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ANNOUNCEMENTS CLASSICAL NEWS Yahoo services have a distinct US bias Classical Music News Films and Film Music (If the Yahoo buttons do not re-appear DO NOT REFRESH, Minimise and re-expand the page) Get the latest Classical news from Ananova Vernon Handley CBE To Receive Lifetime Achievement Award from Elgar Society Vernon Handley is one of the UK's leading Elgar interpreters, as demonstrated in more than fifty years-worth of performances and recordings of both the major works, and the lesser-known music. In recognition of his fine work, The Elgar Society have granted Handley a Lifetime Achievement Award, marking his unique contribution to the performance and understanding of Elgar's output, as well as his wider promotion of British music around the world. The award was to have been presented by Society Chairman Andrew Neill at the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's aptly-named Green and Pleasant Land concert at Cadogan Hall on 13 May 2008 but Handley is unwell and his place as codncutor has been taken by Paul Daniel. The concert will include works by two of Elgar's contemporaries: Walton's Cello Concerto, with soloist Guy Johnston, and Vaughan Williams' Symphony No.4; the concert will begin with Elgar's Serenade for Strings. The Elgar Society was founded in 1951, following the suggestion of Handley's mentor Sir Adrian Boult, at a time when the composer's reputation was at a low ebb. It has grown to become the largest of all the UK composer societies, with over 1,500 members from the UK and all over the world. It has a number of branches organising lectures and social events for members, and also publishes, and sponsors, recordings, books and live performances. Society Vice Chairman David Morris said: 'We are delighted to be able to present this award to 'Tod' to commemorate his lifetime of work for Elgar and, indeed, for British music in general. He has selflessly kept the flame alight for Elgar's music, even when it has been deeply unfashionable to do so, and through his performances and recordings of both well-known and rare works, has played a major part in its renaissance today.' NEW BOOK ON YMA SUMAC PUBLISHED In April, 2008, Yma Sumac - The Art Behind the Legend by Nicholas E. Limansky was published by YBK Publishers in New York City. Available internationally, the book is considered to be the reference on Yma Sumac. Profusely illustrated, it includes a complete career overview, as well as an indepth discussion of Yma Sumac's voice and music. In addition to the book, there is also a CD-Rom which is purchased separately, which reproduces all the photographs in the book as well as many that did not appear within the book and numerous, unpublished, color photographs. In addition, the CD-Rom also has over 150 pages of additional text - including a detailed analysis of all of Yma Sumac's recordings, a complete, international discography, range sheets for 50 of her songs, a discussion of the history of Peru, an analysis of the Exotica movement in the United States, an indepth discussion of the acuto sfogato (unlimited) soprano from Mozart's time to our day and the text for her 1955 Souvenir booklet. The book is available internationally from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and Borders as well as many other online sites. article link: http://www.musicweb.uk.net/classRev/2007/Aug07/Sumac.htm Issued by Malcolm Rudland with the co-operation ofthe Warlock and Delius Societies A Jaunt to Bourron-Marlotte and Grez-sur-Loing homes of Arthur Heseltine (Warlock's Uncle Joe) and Frederick Delius from 4 to 6 July 2008 The last Delius Society trip to Grez-sur-Loing in 2006 was sold out in a week, so with only 20 places for each society, see below how to secure your place now We meet at 11.30 on Friday 4 July at Eurostar St Pancras to board the Eurostar to Gare du Nord, Paris, where a coach will meet us to arrive for supper at Hotel Novotel Fountainebleau Ury On Saturday morning the coach leaves the hotel for Marlotte at 10.00 arriving c.10.30, where we are the guests of Les Amis de Bourron-Marlotte. They will host a welcome reception in Passage Heseltine and conduct small groups around the village to see Uncle Joe's studio, some of his paintings, and his grave At noon Danny Gillingwater will lead a Sing-along-a-Warlock with the Guildhall Brass Ensemble, culminating in a parade with the wh:ole company marching and singing The cricketers of Hambledon up Passage Heseltine. Lunch will follow in one of two local restaurants (price not included in the total cost) Anyone still awake at 16.00 will be offered an expedition on the miniature railway Tacot des Lacs, in memory of Warlock's first venture into journalism, when he wrote about the Van Railway in The Locomotive 15 January 1912, p 13-16. Supper will be back at the hotel c.19.00 On Sunday, we are guests of Jean Merle d'Aubigne in the garden of Delius's house in Grez-sur-Loing, where the Guildhall Brass Ensemble * will give a half hour concert * of music by Delius inspired by that garden, to include Eric Crees's new arrangements * of On hearing the first cuckoo in spring and In a summer garden Lunch will be at a local hostelry (price not included in the total cost) before a coach leaves for Gare du Nord to catch a Eurostar to arrive at St Pancras c. 21.15 Maximum total cost £240 per person for a single room or £180 each when two people share a double room Prices to be fixed by April 2008, to include the cost of the return Eurostar journey, two nights bed and breakfast, two evening dinners, and the return coach journeys between Gare du Nord and Ury and the journeys to Marlotte and Grez To secure a place, send a deposit of £50 per person (cheques payable to Malcolm Rudland) to Rudland Enterprises Unlimited TM 31 Hammerfield House, Cale St. London SW3 3SG. More details 020 7589 9595 or 07761 977155 or e-mail: mrudland@talk21.com THE HYMN TUNE INDEX: A PLEA FOR VOLUNTEERS from Nicholas Temperley A plan is being formed to extend the online Hymn Tune Index (HTI). The present index was published in four volumes in 1998, and an online version has existed since 2001 (please see http://hymntune.music.uiuc.edu). At present it covers over 2,000 printed sources from the Reformation to the year 1820, and lists over 18,000 tunes in some 160,000 printings. The ultimate target is to reach 1900, while still covering all printed psalm or hymn tunes associated with English-language texts. But the quantities become so vast as the 19th century wears on that 1900 is a very distant goal at this point. As well as the hundreds of 'mainline' hymnals of the various denominations within Britain, there are many books of the 'West Gallery' type for country choirs, and others for domestic use. There are huge numbers of American hymnals, covering whole new categories such as folk hymns, shapenote music, Mormon hymns, gospel hymns, and negro spirituals; and there are a growing number of books printed in British colonies and missions abroad. Of course, many tunes crossed national and denominational boundaries, or came from secular sources. It seems that the only way we can hope to make progress is by a collaborative effort. Sally Drage has agreed to help me co-ordinate work on English sources. We are looking for volunteers from different parts of the English-speaking world. Meanwhile, we are devising a web interface that will allow people to index books directly from any library or from their personal collections, with the help of explicit guidelines that we will supply. Ideally, we would go methodically through the years in chronological order, starting in 1821. But we know that many people are interested in particular types or groups of sources, and we wouldn't want to discourage them from indexing these books as soon as they can, rather than waiting until we reach a particular year. We will then have to find ways of filling in the 'gaps' not covered by any such offers. For North America, an organizing committee is being formed. It will meet in 2007 at the University of Illinois, which will continue to be the headquarters of the HTI. Perhaps a similar committee could be brought together next summer for the UK. It is also possible, though not certain, that we will be able to raise some modest funds to cover travel or photocopying expenses for those who are helping. So I am now asking for volunteers who would like to take part in this project over the next few years. Please reply directly to Sally and me jointly (sally@drage.me.uk, ntemp@uiuc.edu) giving your name and contact details, and stating what types of source you would be willing to cover - e.g. ''parochial tunebooks in Sussex', 'hymn books in Birmingham public library', 'Methodist hymnals', 'books in my own possession', etc. Or, if you have no special preference, please tell us if you would be willing to index a list of books that we will provide. If you don't use e-mail please write to Sally Drage, 2 Grasmere Avenue, Congleton, Cheshire CW12 4LZ. Nicholas Temperley, Professor of Music Emeritus, The University of Illinois

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