Sir George Dyson

[BBMmk2]

Yes ts...............!!

Great week then GD COTW!

[antongould]

Very good first programme I thought .......

[BBMmk2]

Here's a nugget about Dyson they may not cover on COTW.

When the Royal Air Force was formed in 1918, it decided to appoint a classical musician as its Director of Music. Walford Davies was the first, and he is credited with establishing the Central Band to a high standard. He held the post for two years, during which time he wrote the famous RAF March for parade use; it makes reference to the bugle calls of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. But it was shorter than it is now, and it was left to Davies’ successor as Director of Music to lengthen the march by adding the broad middle section.

The successor was George Dyson.

The piece was nevertheless published under Walford Davies’ name and the truth didn't become known till after Dyson's death.

There is a modern edition from B & H that has Walford Davies and George Dyson as joint composers.

Cheers for that pabs! I had forgotten that Dyson wrote the middle part and I am glad that modern editions of the work has both composers' credited!

[Don Petter]

Now the dust has settled I would just like to say that I remember Sir George coming into my school friend's family's newsagent in Winchester to get his daily paper in the late fifties. A very neat and distinguished looking man, still with something of a military bearing.

[Serial_Apologist]

We sang one of his anthems, for boys' voices (presumably) and piano: this was back in the 1950s. Shame I can't now remember the setting, having checked titles from his list of compositions.

[EdgeleyRob]

Another interesting programme today.
Tomorrow we are promised a chunk of the Canterbury Pilgrims,which,only IMVHO,is a masterpiece (Hickox,Chandos,wonderful).

[DracoM]

Dyson theme to Choral Evensong this p.m. @ 3.30 p.m.

[Richard Tarleton]

Another nugget which may not be covered - he it was who admitted the young Julian Bream to the RCM - "I'd like this boy to start next term - no fee".

There's a lovely description by Julian Bream of his audition with Sir George Dyson on his DVD My Life in Music, and there's a touching description of it here on p. 295. Things were not going well for young Julian - his father was in debt, his parents were splitting up, he was in some emotional turmoil. So this gesture was of major significance for him.

[DracoM]

BBC have cancelled the live Winchester College Dyson-themed CE. 'For Technical reasons' apparently
Grrr!

BUT it is now available on iPlayer

[BBMmk2]

Hmmm, makes you wonder, I think there, DracoM?

[ahinton]

Hmmmm.not really my bag.


( Flippant edit; really enjoyable programme today, recommended).

I suppose that one day we might get no so much HIPP but HEPA performances of his music...

I listened to the movements from his violin concerto which he clearly designed on as ambitious a scale as had Elgar with his but, engaging moemnts as there indeed were, I eventually found that not even the persuasive playing of Lydia Mordkovitch could quite manage to cover up some sense of ambling, rambling diffuseness.