Summer's Last Will and Testament is a choral masque or cantata by Constant Lambert, written between 1932 and 1935, and premiered in 1936. It is scored for chorus and orchestra, with a baritone solo also featured in the last of its seven movements.[1] It is based on the play of the same name by Thomas Nashe, written around 1592. Lambert considered the work his magnum opus,[2] and it is his largest work in any genre.[3] However, it attracted little attention at its 1936 premiere and had only one or two other performances in Lambert's lifetime[3] (he died in 1951).
It has received only one complete commercial recording to date, released in 1992. This, along with a general resurgence of interest in Constant Lambert's music, has led to the work being reexamined, and performances are starting to take place.[4][5] The Guardian critic said the 1992 recording had made available to the public "a masterpiece buried for far too long".[6]
In 1949, Lambert said to Sir Frederick Ashton: "I like Summer's Last Will and Testament the best of all my work".[4]Malcolm Arnold called it "one of the undiscovered treasures of the English choral repertoire".[5]
Summer's Last Will and Testament was written between 1932 and 1935, a period in which Lambert was busy with his conducting and orchestration duties with Sadler's Wells, conducting the London premiere of Kurt Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins (under the title Anna-Anna), and completing his book Music Ho!.[7] Lambert's friend, the conductor and composer Hyam Greenbaum provided support, ostensibly with the choral parts, but also with advice on the composition. Lambert inscribed the vocal score he gave to Greenbaum: "To Hyam Greenbaum (who as far as I remember wrote most of this work) from Constant Lambert".[8]
The work was premiered at the Queen's Hall in London on 29 January 1936. The Philharmonic Choir, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the baritone soloist Roy Henderson were conducted by the composer.[4] The concert was sparsely attended. King George V had died just over a week before, and the sombre mood of the country was undoubtedly inimical to a work replete with references to plague, disease and death, and to the persistent aura of fatalism which affected much of Lambert's music.[9] Although this tepid response could well have been anticipated under the circumstances, Lambert considered he had failed as a composer, and completed only two major works in the remaining sixteen years of his life.[10]
The piece lasts about 55 minutes. It was dedicated "to Florence", his then wife Florence Chuter (aka Florence Kaye), whom he had married in 1931.[8] A limited edition of the two-piano score, with six drawings by Michael Ayrton as frontispieces to the main movements, was issued by Oxford University Press in 1946.[11]
Movements
The sections of Summer's Last Will and Testament are:
Intrata (orchestra alone)
Madrigal con ritornelli: Fair Summer droops (orchestra and chorus)
Corante: Spring, the sweet Spring (orchestra and chorus)
Brawles: Trip and go, heave and ho! (orchestra and chorus)
Madrigal con ritornelli: Autumn hath all the Summer's fruitful treasure (orchestra and chorus)
Rondo burlesca: King Pest (orchestra alone)
Saraband: Adieu, farewell earth's bliss! (orchestra, baritone solo and chorus)[6]
King Pest is also an allusion to Edgar Allan Poe's story of the same name.[1]
Orchestration
Summer's Last Will and Testament is scored for the following forces:
For the vocal score, the orchestral part was arranged for piano four-hands by Archibald Jacob.[13] In the score, Lambert says he asked Jacob to produce "a clear presentation of the contrapuntal texture of the full score rather than a pianistic transcription".
The penultimate movement, the Rondo burlesca subtitled King Pest, written for orchestra alone, has sometimes been performed separately[1] and has been recorded separately (by Norman Del Mar and the English Chamber Orchestra, released in 2007).[17]
References
^ abcGrove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed, 1954, Eric Blom, ed.
^Nash, Thomas; Lambert, Constant (1 January 1937). "Summer's last will and testament; a masque for orchestra chorus, and baritone solo". Oxford University Press. OL 19576269M. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
^"OBITUARIES: Christopher Palmer". The Independent. UK. 27 January 1995. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25.
^. Archive.org. Bright Festival Chorus. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
^"Lambert: Pomona, Music For Orchestra, Etc / De ... | Buy from ArkivMusic". www.arkivmusic.com. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
August 21, 2023
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Summer s Last Will and Testament is a choral masque or cantata by Constant Lambert written between 1932 and 1935 and premiered in 1936 It is scored for chorus and orchestra with a baritone solo also featured in the last of its seven movements 1 It is based on the play of the same name by Thomas Nashe written around 1592 Lambert considered the work his magnum opus 2 and it is his largest work in any genre 3 However it attracted little attention at its 1936 premiere and had only one or two other performances in Lambert s lifetime 3 he died in 1951 It has received only one complete commercial recording to date released in 1992 This along with a general resurgence of interest in Constant Lambert s music has led to the work being reexamined and performances are starting to take place 4 5 The Guardian critic said the 1992 recording had made available to the public a masterpiece buried for far too long 6 In 1949 Lambert said to Sir Frederick Ashton I like Summer s Last Will and Testament the best of all my work 4 Malcolm Arnold called it one of the undiscovered treasures of the English choral repertoire 5 Contents 1 Background and premiere 2 Movements 3 Orchestration 4 Recording 5 ReferencesBackground and premiere EditSummer s Last Will and Testament was written between 1932 and 1935 a period in which Lambert was busy with his conducting and orchestration duties with Sadler s Wells conducting the London premiere of Kurt Weill s The Seven Deadly Sins under the title Anna Anna and completing his book Music Ho 7 Lambert s friend the conductor and composer Hyam Greenbaum provided support ostensibly with the choral parts but also with advice on the composition Lambert inscribed the vocal score he gave to Greenbaum To Hyam Greenbaum who as far as I remember wrote most of this work from Constant Lambert 8 The work was premiered at the Queen s Hall in London on 29 January 1936 The Philharmonic Choir the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the baritone soloist Roy Henderson were conducted by the composer 4 The concert was sparsely attended King George V had died just over a week before and the sombre mood of the country was undoubtedly inimical to a work replete with references to plague disease and death and to the persistent aura of fatalism which affected much of Lambert s music 9 Although this tepid response could well have been anticipated under the circumstances Lambert considered he had failed as a composer and completed only two major works in the remaining sixteen years of his life 10 The piece lasts about 55 minutes It was dedicated to Florence his then wife Florence Chuter aka Florence Kaye whom he had married in 1931 8 A limited edition of the two piano score with six drawings by Michael Ayrton as frontispieces to the main movements was issued by Oxford University Press in 1946 11 Movements EditThe sections of Summer s Last Will and Testament are Intrata orchestra alone Madrigal con ritornelli Fair Summer droops orchestra and chorus Corante Spring the sweet Spring orchestra and chorus Brawles Trip and go heave and ho orchestra and chorus Madrigal con ritornelli Autumn hath all the Summer s fruitful treasure orchestra and chorus Rondo burlesca King Pest orchestra alone Saraband Adieu farewell earth s bliss orchestra baritone solo and chorus 6 King Pest is also an allusion to Edgar Allan Poe s story of the same name 1 Orchestration EditSummer s Last Will and Testament is scored for the following forces baritone solo chorus SATB 3 flutes 3 oboes 3 clarinets 3 bassoons 4 horns 3 trumpets 3 cornets 3 trombones tuba timpani percussion 2 harps strings 12 need quotation to verify For the vocal score the orchestral part was arranged for piano four hands by Archibald Jacob 13 In the score Lambert says he asked Jacob to produce a clear presentation of the contrapuntal texture of the full score rather than a pianistic transcription Recording EditSummer s Last Will and Testament has had only one complete commercial recording 4 This was released in 1992 by Hyperion Records with David Lloyd Jones conducting the English Northern Philharmonia the Leeds Festival Chorus and baritone soloist William Shimell The recording took place in the Leeds Town Hall and was produced by Christopher Palmer 6 Palmer s liner notes compare the plague to AIDS from which Palmer himself would die just three years later 14 Tapes of a 1965 broadcast conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent also exist 4 and there were two notable revivals broadcast during the 1980s and 1990s by the BBC Concert Orchestra and Brighton Festival Chorus conducted by Norman Del Mar 10 May 1986 15 and by the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo 5 October 1999 16 The penultimate movement the Rondo burlesca subtitled King Pest written for orchestra alone has sometimes been performed separately 1 and has been recorded separately by Norman Del Mar and the English Chamber Orchestra released in 2007 17 References Edit a b c Grove s Dictionary of Music and Musicians 5th ed 1954 Eric Blom ed Lisa Hardy The British Piano Sonata 1870 1945 a b David Mason Greene Greene s Biographical Encyclopedia of Composers a b c d e Music Web International a b CONSTANT LAMBERT SUMMER S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT www musicweb international com Retrieved 21 August 2016 a b c Lambert Summer s Last Will and Testament The Rio Grande amp Aubade heroique Hyperion Records Retrieved 21 August 2016 Mike Ashman Lost in music The Guardian 7 May 2005 a b Lloyd Stephen Constant Lambert Beyond the Rio Grande 2015 p 221 Palmer Christopher 1 April 1974 Reviews of Books Music and Letters 2 241 242 doi 10 1093 ml LV 2 241 Retrieved 21 August 2016 Constant Lambert Composer Arranger Short Biography www bach cantatas com Retrieved 21 August 2016 Music amp Letters Vol 28 No 2 Apr 1947 p 197 Lambert UK Oxford University Press Nash Thomas Lambert Constant 1 January 1937 Summer s last will and testament a masque for orchestra chorus and baritone solo Oxford University Press OL 19576269M Retrieved 21 August 2016 OBITUARIES Christopher Palmer The Independent UK 27 January 1995 Archived from the original on 2022 05 25 21 Jan 1986 Concert Royal Festival Hall London Archive org Bright Festival Chorus Archived from the original on 20 August 2018 Retrieved 20 August 2018 BBC Genome Project Lambert Pomona Music For Orchestra Etc De Buy from ArkivMusic www arkivmusic com Retrieved 21 August 2016 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Summer 27s Last Will and Testament Lambert amp oldid 1151578234, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
