Thomas Dunhill: Donald Brook’s Pen-Portrait from 'Composer's Gallery' Part II

The continuation of Donald Brook's pen portrait of Thomas Dunhill published in his book Composers Gallery. 

During the past twenty years Dunhill produced a truly remarkable range of compositions, although chamber music and various important works for orchestra claimed most of his attention. Noteworthy are his Elegiac Variations on an Original Theme, written in memory of Sir Hubert Parry, for whom he had so deep an affection, and first performed at the Gloucester Festival in 1922; and his Symphony in A minor, which was first performed in the Opera House at Belgrade on December 28th, 1922. Dunhill was visiting the city in the course of a continental tour, and never forgot the thrill of conducting the orchestra of the Royal Guard before such an appreciative audience. It was afterwards performed twice at Bournemouth, and once at Guildford, but up to the time of writing, only one movement of it has been played in London.

His one-act opera The Enchanted Garden made a very favourable impression upon the Carnegie Trustees, and as a result it was published by the Trust in 1925.

Dunhill’s songs are perfect specimens of fine craftsmanship. One of the loveliest he ever wrote is called Beauty and Beauty, which, he told me, was written for John Coates, [1] and sung by him at one of his Chelsea recitals. Strangely enough, very few other singers took it up, yet Dunhill always considered it to be one of his best songs. There must be few pianists who have not at least one or two of Dunhill's compositions for their instrument. Of these, mention might be made of his Concert Study and Lunar Rainbow.

It would be impossible in the short space I have available to do justice to his chamber music. This includes two quintets, two quartets, two trios, and two sonatas for violin and piano, the second of which is one of the finest compositions that ever came from his pen. His Phantasy Trio for violin, viola and pianoforte is in one movement; a most satisfying little work that should be heard more often than it is to-day. Equally fine is his Second Sonata, with its grand slow movement which we occasionally hear played separately.

Dunhill was over fifty when his interest in the theatre suddenly induced him to collaborate with A. P. Herbert [2] in the writing of that very amusing comic opera Tantivy Towers. That he should undertake the task of writing the music for such a production caused the arching of hundreds of musical eyebrows in London alone: was Dunhill going to achieve the resounding success that Humperdinck had enjoyed with Hansel and Gretel? [3] Tantivy Towers was first produced [4] at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, and was such a tremendous success that it was transferred to the West End. It ran for six months, and then went on a most successful tour of the provinces, enabling Trefor Jones [5] to make a name for himself.

It has since been staged in America and Australia. Another light opera by Dunhill, Happy Families, was performed with considerable success in Guildford in 1933 and again in 1934. Then he wrote two ballets, Dick Whittington, and Gallimaufry. The latter, adapted from a story by Hans Anderson was given a really lovely performance in Hamburg in 1937, but strange to relate, it has never been performed in Britain! Gallimaufry, by the way, is an old English word meaning "medley.”

One of Dunhill’s last works was the light opera Something in the City, which was to have been produced in the autumn of 1939, but had to be postponed on account of the war.

During the recent war the shortage of teaching staff induced him to return to his first musical appointment at Eton, but his work was shared by his second wife, Isabella (Belle) Featonby, whom he married in 1942.

Some mention should be made here of Dunhill’s literary work. His Chamber Music (1913) is still one of the most authoritative textbooks on the musician's bookshelf, and Sir Edward Elgar (1938) is an excellent biographical study.

Dunhill believed that as far as music was concerned, the signs of the times were hopeful, though there was plenty of modern music that he disliked. He felt that music was too much a matter of fashion in modern times, and thought it was a pity when composers who were not really in the fashion of the hour tried to keep up-to-date. Dunhill always tried to be himself in his music, and never attempted to imitate anybody else, however fashionable and successful they might have been. He believed in the evolution of music rather than revolution, and thought that all art should be founded upon what had gone before it. There were signs, he said, that people were going back to simplicity of thought, and there might well be a reaction to the restlessness of modern music.

Music, he believed, should provide an escape or relief from present-day restlessness. He had no desire to express anything in music than that which was beautiful and which would lift people out of their troubles. He was a little sceptical of the work of those ardent people who based everything upon folksong, because of the tendency towards national introspection. "All the greatest music is international" he used to say, “... music should be universal . . . Purcell learnt from France and Italy, Verdi from Wagner, Elgar from Strauss, and therefore we must be prepared to work upon other foundations than our own folksong.”

Dunhill believed that as a nation we were not likely to achieve much in grand opera, because with a few exceptions, English grand opera had never been a success. [6] Our national form of opera, he thought, was comic opera, and he always advocated the establishment of a theatre to develop this, using the works of Gilbert and Sullivan as a backbone. He was convinced that if this project were handled properly, it would be possible to build up a large public for something on the lines of the Opéra Comique in Paris.

Donald Brook, 'Composer's Gallery: Biographical Sketches of Contemporary Composers, (London, Rockliff, 1946, p.57-60)

Concluded.

Notes:
[1] John Coates (1865-1941) was an English tenor, who sang in opera and oratorio and on the recital. He had a wide range of repertoire from Bach to contemporary as well as being a committed Wagnerian.

[2] A. P. Herbert, (1890-1971), was an English humourist, novelist, playwright, law reformist, and in 1935–1950 an independent Member of Parliament for Oxford University. (Wikipedia)

[3] Engelbert Humperdinck composed Hansel and Gretel during 1891 and 1892. It premiered in (1854-1921) the Hoftheater in Weimar on 23 December 1893, conducted by Richard Strauss. It was once a favourite at Christmastime.

[4] Thomas Dunhill’s Tantivy Towers was first heard on 16 January 1931 at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith.

[5] Trefor Jones (1902-65) was a Welsh born actor and tenor.

[6] Clearly, Brook did not yet realise the impact that Benjamin Britten and to a slightly lesser extent, Michael Tippet would have in British opera.