British Violin Sonatas by Dunhill, Stanford and
Bantock
Thomas DUNHILL
Violin Sonata No. 2 (1917)
Charles Villiers STANFORD
Violin Sonata No. 1 (1880)
Granville BANTOCK
Violin Sonata No. 3 (1940)
Susanne Stanzeleit (violin)/
Gusztáv Fenyö (piano)
rec 1994?, St Michael's Church, Highgate
CALA UNITED CACD88031
[75.34]
Crotchet
AmazonUK
AmazonUS
Dunhill is one of those composers wandering in the vestibule of history and
waiting to be ushered into the main hall. He has a single symphony to his
name. Its strengths are fabled, rather like those of the William Baines symphony,
though at least the Baines work has been recorded - albeit on a cassette
and by a youth orchestra.
If he is known at all Dunhill is likely to be remembered at the very least
by the last generation to perceive playing the piano as a social accomplishment.
His little didactic pieces must have earned Dunhill a steady income over
the years. The Second Sonata is a quite different proposition from those
pleasant inconsequentialities. This is a work of serious ambition and delivery.
It stands apart from the pleasures of the Stanford and Bantock for its
seriousness and beauty. It is no accident that it was written during the
Great War and that it can be grouped with John Ireland's own contemporaneous
Second Violin Sonata. It is a significant work - passionate, lyrical, elegiac
and exuberant.
Bantock wrote three violin sonatas (1929, ded. Sammons; 1932 ded. Arthur
Catterall) of which this is the last. Bantock is thought of primarily as
an orchestral/vocal magician but his chamber music is not to be written off
as the recent Dutton Epoch disc of his music for cello and piano has already
demonstrated. This sonata is the work of an old man but with none of his
talents dimmed except by the darkness of the early years of the War. It is
typical of this stage in Bantock's life that the middle movement should be
entitled The Dryad. The mid-late 1930s also saw his Cyprian Ode
and King Solomon which harked back to classic Mediterranean paradises.
Given that Bantock was such an enthusiast for Sibelius it seems very likely
that he knew the Finnish master's work of the same name.
Lastly a change from Royal Academy luminaries to the RCM's Stanford and his
early first sonata. Stanford's chamber music has much to yield up as Chris
Howell has reminded us. The eight string quartets should surely be recorded
just as the McEwen sonatas are being set down by Chandos. This Mendelssohnian
blessings of the sonata were written for Ludwig Strauss, Queen Victoria's
'solo violinist'.
It is typical of Cala that the liner notes are very fine indeed. I do hope
that the Stanzeleit English series is simply on pause rather than stop. It
would be good if she would now turn to the Bantock Second Sonata and the
sonatas by Edward Isaacs, the three by Holbrooke, the Reginald Redman, Scott,
Benjamin Dale, Seiber, Turnbull, Healy Willan and Gaze Cooper.
A generous and rewarding collection made outstanding by the Dunhill sonata.
Rob Barnet
BACKGROUND
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/march99/dunhill.htm
Article by Philip Scowcroft
A disc of Dunhill's First Violin Sonata can be obtained as
follows:-
The composer's son, David, is the producer of a rare CD of which copies are
available from him. This is beautifully produced and includes two piano pieces,
10 songs (full texts are provided), and the Violin Sonata No. 1 (1908) in
D minor Op. 27. The sonata is not a revolutionary piece but another example
of British lyrical late romanticism - closer to Schumann and occasionally
Brahms than the more forward-looking second violin sonata. The disc plays
for 59:57. Recommended - highly in the case of the sonata. You can get copies
by contacting the composer's son, David Dunhill (to whom cheques should be
made payable) He is at 2 Plym Villas Plymouth Road TOTNES Devon TQ9 5PQ United
Kingdom. There is no e-mail or fax and the only price I know is the price
inclusive of post and packing for the UK. The price is £10.50 sterling.
Order from outside the UK then phone Mr Dunhill -
( UK code + (0)1803 864052 There is a limited
supply of these discs.
Review
Rob Barnett.
ARTICLE BY STEPHEN MATTHEWS
This article was first published some years ago in the British Music Society
newsletter. It is published here with Mr Matthews permission.
THOMAS F DUNHILL
Thomas F Dunhill is probably best remembered as the composer of the once
popular light opera Tantivy Towers Op. 73. This work, with a libretto
by A. P. Herbert, was first staged at the Lyric, Hammersmith, and was so
acclaimed that it then transferred to the West End where it ran for six months.
During the early 1930s It toured the provinces and was even staged in America
and Australia. It was regarded by some critics as the best comic opera of
the inter-wars period, though Eric Blom was a little less generous in his
estimation of the work: 'the music ... was rather wanting in stage effectiveness
but as musicianly as Sullivan and sufficiently though never startlingly
up-to-date.' But Dunhill, despite such success, has since faded into obscurity
and his music is largely forgotten. He was however quite a prolific composer
with over a hundred opus numbers to his credit.
He was born in London in 1877 and by the age of four showed a keen interest
in music. Enthralled by the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan which he
first saw while at school in Hampstead, he set about composing his own and
often attempted to organise amateur productions of these early works. By
the age of about sixteen he is said to have written at least a dozen of them,
though of what standard is unknown. Obviously Dunhill already possessed
considerable talent, and in 1893 he entered the Royal College of Music. For
seven years there he studied composition with Stanford and piano with Franklin
Taylor, After completing his studies he took a post as Assistant Master at
Eton College where he remained until 1908.
In 1907 he began producing the 'Dunhill Chamber Concerts'. Despite early
financial setbacks, they lasted for a number of years, successfully promoting
new and neglected talent. In 1913 he returned to the RCM as a professor.
The same year he published 'Chamber Music: a treatise for students' which
remained a standard work until well after his death.
1914 was quite an eventful year for Dunhill. He married Mary Arnold, great
niece of the poet and writer, Malcolm Arnold, and at the outbreak of war
enlisted in the army. He served in the Irish Guards and was lucky enough
to avoid the carnage by being posted in England for the duration. After 1918
he devoted himself to conducting and composition, producing a remarkable
variety of works. During the second world war he went back to Eton, again
as Assistant Master, and In 1942 he re-married. He died in Scunthorpe in
1946.
Throughout his life Dunhill maintained an avid interest in the theatre. Not
surprisingly his early enthusiasm for G and S prompted him to write a number
of comic operas in that vein. Apart from Tantivy Towers there is
Princess Chia Op. 11, the operetta for children, The Frolicsome
Hours, The Enchanted Garden Op. 77, first performed in Guildford
in 1933 and again in 1934, and Something in the City Op. 90 which
was completed in 1939 and should have been produced that year but for the
outbreak of war.
Dunhill wrote incidental music for plays including The Fairy Staff
Op. 28 and The King's Threshold Op. 39 (W B Yeats): the prelude was
subsequently re-scored for full orchestra and was first performed under Sir
Henry Wood at a Promenade Concert in 1913. Ballet music included Dick
Whittington Op. 79 (1934) and Gallimaufry Op. 86, first performed
at the Staatsoper, Hamburg as Die Eiskönigin on December 11th
1937.
Dunhill wrote many orchestral works, most of which were published or performed
during his lifetime. The composer considered a good number of these, along
with various chamber pieces to be among his best compositions. In particular
the Symphony in A minor Op. 48, of which he conducted the first performance
in Belgrade on December 28th 1922. By all accounts this performance was a
notable success, and, in his diary at the end of that traumatic day the composer
noted how he had been called back onto the stage six times by a very enthusiastic
audience. The Symphony's British premiere took place in Bournemouth in 19
April 1923 where it was later performed again on 20th January 1927. It was
also played at Guildford the same year. But the work was not well-received,
much to the composer's disappointment, and apart from appearing in the LPO's
1935/6 season, has never been revived.
Among Dunhill's other orchestral compositions are Suite of Valses
Op. 1, Valse Fantasia for flute and orchestra Op. 12, Capricious
Variations on an Old English Tune for cello and orchestra Op. 31, Dance
Suite for strings Op. 41, Elegiac Variations on an Original Theme
Op. 57 in memory of Parry and first performed at the Gloucester Festival
in 1922, Lyrical Phantasy on a Homage Theme Op. 71, written for the
Schubert Centenary, In Rural England Op. 72 - a suite for string
orchestra, Concertino for two violins and string orchestra Op. 92, Divertimento
for small orchestra Op. 98 and Triptych Op. 99, three impressions
for viola and orchestra, written for and dedicated to Lionel Tertis and first
performed by him under Sir Adrian Boult at a Promenade Concert on August
19th 1942.
Dunhill's final orchestral work, the Overture, Maytime Op. 100 also
received its first performance under Boult at a Promenade Concert on 10th
September 1945, seven months before the composer's death.
Among his works for solo voice and orchestra are Comrades Op. 19 for
baritone, premiered at the Worcester Festival in September 1905 with Frederick
Austin as soloist, Night Op. 2 after a poem by Shelley for contralto,
and Wind Among The Reeds Op. 30, four sonnets for tenor comprising
To Dectora; The Host of the Air; The Cloths of Heaven;
The Fiddler of Dooney, first performed at Queen's Hall in 1911 with
Gervase Elwes. There is one major choral work with orchestra, the ballad
Tubal Cain Op. 15, and of his unaccompanied choral works, the most
notable are the cantatas John Gilpin on for treble voices in unison
or two parts Op. 29, for treble voices in unison or two parts, Sea
Fairies Op. 35, (words by Antonia R Williams), refrain for treble voices,
The Masque of The Shoe Op. 49, a cantata of the Nativity for
unison and two-part treble, (words by Irene Goss), Dunhill wrote some songs,
once described as 'perfect specimens of fine craftsmanship', among which
are Two Songs Op. 9 to poetry by Blake, Sleep, Sweet Babe and Infant
Joy; Songs to Rhymes Op. 78 (words by Rose Fyleman), published
in 1933, and others without opus numbers, Including Beauty and beauty.
Of this work the composer said, 'It was written for John Coates and sung
by him at one of his Chelsea recitals; but beyond this I do not know of its
being sung by anyone else anywhere, and yet I feel it is one of my best songs.'
Thomas Dunhill devoted much time to writing chamber and instrumental music,
some of it still occasionally heard today. He considered his two violin sonatas
(No 1 in D minor Op. 27 and No 2 in F major Op. 80) to be amongst his best
chamber works. Other pieces include Variations for flute and piano Op. 2,
Quintet in E flat Op. 3 for piano, violin, cello, clarinet and horn, Quintet
in F minor Op. 6 for two violins, viola, cello and horn, Piano Quartet in
B minor Op. 16, winner of the Lesley Alexander Prize, Three Pieces
Op. 17 for violin and piano, Variations on an Original Theme Op. 18
for cello and piano, Piano Quintet in C minor Op. 20, Phantasie in F minor
for piano trio, Phantasy in E flat Op. 36 for piano, violin and viola, Phantasy
in F major Op. 47 for string quartet, Trio Op. 63 for two violins and viola,
Sextet Op. 64 for six violins, Trio in B flat Op. 89 for oboe, horn and bassoon
1939), Phantasy Suite Op. 91 in six short movements for clarinet and
piano, and Lyric Suite Op. 96 for bassoon and piano.
Dunhill composed very many pieces for piano, a large number written for children
or students. amongst these are Four Easy Pieces Op. 13;
Phantasies Op. 24, a suite of eight pieces; A Child's Garden of
Melodies Op. 31, Seven Easy Pieces; Recreation Op. 37;
Four Salon Pieces Op. 41; Fancies Op. 53b; Lyric Thoughts
Op. 57, five easy pieces; Three Woodland Dances Op. 56b; Pastime
and Good Company Op. 70, a suite of six pieces for four hands; Four
Hand Fancies Op. 87a, six pieces; and many others without opus numbers
such as Dances, Souvenirs, Path Ways, three pieces,
Twilight Scenes four pieces, and English Folk-Song Tunes. More
serious compositions for the piano include Sixteen Variations on an Original
Theme Op. 5, Scherzo in F Op. 8, and the Concert Study in A flat Op.
14.
Dunhill's music remains practically unknown, which is a pity as many fine
works exist among his output. Almost nothing has been recorded with the exception
of a few songs and the Romance for oboe and piano. This short but
charming work is from Three Easy Pieces Op. 81, written for the late
Leon Goossens and recorded by him in 1978. It contains some rich melodic
invention which, if we are to believe contemporary accounts, colours much
of Dunhill's writing for chamber and instrumental combinations. I should
imagine that can also be heard in his orchestral work as Dunhill was primarily
concerned, as was Delius, with the sheer beauty, expressible through the
medium of music. Dunhill once said 'I suppose it is right that music should
depict the present-day restlessness, but surely it should also provide some
sort of relief or escape from it? Personally I have no desire to express
anything In music but that which is beautiful, and which will lift people
out of their troubles.' Perhaps one day we will have occasion to decide for
ourselves whether these words ring true. At least one large-scale orchestral
work deserves performance for a re-assessment of Thomas F Dunhill is long
overdue.
The works listed here are taken from Dunhill's notebook. Included in this
document are numerous other pieces not detailed in this survey. Apart from
the absent works with opus numbers, there are pieces for piano, songs, works
for strings and a few chamber compositions, all un-numbered. It should also
be noted that many of his orchestral compositions were transcribed for piano
and some piano pieces orchestrated, such as the Waltz Suite Op. 75
in 1943, first performed at a Promenade concert under Dunhill in the same
year. Other arrangements by the composer were made of a good many works but
lack of space prevents their listing here. Thanks are due to Barbara Vincent,
the composer's daughter, who kindly sent me the recently prepared full list
of her father's compositions.
© Stephen Matthews
See also article by Philip
Scowcroft
Book Review by Richard D C Noble
