A Note from the Chairman – September 2021
The past few months have seen the release of a bumper crop of books on British composers. These have included volumes on Stanford students Ralph Vaughn Williams, Ivor Gurney and Ernest Moeran as well as books on Frederick Delius, and Sir Arthur Sullivan.
“Dweller in the Shadows: A Life of Ivor Gurney” by Kate Kennedy (Princeton University Press) is the fullest account that we have yet had of the life and work of Ivor Gurney. Gurney, who was born in Gloucester, was both a poet and a composer. Stanford is reputed to have said of him “ Potentially he is the most gifted man that ever came into my care . But he is the least teachable.” Gurney wrote a large number of songs and approximately 2,000 poems, many of which are still unpublished. (A project is currently under way by Oxford University Press to publish all of them). He was both injured and gassed during service in the First World War and this appears to have exacerbated pre-existing phycological problems. He spent the last fifteen years of his life in psychiatric hospitals. The book gives us a very detailed picture of Gurney’s life, poetry and music. He wrote much more music than I had known and it looks as if there is a considerable amount of his music still to be performed and recorded.
“The Edge of Beyond. Ralph Vaughan Williams and the First World War” by Stephen Connock (Albion) is a detailed account of VW’s service during the First World War and its influence on his music. The author is a former Chairman of the Vaughan Williams Society and he has done extensive research on VW’s war time service. Vaughan Williams served as an orderly in the Royal Army Medical Corp during the first part of the War and subsequently as an officer in the Royal Garrison Artillery. All of this military service is covered in great detail. The book is also illustrated by more than one hundred photographs.
In “Ernest John Moeran-His Life and music” by Ian Maxwell (Boydell) we have the first detailed study of Moeran’s life and music. Moeran was born in England of Irish extraction . He studied at the RCM with Stanford before volunteering for War service in 1914. He served for the first two years of the War in England before volunteering for front line service and being wounded in France. He ended the War in Ireland. Moeran published an obituary of Stanford in December 1924 in the Journal of the Folk Song Society in which he wrote: “ As a teacher he was always insistent in pointing out that the study of folk-song is a most valuable aid to the acquirement of purity of style and true melodic outline. His teaching and work inspired many to become collectors of folk-music and were responsible for the preservation of many beautiful songs”.
Moeran collected folk songs, mainly in Norfolk pubs and composed much attractive music including many songs and important chamber music. As a result of his friendship with fellow composer Philip Heseltine he struggled for much of his life with alcoholism. He spent most of his later years in Ireland and in 1945 married the cellist Peers Coetmore for whom he wrote a well regarded Cello Concerto and Sonata for Cello, He died of a cerebral haemorrhage in Ireland at the age of fifty-six.
“The Music of Frederick Delius- Style, Form and Ethos” by Jeremy Dibble is the most detailed analysis yet of Delius’ musical style and composition process. Professor Dibble (who is President of the Stanford Society) has written a chapter on each of Delius’ major works examining the context in which they were written and the influences on them. As always with Jeremy Dibble’s books this is well researched and clearly written with many musical examples. It is an important addition to the literature on Delius.
Finally, “Arthur Sullivan- A Life of Divine Emollient” by Ian Bradley (Oxford University Press) focuses on Sullivan’s sacred music and the spiritual influences and aspects of his life. Recent recordings have allowed for a fuller understanding and reappraisal of Sullivan’s serious music after more than a century of neglect. The book also explores Sullivan’s time as Principal of the National Training School for Music, his conducting career and his important relationship with George Grove. This is a volume that is well worth exploring for lovers of Sullivan’s music.
Special introductory pricing may still be available from the publishers on some of these books.
