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Naxos

Samuel Arnold: Overtures, Etc / Mallon, Toronto Camerata

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Details

Composer
ARNOLD
Artist
Mallon
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Mar 21, 2006
Catalog #
8557484
UPC
747313248421

About



S. ARNOLD Overtures: in B?, op. 8/1; in D, op. 8/2; in F, op. 8/3; in D, op. 8/4; in G, op. 8/5; in D, op. 8/6. Macbeth: Incidental Music. Polly: Overture ? Kevin Mallon, cond; Toronto Camerata ? NAXOS 8557484 (76:27)


Even though his name is lost to all but musicologists and then only a precious few of them, Samuel Arnold (1740?1802) was a gifted musician, highly respected theater composer, conductor, and an outstanding musical historian in Georgian England.


Arnold was the son of Thomas Arnold and probably Princess Amelia, a student of Handel. Arnold studied with Bernard Gates, a pupil of John Blow, and from the mid 1760s was active as a composer for the summer concerts at London?s pleasure gardens. By 1769, Arnold?s struggle to stay afloat financially ended abruptly when he came face-to-face with financial ruin as the result of a £10,000 embezzlement. However, the resourceful Arnold rekindled his relationship with the London theaters in 1777, when George Colman the Elder secured Arnold?s talents as house composer for the Little Theater in the Haymarket. Additional positions included posts as organist at the Chapel Royal and Westminster Abbey and head of the Academy of Ancient Music. In 1786, Arnold commenced editing a complete edition of Handel?s works and had completed 180 volumes by his death in 1802. Arnold is buried in Westminster Abbey, along with two of England?s other musical greats, Handel and Purcell.


Samuel Arnold wrote no less than 60 works for the stage, including The Maid of the Mill , the first English opera to have action finales in the manner of its European counterparts, The Castle of Andalusia , Turk and No Turk, and the oratorio The Prodigal Son (1773), the last work performed at Oxford on the occasion of Arnold?s receiving the degree of doctor of music from Oxford University; all of these further solidified Arnold?s reputation as a first-rate composer for the English theater.


Generally, composers active at the time would assemble works in sets of six or 12 for publication, as with the six concertos of Handel?s op. 3 and the dozen that make up his op. 6. Arnold?s half-dozen overtures fall into that pattern. There were exceptions to the rule, though, notable examples being Thomas Arne?s seven trio sonatas and William Boyce?s eight overtures and three concerti grossi .


The six overtures recorded on this Naxos release from the spring of 1996 were composed for the concerts at Marylebone Gardens and published in parts by John Welcker, c. 1771. They are high-spirited works and, as noted by Dr. Robert Hoskins in his excellent annotations, are composed in a ?homophonic idiom, with fast tempos, pleasing tunefulness, and colourful contrasts [that] had resonances with the gardens? audiences.? Although Arnold?s idiom is indebted to that of Johann Christian Bach and composers of the Mannheim school, there is a decidedly English ring to each work.


Apropos overtures, that to Polly , the long-delayed successor to Gay and Pepusch?s The Beggar?s Opera , didn?t grace the boards in London until 1777. It came on the heels of a revival of The Beggar?s Opera that included new music written by Thomas Linley. Arnold?s curtain raiser is nothing more than a medley of 13 tunes from the prequel to Polly . On the occasion of the premiere, a critic wrote in The Morning Post that ?the airs were arranged and blended with great judgement? and ?we do not remember any Overture being more enjoyed.?


The eight tracks that comprise Arnold?s music to Macbeth were composed for a 1778 production of Shakespeare?s masterpiece at Colman?s Little Theater, but the critics weren?t as kind as they were to Polly the previous year, complaining of botched lines, provincial dialects, and inappropriate costumes. While there is newly composed music in the score, Arnold also relied upon traditional Scottish tunes, including The Braes of Ballenden and Lochaber and a march from Henry Purcell?s incidental music to Bonduca.


Arnold?s op. 8 set is the strongest music on this Naxos release, being characterized by that typical English bent for a sprightly tune in the outer movements and uncomplicated lyrical material in the slower central sections. Beneath this seemingly simple exterior though, one finds enviable craft in the alternation and working out of thematic material, not to mention refined phrasing, and some interesting and colorful timbres.


Kevin Mallon and the Toronto Camerata?incorrectly identified on the cover as the Toronto Chamber Orchestra?have recorded several discs for Naxos, including symphonies of Ordonez and Vanhal, as well as CDs of violin concertos of Saint-Georges and flute concertos of C. P. E. Bach. The band?s playing is consistent from release to release: it is always alert, in tune, and successfully carries the message of the music in question, whether profound or not. This latest release in its discography is well presented with charm and elegance in bright and resonant sound, making for empathetic interpretations that unquestionably bestow long-belated credit to the bulk of the material, i.e., the op. 8 Overtures.


FANFARE: Michael Carter

Tracklist 27 tracks

  1. 1 I. Allegro 02:20
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Allegro
    Duration
    02:20
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  2. 2 II. Andante 03:09
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Andante
    Duration
    03:09
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  3. 3 III. Tempo di minuetto 03:10
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Tempo di minuetto
    Duration
    03:10
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  4. 4 I. Allegro 03:26
    Track
    4
    Title
    I. Allegro
    Duration
    03:26
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  5. 5 II. Largo andante 01:40
    Track
    5
    Title
    II. Largo andante
    Duration
    01:40
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  6. 6 III. Rondo: Vivace 01:31
    Track
    6
    Title
    III. Rondo: Vivace
    Duration
    01:31
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  7. 7 I. Allegro 04:58
    Track
    7
    Title
    I. Allegro
    Duration
    04:58
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  8. 8 II. Andante 02:02
    Track
    8
    Title
    II. Andante
    Duration
    02:02
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  9. 9 III. Vivace 02:44
    Track
    9
    Title
    III. Vivace
    Duration
    02:44
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  10. 10 I. Allegro 03:14
    Track
    10
    Title
    I. Allegro
    Duration
    03:14
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  11. 11 II. Un poco andante 01:57
    Track
    11
    Title
    II. Un poco andante
    Duration
    01:57
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  12. 12 III. Allegro 02:14
    Track
    12
    Title
    III. Allegro
    Duration
    02:14
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  13. 13 I. Allegro 03:21
    Track
    13
    Title
    I. Allegro
    Duration
    03:21
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  14. 14 II. Andantino 04:41
    Track
    14
    Title
    II. Andantino
    Duration
    04:41
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  15. 15 III. Allegro 01:44
    Track
    15
    Title
    III. Allegro
    Duration
    01:44
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  16. 16 I. Allegro 02:48
    Track
    16
    Title
    I. Allegro
    Duration
    02:48
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  17. 17 II. Andante 03:49
    Track
    17
    Title
    II. Andante
    Duration
    03:49
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  18. 18 III. Allegro 04:04
    Track
    18
    Title
    III. Allegro
    Duration
    04:04
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  19. 19 March for Macbeth 01:52
    Track
    19
    Title
    March for Macbeth
    Duration
    01:52
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  20. 20 Music Before the Play - Birks of Invermay 01:43
    Track
    20
    Title
    Music Before the Play - Birks of Invermay
    Duration
    01:43
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  21. 21 The Yellow-Haired Laddie 04:04
    Track
    21
    Title
    The Yellow-Haired Laddie
    Duration
    04:04
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  22. 22 The Braes of Ballenden 04:09
    Track
    22
    Title
    The Braes of Ballenden
    Duration
    04:09
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  23. 23 Menuetto to be Play’d at the Banquet 01:00
    Track
    23
    Title
    Menuetto to be Play’d at the Banquet
    Duration
    01:00
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  24. 24 End of 3rd Act – Lochaber 02:12
    Track
    24
    Title
    End of 3rd Act – Lochaber
    Duration
    02:12
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  25. 25 End of Act 4 – The Earl of Douglas’s Lament 02:00
    Track
    25
    Title
    End of Act 4 – The Earl of Douglas’s Lament
    Duration
    02:00
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  26. 26 The Favorite March in [Purcell’s] Bonduca 01:16
    Track
    26
    Title
    The Favorite March in [Purcell’s] Bonduca
    Duration
    01:16
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon
  27. 27 Polly: Overture 05:20
    Track
    27
    Title
    Polly: Overture
    Duration
    05:20
    Composer
    Samuel Arnold
    Ensemble
    Toronto Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kevin Mallon