The Lark Ascends with Piano.

[salymap]

Wonderful post S-A.

RVW only came personally to Goodwin & Tabb's orchestral hire library where I worked because of his friendship with Holst. Many years before I was born Holst's Planets were published by Goodwin, still listed in the Full Score. When G&T concentrated mainly on the library side,the Planets were sold to Curwen.
The two friends frequented the Dean Street premises of G&T and, it seems to me, that RVW saw no reason to change the supplier of his 40 stave mss paper and wandered in occasionally for a chat with the head librarian and a look around. Many famous conductors came in for their 'marked parts' we kept sacrosanct
where possible, seeing RVW was always special somehow.

[Serial_Apologist]

Wonderful post S-A.

RVW only came personally to Goodwin & Tabb's orchestral hire library where I worked because of his friendship with Holst. Many years before I was born Holst's Planets were published by Goodwin, still listed in the Full Score. When G&T concentrated mainly on the library side,the Planets were sold to Curwen.
The two friends frequented the Dean Street premises of G&T and, it seems to me, that RVW saw no reason to change the supplier of his 40 stave mss paper and wandered in occasionally for a chat with the head librarian and a look around. Many famous conductors came in for their 'marked parts' we kept sacrosanct
where possible, seeing RVW was always special somehow.

I chime with what you say saly - I've managed to save on tape practically every radio programme broadcast about Vaughan Williams during the last 17 years. To me Vaughan Williams was a colossus of a human being, not least in his modesty. Remember his dedication of "Hodie" to Herbert Howells - whose "Hymnus Paradisi" VW had himself insisted on being performed? When asked why, VW said that he had "cribbed" a certain passage in "Hodie" from "Hymnus Paradisi" - something he had often "admitted" to Holst about the latter's music. I'm quite sure Howells would have been honoured nonetheless; however, when both men sat down to work out which passage was concerned, neither was able to find it!!! And then there was that lovely, moving speech VW gave in memory of Holst. Leaving aside what he said, it was that gruff, homely voice, which in no way could one describe as "posh" even by 1950s standards, or, rather, "stendards".

[Jeffrey Shackell]

This was a most interesting and fascinating programme and much enjoyed. The piano used for the recording in Shirehampton Public Hall was an early 1920's Bosendorfer model 170 in 100% original condition, thus hopefully offering something towards the flavour of piano tone in that era.

[french frank]

This was a most interesting and fascinating programme and much enjoyed. The piano used for the recording in Shirehampton Public Hall was an early 1920's Bosendorfer model 170 in 100% original condition, thus hopefully offering something towards the flavour of piano tone in that era.

That's very interesting! I only know half the story (and didn't watch the television programme) - that the Lark was sketched out at Kingsweston House. I didn't know, until Wikipedia informed me, that it had its first performance in Shirehampton Public Hall. Is that correct?

(Welcome to the forum, by the way!)

[Nick Armstrong]

I cut me teeth on Shosta!

Me too!

Still haven't read anything specific about VW5 from you, Anna. What was your reaction?

[PatrickOD]

What with The Lark Ascending on In Tune, followed shortly by Ann Murray singing The Lark in the Clear Air - Anna, over to you -' What ****!'

[ardcarp]

This was a most interesting and fascinating programme and much enjoyed. The piano used for the recording in Shirehampton Pullic Hall was an early 1920's Bosendorfer model 170 in 100% original condition, thus hopefully offering something towards the flavour of piano tone in that era.

JS Thank goodness someone else actually watched the programme and enjoyed it. The thread seems to have gone off topic! Thanks for the info about the piano. I did wonder whether the 'bamboo style' lid prop indicated a Bosendorfer. What did you think of Ms Hwang's playing? I thought she was terrific.

[Chris Newman]

JS Thank goodness someone else actually watched the programme and enjoyed it. The thread seems to have gone off topic! Thanks for the info about the piano. I did wonder whether the 'bamboo style' lid prop indicated a Bosendorfer. What did you think of Ms Hwang's playing? I thought she was terrific.

I watched it too, ardcarp. I have to say that just like Brahms's Requiem I very much far prefer the piano version to the orchestral one. I would gladly hire a car to return to the Shirehampton Hall to hear that performance again. It was very, very beautiful. I have heard Hugh Bean, Iona Brown and many others play it with orchestra and that piano version beat them all. The balance is nigh perfect.

[french frank]

Please, share this with me, folks! Was the piano and violin version just an early sketch for a full orchestral version or was it composed, as it were, in its own right?

[Pabmusic]

Please, share this with me, folks! Was the piano and violin version just an early sketch for a full orchestral version or was it composed, as it were, in its own right?

I think it's (fairly) clear that it was made in its own right, though several years after the orchestral score. Michael Kennedy says that the violin/piano version was "a special arrangement made by the composer" to be played at a concert of the Avonmouth and Shirehampton Choral Society on 15 December 1920. It was played by Marie Hall and Geoffrey Mendham. The piece had actually been written in 1914 but had not yet been performed, so the Shirehampton performance was in fact the premiere. The first performance of the original was on 14 June 1921, by Marie Hall with the British Symphony Orchestra and Adrian Boult.

Another occasion when the violin/piano version was played before the orchestral one was on the afternoon of 6 September 1910, when Willie Reed (and ? the composer - I can't recall) performed the Elgar Violin Concerto to an invited audience at the Gloucester Three Choirs, two months ahead of its official premiere. RVW and Boult were at that one. This was the same day that RVW gave the first performance of the Tallis Fantasia!

[Oldcrofter]

I watched both the Lark Ascending & the RVW biog programmes and was delighted by both. Equally I was full of admiration for the playing of violinist Julia Hwang - but since I'm not a very knowledgeable listener, I was hesitant to contribute to this thread - which seemed to be a forum for the usual dismissive remarks about CFM and for in-jokes and references to RVW's music, and stifled yawns regarding The Lark Ascending.

Well. I learnt a great deal about the composer, I am encouraged to get to know more of his music and I'm rapidly becoming an enthusiast for BBC 4. Quite a few contributors to these boards seem to see BBC4 as the televisual equivalent of CFM. I'm certainly looking forward to watching how Ms Hwang's career develops. I fear for her, though, if ever she should become "popular" - be heard on CFM, for instance, playing The Lark or Vivaldi.

[french frank]

Thank you very much for the résumé, Pabmusic. From the dates, it seems then that RVW and Marie Hall were probably staying at nearby Kingsweston House at the time (?). The Shirehampton Public Hall had been a public gift of the lord of Kingsweston so very much a community affair.

Another snippet: Geoffrey Mendham, I discover, was the organist in the neighbouring parish of Westbury-on-Trym, where Joseph Cooper was born. Mendham later became a teacher at Clifton College (1926-1940) where he taught Cooper. Mendham, then, active on the Bristol music scene at the time.

[Norfolk Born]

I watched both the Lark Ascending & the RVW biog programmes and was delighted by both. Equally I was full of admiration for the playing of violinist Julia Hwang - but since I'm not a very knowledgeable listener, I was hesitant to contribute to this thread - which seemed to be a forum for the usual dismissive remarks about CFM and for in-jokes and references to RVW's music, and stifled yawns regarding The Lark Ascending.

Well. I learnt a great deal about the composer, I am encouraged to get to know more of his music and I'm rapidly becoming an enthusiast for BBC 4. Quite a few contributors to these boards seem to see BBC4 as the televisual equivalent of CFM. I'm certainly looking forward to watching how Ms Hwang's career develops. I fear for her, though, if ever she should become "popular" - be heard on CFM, for instance, playing The Lark or Vivaldi.

I'm not at all sure how you came to that conclusion! When, for example, did CFM ever devote any appreciable amount of time to in-depth analysis of the brilliant examples of 'Nordic Noir' that BBC4 brings us? And very few of the contributors to this particular thread strike me as being dismissive of 'The Lark Ascending' - rather, they deplore the lazy mindset that has led to its unnecessarily frequent scheduling.

[Oldcrofter]

Yes, Norfolk Born, I should have made it clear that I was referring to music programmes on BBC4. The various Nordic detective series have indeed been fascinating, certainly for me as a Swedish speaker. Understanding spoken Danish presents most Swedes with an intriguing linguistic challenge !

[salymap]

I've recently bought an expensive hard disk for my TV, largely for the music programmes on BBC4 although I shall also record music when necessary.
I love the 'Lark ascending' but felt the review in RT of the two enjoyable TV programmes, suggesting that it is the high spot of RVW's output deserved a thread to refute that view of one our greatest composers. That's all.