The Discography of Granville Bantock:
A Beginners Guide
Vincent Budd
Compact Discs
If your taste is for the orchestral and the pastoral there is probably no
better starting point than GB's late but exquisitely blissful Celtic
Symphony, beautifully performed by Handley and the RPO on the first
of Hyperion's Bantock series. This is a jewel of 20th century British music
and desperately needs to be heard more often in our concert halls. It is
coupled with three other magnificent works in the Bantock canon, the
Hebridean Symphony and The Witch of Atlas (Tone
Poem No. 5), and the shorter The Sea Reivers. This CD serves
as the perfect introduction to GB's musical soundscape. Essential.
There are now three CD recordings of the Hebridean Symphony
available and the other two versions are both worth investigating too. The
first is a live recording from 1968 by Boult with the Scottish SO on Intaglio,
coupled with the equally powerful Pagan Symphony,
performed by Maurice Handford and the BBC Northern SO (this is officially
no longer available but still occasionally crops up on company lists and
if you see it grap it while you can). The second is on a Marco Polo CD performed
by Adrian Leaper and the Czechoslovak State Philharmonic and has the added
advantage of being programmed with two 'lighter' works, the entertaining
and highly pleasing Old English Suite and the Tchaikovsky-like
Russian Scenes, neither of which is available elsewhere.
Believe it or not there are also three CD recordings of the Pagan
Symphony in the catalogue. A recent release with Sir Edward Downes
conducting the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in a recording from 1984 can be
found in the cheaply-priced BBC Carlton Series along with three shorter works
by Bax, including Tingtagel. The symphony is also the principle work
on Hyperion's second Handley/RPO Bantock CD where it is coupled with two
Hebridean pieces Cuchullan's Lament and Kishmul's
Galley, collectively entitled Two Heroic Ballads, plus
one of GB's most well known works Fifine at the Fair. This
too is essential listening, and another excellent point from which to approach
the music of GB.
Fifine at the Fair was of course the one particular piece
championed by Thomas Beecham, and a RPO recording from 1949, partly sponsored
by the Bantock Society, is available on EMI's mid-priced Beecham Edition
(though the conductor took it upon himself to edit the work slightly). Of
course this first appeared on a 78, but was re-issued a number of times on
LP. The other score with which Bantock's name is more commonly associated
is The Pierrot of the Minute, and this can be found on a mid-priced
Chandos Collect CD where Norman Del Mar conducts the Bournemouth Sinfonietta.
The disc also contains other familiar pieces by Bridge and Butterworth and
the works, originally released as an LP in 1979, have been digitally re-mastered.
The third issue in Hyperion's Bantock Edition contains three substantial
works in the GB ouevre, Dante and Beatrice, the
Helena Variations, and the 3rd Symphony, entitled
The Cyprian Goddess. Absorbing as it is and a vital release
for most Bantockians, it would probably not be the best place to begin
investigating GB's music.
If your particular fancy tends toward the vocal rather than the orchestral
then look no further than Hyperion's 4th Bantock issue and one of the noblest
song cycles in all C20th British music, Sappho: Prelude and Nine Fragments
for Mezzo Soprano and Orchestra. This is a major milestone-work and
would surely delight even some of his severest critics and is another vital
recording. The CD is completed by GB's Sapphic Poem for
Cello and Orchestra with Julian Lloyd Webber as soloist and acts
as a perfect coupling.
Less immediate and certainly much more of an acquired taste for many or most
are GB's two half-hour choral symphonies entitled Atalanta in
Calydon and The Vanity of Vanities: these can be found
on an Albany CD performed by the BBC Singers conducted by Simon Jolly. Though
some would suggest that these works are a far from successful 'experiment',
for lovers of choral music especially they present a fascinating aspect of
GB's work and there is indeed much to admire and the works have their devotees:
but be prepared this is not GB at his most accessible.
GB wrote and arranged well over 100 piano pieces, but he did not compose
an immense number of chamber works; though what there is contains some quite
delightful music which deserves to be explored. Unfortunately there are only
two instrumental pieces on CD: the short Pagan Poem played
by Kenneth Smith, accompanied by Paul Rhodes on ASV's CD entitled 'The Reed
of Pan: British Works for Flute, Vol.3'; and Violin Sonata No.3 in
C on a United CD coupled with violin sonatas by Dunhill and Standford
and played by Susanne Stanzeleit, accompanied by Gustáv Fenyó.
For those really taken with GB's music these are a valuable contribution
to his discography, but it would be pleasing to have a more thorough
investigation of GB's chamber works, such as the string quartet In A Chinese
Mirror, played on Radio 3 a while back and recently performed at the
Thre Choirs Festival, or some of the Hebridean inspired items. A recent welcome
addition to the Bantock CD catalogue is one of GB's piano works, Three
Scottish Scenes. Although one critic considered these the duff item
in Ronald Brautigam's collection of Scottish piano music, which also includes
pieces by Cramer, Kiallmark, Mackenzie, Chisolm, and Stevenson, they are
in fact more than pleasant and well worth hearing. The CD is a wee gem.
GB also wrote and arranged over 400 songs, but Bantock's vocal scores are
very poorly served on disc and still remain to be explored. However, a couple
of worthy items are available on CD. Especially interesting are the Orpheus
Choir CDs 20 Classic Recordings which contains Sea
Sorrow and O Light of Life which serves up Scots Wha
Ha'e, Dumbarton Drums, and O, Can Ye Sew
Cushions. These are digitally re-mastered recordings, originally
released on 78s, and are available from the Moidart Music Group. The same
company has also published a CD of performances by the Irish tener, John
MacCormack, under the title Scottish and Irish Songs, and these include
GB's arrangement, The Song of the Seals: the recording includes
MacCormack's preamble in which he refers to the composer.
Right towards the end of his life GB wrote a small number of works for brass.
Perhaps his most famous composition in this genre, Prometheus
Unbound, dates from 1933 and this can be found on three separate
CDs, two in recitals given by the Black Dyke Mills Band. The Chandos recording
was directed by G.Brand, but the Polygram release under J.Watson has the
added advantage of also including GB's brass arrangement of The Frogs
of Aristophanes.
So, although there is not an immense number of recordings of GB's music in
the catalogue and whilst there is a lot more to anticipate - notably a recording
of Omar Khayyam - there is still much to hear that will surely
delight and interest and perhaps surprise many. If you are new to GB then
look no further than the Celtic, Hebridean, and
Pagan Symphonies, The Witch of Atlas,
Fifine at the Fair, and now Sappho all of which
should not fail to reveal the compositional craft and musical stature of
Granville Bantock.
LPs and 78s
For vinyl enthusiasts and committed Bantock aficionados there are some real
goodies to be found, if you are willing to search for them, though many of
the old 78 issues are now almost impossible to obtain, and for most of us
are only known through tape recordings. (I am in negotiations to get these
out on CD and with a little bit of luck some of the more worthy items of
GB conducting his own works will be available soon). Some of the rarer discs
do crop up very occasionally through second-hand dealers, but unless your
funds are limitless and you don't mind re-mortgaging your house, be very
careful as some dealers can ask quite unreasonable prices, sometimes even
for less rarer items which, with patience, can often be had for a much more
acceptable exchange of your hard-earned money. Also some dealers often pretend
to know a lot about Bantock's recordings when in fact they know virtually
nothing: for example, if you are offered a recording of the Pagan
Symphony by the Versailles Symphony Orchestra conducted by Claude
Dupre (one pompous dealer offered me this said 'prized item' for nearly
£40), avoid it at all costs as it is in fact nothing more than a truly
awful Canadian bootleg of the Maurice Handford recording now available on
the Intaglio CD (unless of course you are a really obsessional completist
in which case it may be cheaper in the long run to seek medical help
immediately!).
The easiest records to find are naturally the more recent
LPs. Geoffrey Heald-Smith's two City of Hull Orchestra LPs issued on the
Gough and Davey label in the '70s are reasonably common and can be obtained
for around £10 and are well worth seeking out. The first contains a
recording of the Hebridean Symphony (which was featured in
the LWT South Bank Show programme about GB in the mid-'70s) and the
Macbeth: Overture. The second has Sapphic Poem for Cello
and Orchestra, just recorded by Julian Lloyd Webber. Perhaps the
easiest and cheapest record to get hold of is Nicholas Braithwaite's LP
containing the Overture to a Greek Tragedy which was recorded
for Lyrita in 1984. This can be found with little effort from good second-hand
dealers.
The most eagerly sought-after recordings are those made
by the composer himself in the Kingsway Hall on 15th November 1945 just 11
months before his death and which were originally released as Paxton 12"
78s. These are rare and you will be extremely lucky to come across them.
The works in question are The Frogs: Comedy Overture (GTR101),
Two Heroic Ballads (GTR102), Hebridean Sea Poems: Caristiona;
The Sea Reivers (GTR102-3), and King Solomon:
Processional (GTR104). If you come across copies grab them even if
it entails foregoing the summer holiday! Only the first of these recordings
was ever re-issued, when it was coupled with Walter Collins's London Promenade
Orchestra recording of the Celtic Symphony and Dolf van der
Linden and the Metropole Symphony Orchestra's Woman's Festival
Overture on a Paxton 10" mono LP (GTR121). Copies of this do turn
up for sale when the moon is blue and should not be too expensive either,
though as GB gains in popularity prices are sure to increase. Dolf van der
Linden also recorded The Birds: Comedy Overture and
Macbeth: Overture released together on another Paxton 10" mono
LP (GTR120). Walter Collins released a set of GB works on Paxton 10" LPs:
Circus Life: Overture (PR410), Fairy Gold: Incidental
Music (PR440), King Lear: Overture (PR500), and especially
the lovely Four Chinese Landscapes (GTR118-9) are very much
worth keeping an eye out for.
Bar one tiny item, namely Mazurka from
Russian Scenes recorded by Fernand Heurteur and the Lutetia
Wagram Orchestra for Colombia (D19267), the only other orchestral recording
of particular note, as far as is known, is Sir Henry Wood's Queen Hall Orchestra
recording of Pierrot of the Minute found on a Columbia 12"
78 (L1463). I suspect you will be very fortunate to ever see one of these
in two lifetimes on earth.
In the last years of his life GB wrote a set of short
pieces for Paxton's series of 'Mood Music' discs which were recorded by Anthony
Collins and the London Promenade Orchestra. They have intriguingly exotic
titles such as Cobweb Castle, Desert Caravan,
Oriental Serenade, Twilight Memories, and
Storm at Sea and if ever there is a TV series entailing such
scenes and requiring a musical setting they might be just the ticket re-recorded.
They are largely 'light', unassuming, impressionistic miniatures and, taken
for what they are, contain some highly enjoyable items, and there are some
fun moments: but some have been described as 'excruciating' and certainly
they are not GB at his most serious or his most deeply expressive to say
the least.
If you like Bantock and brass then there a few vinyl issues to covet.
The Frogs: Overture (arr. D.Wright) was recorded by Sir Harry
Mortimer with the Fairey Aviation Works Band and the CWS Band and both were
released on LP; the former originally appeared as a 10" 78. Prometheus
Unbound, available on CD, also first appeared on a 78 with Sir Harry
this time conducting Foden's Motor Works Band, and he later recorded it with
the CWS Band too. Solna Brass and the celebrated Black Dyke Mills Band have
also done versions. The latter have also issued Foggy Dew and
the Fairey Aviation Works Band conducted by C. Lamb released Land of
the Ever-Young on LP. Fanfare for a Royal Occasion can
also be found on an old HMV 12" 78 played by the Kneller Hall Musicians conducted
by captain Adkins.
A couple of GB's choral works have also appeared on vinyl. Apart from the
Orpheus Choirs's celebrated recordings previously mentioned and which are
now available on CD, Walter Collins and the London Promenade Choir and
Orchestra's Paxton 78s containing Elfin Revels and Lure
of the Isles (PRT462), and Island Enchantment (PR441)
may be mentioned; but especially noteworthy is GB's delightful arrangement
of one of Kennedy-Fraser's Hebridean songs, Sea Longing
(PR460). Other celebrated choirs have included several different
GB arrangements in their recorded recitals: but one real find would be Standford
Robinson and the National Chorus and BBC Symphony Orchestra's recording of
two pieces from GB's Pilgrim's Progress released on a Columbia
12" 78 (9894).
Recordings of Bantock's songs and song arrangements have appeared on a number
of recitals, including those by the likes of John McCormack and Kenneth McKellar
and are well worth seeking out in second-hand record and charity shops as
they can be picked up very cheaply if you are willing to spend time looking
hard and long enough. Paul Franklin and his Orchestra also recorded two Russian
songs arranged by GB for a Paxton 78 (PR663) but this is very rare indeed.
Happy hunting!
© Vincent Budd
South Uist, Outer Hebrides
St. Valentine's Day 2000
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