Edric Cundell
Edric Cundell
Early life and academic career
Born in London, Edric Cundell came from a musical family: his grandmother worked in Paris as an opera singer and both his parents were talented amateur musicians. He was educated at
He served as a lieutenant in the artillery in World War I, during which he wrote the symphonic poem Serbia, which was dedicated to
After the War, Cundell joined the staff of the Trinity College of Music. At this time he became involved in conducting amateur orchestras, such as the Westminster Orchestral Society, with which he performed his own piece The Tragedy of Deirdre on 4 May 1923 at Kensington Town Hall.[5] He was appointed conductor of another London-based amateur ensemble, the Stock Exchange Orchestra, in 1924.[6] He took guest conductorships in the United States, South Africa and New Zealand while touring as an examiner.[4] In 1937 he joined the musical staff at Glyndebourne, specializing in the interpretation of Mozart and Verdi.
In 1938 he was appointed the principal of the
Conductor and composer
In 1935 he founded the Edric Cundell Chamber Orchestra, which specialised in unusual repertoire.[11] Later on he frequently conducted leading orchestras as guest conductor, such as the Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic[12] and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. In 1946 he conducted the National Symphony Orchestra in the film The Magic Bow about the life of Paganini in which Yehudi Menuhin played the violin. In the early 1950s he was director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Cundell conducted the premieres of Arnold Bax's Fantasies on Polish Christmas Carols in 1945 and Malcolm Arnold’s Toy Symphony at the Savoy Hotel in 1957.[4]
As a composer, he first came to notice through the symphonic poem Serbia, dated "Macedonia, 1917" and written while in a dugout close to the Bulgar front lines. According to a note in the score, the music "is based on folk songs, which the Serbian soldiers used to sing during the time of their great trial, following their tragic retreat over the Albanian mountains. Although this work follows no definite programme, it is descriptive of the general feeling of the Serbian people during the years of the European War." The first performance was in Thessaloniki by the Royal Orchestra.[13] The first UK performances followed in March 1920 (London)[14] and April (Bournemouth),[4] and it was repeated at the Proms on 21 September 1921.[15]
Other Proms performances in the early 1920s included the sonnet for tenor and orchestra Our Dead (premiered on 19 October 1920 with the tenor Gervase Elwes)[16] and various songs.[17] On 4 July 1931 two movements of his Symphony in C minor were performed at Queen's Hall alongside a performance of Portsmouth Point by William Walton.[18] His String Quartet No. 2 won a Daily Telegraph competition in 1933 and was taken up as a repertoire piece (and recorded) by the Griller String Quartet.[4] Blackfriars (1955), as arranged by Frank Wright, became a noted test piece for brass bands.[19]
In 1920 Cundell married the sculptor Helena Harding Scott (1891–1975).
Compositions
Orchestral and choral
- Blackfriars, symphonic prelude (1955), arranged for brass band by Frank Wright, published Molenaar[21]
- Hymn to Providence, Op. 25, for mixed chorus and orchestra (1928)
- Mass for unaccompanied chorus
- Our Dead, Op. 11, sonnet for tenor and orchestra (1923)
- Piano Concerto
- Serbia, symphonic poem (1917)
- Serenade for strings in D major
- Suite for String Orchestra
- Symphony in C minor, Op. 24 (1924)
- The Tragedy of Deirdre, Op. 17, symphonic poem (1922)
Chamber and instrumental
- April Song for solo piano
- Aquerelle for solo piano
- L'arlesienne suites 1 and 2 (Bizet), arranged for piano (1940)
- "Jesus bleibet meine Freude", (J. S. Bach chorale transcribed for piano)
- "Londonderry Air" (trad. arr. Cundell) for solo piano (1923)
- Piano Quartet, Op. 15 (1922)
- Rhapsody for viola (or cello) and piano (c.1920)
- Sextet for soprano, tenor, bass, violin, viola and cello
- String Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 18 (1923)
- String Quartet No. 2 in C major, Op .27 (1932)
- String Quartet No. 3
- Sunny Days for solo piano
- Two Pieces for Brass Quartet (1957)
- String Sextet Op. 22 (1926)
- Valse Fantasque, Op. 16 (1922)
- The Water Babies: A Fairy Tale for Piano in two parts, for young players (1922)
Songs
- "A Vagabond's Song", words Kate Burnley Belt (1920)
- "Boy Johnny", words Christina Rossetti
- "Hold Though the Morn for Me", words K. B. Belt (1920)
- "I Will Make You Brooches", words Robert Louis Stevenson
- "In the Silence of the Night", words K. B. Belt (1920)
- "Our Dead", tenor and orchestra, words Robert Nichols
- "Remembrance" (1937), words A. Campbell
- "Summer Days and Nights", words K. B. Belt (1920)
References
- ^ "Some British Conductor-Composers part 4/6 by Philip L. Scowcroft". www.musicweb-international.com.
- ^ a b c "Olympedia – Edric Cundell". www.olympedia.org.
- ^ Arthur Eaglefield Hull (ed.) A Dictionary of Modern Music and Musicians (Dent, London & Toronto 1924)
- ^ a b c d e f "The Griller Quartet play English rarities DUTTON CDBP 9762 [RB]: Classical CD Reviews – May 2006". www.musicweb-international.com.
- ^ 'Week-End Concerts' in The Times, May 7, 1923, p 18
- JSTOR 917520.
- JSTOR 936874.
- ^ "Edric Cuindell (Composer, Arranger) – Short Biography". www.bach-cantatas.com.
- ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0.
- ^ JSTOR 950941.
- Genome Project
- ^ "(Peter) Katin Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1, Concert Fantasia (1958/59) – PASC276". Pristine Classical.
- Genome Project
- ^ 'This Week's Music' in The Times, March 8, 1920, p 12
- ^ "Prom 34". BBC Music Events.
- ^ "Prom 57". BBC Music Events.
- ^ "Edric Cundell". BBC Music Events.
- JSTOR 915931.
- ^ "Blackfriars – Test Piece – Brass Band Results". brassbandresults.co.uk.
- ^ "Cundell Helena Alice 1891–1975". www.artbiogs.co.uk.
- ^ "E. Cundell: Blackfriars: Symphonic Prelude". Presto Music.