Sorry - sent to wrong group

Best wishes
Alan Pritchard MPhil FCLIP
Tel: +44 (0)1202 417477


On Sat, Jun 19, 2010 at 10:55 AM, Alan Pritchard <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
I have been doing a little research on him and the opera 'The Alchemist'

Generally, other than mentioning it, there are no descriptions:

From The Gramophone (April 1929) 

In 1918 he completed an opera, " The Alchemist," which he showed to Sir Thomas Beecham, who promised to produce it at Covent Garden, but went bankrupt instead. In 1921 the score was published in Germany and excited so much interest that three opera houses were anxious to have the premiere. Finally Wiesbaden was decided on, the libretto was translated into German, everything was got ready— and the opera house was burnt down! Ultimately it was produced at Essen in 1926, and also at Dortmund in 1927.

He is described as an occultist (see Wikipedia)

The libretto of The Alchemist was published in Germany as:

The Alchemist. Opera in three scenes. Mainz, [etc], B. Schott’s Söhne, c1924. 150p.

There are a few copies in the USA (see Worldcat) and 1 in the UK at Birmingham University.
 
Although much of his piano music is available, either as collections or as single pieces on a compilation, I cannot find any publicly available recordings of his larger works. A bit like Gottschalk in this respect. The All Music Guide does not even mention The Alchemist, although it praises him:
English composer Cyril Scott was, at one time, widely credited as the composer who brought British music into the twentieth century. Although Scott is still worthy of this distinction, the long neglect to which his music was subjected has placed the value of his contribution beyond reach for most. With the dawn of the twenty-first century, it appears that Scott is finally getting his just due, as his work is beginning to emerge from the shadows of obscurity. The son of a Greek scholar, Scott was sent to Frankfurt to study music withEngelbert Humperdinck at age 12. The young English musicians who were his classmates there, Percy Grainger, Roger Quilter, Norman O'Neill, and Balfour Gardiner, are sometimes referred to as "The Frankfurt Group," though throughout his life Scott remained close only to Grainger. 

The bit of good news is that there is a copy of the opera at the British Library Sound Archive:
1. Alchemist/Scott 
    Lockhart, James, 1930- (conductor)
FIND WORK DETAILS: Alchemist/Scott
Performer: Lockhart, James, 1930- (conductor)
Performer: Monk, Anna-Clare (soprano; The Maid)
Performer: Bronder, Peter (tenor; The Young Man)
Performer: Opie, Alan (baritone; The Sage)
Performer: Folwell, Nicholas (bass-baritone; The Elemental)
Performer: Nichol, Harry (tenor; The Jester)
Performer: BBC Concert Orchestra
Recording notes: BBC studio recording broadcast November 10th 1995.


It is part of the following BBC programme/series:

Britannia at the opera 
    BBC Radio 3 1995-11-10
LIST RECORDINGS: H6041/2
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 3 1995-11-10
Broadcast title: Britannia at the opera
Programme notes: Part of "Fairest Isle" season
Contents note: Cyril Scott
Format: tape 1 VHS cassette stereo
 
That's all I can find out at the moment.

I will try to get the book on ILL and describe the opera.

Alan

Best wishes
Alan Pritchard MPhil FCLIP
Tel: +44 (0)1202 417477