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| Charles Hubert Parry, |
Jerusalem and other musical classics have been recorded for the first time as they were originally conceived nearly 100 years ago, following work by a Durham University expert.
While researching music for a new CD of the works of composer, Charles Hubert Parry, Professor Jeremy Dibble, a musicologist in Durham University’s Department of Music, found that the first verse of Jerusalem was written for a solo voice, as opposed to the grand choral start typical of performances at The Last Night of the Proms. The second verse was then intended to be sung by “all available voices” according to Parry’s original published vocal score.
Composed by (Charles) Hubert (Hastings) Parry and based on a poem by William Blake, the song, originally written for the ‘Fight for Right’ movement in 1916, became a rallying call for the women's suffrage (right to vote) movement. It has become a standard of big sporting events, is the anthem of the Women’s Institute, and has been used in many famous films.
The song has been recorded for the first time in its original form by the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales using Parry’s original orchestration rather than the more familiar Edward Elgar version. This and other Parry classics, including music to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee, will feature on a new CD to be released in October 2012, by Chandos Records.
Jerusalem, was composed by Parry in March 1916 as a unison song, an increasingly popular vocal form whose melody everybody could sing. He provided orchestral accompaniment for it in 1918. After its first performance at Queen’s Hall on 28 March 1916, the song became popular and was widely sung.
Professor Dibble said: “Parry wrote the first verse of Jerusalem for a lone voice, probably a soprano, to be followed by everyone singing together on the second verse to reflect his desire to create a song of strength, hope and unity.
“People clearly enjoyed singing it together in church, at meetings and at The Last Night of the Proms, so much so that we’ve forgotten Parry’s original intention of a solo beginning.”
The CD will also include the first modern recording of a forgotten national song by Parry, entitled England, using the words from John of Gaunt’s monologue from Shakespeare’s Richard II.
During research into Parry’s work for the new CD, Professor Dibble found that the performing materials for England, the Coronation Te Deum and the Magnificat were no longer in existence; these may have been lost or destroyed. It was therefore necessary for him to track down original manuscripts from The Royal College of Music and The British Library and other printed sources. Using these, he was able to reconstruct Parry’s
music as it was originally intended to be performed.
The song England was composed in 1918 in the last year of Parry’s life. Professor Dibble said: “England is a big, patriotic, unison song right up there with Jerusalem. It is all abouta collective national pride, chivalry and idealism, like Jerusalem.”
“Few people seem to know the song now. It may have been the disappearance of the piano from assemblies in schools, a decline in collective singing, coupled with changing times in the post-colonial world that led to its decline.”
“England, the song, is more than just ‘flying the flag’. Parry was interested in and motivated by British values and democracy. Like Jerusalem, its rousing tune expresses a sense of vision, self-sacrifice and hope, typical of Parry's own outlook.”
Other Parry classics on the disc include new recordings to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. These include the bridal march from The Birds, composed in 1883, and later played at the wedding of Queen Elizabeth in 1947, the Coronation Te Deum for George V in 1911, and Parry’s Magnificat originally dedicated to Queen Victoria on her Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
The new recordings will be released by Chandos Records in October 2012.
Ten facts about the song Jerusalem:
Hubert Parry put Blake’s poetry to music for a ‘Fight for Right’ campaign meeting at
London’s Queen’s Hall on 28 March 1916.
The text was first suggested by the Poet Laureate, Robert Bridges.
The song was taken up by the suffrage movement in the UK in 1917 and they
asked Parry if they might continue to use it. Parry was delighted and endorsed the
song as the Women Voters' Hymn.
The song was first called "And Did Those Feet in Ancient Time".
It was used as a campaign slogan by the Labour Party in the 1945 general election.
It was sung at the Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, the Duke and
Duchess of Cambridge.
England has no official anthem and uses the British National Anthem "God Save the Queen".
Jerusalem is used as an unofficial anthem for some national occasions, such as before
England international football matches. Other sports, including rugby league and cricket
use Jerusalem as an anthem as well.
It has been adopted by many churches and is frequently sung as an office or recessional
hymn in English cathedrals, churches and chapels on St George's Day.
“Bring me my chariot of fire" inspired the title of the film Chariots of Fire.
The hymn has featured in many other films and TV programmes including Four Weddings
and a Funeral, and Calendar Girls and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Jan Philipp Gloger made his Bayreuth Festival debut with
the premiere of his production of "The Flying Dutchman." He translates
Wagner's tale of a cursed seafarer and a redemption-seeking woman in a
modern way.
Lest you missed it, belt tightening, (and the most loved figure in European politics after Cameron?) Angela Merkel has joined in the Bayreuth craze of reviving old worn out productions (well perhaps at least one) - wearing a dress she wore in 2008 for the festival's opening.
The upcoming young German director, 31-year-old Jan Philipp Gloger, and his team were met with the boos and whistles when they took their curtain call at the end of the two-and-a-quarter-hour evening, attended by Germany's political and social elite, including Chancellor Angela Merkel.
But it was perhaps German conductor, Christian Thielemann, a long-time favourite in Bayreuth, who proved to be the biggest star of the evening, with an miraculously balanced and refined reading of what is regarded as Richard Wagner's first mature opera.
The other singers, Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka as Senta, German baritone Franz-Josef Selig, German tenors Michael Koenig and Benjamin Bruns as Erik and the Steersman, were similarly warmly received.
A new Brunnhilde only comes along infrequently. This is in part because of the relatively small number of Ring Cycle performances. Equally, the shear cost of staging any part of the Ring means that opera companies are most likely to chose “big names”- dramatic sopranos that can draw in large crowds simply by their presence on the stage. But perhaps most importantly it is the difficulty that houses have in finding a performer who can meet the long list of requirements to “pull off” a successful performance of Brunnhilde: technical skill, experience, vocal quality, acting skills, intelligence, presence (this is after all the women who will redeem the world in Wagner’s vision) and, let us be honest, the stamina and vocal power, to perform one of the most demanding roles in opera.
Over at The Wagner Blog, Peterp has published a review of a new book which examines the Ring Cycle from a Freudian perspective: The Wagner Complex: Genesis and Meaning of The Ring by Tom Artin. 
Despite 1 million deficit and layoffs Seattle Opera's 2013 Ring Cycle is well on trackHowever, the 2014 International Wagner Competition may not be able to go ahead. 
