LATEST NEWS
Historic recordings to be released on October 13!
EMI Classics will shortly release on CD for the first time the first ever recordings made of Tippett's cantata, Boyhood's End and his song-cycle The Heart's Assurance.
The great English tenor Peter Pears is here accompanied by Noel Mewton-Wood. These recordings were made in 1952 and released on the following year on LP, together with the Amadeus Quartet playing Tippett's String Quartet No.2 and the String Quartet by Mátyás Seiber.
Born in Budapest in the same year as Tippett, 2005, Seiber settled in London in 1935: seven years later, Tippett invited him to teach at Morley College where, concurrently, the Amadeus Quartet was formed by three Viennese refugees and a Londoner!
Right up to his death in 1960, Seiber enjoyed a fruitful relationship with Tippett: it was through him that A Child of Our Time was first performed in Budapest in 1947 and his own works were often featured in concerts at Morley College.)
The recording was reissued by Argo in 1965, but has been a collector's item ever since.
To complete the CD, EMI have included the 1965 recording of Tippett's Songs forAriel, also sung by Peter Pears, but this time accompanied by Benjamin Britten.
EMI Classics
Catalogue Number: 5851502
To order a copy of this recording (no. 33 in Amazon co.uk's current listing) please click here
Fans of the Australian pianist, Noel Mewton-Wood should note that the Pears/Mewton-Wood recordings of Boyhood's End and The Heart's Assurance are also included in Australian Heritage's 3-CD tribute album, "Noel Mewton-Wood: The Legendary Recordings". The cat. no. is ABC 461-900-2.
Now Published
Just Out! A New Survey of Tippett's Piano Music
The September/October issue of International Piano Magazine features an extended article on Tippett's piano music by composer Philip Clark, reassessing it in the context of his major orchestral, choral and operatic compositions.
International Piano is published by Orpheus Publications Ltd. To obtain copies or read it on line, please visit internationalpiano@orpheuspublications.com
Meirion Bowen: Shaping the Harmonies of Our Time: Michael Tippett (1905-1998)
First published as an obituary in The Guardian newspaper, this short essay by Meirion Bowen on the life and work of Sir Michael Tippett will be re-issued in book form on October 1 by the Delos Press. For this reprint, the author has written a new preface and made a number of revisions to the text.
Re-publication of the obituary was suggested and instigated by Peter Baldwin, whose Delos Press specialises in the production of finely printed books in small limited editions.
This edition is limited to 420 copies, printed and designed by Sebastian Carter at The Rampant Lions Press: and Carter has also designed the wrapper, incorporated into the slip case. The typeface is Monotype Bulmer.
The edition is made up as follows:
50 copies full-bound in leather with a slip-case and signed by the author. This edition is published to coincide with the centenary of the birth of the composer, 2nd January, 2005, and bears that date accordingly. These copies are numbered A1 to A50. ISBN 1 870380 35 5 £120; US $185; Euros 170.
50 copies case-bound with a slip case, signed by the author and numbered A51 to A100. ISBN 1 870380 36 3 £40; US $62; Euros 60.
100 copies bound into printed wrappers, signed by the author and numbered A101 to A200. ISBN 1 87380 37 1 £22.50; US $35; Euros 32.
200 copies bound into printed wrappers and numbered A201 to A400. ISBN 1 870380 38 X £15; US $23; Euros 21.
20 unbound copies are available for binders and are numbered B1 to B20. £10; US $15; Euros 14.
Available from:
DELOS PRESS
11 School Road
Moseley
Birmingham
B13 9ET
England.
email: delospeter@hotmail.com
tel: +44 (0)121 449 1406
fax: c/o +44 (0)121 212 7413
Trade terms: 30% or by arrangement. Payment in sterling. Delivery charge: £1 for a single copy, otherwise to be invoiced at cost.
Just released!
Decca's third addition to the Tippett works featured in their British Music Collection is a double-CD album comprising reissues of the original recordings of The Knot Garden, conducted by Sir Colin Davis, and of Symphony No. 4, conducted by Sir Georg Solti.
The Knot Garden
Cast/Orchestra of Royal Opera House, Covent Garden/SirColin Davis
Symphony No. 4
Chicago Symphony Orchesta/Sir Georg Solti
Decca: The British Collection 2CD album no: 475 056-2
To order a copy of this recording (no.3 in amazon co. uk's current listing, keyword Tippett), please click here
Recently discovered Tippett choral piece just published!
World premiere performances in Dublin & Belfast!
Schott & Co. Ltd. have just published an unknown choral piece by Sir Michael Tippett: his arrangement for unaccompanied choir of the "Skye Boat Song".
This arrangement was originally intended for inclusion in Tippett´s Four Songs from the British Isles, composed for Bremen Radio in 1956. The folk-songs he chose for this set were meant to demonstrate the contrasting characters of the people of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, respectively: and evidently the "Skye Boat Song" was to represent Scotland.
Later, Tippett decided to replace this with a version of Robert Burns's song, "Poortith cauld" ("Cold poverty"), which had been drawn to his attention by the recording producer, Robert Kinloch Anderson.
Set aside, thus, the "Skye Boat Song" was, surprisingly, never mentioned to anyone thereafter. It only surfaced again when a copy was posthumously discovered in the Schott London archive, during its move to the publisher's premises at Weihergarten in Mainz. Tippett´s original manuscript has not been traced. However, the provenance of this arrangement is not in doubt and, on examination, it certainly seemed of sufficient quality and interest to merit publication now.
The song is gentler, less intense than the Burns setting that replaced it. As in the other four settings, Tippett was concerned not to impose harmonies upon a folk-song original, but rather to heighten its simplicity and directness of utterance. The vocal writing is nevertheless skilful and sophisticated.
In performances of the Four Songs, the composer´s final choice should be respected. The "Skye Boat Song" should therefore be heard either on its own or as a pendant to the already published set.
They will give two performances:
July 31, 2003 at the Shaw Room, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin,
Republic of Ireland
August 1, 2003, at the Clonard Monastery, Belfast, Northern Ireland
The Dublin performance will be broadcast on Irish Radio. The Belfast performance will be recorded by the BBC for later relay.
Subsequently, the NCCI will take all five songs on tour in Brasil. The dates and venues are as follows:
October 6: SESC Theatre, São Paulo, Brasil
October 7: São Luis Church, São Paulo, Brasil
October 9: Teatro Municipal Brás Cubas, Santos, Brasil
October 19: Teatro Pedro II, Ribeirão Petro, Brasil