Arnold, Sir Malcolm (1921-2006)

[LeMartinPecheur]

I have never thought of MA as a choral composer, but I have found this list:

http://malcolmarnold.co.uk/compositions/compositions-choral.html

Has anyone come across/heard any of them? I haven't spotted any references in the above posts.

I have the Song of Simeon on an ancient Carlton Classics/ BBC Radio Classics twofer of very misc. MA works. Can't say it's made a huge impression to date but might give it another try soon.

[Pulcinella]

I have the Song of Simeon on an ancient Carlton Classics/ BBC Radio Classics twofer of very misc. MA works. Can't say it's made a huge impression to date but might give it another try soon.

Snap!
Though I'm not sure I'll give it another try just yet.
When I last listened it was with view to possibly recommending it as a work for the choral society I previously sang in (before moving here) to perform, but I didn't think it suitable.

[teamsaint]

Interesting piece here from Edward Gregson.

https://edwardgregson.com/wp-content/uploads/Arnold-the-symphonist.pdf

[Edgy 2]

I was thinking that I only have the Magginis recording of the SQs.
Apple music has the Ceruti set, which looks costly on CD. Are there any alternatives ?

McCapra Quartet on Chandos,in the Naxos Library, https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/...tring-quartets
Fine performances but I remain loyal to the Magginis

Short article on the works here http://www.musicweb-international.com/arnold/piers.htm

[richardfinegold]

That looks tempting.
There was a Decca Collector's set too, but I think that that is (was) more expensive, and now is download only.

Highly recommended. By coincidence I was listening to the disc with 3/4 today while driving home

[Bryn]

That looks tempting.
There was a Decca Collector's set too, but I think that that is (was) more expensive, and now is download only.

http://malcolmarnold.co.uk/news/news_arnold_edition.html

[Richard Barrett]

Short essentials list: Symphony 7, Symphony for Strings, Concerto for 28 Players, the two string quartets, Fantasy on a Theme of John Field. Recordings—there doesn't seem to be a vast difference between them, and for most works there's only one available; I tend to favour the 7th Symphony with Martin Yates (on Dutton) rather than the Handley

Thanks for providing this list. Since the 7th symphony was first on the list and the only thing I've knowingly heard of MA is his film scores, I thought yesterday I would give it a try. I just didn't get it though. What would you say are the attractive features of this work?

[kea]

For the pieces I mentioned? He's effective at conveying a sense of alienation and nausea through the language of light music, like a capitalist realist version of Shostakovich. So the 7th symphony for example is full of imitation brass band marches that go nowhere, "big tunes" compressed into tiny intervals or stretched out into contorted structures, repetitions that normally would mark structural points but in this case just sound "stuck", a "pastoral" interlude in the last movement that seems to go on for much too long and then disappears with no apparent effect on its surroundings, and obviously a triumphal final cadence that is about as brutal and unwanted as possible. In the more parodistic moments there's often an undercurrent of anger, which sometimes (eg as in the 2nd Quartet) becomes an....outercurrent? I guess there are also points (eg in the Field fantasy) where this becomes "music about music" or comes across as putting up the middle finger to.....someone, maybe the audience.

I'm not sure to what extent an appreciation for or enjoyment of the light music style, or his film music, or the mainstream of British music ca. 1930-1970 is necessary to appreciate his work—but it does seem to help, and I think makes it easier to read his later work (& some of the early work like the first quartet or string symphony) as "dissidence" or "inner emigration" or in any other way a response to the profound alienation and emotional isolation of 1960s-80s Britain. Also very easy to empathise with as someone with a long experience of mental health issues, where the music can seem like the view from within anxiety or trauma or a borderline personality.

(He did have a lot of Problems personally but I don't know much about them, & was successful enough that this may be a misreading of his intentions, but it's a fruitful one for me)

[Conchis]

The Tony Palmer documentary is one youtube:

https://youtu.be/uZsuYbn8DaE

Because it was made during Arnold's lifetime, it avoids going into detail over several painful episodes (the reasons for his suicide attempts, his 'unaddressed' sexuality, his promiscuity, his alcoholism, his marriages and his troubled relationships with his children - only one of whom appears in the film). Quite a lot is left for the viewer to ponder but much of the footage is fascinating.

Jon Lord obviously experienced M.A. at his best and you'll certainly want to hear Arnold's opinion of Ian Gillan's 'equipment'!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Composer of the Week, Mon 11th - Fri 15th Nov, '19

Malcolm Arnold is the featured composer this week:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000b8hr

( ... and available on the i-Player [or Zounds! as it identifies with currently] for 30 days thereafter.)

[Serial_Apologist]

Malcolm Arnold is the featured composer this week:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000b8hr

( ... and available on the i-Player [or Zounds! as it identifies with currently] for 30 days thereafter.)

And I must say I enjoyed Episode 1 of this COTW this morning. Goodness! - could this be a sign of ageing?

[Ein Heldenleben]

Possibly - I think your musical tastes broaden as you get older . Pleasure aside I was struck by the quality of Arnold’s music - particularly the string quartet. Also good to hear something other than the Arnoldian warhorses

[teamsaint]

Possibly - I think your musical tastes broaden as you get older . Pleasure aside I was struck by the quality of Arnold’s music - particularly the string quartet. Also good to hear something other than the Arnoldian warhorses

The string quartets are really fine works IMO.

Looking forward to this, when I can get time to hear it. Arnold's music deserves a higher profile in live performance IMO.

Cue discussion about conservative/cautious concert programming. ticket sales, cost of hire of scores etc etc etc

[Ein Heldenleben]

Yep but on a budget note Amazon have the 4 disc Hickox complete symphonies for a mere £16...

[LMcD]

And I must say I enjoyed Episode 1 of this COTW this morning. Goodness! - could this be a sign of ageing?

An excellent choice of pieces in a range of styles made for a very enjoyable programme, I thought.
UPDATE: String Quartet No. 2 now playing in the post-concert slot.