“But any work, as I have said, must conform in its first principles to the canons of art. Unless it does, it cannot exist. No mere playing around in the colours and embroideries of some fashionable caprice will keep it alive. Some people talk of contemporary music as if it were the beginning of things—as if the music of the past could be ignored altogether. This is a wrong view. That which has nothing in common with the past is lifeless.”
He emphasized his conviction that
the true artist does not compose to please the public: “The man invites failure
who, when he sets out to originate a work, says to himself, ‘I am now going to
write something which will be a great popular success.’ Any effort of that kind
carries with it the mark of its own failure. The composer must shut out from
his view all but his own inspiration. If he follows that inspiration, that is
sufficient to justify him, even though the work he produces under its influence
pleases only two persons in the world.”
Interest in chamber music has been stimulated immensely of recent years in England - a result clearly due to the activities of Mr. Bridge and his fellow composers in this field. Replying to a query upon this point, he said the revival was particularly keen among amateurs, who were carrying this music into their homes to an extent unknown for many years.
In other directions, too, a
growing appreciation of artistic values was manifest. “When I tell you,” He
said, “that the Fifth Symphony of Beethoven has replaced the Fifth Symphony of
Tchaikovsky at the popular concerts in London, you will realize what a change
there has been in public taste.” But as for the decline of music in London - that’s
another story! Mr. Bridge assigns this, as others have done, to higher taxes
and financial difficulties which have affected private expenditure.
The Fantasy competitions, instituted in 1905 by W. W. Cobbett, [1] an enthusiastic London amateur, have played an important part in fostering chamber music. These competitions were originated with the object of inducing the production of shorter pieces of this type, the idea being that a better concert program could be compiled by including only two long works instead of three, the place of the third being taken by one of these shorter works. Mr. Bridge had written three pieces in shorter form in 1904, under the title of “Noveletten,” and in the following year was a prize-winner in these competitions. He again won a prize in 1908 for his Fantasy Trio in C Minor for piano, violin and ’cello. Among the prize-winners have also been John Ireland, James Friskin, H. Waldo Warner, and [William] Hurlstone, a gifted composer who died in 1906. It was in 1908 that Frank Bridge took an Irish folk-tune and set it to music which, under the title of “The Londonderry Air,” has travelled around the world. His arrangements of “Cherry Ripe” and “Sally in Our Alley,” two old English songs, are almost equally well known as examples of his gifts in chamber quartet-writing. [2]
“They are simple, and not in the
least bit pretentious,” he says of these three works, “and they fulfil a
purpose in fostering an interest in chamber music among those who cannot yet
appreciate more serious music.” Of his larger works, “The Sea” has been heard
this season in America in various cities under his baton. He had intended to
conduct a performance of this Suite in New York, but when he learned, a week or
two ago, that Josef Stransky had included it in the program of the State
Symphony, he changed his intention, and substituted for it, for his appearance
with the New York Symphony on Nov. 11, his Two Poems for Orchestra. The Two
Poems, produced in 1917 at Queen’s Hall, London, are based on quotations
from Richard Jefferies. The first is, “Those thoughts and feelings which are
not sharply defined but have a haze of distance and beauty about them, are
always dearest,” and the second, “How beautiful a delight to make the world
joyous! The song should never be silent, the dance never still, the laugh
should sound like water which runs forever.” [3]
Mr. Bridge was greatly interested to hear that his Quintet in D Minor was performed at Worcester, Mass., in June 1921. He wrote this work in 1904, then put it away, and, when he looked at it again, decided to revise it. This revision was completed in 1912, and it was not published for some time later - indeed, it had been in print only about a year when it was performed at Worcester. [4]
Notes
[2] Examples of Frank Bridge’s
use of “found” folk tunes.
[3] Richard Jefferies (1848–1887) was an English nature writer
celebrated for his vivid depictions of rural life. Raised on a Wiltshire farm,
he blended observation with mysticism, producing works from The Amateur
Poacher to The Story of My Heart, shaping later writers, and
influencing modern nature conservation thinking.
[4] Paul Hindmarsh in his Frank Bridge: The Complete Works (2016) states that the Quintet in D minor “was premiered on 28 May 1907, at the home of Miss M. C. Hall, 79 Emperor’s Gate, London; played by Thomas Morris and Ethel Sinclair (violins), Frank Bridge (viola), Ivor James (cello) and Harold Samuel (piano). This was a private performance at a Royal College of Music Students’ Union ‘At Home.’ The first public performance of this version took place during one of Thomas Dunhill’s concerts, 14 June 1907, played by the Erinson Quartet and Thomas Dunhill piano). Hindmarsh continues, “Bridge withdrew the Quintet after its initial performances. In 1912 he radically revised it, shortening the outer movements, altering, and smoothing out the thematic material and piano texture, and compressing the central movements into one. The present score contains some pencil comments and suggestions for improvements to the piano part, probably added by Harold Samuel or Thomas Dunhill.” The revised version was “was launched at a Royal College of Music Union ‘At Home’ Concert. On this occasion the musical evening was held at the home of Mrs. Capel, Queen’s Gate on 29 May 1912. The English String Quartet, was joined by Harold Samuel (piano).” (op.cit.).
[5] Pierre Monteux (1875–1964), the French-born maestro, conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1919 to 1924, revitalising its sound and reputation. Renowned for his premieres of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and other modern works, Monteux balanced French elegance with German concentration.
[6] Nikolai Sokoloff (1886–1965) was a Russian‑Ukrainian‑American conductor, violinist, and pioneering educator. He became the first music director of the Cleveland Orchestra (1918–1932), expanding its size, repertoire, and national tours. Sokoloff championed equality by hiring women musicians with equal pay, later directing the Federal Music Project and Seattle Symphony
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