Richard Arnell's music is now beginning to come out of obscurity thanks to some new recordings. He was sidelined in his native country, the U.K. during the dark days of William Glock at the BBC but now we live in a more enlightened age when it comes to musical appreciation.
from 1982-84, I was privileged to be a student of Tony's at Trinity College of Music. Many a drink was drunk at Boswell's just down the road, and many stories. As a teacher he an encourager rather than a critic of technique. I also become his copyist for a time. The Third Secret was perhaps his most known of film scores but he was an experimenter too. Tony wrote ten symphonies i believe? His music has an almost romantic/impressionist feel to it with a tonal beauty that borders on pathos; some nostalgia, hurt, heroism and lost loves can also be distilled within its embrace. In this work, I think we hear him at his best. I for one am delighted to hear him again. Thank you so much MusicaNovaaz. Richard Swatton
He actually wrote 6 Symphonies, the last finished in 1992. The "Seventh" Symphony that Martin Yeats "completed" is based on sketches for a work called a Mandela Portrait. Tony told me explicitly that that work was not intended to be a Symphony, but Martin claims he told him otherwise-knowing Tony, that is possible, but I also know he disapproved of completions by other hands in general. At one point he promised me a Seventh, based on material in the Purcell Fantasias, but it was never written out.
Hello. Thanks for your reply. When I was working with him he told me that he was working on a tenth symphony. it was sometime after the Alpha and Omega orchestrations for the Coventry Cathedral performance and Edward Woodward singing and narrating! Tony sometimes said one thing and then another for various reasons but this inconsistency never interfered with his work. I will keep an eye open for MusicaN in the future. hope u post a few more pieces on u tube too because its great way to keep things alive for the next generation. thanks once again. richard swatton
Richard Swatton Have you heard the other things we do have up on RUclips already? There is Sinfonia Quasi Variazione and the "Elegy" that I arranged from the slow movement of the 3rd Quartet. I have some more to put up, and there is our recording of 4 and 5 (as I said, I like this live 5 better than the recording, but the 4 is pretty good).
during my time at trinity he had the onerous task of hosting some of the student composition concerts,my own included.he seemed totally disinterested and often looked,shall we say,a little worse for wear?not a particularly inspiring figure in my experience.
He had a number of personal problems ( 8 wives, for one) and a frequently chaotic life, If you were around him during one of the bad periods, I can well imagine he might have been preoccupied
My teacher - a genius
Richard Arnell's music is now beginning to come out of obscurity thanks to some new recordings. He was sidelined in his native country, the U.K. during the dark days of William Glock at the BBC but now we live in a more enlightened age when it comes to musical appreciation.
Wonderful. I could hear Sibelius and Copland clapping.
best version
from 1982-84, I was privileged to be a student of Tony's at Trinity College of Music. Many a drink was drunk at Boswell's just down the road, and many stories. As a teacher he an encourager rather than a critic of technique. I also become his copyist for a time. The Third Secret was perhaps his most known of film scores but he was an experimenter too. Tony wrote ten symphonies i believe? His music has an almost romantic/impressionist feel to it with a tonal beauty that borders on pathos; some nostalgia, hurt, heroism and lost loves can also be distilled within its embrace. In this work, I think we hear him at his best. I for one am delighted to hear him again. Thank you so much MusicaNovaaz. Richard Swatton
He actually wrote 6 Symphonies, the last finished in 1992. The "Seventh" Symphony that Martin Yeats "completed" is based on sketches for a work called a Mandela Portrait. Tony told me explicitly that that work was not intended to be a Symphony, but Martin claims he told him otherwise-knowing Tony, that is possible, but I also know he disapproved of completions by other hands in general. At one point he promised me a Seventh, based on material in the Purcell Fantasias, but it was never written out.
Hello. Thanks for your reply. When I was working with him he told me that he was working on a tenth symphony. it was sometime after the Alpha and Omega orchestrations for the Coventry Cathedral performance and Edward Woodward singing and narrating! Tony sometimes said one thing and then another for various reasons but this inconsistency never interfered with his work. I will keep an eye open for MusicaN in the future. hope u post a few more pieces on u tube too because its great way to keep things alive for the next generation. thanks once again. richard swatton
Richard Swatton Have you heard the other things we do have up on RUclips already? There is Sinfonia Quasi Variazione and the "Elegy" that I arranged from the slow movement of the 3rd Quartet. I have some more to put up, and there is our recording of 4 and 5 (as I said, I like this live 5 better than the recording, but the 4 is pretty good).
during my time at trinity he had the onerous task of hosting some of the student composition concerts,my own included.he seemed totally disinterested and often looked,shall we say,a little worse for wear?not a particularly inspiring figure in my experience.
He had a number of personal problems ( 8 wives, for one) and a frequently chaotic life, If you were around him during one of the bad periods, I can well imagine he might have been preoccupied
SIR THOMAS BEECHAM SAID RICHARD ARNELL WAS THE BEST ORCHESTRATOR SINCE HECT0R BERLIOZ. 48 YEARS BETWEEN THE 2 COMPOSERS LIVES.