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Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)

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Author Topic: Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)  (Read 3251 times)
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Albion
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Frederic Cowen (1852-1935)


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« on: April 07, 2013, 07:46:38 pm »

Plans for 2013 and beyond:

SOMM: a CD of partsongs performed by the Birmingham Conservatory Chamber Choir conducted by Paul Spicer; with potential further discs devoted to chamber music and solo songs

Priory: complete organ music performed by Daniel Cook, potentially over 5 CDs

Sheva: violin sonatas performed by Alberto Bologni and Christopher Howell

Naxos: choral music with orchestra including Fairy Day, Op.131 and the Mass in G, Op.46

Hyperion: the beginning of a projected series devoted to choral works with orchestra performed by the choir of Trinity College, Cambridge conducted by Stephen Layton

 :)
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"A piece is worth your attention, and is itself for you praiseworthy, if it makes you feel you have not wasted your time over it." (Sydney Grew, 1922)

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jimfin
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« Reply #1 on: April 08, 2013, 01:33:59 am »

Goodness! Go, Charlie! I'm particularly looking forward to the Mass: I have again recently been listening a lot to the Requiem and the Stabat Mater, and also the Te Deum, op.66 (courtesy of your broadcast, John). Call me greedy, but I am also hoping very much for the second violin concerto and something from the operas. I find Stanford never disappoints. 'Fairy Day', as heard from this site, is rather a lovely work too.
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Neil McGowan
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« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2013, 06:12:43 am »

and something from the operas. I find Stanford never disappoints.

I had no idea, until you mentioned it, that he'd ever written any operas. Thanks for the pointer.

I'm afraid I am certainly guilty of lumping Stanford in with Parry and Stainer.  Apparently MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING has some good music in it? 

It would be good if at least a few snippets were available to let us hear for ourselves ;)
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jimfin
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« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2013, 06:19:29 am »

There's a nice extract from 'Much Ado' on this site. Plus extensive extracts from 'The Travelling Companion', absolutely ravishing. I really want to hear something from 'The Critic', and the rest of the other two mentioned. The only Stanford opera available on CD, to my knowledge, is pitiful extracts (mostly orchestral) from 'The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan', his first, which is coupled with his Requiem on a Naxos. He wrote nine operas, plus one act of a tenth, and they may well contain some of his best music, but it's hard to judge at the moment!
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« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2013, 06:21:01 am »

I have a lot of time for Parry, but I find that Stainer writes the kind of music that I used to expect (wrongly) from Parry, Stanford and Sullivan. Why 'The Crucifixion' has remained popular when 'The Golden Legend' and 'Job' are forgotten is quite beyond me.
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« Reply #5 on: April 08, 2013, 07:55:02 am »

I always feel that Stanford's music, particularly works like the 5th symphony, could hardly fail to be widely popular if only orchestras would take it up.
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Neil McGowan
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« Reply #6 on: April 08, 2013, 04:15:27 pm »

I really want to hear something from 'The Critic',

It's one of Sheridan's funniest comedies, in that great old theatrical genre of "how we tried to put on a play, that was a disaster" :)  The first half (before the Dress Rehearsal that comes in the second half) is quite witty too, and has a nice explanation of how plays were 'puffed' in Sheridan's time ;)

An operatic version would seem to call for pastiche 'bad opera' music.  I wonder if Stanford rises to the challenge?  I frittered away an hour this morning reading his memoirs (they're available online on IMSLP) and he clearly had strong opinions about Verdi and Wagner, and knew their works in great detail.  He was personally acquainted with Verdi, who invited him to the premiere of FALSTAFF.
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Albion
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« Reply #7 on: April 08, 2013, 10:01:55 pm »

I really want to hear something from 'The Critic'

I've put the vocal score on IMSLP - http://imslp.org/wiki/The_Critic,_Op.144_(Stanford,_Charles_Villiers). It's a work with many witty musical allusions, quotations (Beethovenian, Wagnerian, Eine feste Burg and entertainingly at the words "O cursed Parry" when the opening strains of Blest Pair of Sirens are solemnly intoned) and self-quotations (including Drake's Drum). The excerpts from The Travelling Companion broadcast by the BBC in 1995 are a good indication of Stanford's operatic prowess, but (in the absence of complete recordings) it would certainly be a welcome treat to hear, at least, extended scenes from The Canterbury Pilgrims, Much Ado About Nothing and The Critic ...

 :)
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« Reply #8 on: April 10, 2013, 07:09:21 pm »

Why 'The Crucifixion' has remained popular when 'The Golden Legend' and 'Job' are forgotten is quite beyond me.


Because only Stainer could set the words "Here in abasement..." and not realise how silly it sounds!
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« Reply #9 on: April 11, 2013, 05:09:24 am »

I find that Stainer's Crucifixion and Berg's violin concerto between them disprove the common myth that tonal=melodic and vice-versa
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« Reply #10 on: April 11, 2013, 05:38:45 am »

Because only Stainer could set the words "Here in abasement..." and not realise how silly it sounds!

 ;D
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Albion
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Frederic Cowen (1852-1935)


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« Reply #11 on: April 11, 2013, 08:54:15 am »

I have a lot of time for Parry, but I find that Stainer writes the kind of music that I used to expect (wrongly) from Parry, Stanford and Sullivan. Why 'The Crucifixion' has remained popular when 'The Golden Legend' and 'Job' are forgotten is quite beyond me.

Because only Stainer could set the words "Here in abasement..." and not realise how silly it sounds!


But, then again, Sullivan was surely nodding when he set the line "The grave is cold" ...





 ;)
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"A piece is worth your attention, and is itself for you praiseworthy, if it makes you feel you have not wasted your time over it." (Sydney Grew, 1922)

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