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S S Wesley and temperament


Colin Pykett

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3 hours ago, S_L said:

A very fine church musician of the 19th century - genius? - never - but, of course, others, obviously including Donald Hunt, may disagree!!!

I tend to agree with your view of Donald Hunt as a writer, but in his defence he deals with all the criticisms which you make!  In an appendix he lists Wesley’s compositions in numerous different genres, and by no means exclusively for the Church of England. The book has no index and contains some minor inaccuracies, but nevertheless it probably merits a more sympathetic comment!  

However, my own strong recommendation (mentioned previously) is Paul Chappell’s book “Dr S S Wesley 1810-1876 Portrait of a Victorian Musician”: Mayhew-McCrimmon 1977.  This has a wider canvas, fine illustrations and much more detail about both the man (warts and all, including the unhappy Exeter episodes) and his music - which has to be seen in the context of the times in which it was written and the fact that Wesley was a church musician.  It might not persuade you that he was a genius (!) but I think you will find it enjoyable - and informative!

 

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The earlier books (Routley’s also) are valuable, but Peter Horton’s Samuel Sebastian Wesley: A Life is much more comprehensive and more analytical. He is particularly illuminating on Wesley’s pre-Hereford career as a secular musician, and how his early experiences in the theatre influenced his church music (Gattens had earlier looked at this angle). Wesley’s early church compositions are more innovative than people realise. Later his style became more conservative as a result of studying (as we might put it) “early music” - but in that sort of study he was an innovator too (just of a different kind).

As well as examining Wesley’s attested secular music, Horton convincingly argues that a single movement “symphony” in C minor attributed on its manuscript to Samuel Wesley is in fact the lost symphony in that key by Samuel Sebastian that he included in one of his Three Choirs Festivals.

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For what it’s worth, I’d agree that Wesley was not a genius, but he did have a touch of genius. He was flawed as both man and musician/composer, but that is part of what makes him interesting. There is quirkiness about his compositions and his opinions that is intriguing - which is perhaps why this thread began in the first place, and also why it’s continued for so long ….

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8 hours ago, Colin Pykett said:

It might be rather difficult for Donald Hunt to express an opinion of any sort on what has just been written ...

 

9 hours ago, S_L said:

A very fine church musician of the 19th century - genius? - never - but, of course, others, obviously including Donald Hunt, may disagree!!!

 

Colin. Forgive my clumsy English, written at 04h30 this morning!!! What I meant to say was that, I disagreed with Donald Hunt's analysis of Wesley as a genius! I am aware of Mr Hunt's death in 2018.

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At the risk of attracting the ire of those who might understandably be getting fed up with this long thread, I'll mention that I've been revisiting a recording of S S Wesley's complete organ works played by John Robinson at Carlisle cathedral (Priory PRCD 1015).  Although still available it's a little elderly now, having been recorded in 2008, and at first I wasn't over-enthused about it.  The thumpy action noise pretty much ruins some of the quieter moments for me, and the organ sounds as though it's too big for the space it's in.  Both of these indicate that it might have been rather close-miked (a problem I referred to in another thread recently where I suggested 'adding a bit of distance' using artificial reverberation - doing this reduces both problems).  John Robinson's playing is impeccable, although sometimes not adventurous enough in terms of registration for my tastes.

But to counter all this, it's nevertheless nice to have everything that Wesley composed for organ (at least, those pieces which were published) easily to hand, either as a reference source or just to accompany a glass of Aloxe-Corton of an evening.

(And don't worry, I'm not going to mention the T-word).

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Colin, I don’t see why people should be fed up, or that the thread has become over-long.  In fact I see it has now received 2,000 views (in less than three weeks!), so there has been a clear interest.  Everyone has the option of following a topic or skipping it if it is not of interest. That is clearly what happens all the time on this Board, as confirmed by the statistics which we are given for every individual thread.

Wesley’s output was phenomenal.  Paul Chappell has listed 15 pages of his compositions, including organ works which have never been published.  If opus numbers were introduced they would run into hundreds!  It’s just a sad fact that apart from the anthems and services, and a few of the hymn tunes (I believe there were as many as 200) he is seen as dated and, largely, doesn’t make the 21st century.  

If you can get hold of it, and have the time(!) I think you will find Paul Chappell’s book a revelation about both the man and the music.  Having just returned to it, after reading Donald Hunt’s book, it is a vastly fuller and better appraisal of Wesley - then and now.

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