November 22 is St. Cecilia’s Day. The Patron Saint of Music.
It is also the birthday of Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), who composed a “Hymn to St. Cecilia,” and Joaquin Rodrigo (1901-1999), who named his daughter after her.
Britten’s “Hymn to St. Cecilia”:
Rodrigo’s “El álbum de Cecilia,” subtitled “6 piezas para manos pequeñas” (six pieces for little hands) – in other words, children’s pieces. I hope you get a little enjoyment out of them.
PHOTOS: Rodrigo and Britten (top to bottom), with the Patron of the Art
Thanks to Malcolm Williamson, the appointment of Master of the Queen’s Music (or King’s, as the case may be) is no longer for life. Since the 17th century, musicians have held the post with the expectation of writing music for important milestones in the lives of the Royal Family and for ceremonial occasions.
When Williamson, an Australian by birth, was named the successor of Sir Arthur Bliss in 1975, there was grumbling among his colleagues. Sir William Walton attributed the choice to the need for “cementing the cracks in the Commonwealth.” He wrote to Sir Malcolm Arnold (who most certainly would have brought his own set of problems) that “they had got the wrong Malcolm.” Arnold, a sporadically brilliant composer, was also a manic depressive (and possibly bipolar) who survived alcoholism and multiple suicide attempts.
Williamson’s great sin was that he was very bad with deadlines (and for that, he certainly has my sympathy). Most particularly, he failed to complete a symphony in time for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 1977. His ambitious “Mass for Christ the King,” also written for the occasion, was also delivered late. Significantly, he was the first Master of the Queen’s (or King’s) Music in over a century not to be knighted.
After the Jubilee debacle, his output slowed, though he was seldom unproductive. In all, he wrote seven symphonies, concertos for piano, violin, organ, harp and saxophone, and numerous other orchestral, choral, chamber and instrumental works. Like many of his colleagues, he also composed music for the cinema, for films of varying quality. It’s always amusing to find his name in the opening credits of Hammer productions like “The Brides of Dracula” and “The Horror of Frankenstein.”
Williamson suffered from a series of illnesses in his later years. He too turned to the bottle, and it can only be speculated if depression and the stress of trying to hold his head high as a colonial outsider at the court of England contributed to his decline.
Williamson was the first non-Briton to hold the post. Following his death in 2003, the parameters of the appointment were revised so that Master of the Queen’s Music is now a ten-year term. Sir Peter Maxwell Davies was the first Master to serve under the new guidelines. He was succeeded in 2015 by Judith Weir, the first woman to hold the post (and yes, she is still referred to as “Master”).
It seems to be the case that composers’ reputations are at their lowest in the decade or two following their deaths. In the case of Williamson, he seems to be rebounding nicely in the recording studio, though there remain gaping holes in his discography. Still, it’s possible to sample his symphonies, his concertos, his choral and instrumental works, and even his score for the Carol Reed film (starring Alec Guinness) “Our Man in Havana.”
I know there is at least one other person who visits this page that knows a good deal more about Malcolm Williamson than I, and he is invited to flesh out this account if he so chooses.
The inclusion of “The Cummington Story” (1945) on this week’s “Picture Perfect” made me reflect on current events. The short semi-documentary, made for the Office of War Information, relates the gradual acceptance of European war refugees into a cautious but fundamentally decent New England community. I try to stay off politics if I can help it, but I couldn’t help but notice a parallel with what’s going on in the news today, with everyone concerned about Syrian refugees.
My first thought was to put together a Thanksgiving show of music from films that highlight generosity and the gradual acceptance of strangers from different backgrounds. However, it would have required some finesse so as not to come across as preachy, and I was too overburdened this week to guarantee that lightness of touch. So I opted for an easier topic and one less likely to stir controversy.
Therefore, we have four films set in New England. I open with the aforementioned short, with music by Aaron Copland, which is far less well-known than his other New England film, “Our Town.” The score is pure Americana, with some of the material later finding its way into the composer’s Clarinet Concerto and “Down a Country Lane.”
Then we take a decidedly un-Thanksgiving turn (unless we count Jabez Stone’s eventual thanks for salvation), with “The Devil and Daniel Webster” (1941). An expanded treatment of Stephen Vincent Benet’s popular short story, it starred Edward Arnold as Webster, and Walter Huston in one of his most memorable roles as the diabolical Mr. Scratch. The film also features Bernard Herrmann’s second film score, written hot on the heels of “Citizen Kane.” It would earn the composer his only Academy Award.
“The Devil and Daniel Webster” was originally issued as “All That Money Can Buy,” in an attempt to avoid confusion with the contemporaneous “The Devil and Miss Jones.” I remember being disappointed with the adaptation the first time I saw it, having been such a fan of the original short story. Now I recognize its brilliance. Huston’s scenery-chewing (and pie-eating) performance aside, the director, William Dieterle, applies some nice Expressionistic touches. It’s an ingenious blend of eerie diabolism and homespun Americana.
I can’t find anything particularly “Thanksgiving” about “Peyton Place” (1957), about a fictional New England town whose residents have more than their share of skeletons in the closet. But Franz Waxman’s music sure is nice.
Finally, we’ll hear some of Miklós Rózsa’s score for “Plymouth Adventure” (1952). Spencer Tracy plays the cynical captain of The Mayflower. Gene Tierney is his forbidden love. Van Johnson appears as John Alden, and Lloyd Bridges is the first mate.
Rózsa, already at this stage of his career, was MGM’s go-to composer for historical drama. Seven years later, he would take home his third Academy Award for his classic score to “Ben-Hur.”
Curiously, this film about the Pilgrims sidesteps the actual first Thanksgiving. It does, however, include among its characters William Bradford, John Alden and Priscilla Mullins.
I hope you’ll join me for music from movies set in New England this week, on “Picture Perfect,” tonight at 6 ET, with a repeat tomorrow morning at 6; or that you’ll enjoy it later as a webcast at wwfm.org.
NOTE: Turner Classic Movies: TCM will air “Plymouth Adventure” this Sunday at 6 p.m. ET
Everything we hear this morning will be brand spanking new. Right out of the shrinkwrap, virtually – in some cases, quite literally.
We’ll have recent releases on the Ancalagon, Beau Fleuve Records, BMOP, Bridge, Dacapo, Delos, Erato, Innova, Navona, Reference Recordings and SFS Media labels.
Featured artists and ensembles will include Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, The Danish Piano Trio, Louise Dubin, Clipper Erickson, piano , JoAnn Falletta, Marc Andre Hamelin, Sharon Isbin, Lara St. John, Nadav Lev Guitarist and Composer, the San Francisco Symphony, Orli Shaham, Mimi Stillman, True Concord Voices & Orchestra and Benita Valente, performing music by John Adams, Johann Sebastian Bach, R. Nathaniel Dett, Lukas Foss, Auguste Franchomme, Stephen Paulus, Franz Schubert, Jean Sibelius, Mieczyslaw Weinberg, and others. My hand is getting sore just thinking about it!
With the holidays right around the corner, this program should be of particular interest to anyone starting to think about gifts for the music-lovers in their lives.
I hope you’ll join me, from 6 to 11 ET, on WPRB 103.3 FM or at wprb.com, as we sample from new releases. We give until it hurts, on Classic Ross Amico.
This will hurt me more than it does you! Or so I thought, when I set the alarm for 4:00 this morning.
Everything is brand spanking new, straight out of the shrinkwrap, as we listen to new releases until 11 ET, on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com.
Yet to come: guitarist Nadav Lev plays music by young Israeli composers, JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra perform Sibelius, the Danish Piano Trio plays Romantic music from Denmark, cellist Louise Dubin presents music by Chopin’s friend and associate Auguste Franchomme, the Boston Modern Orchestra (BMOP) performs Lukas Foss, and more.
