Prom 4: Sunday 17th July 2011 at 7.00 p.m. (Brian 'The Gothic')

[morebritishmusicplease]

Brian was by this time a very experienced composer of choral music who must surely have known how to make the words audible had he so desired. To quote Truscott, "none of this is ineptitude; it is planned, it is positively written into the fabric of the music".

I entirely agree with this. It's obvious that Brian knew exactly what he was doing and must have known that in some sections the text and the texture is so dense and complex it can never be heard properly in all its details. WHY he wanted to do this is another question. I somehow doubt it was an atheistical tendency to undermine the Te Deum - though there is no doubt that Brian did have this strange self-destructive instinct, I believe he responded to much of the Te Deum text on a basic human rather than religious level - the desire for a sense of meaning and order in the universe, a longing for peace, a need for a sense of forgiveness, etc. At the same time there must have been the underlying tension of the belief that none of these things were actually available from 'outside', only from within. The 'impossible' quality of some of the writing I believe reflects this tension. I believe in the Gothic Brian was trying to conduct some sort of great 'metaphysical act', to re-assert a sense of meaning in the world, particularly after the great cataclysm of the First World War and the resulting widespread collapse of traditional values. Who can say if he succeeded or not? - but the fact he tried at all is what makes the work so endlessly intriguing, bewildering and fascinating!

[EdgeleyRob]

but the fact he tried at all is what makes the work so endlessly intriguing, bewildering and fascinating!

Agreed. Love your username btw, I still can't believe there is no Vaughan Williams being played this year.

[bluestateprommer]

two more reviews of HB 1

(1) From Richard Fairman in the FT:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/239f8298-b1f7-11e0-a06c-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1T9rB63Op

(2) From Anne Ozorio from the Opera Today website:

http://www.operatoday.com/content/2011/07/havergal_brian_.php

Bonus article from the University of Sussex on 2 of the choristers:

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/spru/newsandevents?id=8852

[morebritishmusicplease]

Agreed. Love your username btw, I still can't believe there is no Vaughan Williams being played this year.

Yes - the total absence of one of our greatest and most loved composers is an absolute disgrace, and Roger Wright's having programmed the Gothic doesn't make up for it! It's not as though there aren't dozens of RVW works that are heard rarely if ever - the Concerto Grosso, the Magnificat, 'Sancta Civitas', 'Riders to the Sea', and many more. Onew Bax symphony is a miracle - but why don't we hear the whole cycle? Anyone remember Rubbra, Bliss, Rawsthorne, just to mention three who get ignored by the BBC these days. How about a Havergal Brian cycle - now that would be a project!
I personally think the BBC Proms should feature a large proportion of British music - after all, it's all paid for by British tax-payers money (including RW's large salary!). All visiting performers should be asked to include a British work in their programmes as a matter of courtesy - when they do the results are often fascinating.

[Roslynmuse]

I like the fact that I've never heard of any of the singers in that first ever performance.
Shirley Minty???

3VS

Honor Sheppard was for many years a member of the Deller Consort and recorded extensively with them. Ronald Dowd was the tenor soloist on Colin Davis's first LSO Berlioz Requiem, an Australian.

[mercia]

sorry if this has already been discussed

if it was thought worth going to all the time and trouble (and expense?) of putting on The Gothic surely some of Brian's other 31 symphonies should get an airing on R3, or will he just sink back into oblivion until the Gothic is next resurrected?

[Lion-of-Vienna]

Good point, mercia. R3 did broadcast the Naxos re-release of No20 on the day before the Gothic performance but there are now plenty of discs of shorter Brian works available on CD for them to put on occasionally.

I would love to hear performances of Brian's next three symphonies. These also require large forces, though not on the same scale as the Gothic and they are shorter. No.2 lacks a good recording and has not been performed professionally since 1979. No.3 has parts for 2 pianos and has not been heard since 1988. Finally, No.4 is Brian's other large choral symphony. It would be fascinating to hear this soon after the Gothic, after all it has not been heard live since 1974!

[salymap]

Some composers don't make life easy for themselves with the complexity and scoring of their works. It seems that British composers of the last hundred years outdo other countries in this. I suppose in a way one should admire their belief in themselves with no thoughts of the difficulty in performance. Hmm.

[bluestateprommer]

more links about Prom 4

First, some videos culled from a certain source (initials, YT) related to Prom 4:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4lC9LzJ_LI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ugAH0R7S_w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oMxbxI3l18

Also, the Havergal Brian Society announced a new President (no prizes for guessing who):

'The HBS is delighted to be able to announce that Martyn Brabbins has agreed to become President of the Society following his magnificent performance of The Gothic at the Proms. The post had been vacant since the death of Sir Charles Mackerras just over a year ago. The Brisbane performance of The Gothic was dedicated to Sir Charles' memory and this new Proms performance offered the perfect moment to appoint his successor.

In his reply to the Society's invitation, Martyn writes: "I accept, with great pleasure and no little pride, your invitation to be HBS President! As you know, I am a passionate advocate of British music, and having experienced the Gothic last week, am convinced that this is some of the most astounding music to have been penned by an Englishman. Originality can sometimes be mistaken by those insufficiently well-listened - some critics amongst them - as somewhat ill-conceived. I think Brian certainly knew what he was trying to do, and we have to work a little harder than usual to make all the necessary strands of his creative voice come into focus. I look forward to extending my knowledge of the output of this extraordinary character and, of playing a role in the Society.""'

One last quick review, in passing, from Anna Picard in The Independent:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/reviews/bbc-proms-royal-albert-hall-londonbrmanchester-international-festival-bridgewater-hall--chethams-manchester-2319357.html

[Lateralthinking1]

Yes, I was sufficiently intrigued to You Tube this one. Talk about letting the side down. Anyhow, it is extraordinary, rather breath taking and it really appeals to me. I hadn't heard of him before.

Bombast in anything is generally horrid. However, when it is is elevated and expanded to the epic it can become transformed into the genuinely moving. This is most true when some subtlety is permitted to interweave with all the grandeur as it does here.

To my very untrained ears, it sounds at once both Germanic and very British. Initially I thought Orff. Mainly I heard northern towns, the welsh valleys and the sea. Yes, I would have liked to have heard - and seen - it in full.

I particularly like aspects of the composer's story - his working class background, the hard work ethic, the ploughing on irrespective of others' indifference. AND that fact about his output after the age of 78. Many of the Buena Vista Social Club were by comparison youngsters.

As our population becomes older, one of the major challenges - currently unacknowledged, obviously difficult in that it will require a cultural landslide, and potentially hugely exciting and rewarding - will be to develop the arts of every kind so that the biggest innovation emerges from advancing age.

Historical role models will be needed. Havergal Brian strikes me as a good one.

[Lion-of-Vienna]

I have just received the latest edition of the HBS Newsletter. On the front page it says "At the time of going to press, plans were in progress to release the performance on commercial CD". Fingers crossed for that one!

[bluestateprommer]

I have just received the latest edition of the HBS Newsletter. On the front page it says "At the time of going to press, plans were in progress to release the performance on commercial CD". Fingers crossed for that one!

For L-o-V, don't know if you saw this BBC R3 blog post from RW, with relevant quote:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/radio3/2011/09/putting-your-questions-to-prom.shtml

"I am often asked if particular Proms performances will be made available commercially. Sadly the lack of the necessary performers' rights usually prevent such commercial releases. However I am pleased to let you know that the much discussed performance of the Havergal Brian Gothic Symphony on the first Sunday of the Proms will be released as a CD recording.

"

[Lion-of-Vienna]

Thanks, bluestateprommer.

With another CD due soon from Toccata Classics (orchestral excerpts from Brian's operas) things are looking good for HB at the moment.

[mercia]

things are looking good for HB at the moment.

did you catch the Symphonic Variations on Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly? on Radio 3 yesterday afternoon?
this afternoon Preludio Tragico from The Cenci

[french frank]

Not sure if anyone caught Rupert Brun's explanation (brief and perhaps incomplete) about the Brian sound quality.