Bantock: Thalaba the Destroyer & Other Orchestral Works

Featuring

Vernon Handley
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
London Session Chorus
Granville Bantock

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Bantock's 'The Song of Songs' is a two-and-a-half-hour setting of biblical verses, treated as a passionate, luxuriant, and erotic love story, with stage instructions indicating a visual conception.

Composer Biography

Granville Bantock, the composer, initially studied chemical engineering and the Indian Civil Service to satisfy his father, who opposed his musical aspirations.

Compositional Technique

In 'The Camel Caravan' from 'Omar Khayyám', Bantock uses authentic camel bells, with their endlessly reiterated rhythm, to evoke the camels' movement across the sand.

Composition History

Bantock's orchestral tone poem 'Thalaba the Destroyer' reflects his enthusiasm for Tchaikovsky, providing an expressive language for an exotic tale.

Cultural Impact

Bantock's 'Omar Khayyám' sets Edward Fitzgerald's translation of the eleventh-century Persian poet, a work that became arguably the most popular English poetry of its day by the turn of the century.

Recording & Production

The authentic camel bells used in this recording for 'The Camel Caravan' were loaned by Jonathan del Mar, son of conductor Norman del Mar, who obtained them from Tunisia for a 1979 BBC revival.

Composer Biography

Bantock's early career involved conducting musical comedies and touring the world for 431 days with a George Edwardes company, gaining practical experience.