T was Wnth somethmg of a
satriotic glow that most of us
eft the Civic Hall on Saturfay
night
eminded
after having
by
hilharmonic
the
been
Guildford
Orchestra" and
Choir. that English composers
of “half a century ago could
write inspiring and ‘exhilarat-
ing music. Not a bad, thing,
of
‘eve
on . the
erhaps,
emembrance Su.nday G
It has been fashionable in
post-war years to deride even
the greater Edwardian masters
as four-square has-beens. Yet
Parry and Edward
Hubert
Elgar were at the height of
‘their powers only 20 years
before such as Holst and
Delius, who are considered
the forerunners of the freer
modern movement.
:
Vernon Handley has always'
Maijestic music
from Elgar and
| Parry perlod
Saturday
=
reflected widely ranging styles
from a period of just over.
20 vears.
Elgar's first Sy'nphony, in
‘ programme
on
A flat, received with rapture
on its first hearing in 1908,
is undoubtedly a masterpiece
— and the first symphony by
. been a champion of English
music - and his choice of” “an Englishman to reach the
_eminence of the great German
and Austrian romantics.
He
was
50
Dbefore
he
completed it, and the noble
first movement Jhas (perhaps
cynically) been described as
“the British Empire in music.”
But it must be remembered
it was Elgar who discovered
fmgerprmts
were
clear]y
marked from the’ power and
breadth of
the
pervading
motif,
as
first expressed
on
the
cellos,
to
its
thrilling
re-cap on the hotns; the rushing violins and dogged march
of the Schérzo, with
its delicafe interlude; the serenity of
the Adagio; all whipped up
to a monumental, rather overbrassy, coda by Mr. Handley.
is
Delius's Songs of Farewell
another
remarkable
work.
work
_passionate *
:
was
no doubt as a deli-
beiatc
‘contrast
Handley selected
that
Mr.
another set -
of Songs of Fareweil — the
last' series of motets written
by Parry to a mixture of
English poems. They form. an
intriguing example of sturdy|
unaccompanied
part
songs,
and were conducted with virility
and
understanding
by
Kenneth Lank, Mr. Handley's
long-serving
assistant , con* ductor and chief choir trainer.
- The clear diction of the choir.
in
the
massed
harmonies,
a
fine round tone throughout
changes
of
tempo
ahd
volume, and thé antiphonal
effects . in. . the
eight-part
“Lord, let me know
Mine
End,” were the outstanding
features. Best iof the whole set
was the seven-part setting of
‘the John Donne sonnet At
the Round Earth’s Imagined
- Corners; where there was a
Written in the last years of - warmth of alto feeling for the
fervent prayer.
his life with the help of his:
- faithful
amanuensis
Eri¢
The
programme
opened
.Fenby, to words from Walt
with Holst’s evocative Prelude
Whitman’s Leaves of Grass,
it expresses not the sadness
claimed as the epitome of fche : of farewell, but a pervading
imperial character.
spirit of joy and hope — an
1 have seldom heard the - astonishing paean from a
‘blind cripple and an atheist.
‘G.P.O.
in finer
or
more
this idiom, later to be pro-
this
and
Scherzo, Hammersmith,
originally ‘composed for military band. Here the quietly.,
!
insistent rhythm of the slowly
flowing Thames underlies the
sounds of London (the errand
~ The
Philharmonic Choir
boys whistle, the street musigaltantly maintained Delius’s
cian’s
trumpet),
consciously
Handley paying strict but exuvulgar touches, but coalescing
berant attention to the mas- - tenuous threads of sound in
‘a - complicated web- at
a
into an angular fugue with all
sive Elgarian score, and Roy
Holst’s
orchestral
brilliance,
constantly high register, even
Gillard as guest leader, the
Though
45, years old, it
grandeur and grace of the in the occasional poignant
softer passages. There was
was
seemed the most up-to-date
symphony
thoroughly
every excuse for some loss of
work of the whole evemng
revealed.
All qhe famlhar Elgarlang power, partlcularly among the
- whole-hearted form. With Mr.