Intrada Soundtrack Forum
http://www.intrada.net/phpBB2/

SHAKESPEARE SUITES by William Walton
http://www.intrada.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=8678		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  perpetualone [ Mon Feb 15, 2021 11:35 pm ]
Post subject:  SHAKESPEARE SUITES by William Walton
No doubt the lament about the unavailability on CD of the suites which Miklos Rozsa conducted in the mid-'70's for Deutsche Grammophon (with the Royal Philharmonic) is one still resounding. However just as grievous an omission are the 2 LPs of Walton's music for the Shakespeare movies directed by Laurence Olivier. (The first was the performance by the Philharmonia under the composer himself, first issued in 1964. The other was the performance conducted by Charles Groves with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, released in 1984.) As these are suites compiled by Muir Mathieson, there are none of the choral passages which appeared in the Malcolm Sargent suites. (These latter suites, however, have been issued on CD in several guises.) The material is largely the same on both LPs, but the Groves also contains an extended suite from HAMLET (to supplement the "Funeral March" common to both performances). In terms of performance, I think the Walton has a slight edge over the Groves.
However in my opinion the sonics on the Groves are superior. (Further examples that there are still so many LPs awaiting digital transfer.)
Author:  TerraEpon [ Tue Feb 16, 2021 6:23 am ]
Post subject:  Re: SHAKESPEARE SUITES by William Walton
FWIW, the suite that was supposedly arranged by Sargent was actually done by the composer himself.

And while I'm unsure about the specific recordings you speak, the Henry the V suite at least conducted by Andrew Litton is available on a 4CD set of Walton's music.
Author:  perpetualone [ Tue Feb 16, 2021 9:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: SHAKESPEARE SUITES by William Walton
For those who are interested, the 4 disc set is called WILLIAM WALTON: A CENTENARY CELEBRATION. As it's performed by the Bournemouth Symphony, the HENRY V Suite on this collection is the suite compiled by Muir Mathieson. (Though Malcolm Sargent's suite for chorus and orchestra was compiled at the time of the movie's release, there were no commercial recordings for several decades. Muir Mathieson's suite was only compiled in the early '60's, and it was the one which Walton conducted with the Philharmonia shortly after for EMI.) So we at least have one recording on CD of the purely orchestral suite. (Of the Sargent suite utilizing chorus and orchestra, I'd advocate for the recorded performances conducted by Charles Gerhardt, Carl Davis and Paul Bateman.) If anyone has heard the greatly expanded suite created by Christopher Palmer in the late '80's (subtitled "A Shakespeare Scenario"), is the narration essential (as has been recorded several times)? I'd be open to an even more extended suite without narration.
Author:  TerraEpon [ Wed Feb 17, 2021 6:14 am ]
Post subject:  Re: SHAKESPEARE SUITES by William Walton
As I said, the 'Sargent' suite was actually done by the composer.
Author:  perpetualone [ Fri Feb 19, 2021 8:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: SHAKESPEARE SUITES by William Walton
"As I said, the 'Sargent' suite was actually done by the composer."

Do you have a source by which I can confirm this claim, as every account of which I know says it was compiled by Malcolm Sargent.
Author:  TerraEpon [ Sat Feb 20, 2021 6:21 am ]
Post subject:  Re: SHAKESPEARE SUITES by William Walton
This book
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wi ... =en&gbpv=0

Not sure if you can see the relevant part in the preview. But it's about as authoritative as it gets.
Author:  perpetualone [ Thu Feb 25, 2021 10:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: SHAKESPEARE SUITES by William Walton
Sadly I couldn't access the portion referring to the so-called "Malcolm Sargent" suite online, but I'll try and have a look at the book.
Page 1 of 1 All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
http://www.phpbb.com/