Wednesday, 14 January 2009

W.G Whittaker: Lancashire Sketches

I was perusing the Musical Times the other day when I came across a reference to a piece of music called “Lancashire Sketches” by the redoubtable William Gillies Whittaker (1876-1944)
Now, just for the record this Newcastle-born musician was very much a polymath: he was a composer, choral conductor, scholar and a teacher. Amongst his compositions are the large-scale Lyke-Wake Dirge and a piano quintet – Among the Northumbrian Hills which was composed in 1918.

However, it was the Lancashire Sketches that caught my eye. It was given a performance by the Catterall Quartet in the Picton Hall Liverpool on 8th December 1925. The other works in the programme were the Quartet in D by Cesar Franck and the Quartet in Bb by Johannes Brahms. No other details are available on the ‘net.
Does anyone known anything about this work by Whittaker? Was it published?
Please let me know…
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2 comments:

  1. edrub4321 January 2015 at 18:56

    I don't have information about the piece you want to hear about but I have a record containing:
    Anthem: I said in the noontide of my days
    Piano Quintet, Among the Northumbrian Hills
    Wind Quintet in Four Movements
    performed by the London Soloists Emsemble & the Amphion Wind Quintet
    Viking Records VRSS 001 (1976)

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  2. John France30 January 2015 at 17:41

    Thanks for that, Yes I know that LP...it is quite a rarity and I do not believe it was ever out on CD

    J

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