Vilém Tauský: Coventry-Meditation for string quartet (or string orchestra) (1941)

Many listeners will recall Vilém Tauský for his regular appearances on the long-running BBC radio programme – Friday Night is Music Night. One unfortunate result of this association was that he was ‘pigeon-holed’ as a ‘light music’ conductor and composer. The truth is remarkably different. For one thing, he was a respected conductor. It was estimated that he had conducted more than 125 operas over his working life. 

Furthermore, he was an active proponent of ‘modern’ classical music. 

Vilém Tauský was born in Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic) on 20 July 1910. He came from a musical background with his mother (apparently) having been a singer in Gustav Mahler’s Vienna Court Opera and a composer uncle who wrote the once-popular operetta, The Dollar Princess. Tauský’s musical alma-mater was the Janacek Conservatory in Brno. Being Jewish, he suffered persecution from the German occupiers of the Czech state. Soon, he escaped from his home country and ended up in London by way of military service with the Free Czech Army in France.

After the war, his career include directorships of the Carl Rosa Opera Company and the Welsh National Opera.  Between 1956 and 1966 Tauský was principal conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and it was during this period that his appearances with Friday Night Is Music Night made him renowned. Another important appointment was as Director of Opera and Head of Conducting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama between 1966 and 1991. Vilém Tauský died in London on 16 March 2004.

Eighty years ago, on the night of the 14^th November 1940, some 449 German bombers blitzed the West Midland City of Coventry. The raid lasted for 14 hours. Thousands of citizens were killed or wounded. After the ‘All Clear’ sounded at 6:16 am on the morning of the 15^th, the residents surveyed the damage. More than 2300 homes were destroyed as well as a large proportion of the city’s industrial and civic infrastructure. This included destruction of St Michael’s Cathedral, several public buildings including hospitals, post offices and police stations. Power and gas supplies were cut. No trains could get in or out of the city.

In 1940 Tauský had been based at Leamington Spa with the Czech Free Army. Some 4000 troops were deployed around the town, with their headquarters at Harrington House, now demolished. During this posting, Tauský conducted the Czech military and brass bands.

Tauský composed the present Meditation on the day after the Coventry Blitz. His unit had been mobilised to search the ruins for survivors. The music was inspired by the suffering and bravery of the civilians and the destruction of the Cathedral.

These is nothing challenging about Vilém Tauský’s haunting Coventry-Meditation. It is composed in a ‘relaxed’ 20^th century tonal style. Rather than ramp up the tensions, Tauský has written his piece in a style that nods towards the English Pastoral School, rather than an austere Mid or Central European style. That said, the musical material was derived from the St Wenceslas Chorale, one of the oldest hymns in that nation’s musical history. It remains an ‘iconic symbol’ for the Czech nation.  The mood of the Meditation is dark and plaintive, but also lyrical. A reviewer has noted that when the music is agitated and dissonant, this does not last long, but soon recaptures its strangely optimistic mood.

It could be argued that the composer was paying homage to some of the most ‘popular’ composers in his adopted homeland, such as Vaughan Williams or Gerald Finzi. On the other hand, it was a positive response to a tragic and horrific event. It is a piece of music that could be used during Remembrance services and concerts. As noted above, the work is positive, and does not agonise, like say, Samuel Barber’s Adagio for strings. It remains an unfortunate fact of British musical life that this deeply moving, and well-wrought work is not in the public view. If given a chance it could and should become an important contribution to the concert repertoire. Maybe it could even be played on Classic FM.

The work, in its string quartet version, was premiered by the Menges Quartet on 17 March 1942 at one of Myra Hess’s legendary National Gallery Concerts in London. Sometime later, the composer arranged the Coventry-Meditation for string orchestra.

Listen to the string orchestra version of Vilém Tauský’s  Coventry Meditation on YouTube here  (after a long spoken introduction at about 2:06) and the String Quartet version here.