People discover composers in various ways. I came across the music of Cecil
Armstrong Gibbs (CAG) during the 1970's on a LP of ‘Sea Songs’ performed by
Robert Lloyd and Nina Walker (Sea Fever,
HMV, ASD 3545). ‘Hidden Treasure’ was one of four songs from the cycle Songs
of the Mad Sea Captain alongside the standalone song, ‘Sailing Homeward.’ I guess the title of the song cycle rang some
sort of bell: recently I had heard Peter Maxwell Davies' Eight Songs for a
Mad King: uncontrovertibly, there was nothing in common between those two works.
Most people will know Armstrong Gibbs through just one piece – ‘Dusk’, from the
Fancy Dress Suite, op.82. This is regularly played on Classic FM and has
been released on many recordings of 'light' music.
In recent years a few CDs dedicated to Armstrong Gibbs’ music have appeared
in the catalogues. Marco Polo presented two symphonies, No.1 in E minor, op.70
and No.3 in B flat, op.104, ‘Westmorland’ (8.223553). In 2010, Guild released a
comprehensive account of the complete works for violin and piano (GMCD7353). An important project from Dutton Epoch gave
listeners the opportunity to hear the choral symphony, Odysseus (CDLX7201). The
songs have fared well, with two albums: one from Hyperion (CDA67337) and the
other from Marco Polo (8.223458). Another significant release from Hyperion (CDA67093) included a number of orchestral works. Most other
recordings of Armstrong Gibbs’ music feature on compilations of songs, piano
music and chamber works.
A literature search will find one or two eminently helpful sources. Most
recent is Rosemary Hancock-Child's A Ballad Maker, The Life and Songs of
Cecil Armstrong Gibbs. This was published by Thames in 1993. As the title
suggests, much of the material in this short volume majors on the songs. Other musical
works are mentioned only in passing. The
late Ann E. Rust, who was the composer's daughter, produced an essay for the British Music Society Journal in 1989.
This was more a 'personal memoir' than a study of the music.
My first introduction to CAGs life was in the pages of Donald Brooks’
charming Composer's Gallery published in 1946. This book is often found
in second-hand bookshops and is essential for all lovers of British Music. A booklet I have not seen is Daphne Woodward’s
Essex Composers (1985) which notices
Armstrong Gibbs. The current online Grove
dedicates less than 500 words to the composer’s life and work: the Wikipedia
article is much more comprehensive. I wonder if it was penned by one of the
present authors.
A brief sketch of the composer’s life may help put this present book into
context. Cecil Armstrong Gibbs was born at The Vineyards, Great Baddow in Essex
on 10 August 1889. He graduated in history (1911) and then music (1913) from
Cambridge where he studied with Edward Dent, Cyril Rootham and Charles Wood.
Due to ill health he was unable to enlist in the forces during the First World
War: at this time he taught at the Copthorne School in East Grinstead and then at
the Wick School in Hove. After a successful production of the play Crossings (1919) by Walter de la Mare, with
incidental music by the composer, he began studies at the Royal College of
Music. His teachers included Vaughan Williams and Adrian Boult. In 1921 he
joined the staff of the RCM where he remained until 1939. In the early 1920s CAG moved to Danbury in
Essex, although during the Second World War he relocated to Windermere,
Cumberland, due to his house being requisitioned as a hospital. He returned to
Danbury and stayed there until his death on 12 May 1960. During this period he was much occupied as an
adjudicator for, and eventually Vice-President of, the National
Federation of Music Festivals.
Much of Armstrong Gibbs music was composed for ‘amateur’ choirs, orchestras and
theatres. However, there is a solid core of music that fulfills the requirements
of the professional concert hall and recital room. His masterpieces may well be
the choral symphony Odysseus, and the
Symphony No. 3 ‘Westmorland’, written on the death of his son David in battle near
the River Sangro in Central Italy. Singers are surely grateful for his wide
range of solo songs: instrumentalists have much to discover in his enormous catalogue
of chamber music.
Armstrong Gibbs: A Countryman
Born and Bred is divided into
three parts, preceded by an introduction written by Ann Rust that gives a
concise overview of her father’s accomplishment. Sadly, neither she nor her
husband Lyndon survived to see publication of this present book.
The first section, by Angela Aries is biographical, the second, by Lewis
Foreman examines the music and the final part is a comprehensive ‘List of Works’
compiled by Michael Pilkington.
Angela Aries has assembled a significant biographical study of Armstrong
Gibbs: it is by far the largest part of the book. She has made considerable use
of family letters and CAGs unpublished ‘autobiography’ and ‘essays.’ Footnotes
tie in the many references. Aries has lived in Danbury for many years and used
‘local knowledge’ to advantage as she conducted research for this book. The
author was fortunate in having the reminiscences of the composer’s daughter and
son-in-law which has provided the narrative with a deeply personal character. One
is conscious of a vast amount of information being imparted, with countless
references to the great and good in the twentieth century artistic world. Yet
the reader is never overburdened. What emerges is an intimate picture of a very
busy and fascinating personality. It surprised me was just how ‘alive’
Armstrong Gibbs appears in these pages, bearing in mind he died some 55 years
ago and was well and truly a Victorian. It is of huge credit to the author.
The progress of the text makes use of many photographs from the Armstrong
Gibbs’ family collection: many are full page plates.
This section of the book is completed with the ‘Biographical Notes.’ I
found that this was most helpful, for although some of the personalities quoted
in the text are familiar to enthusiasts of British Music, there are many names
who have slipped out of historical favour. Included are literary, civic and
ecclesiastical figures who play innumerable roles in this story. It is useful
to have their dates and achievements at one’s fingertips, rather than having to
‘Google’.
I was a little bit disappointed in the ‘Select Bibliography’. It seems to cite
books, but not articles and reviews. I accept that it is ‘select’, however, I
believe that a wider range of material could have been listed. There are
references to unpublished material such as the above-mentioned composer’s Autobiography (1958) and his collection
of Essays (1958): no location of source is given.
The second section, ‘The Music of Armstrong Gibbs’ by Lewis Foreman is a
major contribution to scholarship on the composer in particular, and English
Music in general. After noting CAG’s
onetime popularity, his prolific catalogue and his musical versatility and
diversity, he states that the composer found himself ‘out of time.’ After the
Second World War, the musical aesthetic changed, and Armstrong Gibbs did not.
After 1960 ‘his music rather faded from sight. It was not the sort of idiom
that the newly radical avant-garde…would then consider.’
The main outline of Foreman’s discussion is by genre, beginning with the
theatre music. This is followed by the orchestral works, music for strings and
small ensembles, chorus and orchestra, and songs – part, unison and solo,
church music, chamber music and piano and organ. Within genres it is presented
largely chronologically. Foreman has
explored a massive range of Armstrong Gibbs music, both in print and manuscript,
in more or less detail. It will certainly be the first place to turn to for artists
and reviewers wishing to gain an understanding of a ‘forgotten’ or even
‘recalled’ work.
For example, on page 244 he discusses the Symphony No. 1 in E minor, a work
that has been recorded. He begins by setting it into the context of the
composer’s life. The date of the first and subsequent performances are given.
Foreman then examines the reception history of the work and sets it against the
background of other roughly contemporary symphonies such as Bliss’s ‘Colour’
Symphony and Bax’s Third. He suggests
that it was a notable success, but possibly soon to be overshadowed by other
examples of the genre such as Walton’s First, Bax’s Fifth, Sixth and Seventh
and RVWs Fourth. An unidentified review from the Edwin Evans Collection is
printed in full. After this, Foreman gives a readable and approachable analysis
of the work and concludes by quoting a draft programme note by the composer. It
is an excellent template for musical analysis and this style is kept to a
greater or lesser extent for all the works discussed.
The third part of the book was assembled by Michel Pilkington. The
‘Complete List of Works’ is in all honesty overwhelming. I never realised that
Armstrong Gibbs wrote quite so much music. The list includes virtually
everything composed, with the exception of some juvenilia. It is based on a
compilation made by Ann and Lyndon Rust in 1994 which has been revised a few of
times over the last twenty years. The
List, which runs to 55 pages is presented by genre, beginning with ‘solo songs.
All relevant particulars are given where appropriate. Pilkington notes that the
composer was ‘not very methodical in his use of opus numbers…’ Important facts such as the location (or last
known location) of the holographs, many of which have been donated to the
British Library, The Royal College of Music and the Britten-Pears Archive in
Aldeburgh. Where identified, details of the first performance are given. Other
information such as the work’s duration, the author of texts, the publisher
(where relevant), the instrumentation or vocal forces, and titles of movements
are all indicated.
I did find the font size for this catalogue a little small. I had to tackle
this with a magnifying glass: I guess that it was produced at this size for
economy of space. I would have liked a chronological listing of all the works which
is helpful in contextualizing the composer’s career. These are minor complaints:
Michael Pilkington’s list of works is a model of its kind.
The index is in two parts- an alphabetical list of works which only refers
to Pilkington’s contribution and a general index which includes people, places,
institutions and the composer’s music which are discussed in the text.
The book is well-made and is printed on quality paper. The font of the main
text is clear and readable.
Angela Aries, who lives in Essex, has a background in teaching Modern
Languages at Tertiary Education Level. She has long been an enthusiastic singer
and has belonged to several choirs and choral societies. It was whilst singing
with the Lingwood Consort in Danbury that she first discovered CAGs music. She is presently the secretary of the
Armstrong Gibbs Society.
Lewis Foreman needs little introduction to students of British music. He
has written and edited many books, essays and articles about a diverse range of
composers and musical subjects and has given advice to many independent record
and CD companies, most notably Dutton Epoch. Michael Pilkington was on the
teaching staff at the Guildhall School of Music. He has produced a series of solo
song repertoire studies for English composers including Ireland, Gurney,
Delius, Parry and Stanford. Pilkington has edited many volumes of songs for
Stainer & Bell and choral music for Novello.
Armstrong Gibbs: A Countryman
Born and Bred, has been a number
of years in the making. However, for all those interested in British musical
history it has been well worth the wait. Readers will make various uses of this
book. Clearly, it concentrates on CAG, but anyone involved in music from the
first half of the twentieth century will discover a wealth of new material throughout
these pages. Musicians wishing to ‘take up’ one or other of the composer’s many
works will find it an ideal source for background information and the devising
of programme notes.
This book is immediately approachable and does not obscure the composer and
his musical achievement with complex, overly-technical analysis. It presents
Cecil Armstrong Gibbs as a composer, an adjudicator, a teacher, a conductor and
a family man in a highly readable and enjoyable manner that provides detailed facts
and rigorous scrutiny of his life and music.
Armstrong Gibbs: A Countryman
Born and Bred, Angela Aries, Lewis
Foreman and Michael Pilkington
EM Publishing B002, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-9567753-2-0
£30:00
