Howells, Herbert (1892 - 1983)

[teamsaint]

I'm afraid Howells is mostly untrodden territory for me, but that is another journey waiting for another time.

[edashtav]

Re your comments, I'm afraid Howells is mostly untrodden territory for me, but that is another journey waiting for another time.

Hymnus Paradisi is a good entry point, as it can claim to be the dog's bollocks amongst his oeuvre and its chromaticism does not show hyperventilation, in the manner of Max Reger, a tendency that causes some listeners to turn away from Howells.

[Alison]

Truth to tell I have never got to know it.

Today's the day.

[Nick Armstrong]

Discovering Howells

I thought this offshoot of the Poulenc/Ravel concert thread deserved its own thread.

Hymnus Paradisi is a good entry point

For what it's worth, I would take a different view. Hymnus P was the last of Howells's works to appeal to me. I still think that his unique voice is best heard in smaller forms. I would suggest that a preferable entry point would be to try and hear one of his best sets of canticles in a Cathedral setting - the Gloucester or St Paul's Magnificat/Nunc Dimittis combinations, or the Collegium Regale Te Deum, would be my suggestions - or in another format, the Rhapsodic (Clarinet) Quintet or Fantasy Quartet.

[Don Petter]

I thought this offshoot of the Poulenc/Ravel concert thread deserved its own thread.



For what it's worth, I would take a different view. Hymnus P was the last of Howells's works to appeal to me. I still think that his unique voice is best heard in smaller forms. I would suggest that a preferable entry point would be to try and hear one of his best sets of canticles in a Cathedral setting - the Gloucester or St Paul's Magnificat/Nunc Dimittis combinations, or the Collegium Regale Te Deum, would be my suggestions - or in another format, the Rhapsodic (Clarinet) Quintet or Fantasy Quartet.

I would also recommend the chamber route if the choral one doesn't appeal. The Clarinet Quintet is a delight. (I'll let someone else make the pun.)

[Anna]

Cali, what was the Howells you were raving about last year which I said I might buy but never did?
I can only recall the cd cover was mainly white with a pen and ink drawing.

[teamsaint]

Ooh, EdgeleyRob is going to love this when he gets in from his Saturday activities.

And a belated thanks to Ed for his original recommendation.

It is such a crying shame that R3 spends so much time on its top 40 playlist when there is such a huge wealth of music out there just badly in need of some radio plays.

Kenneth Leighton's second Symphony has never been played at the Proms. Unbelievable, if slightly off topic.

Nice idea for thread,Mr Mod.

[Nick Armstrong]

Cali, what was the Howells you were raving about last year which I said I might buy but never did?
I can only recall the cd cover was mainly white with a pen and ink drawing.

It was this one Anna, including two of the pieces I mentioned above:



Individual tracks available here for pennies, for those wishing to sample:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Howells-Chamber-Works-Herbert/dp/B000XNLQL6/ref=pd_sim_sbs_m_h__2

Spend 89p on track 2, the slow movement of the Piano Quartet - no one could possibly regret it !

[Dave2002]

Slightly distorted on Spotify - but cheap for anyone who already has a subscription - http://open.spotify.com/track/6nTWsTICll7Xnuey2oqClJ

[soileduk]

It was this one Anna, including two of the pieces I mentioned above:



Individual tracks available here for pennies, for those wishing to sample:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Howells-Chamber-Works-Herbert/dp/B000XNLQL6/ref=pd_sim_sbs_m_h__2

Spend 89p on track 2, the slow movement of the Piano Quartet - no one could possibly regret it !

Couldn't resist a punt on this disc and went with Caliban's enthusiasm for this disc of these pieces. Base.com has it for £7.19 delivered although there are some hints at availability issues.

[EdgeleyRob]

Yep,that Cali recommendation is gorgeous.

I adore Howells,his music is my solace when my mood is grey.

Hymnus Paradisi was his reaction to the death of his 9 year old son from polio in 1935.
Completed in 1938,put away in a drawer for 11 years and with the encouragement of Vaughan Williams,Finzi and Boult, Howells orchestrated the work and it was first performed in 1950.
It's an intensely moving work that can be had for a fiver (Naxos)on Amazon,as can the equally sublime requiem.

I do feel that his chamber and orchestral works get a little overshadowed by the magnificent choral stuff,yet to me it is just as important.

Suggestions for an entry point into this wonderful music would be -
The Naxos cd of the Rhapsodic Quintet, Violin Sonata 3, Clarinet Sonata and Harp Prelude.
String Quartet 'In Gloucestershire' (Hyperion).

Or

http://www.howellstrust.org.uk/howells.html

[Petrushka]

I bought the Hymnus Paradisi after that Prom performance.

However, I sang in one or two pieces by Howells in my church choir days and I would unreservedly recommend this disc which has the Requiem, the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis (St Paul's), some of the organ music and a beautiful rendering of Take Him, Earth, for Cherishing. This is the best recorded choral/organ disc I've ever heard.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Howells-Requiem-other-choral-works/dp/B000026D1K/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1392495637&sr=1-1&keywords=howells

[EdgeleyRob]

Kenneth Leighton's second Symphony has never been played at the Proms.

Those Proms planners should be ashamed of themselves.

[LeMartinPecheur]

My intro to Howells was via one of the first LPs I bought as a teenager, 'The World of Kings', which included his anthem 'Like as the hart'.

High on my list of memorable concerts is a 1992 Howells centenary concert in Winchester Cathedral, just organ and choral music including the above and the Requiem. 'Take him, Earth, for cherishing' was particularly appropriate and moving in that context.

[edashtav]

My entry point was buying a score of the song cycle In Green Ways op 43 for pennies in a secondhandhand shop. Delicious, with fine texts!

In Green Ways, op. 43
* The goat paths (Text: James Stephens)
* Under the greenwood tree (Text: William Shakespeare)
* Merry Margaret (Text: John Skelton)
* Wanderer's night song (Text: after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
* On the Merry First of May (Text: H. Burkitt Parker)

and that was followed by a full score of the Elegy for viola, string 4-tet and string band

It is to HH what Introduction & Allegro was to EE, or Fantasia on a Theme of TT was to RVW.