Messages

Does anyone have a copy of a BBC radio broadcast by the pianist Norma Fisher? It was of Scriabin sonatas and it was broadcast the 1970s. Norma is professor of piano at London's RAM and she would love a copy. If not, any other ideas? She is desperate to find it.
Many thanks, John Whitmore

[Arthur Bliss (1891-1975) - The Beatitudes (1961), Mary of Magdala (1962) and The Golden Cantata (1963)]

Important additions to the archive - three major choral works by Arthur Bliss (1891-1975) -

The Beatitudes (1961), Mary of Magdala (1962) and The Golden Cantata (1963)

all conducted by the composer.

I have transferred these from discs very kindly sent to me by secondfiddle. Full details are given in the catalogue.

Many thanks.

I don't know any of these works but will search them out. Secondfiddle - you don't have the 1970 live concert of Bliss conducting his Piano Concerto with Frank Wibaut as soloist do you?   

[Herbert Chappell's Dead in Tune]

Did anyone manage to download Herbert Chappell's  Dead in Tune originally uploaded by PJ before the link died? It is not in the catalog. If you did, could you please be so kind as to re-up?

Many thanks!

I made a few subtle edits to the original Dead in Tune/George and the Dragonfly a few months back and had it professionally restored - I played on it and Argo didn't do the best of jobs especially with George. You can get it here.
http://www.klassichaus.us/LSSO-CDs-MP3s.php

It's good isn't it?

[patchy and clumsy]

John - I'm glad that you pointed out that my link to the 21st needs to be replaced with yours.  I'll see if I can do that later today.
Brian: patchy and clumsy?!? Now you have two people seething! 

And that's me on a polite day!! To be fair I've always tried to do my bit for the Brian cause (MusicWeb article, new Brian LP refurbished downloads via Klasssic Haus etc) but to be honest that's due to my LSSO background and a soft spot I have for this peculiar, semi-amateur, partially gifted, rough and ready composer. Seethe seethe......

If that recording I put on there of the 23rd isn't one of the best, I give up! 

Don't give up. 23 is perfectly fine. I'm not very keen on the music but that's par for the course with me and HB. I find him very patchy and clumsy (Johan starts to seeth ). Have you replaced your original Brian 21 with my less than perfect improvement or are both of them out there in the ether? I'm not sure how this archive works to be honest.

[Oh, and John - you did an excellent job on the Brian 21!]

In 1995 the BBC National Orchestra was in Amsterdam for the Mahler Festival, conducted by Mark Wrigglesworth. I can still remember the flute solo from the Finale of the Tenth, which was heart-rendingly well-played.

Oh, and John - you did an excellent job on the Brian 21!

Cheers Johan but not to be ungrateful I hope somebody on here can find a better quality recording! Have you tried the HB 23rd yet?

[B.B.C. National Orchestra of Wales]

The correct name is the B.B.C. National Orchestra of Wales. It has had that name since 1993. Before that it was the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra.

The change was made to emphasise that the orchestra is the Principality's "national" orchestra.

No such change would have been appropriate for the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra because of the existence of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Thanks for the clarification, Colin.

It suggests an inferiority complex to me, but then I'm an old-fashioned chap who believed in the unity of the United Kingdom.... but that's another forum! 

I think it's a rebranding job and an attempt to distance the current excellence of the Welsh Orchestra from it's very shoddy state when it was the BBC Welsh. Do you remember how dreadful they were sometimes? Some of their broadcasts were horrendous.Things have moved on - they are a very good orchestra now and more than a match for many an English regional orchestra. 

I've had a go at pitch correcting the Brian 21/Downes. It's as good as I could get it due to the constant changes of tape speed but it's not a million miles away. The 3rd movement isn't exactly mercurial is it? I prefer Eric's version. According to the HBS website Eric takes 29 mins and Downes 22. This isn't right - Downes clocks in at 30. Anyway make of it what you will:

http://www.4shared.com/folder/PXb_AvAs/Brian_21_Downes_pitch_correcte.html

I'd say - let it be. I know that the pitches aren't as they should be, but I get a clear sense of the playing and of Downes' view of the piece...

I'll still have another crack at it but tomorrow is Brass Band contest so I'm off air!

[I had, just like you, been able to lower the (Pope) 10th which apparently was recorded at some point on a deck running consistently slow. (My version was pitched way too sharp.)]

Well, since none of the other reel-to-reel transfers I've made recently are afflicted with the same problem (as far as I know- and if they are having that problem, then I'll have to switch to the Pioneer RT-701 rather than the Akai and re-do the uploads.  The (reel-to-reel) Akai uses idler wheels to run so there aren't any belts to stretch), it's probably not the deck - it's my original which was purchased from a less than reliable source.  It's probably a 10th-generation copy of an original anyway! If the change in speed is constant throughout the each individual movement, it should be an easy fix for a software program that allows one to plot a continuous change in speed throughout.  I was shocked to discover that mine doesn't have that feature!  I'll suggest that they include it in their next upgrade.  I had, just like you, been able to lower the (Pope) 10th which apparently was recorded at some point on a deck running consistently slow. (My version was pitched way too sharp.)  Back in the '60's and 70's before computers and digitizing, things were a mess. There were a VERY few sources for "underground" tapes and they could turn out to be anything from great to unlistenable to totally bogus.  For a couple of years, I though Brian's 7th had three movements and the last movement of the 7th was the 12th symphony because that's how they were labeled in the source's catalog and how they were sent to me  - on separate tapes!

The Pope 10th from the HBS was flat and slow and had to be speeded up and moved up to the right pitch by around a semitone. I could smell a rat from the very first note. It's still a very ponderous opening (but then again as an LSSOer I'm dreadfully biased and think we did it far better!) but at least it's in C minor now. It sounded most peculiar in its first incarnation. As you say, the tape of 21 is probably 30th generation and just about beyond fixing. I've had another listen and it's not a linear thing - the pitch changes at different places throughout each movement. It drops, picks up and then drops again. It's like being seasick on a boat and all reference points keep shifting. I can't see how a computer programme can sort this. It IS posiible but you would have to work in 10 or 15 second chunks and then keep moving forward. Lots of hassle!!

[But John Whitmore has perfect pitch...]

An unbelievable amount of thanks to MVS, I'm completely stunned.

And, thanks so much, too, to Dundonnell, Albion and John Whitmore for their work and making all this available in the first place.

Hear hear!

I have already started to revise my opinion of symphonies 2 and 4...

P.S. I am (pleasantly) surprised at how many people actually like Brian's music (and even consider him their favourite composer). I also check Twitter regularly and have discovered other music-lovers who don't find his music as impenetrable as it is often presented. A wonderful development, that bodes well for the future.

P.P.S. The recording of No. 21 is between a major second and a minor third too high, if I'm not mistaken. The drum-roll that starts the main Allegro e con Animo after the slow introduction should be a B flat. It sounds more like D flat... But John Whitmore has perfect pitch...P.P.P.S Second movement is a minor second too high... As is the third movement... Final movement: major second too high.

Apart from these sonic nitpicks, I like Downes's performance a lot. It isn't better than the one by the LSSO, though. They are about even.

Trouble is, this is as much use as a chocolate fire guard as far as this tape of 21 is concerned. See my post on the main HB forum 10 minutes ago where I made a couple of suggestions, one of which would involve me getting hold of the cassette - assuming it's a cassette of course. On a wider point, it's great to get new improved versions and it's no criticism whatsoever of the work carried out by people including myself and especially Colin. Maybe next year the owner of a top of the range reel to reel recorder will come along with further improvements from his or her long lost collection that's been residing in the loft. Long may that continue. 

Dead in Tune!! This is a real coincidence further to the previous poster. I played on this Argo LP in 1970 and managed to get a professional transfer produced only a month ago. I also made a few adjustments here and there to tidy it up. You cannot tell that it has a vinyl source. If you are allergic to puns then please stay away. If you like attractive music with a very interesting narration by Robin Ray this will be just up your street. If you are interested here it is:
http://www.klassichaus.us/LSSO.php
Other LSSO titles are also to be found here.

The CBS Havergal Brian recording by the LSSO, issued on LP in 1974 has been fully restored from the original vinyl and sound fabulous. This LP never appeared on CD and amateur transfers never sounded anywhere near as good as this properly prepared vinyl restoration.

http://www.klassichaus.us/Brian%3A-Symphony-No--22-Psalm-23-English-Suite-No--5---LSSO.php

[Havergal Brian]

Havergal Brian (1876-1972)

Psalm 23 (1901, reconstructed 1945)
  Paul Taylor, tenor
  Brighton Festival Chorus
  Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra
  Laszlo Heltay, conductor
    [recorded in 1974]
English Suite No. 3 (1919-21)
    Ancient Village
    Epithalamium
    Postillions
    The Stonebreaker
    Merry Peasant

  Kensington Symphony Orchestra
  Leslie Head, conductor
    [concert performance, Jan. 28, 1971]

English Suite No. 4 "Kindergarten" (c.1921)
    Thank You
    Where is He?
    Seeing or Nothing
    The Man With a Gun
    Jingle
    The Lame Duck
    Gentle Bunny
    Death of Bunny
    Ashanti Battle Song

  The First Orchestra of George Heriot's School
  Martin Rutherford, conductor
    [premiere, July 5, 1977]

The Tinker's Wedding (comedy overture, 1948)

  Fulham Municipal Orchestra
  Josef Vandernoot, conductor [concert performance, Feb. 12, 1972]

[i]English Suite No. 5 "Rustic Scenes"[/i] (1953)
    Trotting to Market
    Reverie
    The Restless Stream
    Village Revels

  Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra
  Eric Pinkett, conductor
    [recorded in 1974]
Symphony No. 15 in A major (1960)

  Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
  Stanley Pope, conductor
    [recorded for broadcast, June 23, 1976]

The Jolly Miller (comedy overture, 1962)

  Garden State Philharmonic Orchestra
  Robert Fitzpatrick, conductor
    [American premiere, Nov. 13, 1976]

Cello Concerto (1964)
    Alla breve
    Adagio con molto passione
    Moderato; Allegro

  Thomas Igloi, cello
  Polyphonia Orchestra
  Sir Adrian Boult, conductor
    [premiere, July 19, 1971]

Concerto for Orchestra (1964)

  City of Leeds College of Music Symphony Orchestra
  Joseph Stones, conductor
    [premiere, Apr. 12, 1975]

Symphony No. 22 "Symphonia brevis" (1964-65)
    Maestoso e ritmico
    Tempo di marcia e ritmico; Adagio  Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
  Myer Fredman, conductor
    [premiere, Mar. 28, 1971]

  Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra
  Laszlo Heltay, conductor
    [recorded in 1974]
Symphony No. 30 in B-flat minor "Sinfonia" (1967)
    Lento
    Moderato commodo e leggiero

  New Philharmonia Orchestra
  Harry Newstone, conductor
    [premiere, Sep. 24, 1976]

Ave atque vale (1968)

  London Philharmonic Orchestra
  Myer Fredman, conductor [premiere, Apr. 1, 1973]

http://www.mediafire.com/?g2395qcq6p9ye

From a variety of sources -- LPs, BBC Radio 3 broadcasts, and private recordings. None ever issued or reissued commercially.

The 2 LSSO LPs - the works marked above in bold plus the 1972 coupling of symphonies 10 and 21 - have been fully restored in excellent sound and can be found at the link below. The official CD of 10/21 never sounded very good. This LP restoration is much warmer and sounds more like the LP but without the clicks . The CBS LP was always very toppy and fierce. This new transfer has sorted this out extremely well. As a former LSSO player I made my own half decent transfers from the vinyl but these pro refurbs are in a different league. The restorations now on offer are really superb.
Here's the link:
http://www.klassichaus.us/