riddle@emory.UUCP (Larry Riddle) (03/06/84)
I recently attended a performance by the Atlanta Symphony in which
they play "Tintagel" by the English composer Bax. Bax is a late 19th
century to mid 20th century composer, yet I have seen no reference to
him in the recent discussion on 20th century music in net.music. Does
anyone know anything about this man? In particular, I would like to
listen to more of his music and would be interested in any comments
on some of his works, especially the symphonies. Any recommendations?
Larry Riddle
{akgua,sb1,gatech}!emory!riddleishizaki@saturn.UUCP (Audrey Ishizaki) (03/07/84)
I, too have heard a great deal about Sir Arthur Bax, and his work, Tintagel. Unfortunately, his records are out of print in this area (San Francisco Bay Area - when I checked 2 years ago). At least you have heard his works, I have only heard about him. audrey ishizaki hplabs!ishizaki
ishizaki@saturn.UUCP (Audrey Ishizaki) (03/07/84)
Silly me! It had been so long since I looked, I thought to check again, and Bax albums ARE available. In fact, the shop I called had a new (symphony #4) album. The Tintagel suite was also available on an album of english composers performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. sorry to mislead. audrey ishizaki hplabs!ishizaki
hansen@parsec.UUCP (03/13/84)
#R:emory:-129600:parsec:39000003:000:1692 parsec!hansen Mar 12 13:25:00 1984 The best source of Arnold Bax's works I know of is from: Musical Heritage Society 1710 Highway 35 Ocean, NJ 07712 I do not know if the following are still in their catalog. Most are from Lyrita in England and recorded in 1971-1972. MHS1586 Symp. No. 1, London Phil. Orch., Myer Fredman MHS1632 Symp. No. 2, London Phil. Orch., Myer Fredman MHS1652 Symp. No. 5, London Phil. Orch., Raymond Leppard MHS1198 Symp. No. 6, New Phil. Orch., Norman Del Mar MHS3618 Symp. No. 7, London Phil. Orhc., Raymond Leppard MHS1769 Tintagel*, Northern Ballad No. 1, The Garden of Fand*, Meditteranean, London Phil. Orch., Sir Adrian Boult MHS1229 November Woods* with Holst: A Fugal Overture and Moeran: Sinfonietta, London Phil. Orch., Sir Adrian Boult * Symphonic Poem For whatever reason, MHS never released Symphonies No. 3 and 4. You will also find Tintagel on: ANGEL S36415 English Tone Poems (includes Ireland: A London Overture, Delius: The Walk to the Paradise Garden, Prelude to Irmelin, and A Song of Summer), London Symp. Orch., Sir John Barbirolli For a brief description of Bax, try "An Illustrated Guide to Composers of Classical Music" by Peter Gammond (ISBN 0-668-05315-1), ARCO Publishing Co. To quote: "..another facet of his abundant invention is to be seen in the luxuriant texture and sensuous colouring of his music. This complexity of decoration has in fact sometimes proved a stumbling-block to his wider appreciation, though beneath the rich chromatic arabesques his thinking is fundamentally diatonic: similarly, his music often appears to be impressionistically rhapsodic, but its form is usually quite clear." Gil Hansen
ellis@flairvax.UUCP (Michael Ellis) (03/26/84)
Several years back (~1977) I was really into Bax -- particularly his symphonies. They were ALL available on Musical Heritage Society recordings, which are not represented in the Schwann catalog, to the best of my knowledge (at least not back in 1977). That might explain your difficulty locating them. MHS is a relatively respectable mail-order-only label that will let you purchase (at a higher price) without joining, thereby avoiding the monthly send-in-the-card-or-else-you-get-this-record pain. Check out any classical rag and you'll probably see an ad somewhere... *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* Bax's symphonies themselves are very conservative -- my friends used to think I was into movie music -- but that's a problem all classical Anglophiles (though Bax is Celtic) seem to have to endure. If you like Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Walton, and Brian, you should find much pleasing in everything Bax wrote. My favorite Symphonies were 2 and 5. Gloomy dreamlike moods, occasionally broken by harsh (sometimes vulgar) orchestral displays seem to be Bax's hallmark. His music also seems to go on forever, without any point, towards some obscure resting place, much like Elgar (#2 is almost `modern', however). Connoisseurs of things that are superficially familiar but genuinely obscure should have a field day with this guy. British music is a strange topic. It seems that classical music was imported from the continent until Elgar and Vaughan Williams created the very aristocratic, backwards-looking British style around 1900. Before that date, you have to go back to Tallis/Byrd/Purcell during the Renaissance to find anything at all. Perhaps the revolutionary nature of British rock was interconnected somehow with the reactionary nature of its formal music. Fans of the British school should check out the Penguin guide to classical music, especially the edition available in 1979, which was severely biased towards these composers. -michael