Brian, (William) Havergal
Brian, (William) Havergal
Brian, (William) Havergal, English composer of extreme fecundity and longevity; b. Dresden, Staffordshire, Jan. 29, 1876; d. Shoreham-by-the-Sea, Sussex, Nov. 28, 1972. He studied violin, cello, and organ with local teachers; left school at age 12 to earn his living and help his father, who was a potter’s turner. At the same time he taught himself elementary theory and also learned French and German without an instructor. From 1904 to 1949 he engaged in musical journalism. He attained a reputation in England as a harmless eccentric possessed by inordinate ambitions to become a composer; he attracted supporters among English musicians, who in turn were derided as gullible admirers of a patent amateur. But Brian continued to write music in large symphonic forms; some of his works were performed, mostly by non- professional organizations; amazingly enough, he increased his productivity with age; he wrote 22 syms. after reaching the age of 80, and 7 more after the age of 90. The total number of syms. at the time of his death was 32. Finally, English musicians, critics, conductors, and concert organizations became aware of the Brian phenomenon, and performances, mostly posthumous, followed. A Havergal Brian Soc. was formed in London, and there were a few timorous attempts to further the Brian cause outside of England. The slow acceptance of Brian’s music was not due to his overindulgence in dissonance. Quite the contrary is true; Brian was not an innovator; he followed the Germanic traditions of Richard Strauss and Mahler in the spirit of unbridled grandiosity, architectural formidability, and rhapsodically quaquaversal thematicism. Brian’s modernism tended to be programmatic, as in the ominous whole-tone progressions in his opera The Tigers, illustrating the aerial attacks on London by zeppelins during World War I. Brian’s readiness to lend his MSS to anyone showing interest in his music resulted in the loss of several of his works; a few of them were retrieved after years of search.
Works
opera:The Tigers, to his own libretto (1916-19; lost until 1977; BBC, May 3, 1983); Turandot, to a German libretto after Schiller (1950–51); The Cenci, after Shelley (1952); Faust, after Goethe (1955–56); Agamemnon, to an English libretto after Aeschylus (1957; London, Jan. 28, 1972). orch.:Tragic Prelude (1899-1900; not extant); Burlesque Variations on an Original Theme (1903; lost until 1974; Hull, March 13, 1980); For Valour, concert overture (1904; rev. 1906; London, Oct. 8, 1907); Hero and Leander, symphonic poem (1904-05; Hanley, Dec. 3, 1908; not extant); 5 English Suites: No. 1 (1904-06; Leeds, Jan. 12, 1907), No. 2, Night Portraits (1915; not extant), No. 3 (1919-21; Bournemouth, March 16, 1922), No. 4, Kindergarten (1924; London, July 5, 1977), and No. 5, Rustic Scenes (1953); Fantastic Variations on an Old Rhyme (1907; 1st movement of A Fantastic Symphony; rev. 1912; Brighton, April 28, 1921); Festal Dance (1908; 3rd movement of A Fantastic Symphony; Birmingham, Dec. 14, 1914)); In Memoriam (1910; Edinburgh, Dec. 26, 1921); Comedy Overture No. 1: Doctor Merryheart (1911-12; Birmingham, Jan. 3, 1913), No. 2: The Tinker’s Wedding (1948; BBC, Glasgow, June 25, 1950, and No. 3: The Jolly Miller (1962; Philadelphia, Nov. 15, 1974); 32 syms.: No. 1, The Gothic, in 2 parts of 3 movements each (Part II is a setting of the Te Deum) for 4 Vocal Soloists, 4 Mixed Choruses, Children’s Chorus, 4 Brass Bands, and Very Large Orch. (1919-27; amateur perf., London, June 24, 1961; professional perf., London, Oct. 30, 1966), No. 2 (1930-31; Brighton, May 19, 1973), No. 3 (1931-32; BBC, Oct. 18, 1974), No. 4, Das Siegeslied, a German setting of Psalm 68 in the Lutheran version, for Soprano, Double Mixed Chorus, and Orch. (1932-33; BBC, July 3, 1967), No. 5, Wine of Summer, for Baritone and Orch. (1937; London, Dec. 11, 1969), No. 6, Tragica (1948; BBC, Sept. 21, 1966), No. 7 (1948; BBC, March 13, 1968), No. 8 (1949; BBC, Feb. 1, 1954), No. 9 (1951; BBC, March 22, 1958), No. 10 (1953-54; BBC, Nov. 3, 1958), No. 11 (1954; BBC, Nov. 5, 1959), No. 12 (1957; BBC, Nov. 5, 1959), No. 13 (1959; BBC, May 14, 1978), No. 14 (1959-60; BBC, May 10, 1970), No. 15 (1960; BBC, May 14, 1978), No. 16 (1960; BBC, June 18, 1975), No. 17 (1960-61; BBC, May 14, 1978), No. 18 (1961; London, Feb. 26, 1962), No. 19 (1961; BBC, Dec. 31, 1976), No. 20 (1962; London, Oct. 5, 1976), No. 21 (1963; BBC, May 10, 1970), No. 22, Brevis (1964-65; BBC, Aug. 15, 1971), No. 23 (1965; Galesburg, 111., Oct. 4, 1973), No. 24 (1965; BBC, June 18, 1975), No. 25 (1965-66; BBC, Dec. 31, 1976), No. 26 (1966; Stoke on Trent, May 13, 1976), No. 27 (1966; BBC, March 18, 1979), No. 28 (1967; BBC, Oct. 5, 1973), No. 29 (1967; Stoke on Trent, Nov. 17, 1976), No. 30 (1967; London, Sept. 24, 1976), No. 31 (1968; London, March 18, 1979), and No. 32 (1968; London, Jan. 28, 1971); 2 violin concertos: No. 1 (1934; stolen and presumed destroyed) and No. 2 (1934-35; London, June 20, 1969); Elegy (1954; London, Feb. 17, 1977); Cello Concerto (1964; London, Feb. 5, 1971); Concerto for Orch.(1964; Leeds, April 12, 1975); Ave Atque Vale, legend (1968). chamber:Legend for Violin and Piano (1919); Festival Fanfare for Brass (1967; originally Fanfare for the Brass; Urbana, 111., May 7, 1972). piano: 3 Illuminations (1916); Double Fugue in E major (1924); Prelude and Fugue in C minor (1924); Prelude and Fugue in D major and D minor (1924); John Dowland’s Fancy, prelude (1934). vocal:Requiem for Baritone, Chorus, and Orch. (1897; not extant); Psalm 23 for Tenor, Chorus, and Orch. (1904; full score not extant; reconstructed 1945; Hove, March 10, 1973); By the Waters of Babylon for Baritone, Chorus, and Orch. (1905; rev. 1909; Hanley, April 18, 1907; full score not extant); Carmilhan, dramatic ballad for Soloists, Chorus, and Orch. (1906; not extant); The Vision of Cleopatra, cantata for Soloists, Chorus, and Orch. (1907; South-port, Oct. 14, 1909; full score destroyed by fire); Pilgrimage toKevlaar, ballad for Chorus and Orch. (1913-14; not extant); Prometheus Unbound, lyric drama for Soloists, Double Chorus, and Orch., after Shelley (1937-44; full score not extant); choruses; over 100 songs.
Bibliography
R. Nettel, Ordeal by Music: The Strange Experience of H. B.(London, 1945); L. Foreman, éd., H. B.: A Collection of Essays (London, 1969); M. MacDonald, H. B.: Perspective on the Music (London, 1972); idem, The Symphonies of H. B.(3 vols., London, 1974-83); K. Eastaugh, H. B.: The Making of a Composer (London, 1976); L. Foreman, H. B. and the Performance of His Orchestral Music: A History and a Sourcebook (London, 1976); R. Nettel, H B. and His Music (London, 1976); P. Rapoport, Opus Est (London, 1979); J. Schaarwàchter, éd., HB: Aspects of H. B.(Aldershot, 1997).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire