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…
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