Sir Michael Tippett - Concerto for Double String Orchestra (Outer Movements)

Michael Tippett, in an extraordinary musical tour de force. I was astounded when I first heard it.

Too long to include at once, here are the outer movements - the Allegro con Brio and the Allegro Molto. The profoundly affecting central Adagio Cantabile is elsewhere on my video list.

It took a while for me to appreciate this piece fully - and isn't that true of everything in art that is lasting? I have fond memories of cycling around Suffolk with this entire concerto in my head, such was its impact on me.

Apologies for the bad pan and scan "out of frame" mistakes. I'm learning some new slideshow software and aim to replace this with a more polished version.

The images here are photos I took of parts England's Derbyshire Peak District, and of London. I used them simply because they are of England, which is Tippett's home territory. Given that he was a conscientious objector in WW2, I doubt he'd be impressed by my pics of the Household Cavalry, but I'd like to think the great man would forgive me.

From Wikipedia:

Like other works of the composer's early maturity such as the First Piano Sonata and the String Quartet no.1, the Concerto is characterized by rhythmic energy and a direct melodic appeal. The influence of Bartok and Stravinsky can be shown, as well as that of the 17th century English Madrigal School. From these, and from folk-song, Tippett derives his distinctive and personal technique of 'additive rhythm'. This has been described as 'a kind of rhythm the effect of which is determined by an accumulation of irregular, unpredictable accents in the music'.[1] The composer David Matthews describes the effect thus: "It is the rhythmic freedom of the music, its joyful liberation from orthodox notions of stress and phrase length, that contributes so much to its vitality".

By dividing the orchestra into two equal and identical sections Tippett is able to play one off against the other, using syncopation and imitation to add further to the rhythmic vitality and propulsion of the music. This antiphonal effect is similar to that found in Renaissance and early Baroque choral music by composers such as Monteverdi and Gabrieli. The first movement (Allegro con brio) is in Sonata Form and contrasts a vigorous, driving theme in octaves with a more delicate, lightly scored idea on violins and cellos. The slow movement (Adagio cantabile) opens with one of Tippett's most affecting and heartfelt melodies for low solo violin, revealing the composer's deep love of Blues, especially the singing of Bessie Smith. A fugue offers chromatic contrast, and the movement is rounded off by a return of the opening tune on solo cello. In the rondo finale (Allegro molto) Tippett uses a theme based on a Northumbrian bagpipe tune to bring the work to an exciting and uplifting climax.

Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields.
Conducted by Sir Neville Marriner

Category:

Music

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• tippett
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• england
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[shlomzion]

Pity you didn't upload the middle adagio movement. A true hidden gem of 20th century music.

[AntPDC]

@shlomzion As I said in my Description: "Too long to include at once, here are the outer movements - the Allegro con Brio and the Allegro Molto. The profoundly affecting central Adagio Cantabile is elsewhere on my video list" :)

[Nai61a]

A masterpiece which I've known, I suddenly realise, for over 30 years. For an English musician - that's me - it is incredibly touching. Like the works of Sibelius, for example, it evokes a landscape and a spirit of its land of origin. Marriner is not necessarily the best interpreter of this piece - it's difficult to conduct - but it's a good performance, nonetheless.

[AntPDC]

@Nai61a Thank you. Happy to learn of other performances that you rate highly, as ever. Very best wishes.

Anthony

[SambArtBroadcast]

@ROLANDMC80EX I absolutely agree.

[ROLANDMC80EX]

scroll down and discover the horror of people like Norman Lebrecht on an earlier post by me....

I feel so sorry for him!

[piraticalmaid]

@jonimethfan Same here - my late husband owned that CFP disc (LPO/Handley) and I too turned it over and listened in total amazement. Saw Mark Elder + Halle play this a year or two ago, he obviously loves this work too.

[ROLANDMC80EX]

Clearly you love the great man's work!Do something wonderful when you read this!

there are some , including Norman Lebrecht. on page one online, who thinks ths is a composer who should be forgotten! HUH? COME ON PEOPLE...REDRESS THE BALANCE, STATE THE CASE TO TOSE WHO DO NOT UNDERSTAND SO "RUBBISH"....IT'S NOT FAIR......YOU DO NOT GET TO BE CALLED SIR FOR NO SMALL REASON....

[AntPDC]

@jonimethfan An interesting take on the man, for which many thanks. You'd be even more emphatic, I suspect, had you included Gerald Finzi in your survey!

As to "awkward squad", you nailed it. Clearly the great man's feelings towards the establishment mellowed in later years: a CH; an OM; and - horror of bourgeois horrors - a knighthood (shudder)!

Best wishes.

[AntPDC]

@jonimethfan "Let the side down" - Leicester? I think not! Tippett held Leicester dear for many reasons, not least his work with the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra.

[ROLANDMC80EX]

Tippett was a genius PERIOD!

[AntPDC]

@jonimethfan You know, that's what happened to me too. Your description gave my memory a weird jolt, and I think I recall the little record shop in Bury St. Edmunds where I bought the Tallis CfP LP for 99 pence. And when I flipped over to the B side I thought: "who IS this man Tippett?".