Historic Delius Recordings from Sammons, Moiseiwitsch and Harrison, Plus Bonuses

The composer Frederick Delius (1862-1934) benefited from the impassioned advocacy of conductor Sir Thomas Beecham during his lifetime and until Beecham's own demise in 1961.

So pervasive were the conductor's efforts that it almost seems like he was Delius' only champion. But that is far from the truth. Notable early recordings of the composer's music included those by violinist Albert Sammons, cellist Beatrice Harrison, pianist Benno Moiseiwitsch and conductors Eric Fenby and Constant Lambert, none of which involved Sir Tommy. These form today's post, which is centered on a World Records Club LP from 1975, with the addition of several transfers from the original 78 issues.

Also today, we also have a bonus in the form of one of David Federman's much appreciated compilations, this one called "When Tourists Trod the Earth - A Farewell to Summer." Details below.

LP cover

The Violin Concerto with Albert Sammons and Malcolm Sargent

Albert Sammons by Alexander Akerbladh

Delius' concertos are not usually considered among his best or most characteristic compositions, although it is difficult not to enjoy these works in good performances. Here the Violin Concerto of 1916 is performed by its dedicatee, the eminent English instrumentalist Albert Sammons (1886-1957), who is also particularly associated with the Elgar concerto.

Malcolm Sargent

Sammons' was the first commercial issue of the Delius concerto. He, the Liverpool Philharmonic and its then-conductor Malcolm Sargent recorded the work in early July 1944 in Philharmonic Hall. Beecham followed up a few years later with his own version, done with violinist Jean Pougnet.

Sargent has been featured on this blog many times, including my transfer of his first Dream of Gerontius recording, with the Liverpool Philharmonic. Sammons has only appeared in a brief recording, that of Grainger's Molly on the Shore, which can be found in this compilation.

The Piano Concerto with Benno Moiseiwitsch and Constant Lambert

Benno Moiseiwitsch

The Russian-born British pianist Benno Moiseiwitsch was an ideal choice for Delius' Piano Concerto, which is more extroverted than much of the composer's oeuvre. It's been compared the Liszt's concertos; conductor Constant Lambert may have been an apt choice for the recording because of his affinity for the Abbé's music.

Moiseiwitsch was strongly associated with the Romantic repertoire, particularly Rachmaninoff and Schumann. To me, the Delius concerto is temperamentally more similar to the ruminative qualities of those masters than to Liszt's concoctions. The opening of Delius' work, for example, is directly indebted to Rachmaninoff. Moiseiwitsch is ideal in this music.

Constant Lambert

To record the work, the pianist, Lambert and the Philharmonia assembled in Abbey Road Studio No. 1 in August 1946. Depending on how you look at it, this was either the concerto's first or second recording. Beecham and his then-wife, pianist Betty Humby, had recorded it in late 1945, but that version was never issued. They remade the concerto in October-December 1946, and that was the one that HMV sent to market.

In 1946, Beecham sponsored a Delius Festival in London, recording a good number of the composer's works at the same time, including  the violin and piano concerto recordings mentioned above. I transferred these pieces for my own listening several years ago and can post them here if there is interest.

Delius also wrote a Double Concerto for violin and cello, which did not receive a recording until 1965, per the Delius Society discography. I also have that LP is anyone is interested.

The Caprice and Elegy with Beatrice Harrison and Eric Fenby

Beatrice Harrison

Today, perhaps the least known soloist in this set is the cellist Beatrice Harrison (1892-1965), another musician closely associated with Delius. Harrison and her sister May premiered the Double Concerto, which Delius wrote for them in 1915. Here she performs two works that the composer also wrote for her, the Caprice and Elegy, charming pieces that are lovingly played here.

The Caprice and Elegy recordings come from 1930, and are performed with small orchestra as scored and conducted by Eric Fenby. The latter was closely associated with Delius in the composer's last years, and is generally called his "amanuensis." That's a fancy term for scribe, but Fenby was far more than that. To my knowledge, he had only this one opportunity to conduct a Delius recording until many years later, when he produced a superb set for the Unicorn label.

Frederick Delius with Eric Fenby and Beatrice Harrison

The transfers of the Caprice and Elegy included here come from the original 78s, which have more immediate sound that the LP I used for the concerto transfers.

Bonus: Additional Delius Recordings from Constant Lambert

In addition to the Piano Concerto above, Constant Lambert also recorded Delius' On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring, the Intermezzo and Serenade from Hassan, and La Calinda from Koanga. They have appeared here before, but I am including them in this package as well.

Bonus: When Tourists Trod the Earth - A Farewell to Summer

David takes us on a tour of the past in his latest 30-song compilation, "When Tourists Trod the Earth - A Farewell to Summer." As he says in his notes, "As befits escapist fare, this medley is heavily enriched with Hawaiian music and music played through the lens it provided musicians everywhere to gaze at the songs of their own homelands." But it also continues into the 70s, "as it makes room for the Brazilian paradise that replaced the Hawaiian one."

David makes note that, "One of my favorite songs of all-time, 'On a Little Street in Singapore,' is sung by Dick Stewart - an earnest voice who made only one album I know of." I have that album myself and may transfer it if I can find it.

Thanks, David, as always for your contributions!

Lambert's Façade, Sargent's Wand of Youth

Tonight, two versions of Walton's Façade music from Constant Lambert, plus music of Elgar conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent.

Side one of the LP above contains the two Façade instrumental suites for orchestra, as devised by the composer in 1926 and 1938. (Lambert intermixes the numbers of the two suites.) The second side has the first of two Wand of Youth suites that Elgar devised from his earliest compositions.

Walton by Michael Ayrton

Façade has a complex performance history. Originally devised as a family entertainment by poet Edith Sitwell, her brothers and their friend William Walton, its first public performance came in 1923. The audience saw only a curtain painted with a head. Sitwell and the instrumentalists were backstage, with the poet declaiming her words through a megaphone poking out of the mouth, to the tune of Walton's sophisticated musical parodies. This upper-class leg-pulling created a succès de scandale in certain circles, making enough of a stir that it became a mini-industry in itself, with Sitwell producing additional poems and Walton composing more music. Eventually there were ballet versions as well, and Walton was adding new pieces as late as the 1970s.

Lambert by Christopher Wood

Constant Lambert was closely associated with Façade. He appears to have been the first reciter other than Sitwell herself to present the work, on the occasion of its second performance in 1926. In 1929, he and Sitwell were the speakers in a Decca recording conducted by Walton. I have transferred that version from an LP dub in my collection and added it to the download as a bonus. Lambert was a remarkably facile reciter, who was well matched with Sitwell.

Lambert returned to the recording studios with Façade in 1950, this time as conductor of the  orchestral suites found on the LP above. These give a good impression of Walton's musical achievement, with characteristically fine performances from the vintage Philharmonia.

Sargent by Gerald Festus Kelly

Elgar's Wand of Youth suite could hardly be more different from the Walton-Sitwell "entertainment,"
although it was composed within 15 years of Façade. The Edwardians had a tendency to romanticize youth; several of Elgar's works display this characteristic. (See my post from several years ago discussing The Starlight Express, for an example.) Even so, it would be hard to dispute the charm, warmth and appeal of Elgar's heartfelt music.

Elgar himself conducted both suites for a 1928 recording. I believe the first suite's next appearance on record was in 1949, in a version directed by Eduard van Beinum. The Sargent effort with the Liverpool Philharmonic came only a few months later. Liverpool did not have a top-flight orchestra at the time, but they are in better fettle here than they were a few years earlier in the Horoscope recordings I recently featured.

Edith Sitwell with her brother (Osbert, I believe) in 1922

Sargent Conducts Holst; Walton Conducts Walton

Last night, after Britain voted to leave the European Union, reader Andrew wrote, "Buster, a few years ago, after it took the UK nearly a week to decide choose a Government, you found some Vaughan Williams to calm us down. We've just taken a day to leave the EU and we need it even more. Anything appropriate?"

Well, this music by Gustav Holst may not be soothing, but may be suitable for the situation. It is the ballet music from his opera The Perfect Fool, as performed by the London Philharmonic under Malcolm Sargent, in a Kingsway Hall session from March 1946. The transfer is from the original 78 set, with a fourth-side fill-up of Victor de Sabata's "Ride of the Valkyries," a left-over from his 1946 LPO dates.

At the same time, let me add a few noble and peaceful works (and one rowdier one) from another great British composer, Sir William Walton. These come from a 10-inch LP issued in celebration of Queen Elizabeth's coronation. They comprise the "Orb and Sceptre" coronation march written for Elizabeth, the "Crown Imperial" march from George VI's 1937 ceremony, the "Portsmouth Point" overture, and the arrangement of Bach's "Sheep May Safely Graze" done for Walton's "The Wise Virgins" ballet. The composer conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra in March 1953 Kingsway Hall sessions.

The sound on all these items is good.

Curzon Plays Rawsthorne - New Transfer

This is a favorite recording that I have presented before. A request for a reup provided the impetus for a new transfer and scans - far superior to those I produced previously. (May 2023 note: this has now been remastered in ambient stereo).

The English composer Alan Rawsthorne wrote this concerto for the 1951 Festival of Britain, and while it is sometimes denigrated as lightweight, I prefer to think of that quality as a virtue. This is an immediately arresting recording in which pianist Clifford Curzon and the London Symphony effortlessly produce a magical atmosphere. Such things happen rarely, and when they do, they should be celebrated.

The cover shows the principals in the recording, who also were involved in the first performance. Curzon is standing on the left. Conductor Malcolm Sargent is at center and the composer is seated at his left. LSO leader George Stratton is hovering. (Color version below.)

I should add that the labels and the Michael Gray discography entry specify Anatole Fistoulari as the conductor, but the LSO discography confirms that Sargent was in charge.

This recording was made in the Kingsway Hall on October 29, 1951. The sound is very good.

Sargent's Second Dream

Malcolm Sargent conducted one of the most famous of all recordings of Elgar's oratorio The Dream of Gerontius. This isn't it. This, rather, is his second go at the piece, which didn't receive much praise upon its issue in 1955, or thereafter.

Honestly, it's really not that bad! Gerontius is sung by the estimable Richard Lewis, in his first recording of the role. He is among the strongest proponents of the role. John Cameron provides a notably well sung Priest and Angel of the Agony. Marjorie Cameron is not to the level of some other Angels, but is certainly a fine singer.

The reviews would have you believe that Sargent skates over the surface of the music, but I don't hear that, although I will admit that it does not have the passion of Barbirolli's account.

Sargent's first recording of the piece has received ecstatic reviews almost since it came out in 1945. Heddle Nash was considered an ideal interpreter of Gerontius, and the praise has continued to this day. My own view is that this second version, issued to mark Sargent's 60th birthday, is not markedly inferior.

If you haven't heard this piece, a few words of introduction. First, Elgar's music isn't reputed to travel well, and this may be one of his most unexportable works. The work concerns the death of an old man (Gerontius) and his passage into the afterlife. It is based on Elgar's edited version of John Cardinal Newman's very Roman Catholic poem. These days, this kind of poem (and music) could hardly be more out of style. It is, nonetheless, a magnificent work, with sublime music perfectly married to the text by an inspired composer. I find it quite moving.

This is transferred from a mint copy of the original issue.

REMASTERED VERSION (JUNE 2014)

Sargent, Royal Choral Society at Christmas

Malcolm Sargent, the most famous British choral trainer of the 20th century, was the conductor of the Royal Choral Society for nearly 40 years. Together they produced this collection of carols for release during 1954.

The garish cover may give you the impression that this is a small choir recorded in a parish church. Not at all - it actually is a very large chorus and the recording location was probably the Albert Hall, which the chorus called home - at least it sounds like that cavernous site. The recessed recording gives a very good sense of how the chorus sounded in person, at the loss of some detail and presence.

Many of the arrangements here are by Sargent; my favorite, however, is the soaring version of the hymn While Shepherds Watched.

In the download I've included HMV's four-page Christmas advertising insert from the December 1955 Gramophone Record Review - page three (with this LP) is below.

REMASTERED VERSION - DECEMBER 2014

Dohnanyi Suite in F-Sharp Minor

Ernst von Dohnányi's Suite in F-sharp minor could easily have been written in the mid-19th century. Dohnányi lived until 1960, but he produced this composition as early as 1909, clearly inspired by Brahms and Dvořák.

Dohnányi's work is none the less attractive for being quite old-fashioned and not a bit original. Here we have a good, well-paced performance by the London Symphony under Malcolm Sargent, recorded in December 1948 in Abbey Road Studio No. 1. It is well worth hearing.

Curzon Plays Rawsthorne

Alan Rawsthorne's second piano concerto is not the most popular music - and this record not in the best shape, as you can perhaps tell from the tattered, dirty cover. (I think I plucked it out of a "take one for free" bin outside a record store.)

But it is just great, to my ears anyway. Rawsthorne's mid-century modern music (think an English version of Prokofiev or Bartok, only not as striking) blooms when performed by the magically talented Clifford Curzon. (That's him standing on the left.)

He is also very well served by conductor Malcolm Sargent (center) and the London Symphony (leader George Stratton is hovering). If by process of elimination, you deduced that the composer is seated at the right, you are correct.

Rawsthorne wrote this piece for the 1951 Festival of Britain. Many other British composers also contributed works for that celebration.

The concerto has had, I believe, three more modern recordings. But I don't think they could be better than this one - I have one of them and know it isn't. This particular recording was made in the now-demolished Kingsway Hall, and the lovely bloom on the sound glows through the surface noise and rustle.

NEW TRANSFER

Vaughan Williams and Elgar by Sargent

What better way to herald a post on the Brits than a cover with two royal shields and the symbol of that most English of labels, His Master's Voice, or HMV, with its royal overtones of His/Her Majesty's Ship, or HMS. Even old Nipper looks majestic in this company. The music is by the two most popular English composers, Vaughan Williams and Elgar, performed by the royal favorite conductor, Malcolm Sargent, and the empire's own BBC Symphony, which Sargent led in the early 1950s, when this was recorded.

That said, Sargent was never the favored conductor of these composers, Boult and Barbirolli were; the BBC was not the best English orchestra at that time, the Philharmonia was; and the impressive cover was actually HMV's default design, which afforded economies in production. Even the left royal shield proclaims that the Gramophone Company (HMV's parent) purveys "gramophones, records, radio and television apparatus to the late King George VI." They apparently hadn't signed up the new Queen yet. Perhaps I should ask if she would like to be the sponsor of this blog and I could rename it the Royal 10-Inch Record.

Despite what the above paragraph may imply, this is a very fine performance and recording of some exceptionally beautiful music.