John Ireland: A Downland Suite (1932) Part II: The Arrangement for string orchestra

In a recent post, I discussed the original version of John Ireland’s A Downland Suite written in 1932 for brass band. In 1941 the composer ‘freely adapted’ two movements from this Suite: The Minuet and the Elegy for string orchestra. At this time, the order of these two movements were reversed from that of the brass band version. It is also important to note that Ireland made cuts to the Minuet and extended the Elegy. The composer himself thought that these two movements were more effective played by strings than brass.

In October 1939, John Ireland left his studio in Gunter Grove, Chelsea and moved to Guernsey in the Channel Islands. There he rented a large ‘rambling house’ built close to Fort Saumarez, a Martello Tower, at L’Erée.  Ireland shared his rooms there with the pianist and composer John Longmire.

This was during the so-called Phoney War which was the relatively quiet period between the outbreak of hostilities on 3 September 1939 and the German invasion of France and the Low Countries on 10 May 1940.

John Longmire, in his memoirs (John Ireland: Portrait of a Friend, London, John Baker, 1969), recalled his time in Fort Saumarez with the composer.  He wrote, ‘I set about practising for a piano recital to be given in Jersey, whilst Ireland busied himself in making orchestral arrangements of two of the movements from his Downland Suite…’

As the threat of German invasion of the Channel Islands increased, Ireland and Longmire moved from their house to the Birnam Court Hotel in St Peter Port.

Muriel V. Searle (John Ireland: The Man and his Music, Midas Books, 1979) also notes that Ireland had begun work on arranging the Elegy and the Minuet for string orchestra. Due to the imminent German invasion of the Channel Islands she explained that ‘these sketches, with an unfinished manuscript of Sarnia [for piano solo] and the clothes he wore were all that Ireland salvaged in his flight from the Nazis.’ In the scramble to leave the island, Ireland ‘left behind his car, wardrobe and other personal possessions.’ On 22 June 1940, Ireland and Longmire escaped on the S.S. Antwerp, one of the last ships to leave St Peter’s Port bound for Weymouth. They were accompanied by fellow composer Percy Turnbull (1902-76) who had been visiting them.  Six days later the Channel Islands were invaded by the Germans.

After returning to England, the composer went to live at a house belonging to composer Alan Bush’s mother at Loom Lane in Radlett before moving into Bush’s own house in Christchurch Crescent, Radlett for a few weeks. Shortly afterwards he moved to digs in 15 Calthorpe Road, Banbury. During this period Ireland took up composing again from where he had left off in Guernsey. Several of his manuscripts from this time are notated as having been composed in Banbury. He was to leave there in July 1942 and moved to Little Sampford Rectory in Saffron Walden where he stayed with his friend Paul Walde.

The Two Pieces (Elegy and Minuet) were published by Hawkes and Co. in 1942. They were first performed in the BBC Home Service on 2 May 1942. It was part of a concert aired at 11.00 am on Saturday, 2 May 1942. The BBC Scottish Orchestra was conducted by Guy Warrack. Other works heard during this broadcast included Giacomo Meyerbeer’s Overture: The North Star, Anton Dvorak’s ‘Silent Woods’ from From the Bohemian Forest, op.68, the Suite from Gabriel Fauré’s Pelléas et Mélisande, Op. 80. The concert conclude with an orchestral arrangement of Mortiz Moszkowski’s Cortege, op.42, no.1. Interestingly, 2 May 1942 was the day that Mandalay fell to the Japanese, with the British community having been evacuated the day before.

In 1978 Geoffrey Bush was commissioned by the John Ireland Trust to orchestrate the opening ‘Prelude’ and the final ‘Rondo’. This was to be part of the celebrations for the composer’s centenary year.  Bush has insisted that he followed Ireland’s example of ‘reconceiving the music as a composition for string orchestra rather than making a literal transcription of the brass band version.’ (John Ireland Companion, Boydell Press, 2011). Cuts were made to the ‘Prelude’ with more than a minute being removed. The ‘Rondo’ maintains the reprise of the ‘big tune’ from the ‘Elegy’ but now transformed from being played ‘fortissimo’ to a gentle and reposing modulation to E flat before the ‘final flourish.’ The string orchestra transcription has become reasonably well established in the repertoire, with especial interest in the Minuet. This has been used as a signature tune or incidental music for radio and TV programmes, including in the 1971 TV adaptation of Jane Austin’s Persuasion.

The premiere performance of the completed string version of A Downland Suite was given at the BBC Studios on 17 June 1981. It was broadcast on Radio 3 on Monday 27 July 1981. The BBC Concert Orchestra was conducted by Christopher Adey. The Matinee Musicale concert also featured music by Richard Wagner, Arthur Honegger, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Arthur Bliss.

The arrangement of A Downland Suite for string orchestra can be heard on YouTube (accessed 29/09/2019) played by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia conducted by Gavin Sutherland.