Elizabeth Maconchy (1907-94): Overture, Proud Thames (1953) Part I: The Music

I was delighted to read in the 2019 Proms Brochure that Elizabeth Maconchy’s prize winning Overture: Proud Thames is to feature in the second-half of the Last Night Concert. Apart from the usual suspects, other music will include a selection of short pieces, including Manuel de Falla’s Three-Cornered Hat Suite No.2, Edward Elgar’s heart-breaking Sospiri, and Jacques Offenbach’s Overture to Orpheus in the Underworld. Alas, there is no major work old or new to get one’s musical teeth into. 

I was first introduced to Elizabeth Maconchy’s music by her fascinating, if brief, description of London’s river. This was on an original Lyrita vinyl LP issued around 1972 which included music by Lennox Berkeley, Geoffrey Bush and William Alwyn. More about this recording in a subsequent posting.

The Daily Telegraph (29 July 1953) headlined rather patronisingly ‘Woman Awarded £150 L.C.C. Prize.’ This was the result of a composers’ competition organised by the London County Council (L.C.C.) to feature as part of the Coronation Celebrations. One can hardly imagine a contest such as this occurring under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of London of whatever political persuasion.

Published history does not relate how many entries there were for this competition. The adjudicators were Sir Adrian Boult, Dr Edmund Rubbra and Gerald Finzi. The short note reminds the reader that Maconchy had previously won the Daily Telegraph Chamber Music Prize in 1933 with her Oboe Quintet (1932).

Elizabeth Maconchy has written (quoted, record sleeve SRCS 57) that ‘The inspiration for the Overture is the river itself. The music is intended to suggest its rapid growth from small beginnings to a great river of sound -from its trickling source among green fields to London, where the full tide of the life of the capital centres on its river.’

Hugo Cole (sleeve notes SRCS 57) notes the initial trumpet call featuring the first notes of the D major scales (D, E, & F#). This is followed by ‘hesitant meanderings’ on the flutes and the clarinets which suggests gurgling streams and springs. Out of these arabesques there emerges a more forceful tune, which then develops towards the overture’s climax. There is considerable dialogue between this new melody and the trumpet motive.  From a musically descriptive point of view it is hard to know what location the score is alluding too. We seem to pass Marlow, Maidenhead, Richmond, Battersea and Hammersmith with great rapidity. I am not sure that there is anything much ‘sung’ about the central London locations either. In the climax it seems that the listener has reached the river estuary. The work concludes with a powerful coda. Harmonically, there is nothing to frighten the listener, although there are some dissonances which are piquant rather than harsh. Proud Thames has an intangible ‘English’ feel that is neither pastoral nor bombastic ceremonial style.

As several reviewers note, Maconchy’s work is too short. I tend to imagine this Overture as a pendant to Smetana’s ‘Vlatva’ (The Moldau) from his epic series of tone-poems Ma Vlast. Smetana’s river essay lasts for twice as long as Maconchy’s allowing him time to develop his ideas in some detail. It can be argued that the Thames is only 215 miles in length whereas the Vlatva is the longest river in the Czech Republic, coming in at 270 miles. On the other hand, both rivers are immensely important in economic and cultural terms. Perhaps the L.C.C stipulated the length of the work.

Proud Thames is one of those works that should be in the repertoire, along with Malcolm Arnold’s The Smoke and John Ireland’s London Overture.

Other music written by Elizabeth Maconchy at this time includes the Bassoon Concertino (1952) and the Symphony for Double String Orchestra (1952-3).

An examination of the overture’s premiere performance will follow in the next post.