delicious orchestral variations on "Three Blind Mice", a tour de force of invention. The orchestra is the Brandurburgisches Staatsorchester, Frankfurt an der Oder, under Howard Griffiths, and they play superbly. The booklet notes by Franz Groborz are excellent. My only quibble is that one of the music examples is incorrectly printed: instead of the love theme from The Viking, which is what is being referred to, the printer has duplicated a theme referred to earlier from Amontillado! A pity. But it is marvellous to have these works available in good modern sound and splendidly committed performances.
Yes, this is a fine CD, although, on balance, prefer the chamber music.
Quote from: Gareth Vaughan on Monday 21 February 2011, 18:55
I think that R.S. and G.M. are Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler respectively. FCN is almost certainly Frederick C. Nicholls, whose songs Holbrooke admired.
Thanks for this, Gareth - I
had begun to seriously wonder whether or not the 'dedications'
were entirely British! Are there substantial differences between the full and the piano scores which might explain the inconsistencies in variations 5, 15, 16 and 19?
I have never seen the piano score - but I will endeavour to have a look at it, with the orchestral score to hand.
Quote from: Gareth Vaughan on Monday 21 February 2011, 18:55
I think that R.S. and G.M. are Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler respectively. FCN is almost certainly Frederick C. Nicholls, whose songs Holbrooke admired.
Musicsack.com (http://musicsack.com/PersonFMTDetail.cfm?PersonPK=100037923) claims the C. is for Charles, btw, but every source I consult gives a birthyear of 1871 (Musicsack adds 8 January) and a death date of '?'. May be able to find more information elsewhere (ok, realize no one asked.) Not the same, of course, as 'FNC' (not that anyone's using that...) which might be Frederick Nicholls Crouch (1808-1896, English cellist, trumpeter and composer who fought on the South's side in the US Civil War.)
Quote from: Gareth Vaughan on Monday 21 February 2011, 18:55
I think that R.S. and G.M. are Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler respectively. FCN is almost certainly Frederick C. Nicholls, whose songs Holbrooke admired.
Gareth, given the speculative inclusion of Strauss and Mahler in the list, is it possible that Variation 16 began as
Cyril Scott (C.S.) in the full score and then became
Claude Debussy (C.D.) in the piano score, in view of the stylistic similarities between the two composers? ???
QuoteGareth, given the speculative inclusion of Strauss and Mahler in the list, is it possible that Variation 16 began as Cyril Scott (C.S.) in the full score and then became Claude Debussy (C.D.) in the piano score, in view of the stylistic similarities between the two composers? ???
Given the way Holbrooke worked, I think it highly likely. He was always re-titling works and tinkering, presumably in order to make them somehow more likely to get a performance. It is known that Holbrooke wrote a PC as a student. I am absolutely convinced that what we know as the Symphonic poem No. 7 (or Piano Concerto) "The Song of Gwyn ap Nudd" is, in fact, this early work retitled and maybe slightly revamped. The quotations from the Mabinogion which litter the score just don't seem to make any sense. It would be typical of Jo to give the work a fancy name in order to excite enough interest to get it played. Symphonic Poem it is not - Romantic PC it most certainly is. However, I have no way of proving this theory - it just seems likely from what one knows of the man. And he was certainly not alone in doing this sort of thing: "If they won't play my piano concerto, perhaps they'll play my Celtic Twilight symphonic poem."
Gareth, you are not alone in thinking that The Song of Gwyn ap Nudd was a metamorphosis: Stephen Lloyd (Sir Dan Godfrey: Champion of British composers, Thames, 1995) explicitly states that the Dramatique Piano Concerto (then labelled Op.30) performed by Holbrooke in Bournemouth on 14th April 1902 and repeated at Bournemouth in November 1903 (as Poeme) was a precursor to the concerto as we now know it.
In Holbrooke: some catalogue data (Music and Letters, 1965, XLVI (4): 297-305) Kenneth L. Thompson gives this work another opus number:
Piano concerto in F minor ('Dramatique'), Op. 36. Composed: 1896-1900. Premiere: 14 April 1902, by the composer and the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra conducted by Dan Godfrey. London: 27 Aug. 1903, Promenade Concert, composer and the Queen's Hall Orchestra, cond. Wood.
According to Lloyd (f.n. 12, p.58), on the basis of information from Gwydion Brooke, there is a final version of the Auld Lang Syne Variations in which D.G. (Dan Godfrey) replaces H.B. (Havergal Brian) as Variation 14.
Well, I just ordered my first Holbrooke - the Cambrian Cello Concerto and the 4th Symphony, Homage à Schubert. If I like 'em I'll splurge on the Gwyn ap Nudd PC from Hyperion.
I appreciate that there are pitfalls in assuming that composers' characters mirrored what we now feel for their music (after all, by most accounts Raff' wasn't the easiest person to get on with) but I must say that I'm a little disappointed by Holbrooke's cavalier way with these initials. Not so much that they signpost the ebb and flow of his friendships or enthusiasms, more that he felt that a variation which he presumably wrote as a pen portrait of one person will, at a later date, do perfectly well in his mind as a portrait of someone else. Surely there are implications for the value of these pieces as sincere (or at least considered) portraits in the first place? Or am I being hopelessly naive?
So far, we seem to be at this point of (speculative) identification for the Auld Lang Syne Variations:
1. J.H. - Joseph Holbrooke
2. F.B. - Frank Bridge
3. A.B. - Arnold Bax
4. C.T. - Coleridge-Taylor
5. W.W. in the full score - William Wallace/ V.W. in the piano score - Vaughan Williams
6. B.D. - Benjamin Dale
7. E.S. - Ethel Smyth
8. R.W. - Richard Walthew
9. E.E. - Edward Elgar
10. F.D. - Frederic Delius
11. J.S. - Joseph Speaight
12. F.C.N. - Frederick Charles Nicholls
13. S.H. - ?
14. H.B. - Havergal Brian
15. C.I. on the flyleaf of the full score - ?/ C.J. in the body of the full score - ?/ C.F. in the piano score - Cecil Forsyth
16. C.S. in the full score - Cyril Scott/ C.D. in the piano score - [Claude Debussy?]
17. R.S. - Richard Strauss
18. G.M. - Gustav Mahler
19. J.J.I. on the flyleaf of the full score - [John Ireland?]/ J.I. in the body of the full score - John Ireland/ J.H.F. in the piano score - John Herbert Foulds
20. G.B. - Granville Bantock
Given Holbrooke's reputation for falling-out with his fellow human beings, I'm surprised that only four of the variations (5, 15, 16 & 19) seem to be afflicted by the one-size-fits-all approach. Of these four, W.W./ V.W. and J.J.I/ J.I could plausibly be put down to printing errors, but the former is suspicious in that Vaughan Williams was not really on the radar in 1906 when the first version was composed and there can surely be no doubt that C.I./ C.J./ C.F., C.S./ C.D. and J.I./ J.H.F. represent deliberate re-alignment. It is possible that there are differences between the different versions of the score which might help to clarify these discrepancies - Gareth is perhaps in the best position to confirm this or otherwise.
Far from being disappointed in Holbrooke's waywardness, however, I am even more intrigued and eager to hear the promised CPO recording although I pity the writer who is given the task of preparing the programme-notes! ;)
What is it about Holbrooke? As soon as I see a new post I HAVE to click on it. Be warned 'JimL',the 'Gwyn ap Nudd' piano Concerto isn't as quirky or original as later Holbrooke. However,the form of the piece is rather unusual,and if you like Welsh folklore & and rare,lushly romantic,slightly ott Piano Concerto's you can't do much better,(not that it actually sounds particularly Welsh,though!)
Can't wait for 'Ships & the Grasshopper'! I would get the Marco Polo cd for 'The Raven' though,even if the performances aren't exactly brilliant!
Anyway,back to the experts........
News at last of the CPO recording sessions for "The Grasshopper" VC. These took place from 15-18 of January with Judith Ingolfsson as soloist and the Brandenburgisher Staatsorchester under Howard Griffiths. The coupling will be "The Raven" and the "Auld Lang Syne" Variations. Unfortunately, there was not sufficient time to get the variations done in these sessions - at least, not to Howard's satisfaction. So these have been scheduled for May. We must look elsewhere for a recording of "Ships" because Howard does not feel in sympathy with the music, so he has declined to conduct it. I (and others) will try to interest Dutton.
Thanks, Gareth, for this update.