The name of this composer/pianist has not been mentioned yet here... Born in 1827 in Amsterdam, he died in London in 1909. Grove's have a short article about him. He wrote several light pieces for piano, but there's also a symphony, a PC, chamber music, a Prize-winning Mass, etc. Reviews are quite uneven from what I've seen. The score of his Symphony is available at imslp.org. Am I the only one familiar with this name?
Simon
As far as I'm concerned, yes. But how fascinating. Any idea what the Symphony is like?
I had never heard of Silas and so I downloaded the score of the Symphony to see if it might be a lost masterpiece. In my opinion, it isn't. It's quite old-fashioned for its time and while some of the themes are attractive (especially in the scherzo), they are worked to death in an uninspired, rather four-square and mechanical manner. The orchestration is competent, owing something to Schubert, but overall (to damn with faint praise) I found it not unpleasant -- merely dull. However, I must emphasise that I express this view on the strength of one reading (rather late at night); others may find things in it that I have missed and so I'd be interested in the opinions of any who might care to peruse it.
Very good of you to take a look, Lionel.
Lionel, I am so envious of your ability to read a score so well. Silas is a new name to me, and I echo Alan's thanks for taking the trouble. :)
Quote from: semloh on Sunday 26 August 2012, 22:09
Lionel, I am so envious of your ability to read a score so well. Silas is a new name to me, and I echo Alan's thanks for taking the trouble. :)
:-[ Thanks, chaps; glad to be of assistance. The ability to read a score comes from what feels like about 100 years of practice!
Apart from his D minor Piano concerto I believe there is a "fantasy and elegy" for piano and orchestra (according to Giles Enders' Piano concerto site) - I thought there were three piano concertos though I can't remember where I got that information. I heard a march that he wrote which seemed rather banal but my piano teacher spent the weekend with his friend Ronald Stevenson who apparently played several pieces by Silas that he enjoyed. I see his name in organ circles more - some of his organ music is still in print. I would love to hear the concertante works though maybe he is an unsung for a reason.
Rob
Ronald Stevenson! Ah - now there's an unsung composer for you!
Quote from: ahinton on Monday 27 August 2012, 09:50
Ronald Stevenson! Ah - now there's an unsung composer for you!
Quite. But not for us here...
In looking over the score of the Symphony (not thoroughly yet, I admit) I'm not sure it would come off as dull in performance as it has been made out to be. It has a light instrumental touch - very open, graceful woodwind writing (including some unusually high bassoon for the time in the first mvt), reserving the trombones for the finale and then deploying them quite elegantly - and some rather nice effects, such as the cross-rhythmic string writing in the recap of the finale (violins exchanging the main 6/8 drive over a 3/4 pulse in the violas and a 2/4 in the cello/bass) as the winds give out the main theme chorally. (I do admit, that particular conceit "looks" better than it would probably sound, unless accents were strongly marked, and at speed it might be lost anyway.) It doesn't seem that old-fashioned for 1852, either, certainly not in its post-Schubertian/Mendelssohnian style, and it's the work of a young man: he's 25 at the time of publication, and it is only his op.19. What I've been looking at so far seems rather lyric and jolly, and almost deliberately _un_-profound. I think it would play well, actually; I'll keep reading on deeper and preparing to be disillusioned, though.
pcc, I'm very glad that you are looking at this score. When I wrote in my earlier post that "others may find things in it that I have missed" I did so in the hope that at least one "other" would peruse it. It's always good to get a variety of opinions on unsung works (especially those by unsung composers) to ensure that a gem doesn't stay hidden when that fate is undeserved. I note that you say you haven't looked over it thoroughly yet; once you have done so (if you do), I hope you will post again with your final thoughts.
I definitely will. What I've seen in it so far seems very interesting to me, as it doesn't seem like it would sound "thick", which is an initial discouragement to me sometimes.
In reply to hammyplay, I have a reference circa 1880 which states Silas composed three piano concertos. in D, in C minor and in D minor. I have no idea if the scores are still extant or if they were ever published.
According to Grove (1900 ed.):
SILAS, EDOUARD, pianist and composer, was born at Amsterdam, Aug. 22, 1827. His first
teacher was Neher, one of the Court orchestra at Mannheim. In 1842 he was placed under Kalkbrenner at Paris, and soon afterwards entered the Conservatoire under Benoist for the organ and Halevy for composition, and in 1849 obtained thest prize for the former. In 1850 he came to England; played first at Liverpool, and made his first appearance in London at the Musical Union, May 21. Since that date Mr. Silas has been established in London as teacher, and as organist of the Catholic Chapel at Kingston-on- Thames. His oratorio 'Joash' (words compiled by G. Linley) was produced at the Norwich Festival of 1863. A Symphony in A (op. 19) was produced by the Musical Society of London, April 22, 1863; repeated at the Crystal Palace, Feb. 20, 1864 ; and afterwards published (Cramer & Co.). A Concerto for PF. and orchestra in D minor is also published (Cramer & Co.). A Fantasia and an Elegie, both for PF. and orchestra, were given at the Crystal Palace in 1865 and 1873. In 1866 he received the prize of the Belgian competition for sacred music for his Mass for 4 voices and organ.
Mr. Silas is the author of a Treatise on Musical Notation, and an Essay on a new method of
Harmony both unpublished. He has still in MS. an English opera, 'Nitocris'; overture and incidental music to 'Fanchette'; a musical comedietta, 'Love's Dilemma'; a Cantata; an 'Ave Verum'; two 'O Salutaris'; a Symphony in C major; and other compositions. The list of his published instrumental works is very large, and includes many PF. pieces, among which the best known are Gavotte in E minor, Bourree in G minor, 'Malvina' (romance), Suite in A minor Op.103, Six Duets, etc., etc.
Mr. Silas is well known as a man of great humour and extraordinary musical ability. He is a teacher of harmony at the Guildhall School of Music; and his pupils there and in private are very numerous.
****************
Only two of the three piano concertos listed in Brown's Biographical Dictionary (1886) are mentioned here.
The concerto in D minor recieved its first perf. 28th May 1852, with the composer at the piano.
I can't find anything about the others.... :)
no idea about publications of the piano concertos, at present. The piano trio in score and parts is at the Library of Congress.
I am wondering based on hints of evidence whether the New York Public Library might have some part of the D minor concerto. It's not in the (incomplete) online catalog, but might be in their printed catalog (pre-1964), which has been scanned in by Google and then made inaccessible except in the "your search terms are here somewhere, you just can't see where, too bad" sense (... since when is a reference book, esp. of that sort, copyrighted? Eh.)
A certain antiquarian bookseller in London had a copy of the D minor concerto for sale 3 or 4 years ago and although I was informed it was available, I was most disappointed to be subsequently told that it had then been sold to another interested party (not the first time this has happened to me from the same seller I hasten to add!). I presume that this was the piano solo part but I wonder who had acquired it...........
I was more fortunate however with a bound volume of Silas piano works (apparently from the same collection and the same seller) which substantially increased my Silas collection - I have tried these out but my overall impression is that the melodic line tends to be rather weak and unmemorable, and the overall quality of all of his the music that I have seen is somewhat variable. There is a set of 6 piano duets Op23, which are not bad as a set, but as I also possess a copy of the Op19 Symphony score, I felt it would be worthwhile to have a more detailed perusal in view of some of the above comments,and have to say that IMHO this is not at all bad, and would be perhaps worthy of a performance if a set of parts could be procured!
This talk of Silas reminds me that the late Dr Alan Krueck identified a symphony by Silas as one of the works entered in the 1862 Vienna Symphony Competition eventually won by Raff's An das Vaterland. We still only know for sure the identity of two of the entries: Raff's Symphony and the G minor by Albert Becker, who was the runner up. In attempting to identify the other entrants for his unfinished article on the competition (full text here (http://www.raff.org/resource/krueck/vienna.htm)), Alan relied heavily on a letter written by one of the judges, Robert Volkmann, who described an number of the works entered which were, of course, only identified to him by number. Each did carry a motto, however.
In an addendum to his original text Alan identified the composer of No.28 as Silas, but before doing so he summarised the work thus:
Foremost among the entries Volkmann placed No.28, with the motto, Nur jene Form eines Tonstückes .... (Only that form of a composition), in itself sufficiently cryptic and mystifying. The identity crisis is not limited here only to the composer of this work but extends to the generic title as well, which is Symphonie-Ode in A. major. Despite the fact that the composer of this work has not yet been uncovered, Volkmann has left a number of enticing and illuminating clues. The designation symphonie-ode is in itself rarely encountered up to 1860 and in an exact listing of a composer's catalog, should be easy to spot. We know from the context of Volkmann's remarks that he was dealing with a four movement work. Among the important observations is that the Adagio or slow movement is placed third, indicating it was preceded by a scherzo or dance movement and an opening Allegro. Volkmann's major criticism of the work gives another clue, namely:
"....that after the third movement, a long spun out Adagio, there follows another lengthily developed movement of slow measure, cast in fugal form and of very serious and melancholy coloration, which as worthy as this may seem, detracts from effectiveness and might work to the detriment of the whole."
In this fugal Finale Volkmann also objects to the punctuation of fortissimo chords with cymbals and bass drum, a gesture not characteristic of the composers of the Mendelssohn-Schumann School, such as Volkmann himself. All that Volkmann writes thus far is excellent information aiding in the effort of identifying the composer of this symphonie-ode. But it is in the concluding remark about this work where Volkmann leaves his most valuable observation:
"Unfortunately, the requirement of a rather large organ in the Adagio makes renditions of this work impossible for many a concert organization."
Speculation on this remark alone leads one to suspect that the composer was associated with a major city with symphony performing facilities housing an organ. While that may seem to limit the hunt, the search continues for the composer of this intriguing four movement Symphonie-Ode in A major which concludes with a slow moving fugal finale and cymbals and bass drum punctuations at the end.
Although Alan never got around to integrating his second thoughts into the text of the article, he later wrote:
Of the five unidentified composers in Volkmann's list, there is only one about whom this researcher feels confident in identifying and that is the composer of No.28, the Symphonie-Ode in A major which was Volkmann's first citation. This is almost certainly the Symphony in A major of the Dutch born composer Eduard Silas (1827-1909) which was written in 1852 but not performed until 1862 and again in 1863, both times by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Silas was a highly regarded organist as well as composer, having beaten Saint-Saëns in an organ performance competition in 1858. Though Christopher Senior's article for the most recent edition of Grove does not mention that this Symphony in A major by Silas carries with it the term "ode', he intriguingly lets the reader know that a second symphony by Silas is called Symphonie-burlesque. Until a score to the Silas can be found or an adequate description of the piece comes to light, definite identification is impossible. Until then the work and its composer remain the prime candidates for No.28, Nur jene Form eines Tonstückes.
It's a shame, but sadly it's pretty clear that Alan misidentified No.28 as Silas' A major Symphony. Whilst that wasn't premièred or published until 1863 (i.e. safely after the Vienna competition), the piece as published isn't a Symphonie-Ode, it lacks a motto and it's slow movement (Adagio quasi Andante rather than Andante) not only comes second in order but also lacks an organ part. I can only assume that Alan hadn't seen the score now available at IMSLP before he made his guess.
So, having eliminated Silas, I wonder who the composer of the intriguing Symphonie-Ode was?
I don't suppose there are records of the performances of the London Philharmonic from that era??
Nah, that'd be TOO easy....... ;D
Jerru
didn't Felicien David write a symphonie-ode? There's material for a topic there, or two (one on David and one on the symphony, cantata, ode streams etc. - Beethoven 9 being related to... well.. never mind...)
David's Le Désert is indeed a Symphonie-Ode, as is Nicodé's Das Meer, but obviously neither are the Vienna competition's No.28. Still, mustn't provoke a wagging finger from one of my co-administrators for being off-topic!
Back to Silas: I see that he also wrote a Symphonie-burlesque according to Alan Krueck. Anyone come across it?
A Google search reveals that Upton in his "The Standard Symphonies" (1896) mentions three symphonies by Silas, no.1 in A (1850), no.2 in C (1852), no.3 Symphonie-burlesque (1853). (Don't know where or whether it is, at the moment!) (An earlier source seems to be the article on Silas in Fétis, 1881.)
Hrm. I thought the Belgian Royal Library might have it, given the information , which I'd forgotten, that he was of Belgian birth; they do have a movement from his mass in an arrangement by Wotquenne, interestingly...
Edouard Silas Born 22.8.1827 Amsterdam (German parents) Died 8.2.1909 London
His first teacher was Neher in Mannheim. From 1842 he studied at The Paris Conservatoire under Kalkbrenner, Benoist and Halevy. In 1850 he settled in London and worked as a church organist, pianist and teacher, subsequently becoming a professor at the Guildhall School of Music.
Orchestral
Symphony in A major Op.19 1850 pub. by Cramer, Beale & Wood
Symphony in C major 1852
Symphony Burlesque 1853
Overture in E
Overture 'Oliver Brusson'
Overture 'Don Quixote'
Overture and incidental music to 'Franchette'
Piano Concerto in D
Piano Concerto in C minor
Piano Concerto in D minor 1852
Elegie for piano and orchestra 1873
Fantasia for piano and orchestra 1865
Chamber
Piano Trio in A minor Op.27
Piano Trio in C Op.46
Piano Trio in D
Andante for violin and piano Op.24
Capriccio for violin and piano pub. by Weekes & Co
La Bergere - pastorale for violin and piano pub. by Edwin Ashdown Ltd
Nonet in F minor for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello and double bass.
Two quintets
Quartet
Piano
K'Adieu - romance
Bagatelle
Barcarolle in G minor Op.54
Barcarolle Op.132
Berceuse Op.74/2
Bourree in G minor
Bourree No.2 Op.79
Bourree No.3
Bourree No.4 pub by Weekes & Co
Bourree No.5 pub by Weekes & Co
Calisthenics pub. by Edwin Ashdown Ltd
Caprices, Op.20
Coralie - romance
Costanza Op.49
Six piano duets for four hands: Op.23/1, /2 Allegretto in A minor, /3 in C major, /4 in A minor, /5 in E flat major, /6 in D flat major pub. by Ashdown & Parry
Etude Op.43
Florida - caprice Op.47
'Francesca' polka
Gavotte in F
Gavotte in D
Gavotte in E minor
Idylle Op.63
Impromptu, bouree in G minor
Impromptu Op.34
Impromptu Op45
La Capana - pastorale Op.52
'La Gentilezza' Op.14
'Malvina' romance
Pastorale in F
Rococo
Six equises Op.67
Sonata in F
Sonatina in G
Suite in A minor Op.103
Tarantelle Op.51
'Tokio' Japanese march
Two books of romances, nocturnes and mazurkas
'Vagabonds'
Song
Enid's Song words by Tennyson 1880 pub. by Harper & Brothers
Entsagen
I waited long enough Kathleen word by A B Edwards
I think of Thee
Polly Vanderdecken
Orange Blossoms
O though pale orb
Stars of the Summer night
The Banks O'Doon words by R Burns pub. by B Mocatta & Co.
The Curfew words by Longfellow
The Dying child words by E Owlim
The Life chase
The Owl words by Tennyson
The Voice of the Fountain words by A B Edwards
Treue Liebe
Church Music
Mass for four voices and orchestra 1866
Joash - oratorio (Norwich Festival) 1863
Kyrie eleison for four voices and orchestra
Ave verum; Tartum ergo; Ave Regina; O Salutaris
Domine Salvam fac requiem - Prayer for the Queen for four voices
Four litanies
Christmas Carol for six voices
Softly fall the shades of evening
Song of Spring
Organ
Andantes in C, D, and A flat pub. by Novello
Allegro moderato in F
Canzonetta pub. by Novello
Capriccio Op.121 pub by Novello, Ewer & Co
Fantasia in E minor on St.Anne's tune Op.93 pub. by Novello
Fantasia in D minor Op.117 1891 pub. by Novello
Fugues in D and C minor
March in B flat major pub. by Novello
Melodies in C and E minor pub. by Novello
Minuet in F pub. by Novello
Pastorale pub. by Novello
Sonata in F pub. by Novello
Six pieces dedicated to J Lemmens
Opera
Nitocris libretto by E Fitzball
Musical Comedy
Loves Dilemma
Re Op.23- thanks, I was wondering what the "Allegretto in A minor, Op.23" arranged for organ was. Apparently one of the 6 duets published in ca.1861 by Richault of Paris, then (not no.5 which is in E-flat according to Worldcat- maybe no.6- I don't have the list offhand. :) )
As I have a complete first edition of Silas' Op23, I can confirm that "Allegretto in A minor" certainly applies to No4 (of the set of 6 Duets).
Thanks!
As to the list above btw I see from Worldcat also a Magnificat in D Op.98 (and another in B-flat, Op.103) (indeed between Edward and Edouard Silas Worldcat lists a fair amount. The trio Op.46 is given in one publication as No.3, suggesting that the next one might maybe be no.4 and that there might be then a first piano trio missing or misplaced?... (could the Elegie for piano and orchestra be related to "Elegy on themes from the anthems My beloved spake and I was glad by Henry Purcell" (though this work is for organ solo and was published in 1895), I wonder...)
I realize I discovered this topic a bit late but I will post my question here anyway. I would be specifically interested in locating the score (or a part thereoff) of Silas's opera Nitocris. Would anyone have an idea if it survived time and where it could be kept? I'm asking because references don't mention any composition date and neither is it clear to me yet if the work was performed, which would of course give some clues. The reason for my interest is simple: I am writing a handbook on Dutch operas and we perform excerpts of these in concert. For any given title to be considered the first criterion is of course that the score or part thereoff survives, otherwise it would become a study of librettos which is not the objective of the book.
Ages and ages ago on this forum there was a short discussion on Silas's A major symphony (op.19, dedicated to Henry Broadwood), and of late because I might try over some things with my own orchestra I started studying it again. Working closely with it I find it really quite ingratiating and spaciously scored, with really nice harmonic touches throughout, and the finale (which reminds me a little of a French peasant dance at the beginning - a touch like Bizet's L'arlesienne music) would be a whopper with a really brisk performance. I think we'll try it over if I can generate parts or (miracle of miracles) find a set somewhere.
The question to me was since the title page said "first symphony", where was any other, or was it a "first and only"? As it turns out, after some poking about I found that Silas bequeathed 9 volumes of manuscripts to the British Library upon his death in 1909, and amongst many other things there is another symphony in C from 1872, an "Elegie" for piano and orchestra, and the full score of his unperformed opera Nitocris (1859) composed to a no-doubt-eccentric libretto by Fitzball; the last might well have been written with hopes of being produced by the Pyne-Harrison company. I remember on the previous discussion there was a Dutch gentleman looking for Nitocris for some sort of Dutch opera project. Does anyone remember this? - and really, I say with a slightly wry smile, does anyone care - even a tiny bit? Edouard Silas really is about as "unsung" as anyone cited on this forum, and at least he's a much more - ahem, "interesting" - composer than, say, Joseph Street (if I want to set the bar really low)!
I find this fascinating! I see in the earlier UC discussion Giles Enders made an extensive list of Silas's compositions. I checked out the BL catalogue and I see their 9-volume manuscript collection isn't as extensive as one might hope, but does include the opera Nitocris (which occupies 3 of the volumes), the sacred drama Joash (2 vols), symphonies in A (presumably the published No. 1 Op 19 whose score is on IMSLP) and C plus a burlesque symphony Mr Punch's Musical Recollections, the Elegie for piano and orchestra and a March of the Vagabonds for piano. Among the other catalogued items is a letter to Silas from Berlioz on the subject of Joash.
I have merged the two threads for ease of reference to the earlier discussion. Trust that helps.
The symphony in A in the Silas MS bequest is indeed the published op.19 currently on IMSLP. The other two symphonies, op. 96 in C and the "Burlesque Symphony - Mr. Punch's Musical Recollections" make up the whole of the three symphonies cited in Upton's "Standard Symphonies" (though Upton's dates are wrong, it seems) and Alan Krueck's note. Now to find the published D minor piano concerto that someone bought from under Mr. Eastick, as the MS of the "Elegie" is in the BL. Not to state the obvious, but has anyone checked the BL's CPM?
I think my fellows will take a whack at the op. 19 symphony - I'll get a graduate student onto making up the parts! ;)
Err...CPM = Culture, Policy and Management? As compared with 10 or so years ago I think the BL have made it much more difficult (and expensive) to obtain scans of their mss. Even to obtain access for reference it seems you need some kind of official academic status or endorsement. Another job for a graduate student?
That's the Sibley Library's general ref for the BL's Catalogue of Printed Music published prior to 1980. I was just going to have one of my students use the printed edition of the Silas A major symphony off of IMSLP as their basis for generating parts. (My wife, the Sibley Library bookbinder, made me a quick hardbound reference copy of it, which makes it much more convenient to study.) I have a friend within the BL who may be able to help me get microfilms (remember those?) of the MS volumes of the two other symphonies, the "Elegie", and at least a survey of what Nitocris consists of (the instrumentation and voice distribution, whether Fitzball's complete libretto is included, etc.) I think Joash was published so that might be a bit easier to examine, but I'm more interested (at least initially) in Victorian secular rather than sacred drama, heathen that I am. And I am tenuously affiliated with several scholarly institutions as adjunct professor; it means I hold a somewhat shabby hat in my hand as I look up pleadingly for admission through research libraries' golden portals, but I haven't been thrown out on my ear yet.
I have checked the printed music catalogue at BL and also the COPAC of British Libraries. There are no copies listed of any of the concertos or symphonies (apart from No. 1 which exists in more than one library), alas!
The Mass should probably be pre-dated to "by 1864" - at least, if we're talking about Op.62, which was issued by Belgian publisher Katto in 1864, before its British publication in 1866. KBR has a copy of the Katto publication.
Can anyone give an idea of his idiom, please?
Well, I heard some of his organ music years ago and thought it dull and academic, which is partly why I have never made much effort to trace the piano concertos. However, I have not seen the 1st symphony (or, indeed, any of the orchestral music) and am very willing to accept the opinion of a professional musician like pcc who has, and clearly thinks it is not without merit and attraction.
The first symphony is scored for classical orchestra including clarinets and trumpets but no trombones (except in the finale) but the opening for wind choir alone seems quite original. I'll see if I can hash something for strings out of his Allegretto Op.23 for piano 4 hands. IMSLP has it only in William Best's arrangement for organ, but the idiom doesn't look particularly organistic (organic?).
So: in all likelihood a conservative composer, possibly even backward-looking. But if the music's of good quality...
Here's his Prelude in D for Organ:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prXov0Tab5U (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prXov0Tab5U)
and his 'Malvina' Romance, Op.75:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgP0PJ749ww (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgP0PJ749ww)
Definitely something to "like" in Malvina I'd say. Is it synth do you think? The left hand seems very mechanical.
No, it is not a synth. recording, as I have the CD as issued by Epic/Sony Records in 1990. Catalogue Number ESCK8008. Contents are: Amaranth (Op6), Prelude & Impromptu Op37, Florida - Caprice Op47, Barcarolle Op54, Idyll Op63, Malvina Op75, Gavotte, Minuet & Jig Op103 & Le Pas des Roses - Air de Ballet (1884). The pianist is Osamu Nakamura. Although I was pleased to have the recording, I do have to admit that the performances are not really that compelling, but as far as I am aware, there is nothing else of his recorded - except perhaps the odd organ miniature or so included in a recital CD.......
To my ears the organ Prelude is feeble and undistinguished - a very dull piece. The piano work, 'Malvina', is charming enough but deserves better playing (that left hand accompaniment is unremitting, and it needed be if it weren't executed so mechanically). Thank you for providing the links, Alan.
Agreed, Gareth.
Actually, in the op. 19 Symphony the trombones are in each movement except the first. According to the printed score, Silas replaced the slow movement and scherzo he had originally written with those now in the printed score in 1860, which would predate the symphony's earliest known performances.
I would say Silas's style here could be viewed as conservative, but no more so than Saint-Saëns's early symphonic works or Gounod's symphonies. It certainly doesn't feel at all Germanic, at least to me. After long study I think I like the slow movement and finale best. though all have good tunes (the clarinet solo in the opening of the first movement has real lyricism, for instance). The finale starts arrestingly with tympani and basses and goes on to an unusual opening theme, the broad second subject first appears for strings alone (actually a string quartet texture - the contrabass is left out), reappears as a bright apotheosis for winds and brass against string figuration, and the piece winds up very succinctly. Silas's orchestral music may well be superior on the whole to his organ and piano music, but there's really only this one work that's accessible at this moment from which to form an opinion. I've looked at the organ music on IMSLP and was as unevenly impressed (to be kind) as others on this forum. However, any Victorian who on one hand would predictably write a "sacred drama" eulogizing Joash (who, I'm sorry to say, is as obscure to me as St. Polycarp in Gore Ouseley's oratorio) and on the other pen a "Burlesque Symphony" tied to Punch magazine had something odd in his mind that piques my interest to investigate him further.
Thanks for that, pcc. You continue to intrigue us...
Having had a more detailed examination of Silas' piano works that I have, I would revise my earlier opinion somewhat, as whilst the overall quality is uneven, there are certainly a number of pieces worthy of further study and performance. I also have a copy of the 1st piano trio (published by Cramer Beale & Co, plate no.5126, which probably dates it at from the early 1850's).. The British Library hold a much later edition by Augener c.1890, along with copies of the other three - Op27, Op46 & Op91, Certainly the Trio that I have (I think I have somewhere seen reference to this as his Op26 - I cannot recall exactly where unfortunately - and this is certainly lacking on the title page), shows considerable promise, and if only someone could investigate/obtain copies of the other three (obviously considering the hideously unreasonable copying costs at the BL), this could be a possible recording perhaps?
If Worldcat stops asking me to identify buses etc. and I can find copies elsewhere (very big ifs) I am very interested in trying to scan (and upload to IMSLP and etc) a copy so obtained, but that's unlikely I realize...
BNF has some of his works in their collection, one so far available for download (including the same Katto (Katts?) version of the Op.62 mass). He was Belgian, so KBR unsurprisingly has a few listed (not yet? downloadable) as well.
Re Amarante, the published score I see (by Richault, 1854) doesn't give Op.6, but perhaps a different publication does. Will change the page I uploaded/mirrored from BNF to IMSLP (https://imslp.org/wiki/Amarante_(Silas%2C_Edouard)) just now. Can you confirm that the Amaranth you have on recording, if you have time, is the one I uploaded? It's not accessible directly on the page -yet- but can be accessed via the BNF/Gallica-digital link BNF (https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b72003969). Adagio in E-flat minor, then Allegro in E-flat major...
The Juilliard appears to have copies of Trios 1 and 3 (Op. 46), and the RCM hold Opp. 27 and 46.
Firstly, Eric, an apology for carelessly giving misleading incorrect information in my previous post regarding Amaranth. Op6 (added in brackets by me as was NOT quoted in the notes accompanying the Sony CD) is incorrect, and should read Op12, which is shown on the British Library copy entry relating to an edition by Edwin Ashdown of 1887. I have what is almost certainly the first English edition: Cramer Beale & Co, with plate no.5251, which I believe to date from 1854. As the edition by the same publisher of the C minor trio (No1) is plate no.5126, and if Op12 is actually correct for Amaranth, then presumably the trio should have originally been allocated an opus number between 1 and 11.
I have a number of Silas' piano works published by Cramer Beale & Co. from around the same period, but most of them lack opus number unfortunately, and Pazdirek's listing has many substantial gaps........
Amarante and Amaranth are both "Characteristic composition"s, both published in 1854 it seems. Won't be surprised if they are the same, then :) (The IMSLP version is unblocked so it can now be viewed there too, if one has an account.) As to the trios, Juilliard also has the first trio and Op.46.
QuoteJuilliard also has the first trio and Op.46.
That's exactly what I reported two posts above, Eric.
Just to confirm Eric's conjecture, Amarante & Amaranth ARE one and the same!
Thank you and apologies for asking what must have seemed a silly question. I did mean it on musical, not linguistic grounds :D
Quote from: Mark Thomas on Thursday 10 January 2013, 14:39It's a shame, but sadly it's pretty clear that Alan [Krueck] misidentified No.28 as Silas' A major Symphony. Whilst that wasn't premièred or published until 1863 (i.e. safely after the Vienna competition), the piece as published isn't a Symphonie-Ode, it lacks a motto and it's slow movement (Adagio quasi Andante rather than Andante) not only comes second in order but also lacks an organ part. I can only assume that Alan hadn't seen the score now available at IMSLP before he made his guess.
So, having eliminated Silas, I wonder who the composer of the intriguing Symphonie-Ode was?
I couldn't be more sure that I've solved the mystery regarding the authorship of the Symphony identified as No.6 in the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde Symphony Competition. I found the answer thanks to the motto "Nous, tandis que de joie...". And here is how I did it.
In the 1878 edition of "Mémoires de la Société académique des sciences, arts, belles-lettres, agriculture et industrie de Saint-Quentin", on page 58, appears the "Rapport de M. C. Tingry [...] sur le concours de composition musicale" (a report by C. Tingry on a musical competition for the composition of a cantata, held by the Société académique de Saint-Quentin - France - in 1877). It is available here:
https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4156500/f56.item
The winning cantata was performed for the first time on November 26th, 1877, and the complete programme of the concert is given on page 62. Tingry, who was the Directeur de l'École Municipale de Musique de Cambrai (Cambrai is a little less than 50km from Saint-Quentin), and a member of the board for the competition, was given the opportunity to conduct his own Symphonie en La, inédite (unpublished).
Each of the four movements of that symphony are listed, and they have highly descriptive titles, including the second one, Presto : La Nuit, Chasse fantastique, and the third one, Adagio : Hymne du Matin. One more detail is added: following that list of movements, one can read the words of Victor Hugo, beginning with "Nous, tandis que de joie au loin tout vibre et tremble". Those two titles and that verse are perfect matches for the ones given in Volkmann's letter about the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde competition about the No.6!
The entry for Volkmann's letter is available here, beginning on page 175:
https://archive.org/details/briefemiteinembi00volk/page/176/mode/1up?q=Motyo
Back to Tingry, in the same report, beginning on page 63, an article by a local newspaper is published, following the performance of the symphony, with an enthusiastic review on pages 66-67.
But what about the date of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde Symphony Competition vs that 1877 performance, and where is the manuscript of this remarkable symphony by Tingry located? The answers are to be found on the website of the Répertoire de la Symphonie Française entre 1830 et 1870, and it includes the date when Tingry began to compose his symphony, 10 Mars 1860 (March 10th, 1860):
http://www.ums3323.paris-sorbonne.fr/SYMPHONIES/indexbd.php?ope=oeuvres&select_oeuvres=45
The instrumental parts are available at the BNF:
https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb448909493
And the orchestral score is there as well:
https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb448909509
There it is, No.6 in A major, submitted for the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde Symphony Competition, is by Célestin Tingry (1819-1892)!
I rest my case!
I see Tingry's IMSLP page only has one work of his at present, and it's not that :), but does mention that a fair amount of his music has been digitized, which suggests that, if any of his works (including that symphony or 5 string quartets or etc.)- are interesting enough, a new thread might be a good idea...
Well done, Simon! That's all most convincing and I've PMed you about it. My only doubt is that Volkmann mentions a prominent organ part in the slow movement and, unless I've missed something, an organ isn't mentioned in the instrumentation given on the Répertoire de la Symphonie Française listing. Now, of course, having had the great benefit of hearing the symphony by Albert Becker which came second to Raff's An das Vaterland in the Vienna competition (thank you, Reverie), I'm very curious to hear this symphony about which Volkmann gave such tantalising clues. It's a shame that neither the autograph nor the parts are digitised.
Quote from: Mark Thomas on Friday 07 June 2024, 09:46My only doubt is that Volkmann mentions a prominent organ part in the slow movement and, unless I've missed something, an organ isn't mentioned in the instrumentation given on the Répertoire de la Symphonie Française listing.
First of all, thanks for the good words, Mark!
The organ part is in Symphony No.28. My post was related to No.28 because Tingry's Symphony (entry No.6) was a contender in this same competition. My original post might have been a little bit misleading (I've edited it since), since I misread Volkmann's letter, but Symphonies No.28 and No.6 were two different symphonies!
Ah, that clears that up. Thanks, Simon.