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ERRORS AND DISCREPANCIES IN TWO RECENT BOOKS ON STANFORD

Book review by Chris Howell

This is intended as a footnote to my review of two recent books on Stanford by Jeremy Dibble and Paul Rodmell, in which I remarked that a whole host of small errors and discrepancies seriously undermined the value of the books. It gives me no pleasure to have to write what follows for I realise that both writers have dedicated much time and passion to their researches, and I hope they will believe me when I say that I offer this list with a desire to be helpful, and in the belief that all concerned would wish these books to be as accurate as possible. While I point out certain omissions, I am also grateful to them for a wide range of information which was new to me. But, and it is a big but, when there are so many mistakes in the information that I am able to check, can I rely on the information which I am not able to check?

Christopher Howell

A. ERRORS AND DISCREPANCIES IN THE BIOGRAPHICAL SECTIONS

  1. "Sweet Isle" and "Day is Dying" [from "The Spanish Gypsy"] remaining in print until 1942 (PR p.42).

    2. The first song is called "Sweet Springtime". The mistake is repeated on p.401

  2. When the play [Tennyson’s "Queen Mary"] opened ... the music was performed in its entirety (PR p.54).

    3. Such circumstances ... conspired to end Stanford’s collaboration and, with the exception of the songs, the music was withdrawn (JD p.77).

    So was it all performed or not? Greene barely alludes to the episode. Stanford’s own account (Pages p.229) says that "when the performance took place, there turned out to be as many players in the orchestra as the score required" but does not say what music was actually played, though he refers to the episode as a "disappointment", which it would not have been if his score had been used.

  3. The Cello Sonata [no. 1] was probably the first piece of Stanford’s music to be performed in Vienna, at a private concert organised by Ferdinand Hiller on 2 October 1878 (PR p.59)

    4. After Leipzig [in 1878] they went on to Cologne where, as promised, Hausmann performed Stanford’s Cello Sonata at Hiller’s house before an audience of conoscenti (JD pp.99-100).

    Since Dibble doesn’t give the date we cannot be sure if the two concerts are one and the same but the involvement of Hiller suggests they were. Of course the piece might have been performed in both Cologne and Vienna, but how many houses did Hiller have (he was Cologne-based)?

  4. On 6 April 1878 Stanford married Jennie Wetton (PR p.63)

    5. The wedding took place on 8 April 1878 (JD p.95)

    Rodmell is following Greene. Dibble states that Greene is erroneous; he gives a list of the witnesses so I take it he has examined the marriage certificate.

  5. An April marriage did not allow the newly-weds to go on honeymoon until the long vacation. Indeed, Jennie and Charles’s time together started unsteadily as they were involved in a carriage accident in early May .. (PR p.66)

    6. After the wedding the couple honeymooned abroad, spending much time in Tours, Stanford’s favourite French haunt (JD p.95)

    Aside from Rodmell’s assertion that the Stanfords did not immediately go on a honeymoon, the two accounts are not mutually incompatible, since they had ample time to potter round Europe for a few weeks and get back to Cambridge in time for a carriage accident in early May. Both authors mention a trip to Germany in September; Rodmell claims this was the honeymoon. Dibble states that it was primarily a business trip intended to promote "The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan" and to make contact with Richter. He also states that the Stanfords were accompanied by Fuller Maitland, which is fair enough for a business trip but a little odd for a honeymoon.

  6. ...this event ... led to the family moving to a large semi-detached house at 10 Harvey Road ... in 1883 (PR p.90)

    7. Some time between October and November 1884, Stanford, his wife, and a new addition to the family, a daughter Geraldine, ... moved ... to more spacious accomodation in a new house at 10 Harvey Road, Cambridge (JD p.163)

  7. Both authors state that Act 2 of "The Canterbury Pilgrims" was composed between 13th August and 16th September (PR p.93, JD p.142). But JD also has him visiting Bayreuth on and around 6th September, seeing, among other things, Die Meistersinger under Richter. Chris Fifield (author of a book on Richter) has already picked this up; Richter did not conduct at Bayreuth between 1876 and 1888, and the 1883 Bayreuth Festival lasted from 8th to 30th July (only Parsifal was given)

  8. At home, Jennie gave birth to their second child, christened Guy Desmond, on 10 May 1885 (PR p.114)

    9. Jennie Stanford was was pregnant with their second child, Guy, who was born on the evening of 3 May 1885 (JD p.163)

    Perhaps a rogue comma has entered Rodmell’s text after Desmond, and he means Guy was christened on 10 May. Dibble refers to a postcard from Stanford to Richter, dated 4th May, which mentions the birth.

  9. Together with his friend and librettist Percy Hudson, Stanford had chosen a subject ... (for "The Three Holy Children") (PR p.115)

    10. Stanford ... approached the biblical scholar John Saul Howson ... and his two Trinity colleagues Canon Percy Hudson and Henry Francis Wilson, in order to compile a libretto (for "The Three Holy Children") ... (JD p.164)

    A preface to the score confirms the involvement of all the three mentioned by Dibble

  10. Over at the RCM, students gave their first complete opera, Cherubini’s Les Deux Journées, at the Savoy Theatre on 24 June (PR p.118)

    11. ... the College Opera undertook Cherubini’s The Water Carriers at the Savoy Theatre on 23 June (JD p.175)

  11. Stanford’s setting of Psalm 150, O Praise the Lord of Heaven, op. 27 was premièred at the Manchester Exhibition on 3 March 1887 (PR p.123)

    12. Another choral pièce d’occasion [O Praise the Lord of Heaven], this time for the opening of the Royal Jubilee Exhibition at the Botanical Gardens in Manchester on 3 May .... (JD p.180)

    The score is dated March 1887 so performance in May seems more likely

  12. ... at the CUMS orchestral concert on 7 June Stanford’s general advocacy of new British music was demonstrated by his securing another première, that of Frederic Cowen’s Symphony no. 5 in F (PR p.130)

    13. ... it was recently composed music by Stanford’s British contemporaries that took pride of place in CUMS’s main concert of the year on 9 June ....: Frederic Cowen came to Cambridge to conduct the première of his Fifth Symphony (JD p.181)

  13. This [the first act of The Miner of Falun] was completed on 26 March (PR p.137)

    14. Act I [of The Miner of Falun] was completed by the end of February 1888 (JD p.198)

  14. ... Ernst Frank, had retired due to mental illness in April 1887 and died in August 1889 (PR p.138)

    15. ... Ernst Frank, died in August 1890 (JD p.198, footnote)

    Stanford’s own memorial tribute (Studies and Memories, 1908, p.99) begins: "On Saturday, August the 17th, 1889, died one of the most enlightened and large-hearted musicians of our time"

  15. On 6 November 1888 Cambridge conferred honorary doctorates on Stanford and Mackenzie (PR p.141)

    16. .. he [Stanford] was admitted as Doctor of Music honoris causa on 8 November 1888 (JD p.192)

  16. The dinner to celebrate the golden anniversary of Joachim’s first British appearance took place on 14 March 1889 at Caius College (PR p.145)

    17. Cambridge University invited Joachim to a Jubilee dinner in the hall of Caius College to celibrate the fiftieth anniversary of the great violinist’s first appearance in public on 17 March 1839 (JD p.207)

    Norris (Stanford, the Cambridge Jubilee and Tchaikovsky, David & Charles 1980, p.57) says 14th March and even reproduces the menu. Perhaps the anniversary date was the 17th but the dinner was held on the 14th for practical purposes, but what a confusion!

  17. In the same month the cantata The Voyage of Maeldune, op. 34 was premièred at the Leeds Festival (11 October). Following the success of The Revenge, a commission from Leeds was unsurprising ... (PR p.146)

    18. After its [The Voyage of Maeldune] completion in May 1889 there was no immediate prospect of its performance; but, as luck would have it, Sullivan had been unable to write his commission for the impending Leeds Festival so the committee, with some relief, were glad to accept Stanford’s new work (JD p.214)

    Dibble cites as the authority for his version Spark and Bennett’s History of the Leeds Musical Festival 1858-1889 (London 1892). Has Rodmell seen evidence that the work was actually commissioned from Stanford?

  18. PR lists the Two anthems op. 37 among a group of works composed in 1889 (p.150). This was the year of their publication; Dibble (p.172) says they were "probably composed in or around 1885"

  19. As if to confirm Stanford’s continuing relationship with CUMS, another great concert took place on 16 June 1892 following the installation of the university’s new chancellor (PR p.163)

    20. Stanford’s plans for the concert were characteristically elaborate and were executed with his usual aplomb on 13 June (JD p.236)

  20. [The Mass in G] was first performed at the [Brompton] Oratory on 26 May 1893 (PR p.174)

    21. Bernard Shaw ... was much disappointed to miss the work’s [the Mass in G] public première by the Bach Choir on 23 January 1894 (JD p.238)

    Perhaps both dates are correct and Dibble does not consider the Oratory performance to have been public

  21. Fontana’s involvement is unclear, but it may be that he completed the libretto [of Lorenza] after Ghislanzoni’s death on 16 July 1893 (PR p.177)

    22. "The book is by Ghislanzoni and Fontana. Ghislanzoni wrote Act 1 and made the entire scenario: after his death Fontana did the last two acts according to Ghislanzoni’s scenario and sketches" (letter from Stanford to Boïto, quoted in JD p.251)

    Nothing very unclear about that!

  22. ... it [the Clarinet Concerto] was not published until 1977 (PR p.235)

    23. Stanford’s Clarinet Concerto ... remained unavailable as a published work until 1976 (JD p.342)

    Dibble, however, gives 1977 in the work list (p.474), which the score confirms as correct

  23. It is not certain which version [of the Four Irish Dances] came first but Stanford’s version for solo piano is most likely (PR p.239)

    24. In November he wrote four Irish Dances, op. 89 for the piano, which he scored in the same month for orchestra (JD p.354)

  24. On 11 January 1906 Stanford conducted the newly formed London Symphony Orchestra in Paris with a chorus from the Leeds Philharmonic (PR pp.245-6)

    25. ... two concerts given by the London Symphony Orchestra and 300 singers from the Leeds Festival choir at the Théâtre du Chatelet in Paris on 10 and 12 January 1906 (JD p.366)

    11 January is the date given by Greene; he says there were two concerts, and the other (date not given) was conducted by Colonne and Messager. He states it was the Leeds Philharmonic Choir not the Leeds Festival Choir. However, Dibble’s source is a letter from Stanford to R. F. McEwen in which he refers to two concerts on Jan. 10 and 12, and says that all 400 of the 1904 Leeds Festival Chorus had applied to go. Dibble also states that Colonne and Messager conducted just a few items and most of the conducting at both concerts was by Stanford. Since he lists the works performed by the other conductors he has obviously seen the programmes for the concerts. Moral: never take Greene on trust!

  25. ... the work [String Quartet no. 5] was performed in Leeds and London on 3 and 4 March 1908 respectively (PR p.250)

    26. It [String Quartet no. 5] was performed at a Leeds Bohemian Chamber Concert on 4 March 1908 and the day after it received its London première at a Broadwood Concert (JD p.380)

  26. Stanford also conducted the premières of A Welcome Song, op. 107 at the Anglo-French Exhibition at Shepherd’s Bush on 15 May ... (PR pp.253-4)

    27. Stanford conducted ... his Welcome Song, op. 107 in the Palace of Music [at the Franco-British Exhibition at White City] on 14 May ... (JD p.382)

  27. Referring to Stanford’s first group of publications for Stainer & Bell, Dibble says: There were two sets of part songs, op.110 and 111 (p.383). But op. 111 was published by Curwen. On the same page he says of Heraclitus: it was later published in an arrangement for solo and voice and piano by Cramer in 1918. Apart from the extra "and" after "solo", it was published by Stainer & Bell. Rodmell gives these details correctly.

  28. ... three partsongs for female voices entitled Fairy Day, op. 131 ... (dedicated to Victor Harris and the St Cecelia [presumably a misprint for Cecilia] Choir of New York but apparently unperformed by them) (PR p.276).

    29. The work [Fairy Day] was performed by the St Cecilia Society in 1913 and was later taken up by Horatio Parker in Philadelphia (JD p.405)

    Yet in the work list (p.467) Dibble suggests the work may be unperformed

  29. When the work [Irish Rhapsody no. 4] was premièred on 19 February 1914 ... (PR p.284)

    30. Mengelberg ... premièred the Fourth Rhapsody with the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on 8 February 1914 and eleven days later [= 19 February] he was in London to conduct it for the Philharmonic Society (JD p.409)

  30. Although cordially received and given thirteen performances in London and five in Manchester, the opera [The Critic] failed to enter the repertory (PR p.291)

    31. ... and three performances [of The Critic] took place at the Gaeity [sic!] Theatre, Manchester (JD p.429)

  31. [After 1917] he often stayed at Windsor with Parratt, only coming to London during the day (PR p.309)

    32. In September 1917 Stanford and his wife left London for Windsor on doctor’s orders. They lodged at 8 Park Street, Windsor for some time before taking accomodation at several different hotels (including "The White Hart" and "Castle") (JD p.438)

  32. Beatrice Harrison performed Stanford’s Violin Concerto with the RCM Orchestra on 12 July 1918 (PR p.311)

    33. ... and violinist Margaret [Harrison], who made her debut at the RCM with Stanford’s Violin Concerto on 12 July 1918 (JD p.450)

    Clearly it wasn’t Beatrice because she was a cellist. The confusion seems to arise from the fact that Rodmell appears to be unaware that there was a third Harrison sister, Margaret who was, like May, a violinist. On the previous page he quotes an entry from Parry’s diary in which he says "when [Beatrice] Harrison came back to the College recently and became Rivarde’s pupil ...". But Rivarde was Professor of Violin, so the Harrison in question must be May or Margaret (the context shows it to be the latter). Parry’s account is confused by his use of nicknames and becomes clear only when we realise that Baba and "Baby" are not one and the same person; Baba is Beatrice, "Baby" is Margaret

  33. The manuscripts of many published works are lost (for example, Songs of a Roving Celt, op. 157, and the Third Piano Concerto op. 171) (PR p.311)

    34. The Third Piano Concerto has never been published.

  34. ... no performances of the work [the Missa Via Victrix] have been traced (PR p.317)

    35. Also Dibble, in the work list (p.467) believes it to be unperformed. As regards the complete Mass, this is probably true. But Boosey, as well as issuing the vocal score of the complete work, also issued the Gloria separately. My copy of this has a list of rehearsal dates in 1920 pencilled on the cover by a previous owner and a number of markings in the choral contralto part. So a performance of this movement seems to have taken place somewhere.

  35. In his last eighteen months he produced five small works [including] settings of Edward Lear’s Nonsense Rhymes (PR p.328)

    36. Stanford had in fact committed his "limericks", fourteen in all, to paper on two occasions with a view to having them published in or around 1916 (JD p.430)

    Greene (p.245) relates how Stanford would amuse his friends with these pieces at parties. They clearly existed long before the last 18 months of his life

  36. The last Irish Rhapsody was given its first performance in the version for violin and piano by Sybil Eaton ... and Sir Edward Bairstow at a concert of the York Musical Society on 10 October 1923. The orchestral première took place a month later at a special concert of Stanford’s music given by the Leeds Philharmonic on 13 November (PR p.329)

    37. Eaton performed the Rhapsody under the direction of Edward Bairstow on 30 October 1923 for the York Musical Society. A fortnight later Eaton played the work for a second time at the Leeds Philharmonic’s "Stanford Night" on 13 November (JD p.452)

    Could the solution to this be that the orchestral performance on 30 October was preceded by a "trial run" with just piano on the 10th? However, in the worklist Rodmell gives 30 October as the date of the performance with piano.

  37. [Levey] recalled with some pleasure Stanford’s first appearance in public as a composer, at the age of eight, "as the writer of incidental music for the pantomine of ‘Puss in Boots’, duly performed at the Theatre Royal during the Christmas of 1860, under Levey’s baton" (JD p.26, quoting Grattan Floods article on Levey in Grove III)

    38. Stanford claims have composed a march for inclusion in the annual Theatre Royal pantomime. ... but Puss-in-Boots, the pantomime to which Stanford refers in the article, was not played at the Theatre Royal until the winter of 1863-4 (PR p.28)

  38. The slow movement [of the First Cello Sonata] was finished two days later (JD p.90)

    39. The First Cello sonata has no slow movement

  39. Henry Wood’s assertion that he saw Shamus O’Brien produced in Milan (see Greene, Stanford, 195) has proved impossible to confirm (PR p.178, footnote)

    40. Barring the RCM’s production [of Shamus] at London’s La Scala Theatre on 23 November 1906 ... (JD p.281)

    Henry Wood’s statement "I saw a performance of it at La Scala Theatre", omitting to mention that he is referring to the short-lived London theatre of that name rather than its celebrated Milan counterpart, has given rise to the legend that Shamus was produced at La Scala, Milan. The Museo della Scala has confirmed to me that this is not so.

  40. Dedicated to Richter, ... the work [Irish Rhapsody no. 1] immediately caught the public imagination after its first performance on 23 October 1902 (JD p.344)

    41. Put this way, the impression is that the performance was conducted by Richter, but Stanford himself conducted

  41. Elgar was elected [to the Athenaeum Club] on 8 May 1903, and, as planned, was proposed by Parry and seconded by Stanford (JD p.350)

    42. Parry duly proposed Elgar’s membership [in 1903] but the wheels of the Athenaeum moved slowly and Elgar’s nomination was not considered for another year. At the ballot on 12 March 1904 Elgar was defeated by the architect Aston Webb, but a month later he was duly elected (PR p.240)

  42. Three years after "Cushendall" [completed March 1910], Stanford came across the work of the County Wexford poet Winifred Letts (JD p.405)

    43. Stanford’s first Letts setting, John Kelly, op. 125/2, is dated February 1911, only eleven months after Cushendall. Dibble is correct in stating that Letts’s first volume of poetry was published in 1913; it would seem that either she had published some single poems previously (in magazines, for example) or that Stanford had been shown her work privately. Stanford also published a folksong arrangement, Easter Snow, with words by Letts, in 1912.

  43. On the day before New Year’s Eve [1895] Berliners were given their first hearing of a Stanford Symphony [the Fifth] since the "Irish" Symphony in 1888 (JD p.262)

    44. Dibble knows very well, having discussed the concert on p.203, that Stanford conducted the Fourth Symphony in Berlin on 14 January 1889

  44. A wide variety of publishers ... accepted educational pieces from him including ... two sonatinas for piano (written in May 1922) (JD p.448)

    45. These were not published

  45. "A Valentine" was accepted by Chappell who also took on two other songs "Irish Eyes" and "From the Red Rose" ... (JD p.86)

    46. These were not taken and published as a single batch. The BL copy of "A Valentine" is dated 22 December 1876 and if we accept the attractive theory that the song was inspired by Jennie Wetton, the future Mrs. Stanford, it could not have been composed earlier than September 1876, the month in which he is believed to have met her. While the BL copies of "Irish Eyes" and "From the Red Rose" (and also of the "Irish Lullaby" arrangement which was later incorporated in "Songs of Old Ireland") are dated 3 April 1876. "A Valentine" is actually dedicated "To G", but in view of Stanford’s father’s ban on correspondence between them this could be a deliberate red herring.

  46. ... it was Richter who conducted the première [of the Irish Symphony] at St. James’s Hall on 27 May (PR p.125)

    47. The "Irish" Symphony was given at the St James’s Hall on 27 June (JD p.182)

    The same discrepancy appears in the worklists (see below). Norris, in common with most other reference books, gives May.

  47. The Cambridge Greek Play Committee’s production of Sophocles’s Oedipus Tyrannus opened for a run of seven performances (PR p.135)

He was preoccupied with the completion of his incidental music to Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus Rex, op.29 (JD p.187)

The title is "Oedipus Tyrannus". Oddly enough, positions are reversed in the worklist, where Rodmell calls it "Oedipus Rex" and Dibble has it correctly.

B. NAMES MISPELT

D’Oyly Carte appears as D’Oyley Carte throughout JD

Italian born Michele Esposito is transformed into a French girl Michelle in JD p.343

Eulenburg not Eulenberg (PR appendix 1)

Fritz Hart is given as Frits in JD p.267

Edmond Holmes becomes Edmund throughout PR, is given correctly by JD in the index but not always in the text

Arthur Mann becomes Augustus in PR, presumably in confusion with August Manns

Both writers insist on spelling the "Elizabethan Pastorals" as "Pastorales". The scores are quite clear.

Joseph Speaight becomes Spaight in JD p.356 and index.

C. ERRORS AND DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN THE WORKLISTS

  1. Discrepancies

  1. Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in F ("Queen’s Service"). PR says the earliest traced performance is 5 May 1877, Cambridge (Trinity); according to JD it appeared on the music lists of St. Patrick’s Dublin in 1873 and those of Trinity in 1878 and 1880.

  2. Two Novelettes for piano: MS dated 30 October 1874 according to PR, 4 November 1874 according to JD.

  3. In memoria aeterna (first setting): MS dated 4 November 1874 according to PR, 7 November 1874 according to JD. 7 November is correct.

  4. 6 Songs, op.4: Both writers state that the autograph is in the RCM, but according to PR this MS consists of no.1 only.

  5. Schlummerlied op.7/6: First performed 24 May 1877 according to PR, 18 May 1877 according to JD.

  6. Cello Sonata no. 1: First performed 2 October 1878 in Vienna according to PR (but see section A, point 3 above), 1 May 1877 in London (Franke’s Chamber Concert at the RAM) according to JD.

  7. Violin Sonata no. 1: First performed 24 May 1877 according to PR, 18 May 1877 according to JD.

  8. 6 Songs, op. 14: Composed 1873-1881 according to PR, 1880-1881 according to JD. The correct dates are 1875-1881. JD has this right in the text (p.126); PR (p.85 footnote) insists on 1873; the printed copy of the earliest, "Sweeter than the Violet", is clearly dated November 1875.

  9. Piano Quartet, op. 15: First performed 26 May 1880, Cambridge, according to PR, 8 May 1879 London (with Scharwenka at the piano) and subsequently 21 May 1880, Cambridge, according to JD.

  10. Cavalier Songs, op.17: PR gives performance dates of 30 Nov. 1880 and 3 Nov.1881. According to JD, on the first of these dates only no.1 was given.

  11. O Praise the Lord of Heaven, op. 27: First performed 3 March 1887 according to PR, 3 May 1887 according to JD (see section A, point 11 above).

  12. Irish Symphony, op.28: first performed 27 May 1887 according to PR, 27 June 1887 according to JD (see section A, point 46 above).

  13. The Miner of Falun, Act 1: comp. 26 March 1888 according to PR, 26 February 1888 according to JD (see section A, point 13 above).

  14. Overture "Queen of the Seas": JD states in the worklist that the first performance was on 14 January 1889 in Berlin but on p.203 he says it was performed on 12 December 1888 at a Waldemar Meyer Concert. PR gives no date at all. JD gives the opus number of this work as 33, which is also the number given in the first edition of Grove; Porte and later editions of Grove gave op.38. Unfortunately both these numbers are otherwise occupied, op.33 by some lost partsongs, op.38 by the 3 Motets; perhaps for this reason PR lists the work without an opus no. Unless the missing score were to turn up the mystery will probably remain.

  15. I heard a voice from Heaven: this revision of Blessed are the Dead is dated 1889 by PR, c.1899 by JD.

  16. For ever mine: comp.1891 according to PR, 1889 according to JD.

  17. The Battle of the Baltic, op.41: both writers agree that the autograph is dated 11 January 1891. However, Frederick Hudson (Musical Times 1964) had information of a further MS, dated July 1890, in the possession of R. Studholme, Christchurch, New Zealand. Where is this now?

  18. Mass in G, op.46: both writers give the completion date as 22 October 1892, but on p.238 JD says that the Agnus Dei was completed on that date but the Credo "was not finished until 12 December". And in fact, the printed score says December 1892.

  19. A Corsican Dirge: PR gives the first performance as 2 March 1893 at a CUMS concert. According to JD (p.253), this concert was on 1 March 1893.

  20. 6 Irish Fantasies op.54: PR gives the first performance as 3 February 1894, but according to JD only four of them were played on this occasion.

  21. Suite of Ancient Dances, op.58: first performed 27 February 1902, Bournemouth according to PR, 28 August 1895, London, Queen’s Hall according to JD.

  22. Phaudrig Crohoore, op.62: first performed 8 August 1896 according to PR, 9 August 1896 according to JD.

  23. An Irish Idyll, op.77: PR surmises that the first performance might have been that given by Plunket Greene and Stanford at the Aeolian Hall on 27 November 1915, but according to JD (p.329) it was first given by Plunket Greene and Leonard Borwick at St. James’s Hall on 15 March 1901.

  24. Service in G, op.81: JD dates this 1900?, PR gives no date. The printed scores clearly state October 1902.

  25. 4 Irish Dances, op.89: first performed 12 January 1905, Bournemouth according to PR, 22 April 1904, Buckingham Palace according to JD (who also mentions the Bournemouth performance). Furthermore, JD gives 22 April in the worklist but 23 April on p.354.

  26. Choric Ode: both writers state that this was unpublished; a complete reproduction of the MS vocal score was printed in the programme for the Bath Pageant of 1909.

  27. String Quartet no.5, op.104: see section A, point 25 above; the same confusion over dates (3 & 4 March v. 4 & 5 March) is reproduced in the worklists.

  28. Installation March, op.108: completion date given as 17 June 1908 in PR, 11 May 1908 in JD. The latter must be right since both agree that the first performance was given on 17 June.

  29. String Quartet no. 6, op.122: completion date 30 October 1910 according to PR, 30 August 1910 according to JD.

  30. Festal Communion Service, op.128: Gloria dated 23 October 1910 in PR, 23 December 1910 in JD.

  31. 6 Irish Sketches: op.153 according to JD, op.154 according to PR. The printed score does say op.153, but it isn’t as simple as that since op.153 is occupied by the Sonata Celtica for organ (again, the printed score corroborates this), which means we have two op.153s and no op.154. Porte and earlier editions of Grove gave op.154 for the Sketches and maybe had the composer’s authority for this. The autograph of the Sonata Celtica is missing but an incomplete MS of the Sketches survives. Does it offer any illumination?

  32. Violin Concerto no.2, op.162: comp. 30 July 1918 according to PR, 30 August 1918 according to JD.

  33. Merlin and the Gleam, op.172: comp. September 1919 according to PR, August 1919 according to JD. The printed score confirms August.

  34. Variations, op.180: comp. 21 January 1921 according to PR, 25 January according to JD.

  35. Irish Rhapsody no.6, op.191: see point 36 in section A above.

  1. Errors and omissions in Dibble

Choral Works

        1. Requiem op.63: in the worklist the conductor of the first performance is named as Richter; on p.295 he says Stanford himself conducted.

          2. Church Music

        2. Sing unto God: pub. "c.1908". The "c." can be omitted as the printed score is clear.

        3. For all the Saints: this is the same as Engelberg, listed separately on p.471, so the two entries should be brought together in some way.

        4. Come, ye thankful people, come, op.120: pub.1910 not 1911.

        5. Blessed City, heaven’ly Salem, op.134: add information that this had optional parts for brass and drums.

        6. As with Gladness: this is the same as Orient, listed separately on p.471. The two entries should be combined.

        7. O Praise God in his Holiness: this chant to Psalm 150 was included in the New Cathedral Psalter, ed. C. H. Lloyd (Novello 1909). This volume also contains chants by Stanford to Psalms 69, 70, 148 and 149, which are missing from JD’s list.

        8. But lo! There breaks: this is presumably a single verse of For all the Saints/Engelberg, and should be listed with them.

        9. Unto him whose name is holy, hymn (Novello 1905): not listed by Dibble.

        10. Lord behold us, hymn (Year Book Press 1926): not listed by Dibble.

          11. Theatre Music

        11. Queen Mary, op.6: no doubt the completion date of 31 January 1876 is correct, but the printed score gives August 1875 as the date for the two songs.

        12. The Eumenides, op.23: pub. Novello not Stanley Lucas, Weber & Co. Perhaps it is misleading to describe this and Oedipus Tyrannus as "Aeschylus/Sophocles trans. A.W. Verrall". It is true that a translation was provided with the vocal scores but Stanford set the original Greek and that is what was sung at the first performance.

        13. Drake, op.130: this is unpub. as JD says, but he could have mentioned that the Procession Music was published in an organ arrangement by W.G. Alcock by Stainer & Bell in 1925 (he lists this under Organ Music).

          14. Orchestral Music

        14. Violin Suite op.32: completion date given as August 1888 in the worklist but on p.202 he says the finale was finished in September.

        15. Serenade, op.18: pub. Boosey (pub. omitted).

        16. Suite of Ancient Dances op.58: In worklist he says these are orchestrations of nos.3, 6, 8, 9 and 10 of 10 Dances Old and New, but on p.260 he says there are six of them.

        17. 3 Military Marches, op.109: not listed by JD though listed in various editions of Grove. PR lists them and tells us that the autograph is in the Newcastle Archive.

        18. Scènes de Ballet, op.150: I have an annotation that this work – correctly listed on p.481 in its original piano form – was also orchestrated. Since any such orchestration seems not to have survived the point is rather academic.

          19. Organ Solo

        19. 3 Preludes and Fugues, op.193: ded. H.W. Richards (omitted).

          20. Piano Solo

        20. Suite, op.2: omitted from list, though it is discussed on pp.75 and 205.

        21. Ballade in G minor, op.170: JD suggests that this may be the lost Ballade in G minor op.42/2. In view of the fact that the Mazurka contained in Night Thoughts, op.148 is a re-write of the Mazurka op.42/6, Stanford certainly had not forgotten the op.42 pieces, nor was he above recycling at least one of them as a later work. Furthermore, since the MS containing the first three of the op.42 pieces is missing and we do not know the titles of nos. 1 & 3 it is not impossible that these, too, were recycled and the MS conveniently "lost". However, having performed the Ballade a number of times over a good many years, it "feels" like a late work. This is subjective, I know; very slightly more concrete is the fact that the rising trills under shifting harmonies on the last page seem to suggest a knowledge of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, which had not been written at the time of the op.42 pieces. Does the MS, which JD tells us is in the Newcastle Archive, contain any hint?

        22. Scherzo in B minor: JD gives comp. date as c.1919. Fuller Maitland speaks of this work together with the early Sonata, implying that the Scherzo, too, was an early work. Since the work is lost any date is conjectural.

        23. 24 Preludes, Set II, op.179: completion date given as c.1921, but the printed score is dated December 1920.

        24. Irish Airs easily arranged, comp. c.1922, pub. Ascherberg, Hopwood and Crew 1924? Five easy arrangements of Irish Airs were published in vols. 2, 4, 8, 10 & 12 of The Children’s Music Portfolio, ed. Dunhill, pub. Newnes c.1922. Since I have not seen the AHC publication and JD does not list the separate titles or even say how many there are (12 according to Hudson) I cannot say whether these are the same or a separate work. The melodies arranged in the Children’s Music Portfolio are: The Minstrel Boy; St. Patrick’s Day; Go, Where Glory Waits Thee; The Meeting of the Waters and My Gentle Harp.

          25. Part-songs and Madrigals

        25. O Gladsome Light, referred to on p.34, is not listed here.

        26. A Child’s Garland of Songs, op.30: although originally pub. for solo voice and piano in 1892, in the revised version issued by Curwen in 1914 three songs – Pirate Story, Marching Song and My Ship and Me – were made into two-part songs and so should be listed here.

        27. The Princess, op.68: these are for four solo voices and piano, not for choral use, so should be listed elsewhere.

        28. Eleven Two-Part Songs: I suppose JD means the sets issued by Curwen in 1901 (4), 1906 (3) and 1907 (4). Earlier editions of Grove gave 1893 as the date for the set with words by Conan Doyle, but the published scores clearly say 1901 and no earlier publication was submitted to the BL.

        29. Eight Part-Songs, op.127: comp 1911, not 1910.

        30. My Gentle Harp, Oh! For the Swords: these are two numbers from the Six Irish Airs which JD lists immediately before them, so should not be separately listed.

        31. Virtue: pub.1925 not 1923.

        32. On Music (T. Moore), arr. SATB (Year Book Press 1924): omitted from JD’s list.

          33. Songs

        33. PR lists the following early songs which are known to have been performed in Dublin though no trace of them survives: Once more my love, When green leaves come again, Heroes and chieftains brave, The IOUX Indians. JD refers to the first of these in the text; perhaps he feels it is useless to list them since they are lost, but on the other hand other lost works have been listed.

        34. >From the Red Rose (Chappell 1876): mentioned on p.86 but omitted from the list.

        35. We Wander by the Waves (Chappell 1890): mentioned by Hudson but not listed by JD.

        36. Three Ditties of the Olden Times (not "Time").

        37. Three Songs, op.43: JD gives publication date as 1893: my copy says H.B. Stevens 1897 but this doesn’t mean there wasn’t an earlier issue. The first song was issued separately by Weekes (nd) as "O Fondest and Truest". There are considerable difference between the two, especially in the piano part.

        38. A Corsican Dirge: trans. A Strettell (not Strettall).

        39. May’s Love: pub. date given as 1893, but the BL catalogue gives c.1880. Since the BL copy is an undated proof sheet it is possible that the song, though prepared for publication in c.1880, was not actually issued until 1893. The BL copy proves that the song is in any case earlier than is usually supposed.

        40. A Carol of Bells: comp. 1915 (not 1916), pub.1916 (not 1918).

        41. Songs of a Roving Celt, op.157: pub.1919 (not 1924).

        42. The Merry Month of May: pub. 1928 (not 1927).

        43. Solo v. unison songs: the distinction may be fine since the score does not always indicate which is intended, and some songs were issued in both forms (The Merry Month of May, Satyr’s Song, The Sower’s Song and Witches’ Charms, for example). In this case there remains only one’s subjective assessment as to which is more suitable. Tentatively, I suggest that There is no land like England should be listed among unison, not solo songs, while the following, listed among unison songs, seem to be intended for solo use: A Carol, Satyr’s Song, Songs from the Elfin Pedlar (though some of these were issued separately as unison songs), Coo-ee and The Sower’s Song.

        44. Answer to a Child’s Question, The Winter Storms and Wishes: these were pub. 1925 not 1923.

        45. Ode to the Skylark: this is a straight reprint in unison format of op.14/2 and should not be listed separately.

        46. Orchestrations of songs: the lost orchestration of Die Wallfahrt nach Kevlaar should perhaps be listed here; the whole of the Cushendall cycle was orchestrated, not just the first song; a further Irish folksong arrangement, The March of the Macguire, was orchestrated.

          47. Editions, Arrangements, and Orchestrations

        47. The following should be added to "Other Irish Traditional Arrangements": Hush Song (trad) (Cramer 1924), Old Doctor Mack (A.P. Graves) (Chappell 1890), Easter Snow (W.M.. Letts) (Stainer & Bell 1912). Since JD lists the other arrangements published by Cramer in 1924 it is possible he assumed that Hush Song was a reprint of one of the several other pieces with that title, but it is different melody entirely.

  1. Errors and omissions in Rodmell

Since Rodmell’s is a "Select list of works" we have to assume that works are omitted by design rather than by accident. Many more composition dates, or failing that publication dates, can be obtained from the printed scores than has actually been done. I have supplied these where possible.

  1. The Lord is my Shepherd: completed May 1886, not 1876.

  2. La Belle Dame sans Merci: pub. Stanley Lucas, Weber & Co., not Stainer & Bell. JD gives date of comp. as 1877.

  3. Three Ditties of the Olden Times (not "Time").

  4. Ode to the Skylark op.14/2: the text is by James Hogg, not Shelley.

  5. Serenade op.18: pub. Boosey, not Novello, and it was published in full score as well as piano duet.

  6. If ye, the, be risen with Christ: pub. Boosey (pub. omitted).

  7. 6 Songs: comp. May 1882 (date omitted – hereafter do).

  8. Songs of Old Ireland: pub. 1882 though some had appeared separately from 1876 onwards (do).

  9. Elegiac Ode, op.21: pub. Stanley Lucas, Weber & Co (not Boosey, who took it over later).

  10. Prospice: comp. August 1884 (do)

  11. The Eumenides, op.23: pub. Novello, not Stainer & Bell.

  12. The Revenge, op.24: comp. 11 January 1886 (do).

  13. Piano Quintet, op.25: date of composition given as ?Feb. 1886, but printed score says March 1886 (JD gives March 1886).

  14. O Praise the Lord of Heaven, op.27 (not "Praise ye the Lord"): comp. March 1887 (do).

  15. Oedipus Tyrannus (not Oedipus Rex!), op.29: comp. 6 August 1887 (do).

  16. A Child’s Garland of Songs, op.30: pub. 1892 (do) by Longmans, not Curwen (a revised edition was issued by Curwen in 1914).

  17. Fourth Symphony, op.31: pub. in full score as well as for piano duet.

  18. Violin Suite, op.32: comp. August or September 1888 (Dibble gives both dates, see above), MS in Staatsbibliothek, Berlin (MS whereabouts omitted); pub. in full score as well as for violin and piano.

  19. Service in F, op.36: pub. 1889 (do).

  20. 2 Anthems, op.37: pub.1889 (do).

  21. 3 Motets, op.38: pub. 1905 but known to have been written before 1892 (do).

  22. Blarney Ballads: pub. Novello not Boosey.

  23. Installation Ode: pub. Clay & Sons, Cambridge and performed 11 June 1892, Cambridge (omitted; information from JD but see section A, point 19 above where the writers variously attribute this concert to 13 and 16 June).

  24. 3 Songs, op.43: comp. May 1891 (do); originally pub. by H.B.Stevens (Augener followed later); neither writer has noticed that an earlier version of no.1, with a similar melodic line but a very different accompaniment, was published by Weekes with the title "O Fondest and Truest".

  25. Crossing the Bar: comp. April 1890 (do).

  26. A Corsican Dirge: comp. November 1892 (do).

  27. Irish Songs and Ballads: dedication dated January 1893 (do).

  28. Fifth Symphony, op.56: comp. June 1894 (do).

  29. "Suite of Ancient Dances", op.58: this is the title of the orchestral transcription of five of the pieces contained in "Ten Dances, Old and New", op.58, for piano.

  30. Moore’s Irish Melodies Restored, op.60: comp. November 1894 (do).

  31. Prince Madoc’s Farewell: comp. August 1893 (do).

  32. The Clown’s Songs, op.65: comp. October 1896 (do).

  33. 6 Elizabethan Pastorals, Set III, op.67: pub.1897 (do).

  34. The Battle of Pelusium: comp. February 1896 (do).

  35. The Princess, op.68: comp. August 1897 (do).

  36. Violin Sonata no.2, op.70: in A (not G).

  37. Concert Variations on "Down among the Dead Men", op.71: pub. 1898 (do) by Boosey, not Novello.

  38. Songs of Erin, op.76: comp. November 1900 (do).

  39. An Irish Idyll, op.77: pub. 1901 (do).

  40. 6 Irish Folksongs, op.78: pub. 1901 (do); no.2 is "What the bee is to the flow’ret" (not "flower").

  41. Irish Rhapsody no.1, op.78: comp. March 1902 (do); pub. Houghton not Boosey.

  42. Flourish of Trumpets: comp. September 1902 (do).

  43. The Lord of Might, op.83: comp. February 1903 (do).

  44. 6 Preludes, op.88: these were copyrighted by The Precentor and published by The Vocalist; they were assigned later to Stainer & Bell.

  45. Songs of the Sea, op.91: delete apostrophe after "rain".

  46. 3 Rhapsodies, op.92: comp. August 1904 (do).

  47. 5 Characteristic Pieces (not "Dances"), op.93.

  48. Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis, op.98: pub. 1907 (do), by Houghton, not Stainer & Bell (to whom it was later assigned).

  49. 4 Partsongs, op.106: pub.1908 (do).

  50. 4 Partsongs, op.110: pub. 1910 (do).

  51. 3 Partsongs, op.111: pub. 1908 (do).

  52. 4 Songs, op.112: comp. September 1908 (do).

  53. Bible Songs, op.113: pub. 1909-1910 (do).

  54. Service in C, op.115: pub.1909 (do).

  55. Te Deum and Canzona, op.116: pub.1910 (do).

  56. Songs of the Fleet, op.117: pub. Stainer & Bell, not Boosey.

  57. Cushendall, op.118: comp. March 1910 (do).

  58. 8 Partsongs, op.119: comp. April 1910 (do).

  59. Come ye thankful people come, op.120: comp. May 1910 (do).

  60. Fantasia and Idyll, op.121: comp. December 1910 (do).

  61. Seventh Symphony, op.124: completion date given as 6 February 1912 but the printed score is dated February 1911 (JD gives no date). Since the first performance was on 22 February 1912, a mere 15 days after PR’s completion date, the printed score must surely be right. Since Stanford was an indefatigable copyist of his own works, but sometimes dated them with the date in which that copy was completed, PR may have seen a second copy made for the purposes of the first performance.

  62. 4 Songs, op.125: comp. February 1911 (do).

  63. Piano Concerto no.2, op.126: comp. 18 July 1911 (do).

  64. 8 Partsongs, op.127: comp. August 1911 (do).

  65. 6 Characteristic Pieces, op.132: completion date given as 11 January 1912 but printed score is dated June 1912.

  66. Blessed City, Heavenly Salem, op.134: comp. January 1913 (do).

  67. 3 Motets, op.135: comp., respectively, February 1913, March 1913, Easter Day 1913 (do).

  68. 6 Songs for Two Sopranos, op.138: title should be 6 Two-part Songs, since they are not intended for solo voices (and in some of them the second part is for contralto).

  69. A Fire of Turf, op.139: comp.August 1913 (do).

  70. A Sheaf of Songs from Leinster, op.140: comp. July 1913 (do).

  71. Irish Rhapsody no.4, op.141: first performed 8 February 1914, Amsterdam, not 19 February 1914, London (see section A, point 29 above).

  72. Thanksgiving Te Deum, op.143: pub.1914 (do).

  73. For lo! I raise up, op.145: pub.1939 but believed to have been composed in 1914 (do).

  74. Organ Sonata no.2, op.151: comp. August 1917 (do).

  75. Organ Sonata no.3, op.152: comp. November 1917 (do).

  76. "6 Easy Pieces" op.155: the correct title is "6 Sketches" (though admittedly they are easy pieces). Pub. 1919 (do).

  77. Songs of a Roving Celt, op.157: comp. April 1918 (do).

  78. Magnificat, op.164: comp. September 1918 (do).

  79. 6 Sketches (Elementary), 6 Sketches (Primary): pub.1918 not 1919. It might have been more logical to list these the other way round.

  80. Ballade, op.170: pub.1919 (do).

  81. 6 Songs from "The Glens of Antrim", op.174: comp. June 1920 (do).

  82. 6 Songs, op.175: pub.1920-21 (do).

  83. At the Abbey Gate, op.177: comp. November 1920 (do).

  84. 3 Waltzes, op.178: pub.1923 (do).

  85. 6 Occasional Preludes, op.182: pub. 1930 (do).

  86. 5 Bagatelles, op.183: pub.1921 (do).

  87. Fantasia op.187: comp. June 1922 (do).

  88. 4 Intermezzi, op.189: pub. 1923 (do), by Novello, not Stainer & Bell.

  89. 3 Anthems, op.192: the printed copy of no.2 is dated November 1922 (do).

  90. 3 Preludes and Fugues, op.193: comp. December 1922 (do).

  91. 3 Idylls, op.194: pub. 1930 (do).

  92. Songs from The Elfin Pedlar: pub. 1925 not 1928.

Charles Villiers Stanford: Man and Musician by Jeremy Dibble (Oxford 2002, 535 pp) £65
Charles Villiers Stanford by Paul Rodmell (Ashgate 2002, 495 pp) £57.50 [CH]
ERRORS AND DISCREPANCIES IN TWO RECENT BOOKS ON STANFORD
STANFORD, EDMOND HOLMES AND "THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE"
STANFORD AND MUSICAL QUOTATION
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