Bantock, (Sir) Granville

Bantock, (Sir) Granville (b Westbourne Park, London, 1868; d London, 1946). Eng. composer, cond., and educationist. Toured as cond. of a theatrical co. and became mus. dir. at New Brighton, nr. Liverpool, where he gave remarkable concerts of mus. by contemp. Brit. composers. Among first Eng. champions of mus. of Sibelius, whose 3rd sym. is ded. to him. From 1900 Prin. of Sch. of Mus. in Birmingham and from 1908 Prof. of Mus., Birmingham Univ.; in 1934 became Chairman of Corporation of TCL. Knighted 1930.

His orch. mus. is extremely brilliantly scored in a romantic manner but has not held its place in the repertory apart from occasional perfs. of his ov. Pierrot of the Minute and his tone-poem after Browning Fifine at the Fair. Prolific composer of part-songs for competitive fests., and his most ambitious works were 2 unacc. choral syms., Atalanta in Calydon (Manchester 1912) and Vanity of Vanities (Liverpool 1914) and a 3-part setting for cont., ten., and bass soloists, ch., and orch. of Omar Khayyám (1906, 1907, 1909). Other comps. incl.:STAGE: Caedmar, opera (1893); The Pearl of Iran, opera (1894); Eugene Aram, unfinished opera (1896); Hippolytus, incid. mus. (1908); Electra, incid. mus. (1909); The Great God Pan, ballet (1915); Salome, incid. mus. (1918); The Seal-Woman, opera (1924); Macbeth, incid. mus. (1926).ORCH.: Elegiac Poem, vc., orch. (1898); Helena Variations (1899); English Scenes (1900); Tone-poems: Dante (1901, rev. as Dante and Beatrice, 1910); Fifine at the Fair (1901); Hudibras (1902); The Witch of Atlas (1902); Lalla Rookh (1902); Sapphic Poem, vc., orch. (1906); ov. The Pierrot of the Minute (1908); From the Scottish Highlands, str. (1913); Dramatic Poem, vc., orch. (1914); Hebridean Symphony (1915); Pagan Symphony (1923–8); Celtic Symphony, str., 6 hps. (1940); Overture to a Greek Comedy (1941); The Funeral (1946).CHORUS AND ORCH.: The Fire Worshippers, soloists, ch., orch. (1892); The Blessed Damozel, reciter, orch. (1892); The Time Spirit, ch., orch. (1902); Ferishtah's Fancies, v., orch. (1905); Sappho, v., orch. (1906); Sea Wanderers, ch., orch. (1906); Omar Khayyám, cont., ten., bass, ch., orch. (1906–9); Song of Liberty, ch., orch. (1914); Song of Songs, soloists, ch., orch. (1922); Pagan Chants, v., orch. (1917–26); The Pilgrim's Progress, soloists, ch., orch. (1928); Prometheus Unbound, ch., orch. (1936); Thomas the Rhymer, v., orch. (1946).UNACC. VOICES: Mass in B♭, male vv. (1903); Atalanta in Calydon, sym. for ch. (1911); Vanity of Vanities, sym. for ch. (1913); A Pageant of Human Life, sym. for ch. (1913); 7 Burdens of Isaiah, male vv. (1927); 5 Choral Songs and Dances from The Bacchae, female vv. (1945).CHAMBER MUSIC: str. qt. (c.1899); Pibroch, vc., hp. (1917); va. sonata (1919); vc. sonata (1924); 3 vn. sonatas (1929, 1932, 1940); 2 vc. sonatas (1940, 1945).

Also many pf. pieces, 40 song-cycles, nearly 50 solo songs, works for brass band.