Sunday Feature: John Foulds - Life, Death and Resurrection

John Foulds - Life, Death and Resurrection

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BBC Radio 3 - Sunday Feature, John Foulds - Life, Death and Resurrection

Simon Heffer explores the innovative world of John Foulds, a forgotten genius.

In recent years there has been a revival of interest in the music of John Foulds, resurrecting this long-neglected composer from the footnotes of British musical history. Simon Heffer is a huge fan of the music of Foulds, and in this programme he journeys into the world of this highly original, often eccentric musical innovator.

Born in Manchester in 1880, from his earliest years there were many musical luminaries associated with John Foulds in some way, including Richter, Elgar, Mahler, Delius and Humperdinck. Foulds made a name for himself as a cellist, performing with the Hallé from 1900, but with his own music being featured in the Proms in 1906, he left the orchestra to focus on his career as a composer. His was an original and inquisitive mind. From as early as the 1890s, he explored the use of quarter-tones in his music, and also delved into non Western musical cultures in order to generate new sounds in the formulating of his own musical language. He became particularly interested in the music of India, influenced greatly by his second wife Maud MacCarthy, and this exploration can be heard in works such as his Dynamic Tryptych, Essays in the Modes, and the Three Mantras from his opera Avatara.

Simon Heffer believes that the Dynamic Tryptych is possibly one of the greatest British piano concertos of the 20th century, and yet Foulds is largely forgotten. During the composer’s lifetime he became popular with light orchestral and salon type works, and for a period his World Requiem was also celebrated too. Yet recognition by the musical establishment eluded him, and he travelled with his family abroad in search of work. An archive interview with his son Major Foulds, describes what those times were like often living in poverty. They eventually made their way to India where Foulds worked for All-India Radio in Delhi. At last he was finding his feet again when tragedy struck, and Foulds suddenly died of cholera in 1939.

Simon Heffer lifts the veil on this musical innovator, exploring why Foulds has been so overlooked today. Was his innovation just too modern and advanced for the times in which he composed? Was the private and often rather eccentric life of Foulds also a source of ridicule and resentment? Joining Heffer on this journey are the pianist Kathryn Stott and the conductor Ronald Corp, both champion the music of Foulds. Indian sitar player Viram Jasani also provides his thoughts on those works by Foulds related in some way to the music of India, helping the listener to explore whether Foulds was a musical innovator. Musicologist Neil Sorrell in discussion with Heffer brings to light the life and times of Foulds, whilst musicians Emily Gray and Timothy Salter resurrect from the BBC archive, songs by Foulds that have long been neglected. 

Produced by Luke Whitlock for BBC Wales

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