British Prom Premieres 1970 Revisited Part 1

Introduction. Looking back at British music ‘novelties’ that were played at the Promenade Concerts half a century ago makes for fascinating study. Each anniversary reveals the strange tale of survival and loss of ‘new’ music. Of great interest in a study of this nature are the few famous works that have survived the changes and chances of succeeding generations. And then there are those works that were heard once and seem to have fallen by the wayside. The ‘Novelties’ for 1970 are a mixed bunch. Three ‘classes’ are evident. Firstly, works from the past that finally received a Prom Performance, sometimes after centuries. This does not mean that they have been languishing. In fact, the older music has survived best of all. Handel’s Messiah, Boyce’s Symphony No.5 in D major, the William Byrd anthems, and the Purcell Ode all have strong footholds in concert halls, cathedrals and recording studios. Even Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Grand Duke is given the occasional outing in our time.  Alas there are several compositions that have totally disappeared from the repertoire: virtually sunk without trace. There may be a recording available, but that does not mean that they are established works. And, finally there are some ‘novelties’ that are the preserve of devotees of individual composers.

A few works received their first and possibly only performance at the Proms. It may be that the composers subsequently withdrew the scores or that time has taken its toll and all trace of the music has vanished except for an occasional review in contemporary newspapers and musical journals and the memories of aging concertgoers.

Some of the works mentioned in the following posts are ‘World Premiere’ performances, others were ‘Proms Premieres.’

My notes below vary from a reasonably detailed study to brief comments. This does not necessarily reflect the success or otherwise of the individual work. They are presented largely (but not entirely) in alphabetical order.

Malcolm Arnold: Concerto No.2 for horn and string orchestra

Lord Berners: A Wedding Bouquet

I am not sure to what extent Malcolm Arnold’s Concerto No.2 for horn and string orchestra has gained a secure place in the repertoire. There are seven recordings of this work noted in the Arnold Society Discography. On the other hand, this work is rarely heard in the concert hall. The Concerto was composed for the legendary horn player Dennis Brain and was completed in December 1956.

Arnold’s Horn Concerto no.2 was given its Proms Premiere at an all-British music concert on Saturday 8 August 1970. The soloist was Alan Civil, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra was conducted by Malcolm Arnold. The concert also included William Boyce’s Symphony No.5 in D major and Lord Berners’s eccentric A Wedding Bouquet, both also receiving first Proms performance. Other works included Edward Elgar’s ever popular Enigma Variations and the Façade Suite No1 by William Walton.

The premiere performance of the Horn Concerto had been given by the dedicatee on 17 July 1957 at that year’s Cheltenham Music Festival.  The Hallé Orchestra was conducted by the composer. Sadly, Brain was to die in a car crash some months later.  

Arnold’s Horn Concerto No.2’s three movements could not be more straightforward in their formal construction. A concise sonata form is followed by a thoughtful ternary (three-part ABA) slow movement and concluding with a vibrant Rondo (Vivace-presto). The Concerto’s outer movements exploit the virtuosic abilities of the French horn with both vivacity and urbanity, whilst the gorgeous ‘andantino grazioso’ has been described as ‘a timeless modern Gymnopédie’ [Erik Satie]. Arnold himself declared that this slow movement was written to showcase Dennis Brain’s ‘superb cantabile playing.’ 

The music is ‘unashamedly’ diatonic and lacks any conspicuous ‘modernism’. Sometimes the music can veer towards the ‘sentimental’, but this is a large part of the pleasure to be gained from this enjoyable concerto. Writing in the Musical Times (September 1957) Dyneley Hussey wrote that: ‘A Horn Concerto with string orchestra by Malcolm Arnold…[is] mainly designed to exhibit the extraordinary virtuosity of the soloist, Dennis Brain. Deprived of the orchestral colour which he lays on with so brilliant a touch in the Tam o' Shanter Overture [heard earlier in the Festival], Arnold's music sounded rather too facile in thought. But the Concerto will always make agreeable hearing whenever Mr. Brain is available to play the formidable solo part. His legato delivery of the long phrases in the melodious slow movement attained an ideal beauty-and that is a rare and wonderful experience.’

Subsequent horn virtuosos such as Alan Civil, David Pyatt and Richard Watkins have stepped up to the plate and made satisfying and commanding performances of this work.

I wish that I appreciated Lord Berners (The Right Honourable Sir Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson, 14th Baron Berners) ballet score, The Wedding Bouquet. A concert performance of this work was heard on the same evening as the Arnold Concerto.

On one level this is delightful score. On the other hand, for many people the score is ruined by the abstract text. In form, it is a light-hearted satire majoring on a French provincial wedding introducing a philandering bridegroom, his wife Julia and the ‘other woman.’

The work is a ‘ballet-pantomime’ derived from a play by Gertrude Stein, called They must be Wedded to their Wife.  For practical and commercial reasons, the title was shortened to The Wedding Bouquet. Lord Berners wrote the music and designed both the set and the costumes. The choreography was by Frederick Ashton. The premiere performance had been at the Sadler’s Wells Theatre on 27th April 1937. The cast included Ninette de Valois as the maid Webster, Margot Fonteyn as Julia, and Robert Helpmann as the Bridegroom. The ballet was conducted by Constant Lambert.

Musically, the score is full of good things. Often, there is a touch of Gilbert and Sullivan about the proceedings, both musically and textually. The music publisher (Wise Music) provides the following note: ‘the words explained the action, introduced the characters, made utterly irrelevant comments, worked themselves into a frenzied rhythmical accompaniment or injected an occasional apt phrase that devastated dancers and audience alike.’ The final paragraph sums up my feelings about this work: ‘Not all of the words have ever been really intelligible but gradually the audience got to know certain phrases by heart and the ballet has a devoted public, although inevitably it has always been a rather special one and to this day there are people who detest the whole affair, don't 'understand' it, and think it an absurd waste of time and talent.’ My jury is still out on my reaction to this score.

Finally, during the Second World War, a version of The Wedding Bouquet was devised which replaced the chorus and soloists with a narrator. It was hardly successful.

To be continued…