Two Anecdotes from Herman Finck.

I recently posted a review of the music of Herman Finck. Apart from being a good composer he is quite definitely one of the greatest musical wits to have lived in the Twentieth Century. Ok. I accept that his humour may not appeal to the sophisticated audiences of today who idolise Jimmy Carr or Peter Kay. Furthermore, his wit is not caustic like Sir Thomas Beecham – I guess that Finck rarely offended anyone. However, some of his anecdotes are funny, entertaining and educative.  I give two for your delight.  Over the next couple of posts I will try to give a little more detail about these stories.  

The first concerns a well-known Russian pianist and composer:-

‘When I was on tour with [Edward German’s] Merrie England  in Glasgow, I went upstairs [to my hotel bedroom] to hear brilliant pianoforte playing.  Someone was playing Chopin, then dropping into the Midsummer’s Night Dreamscherzo. A part of the scherzo would be played so very slowly, then more Chopin would follow. I was so fascinated by the playing that I begun to undress in the corridor [I do not believe this is meant to be taken in anything other than in good faith! Ed.] outside my bedroom door to listen.

‘Who is that playing?’ I asked the chambermaid.

‘Oh, I cannot pronounce his name,’ she replied.

‘Rachmaninov?’ I asked.

‘Yes, that’s it.’

Rachmaninov was giving a recital in Glasgow that night, but as I stood in the corridor wrestling with a white tie I could not for the life of me think why he should be playing Mendelssohn at that dirge-like tempo. Months later, I heard that Rachmaninov had prepared an elaborate piano arrangement of the ‘Scherzo’[from the Midsummer’s Night Dream]. So I was the first person to hear it; he had been going through it slowly that night in Glasgow.’

Apparently, there are many anecdotes about corridors, music, hotels and Rachmaninoff in the musical literature.  

The other tale concerns Maurice Ravel. Herman Finck wrote that:- ‘The French composer [had] orchestrated some of the etudes of Chopin for a Nijinsky ballet season at the Palace and his orchestrations were sent to me. I found out that one was incomplete, and I was trying to sort the matter out, when Philip Page came into the theatre.

‘What are you doing?’ he asked.

‘Trying to unravel Ravel,’ I replied.

My Melodious Memories Herman Finck Hutchinson & Co. Ltd., 1937 (with minor edits) 

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The Finck Album: Music by Herman FInck

Herman Finck (1872-1939)

Cheero! for orchestra; In the Shadows; Hullo, Girls! for orchestra; My Waltz Queen; Jocoso for orchestra; ‘Dear old fighting boys’; Pirouette (dedicated to Anne Pavlova); Venetia (from Decameron Nights); My Lady Dragonfly – Ballet Suite; The K-Nuts Medley – including ‘Gilbert the Filbert’ & I’ll make a Man of you’; Queen of Flowers; Moonlight Dance for orchestra; Decameron Nights -Orchestral Suite

The Principals of the Theatre Bel-Etage, Tallinn, Estonia

Kelli Uustani, Pirjo Levandi and Mart Sander (singers)

Divine Arts ddv62402 [67:54]

I first came across Herman Finck in an album of piano pieces. After much effort, I managed to plough my way through his waltz, In the Shadows. It is not that difficult, although there are a few passages where it is very easy to stumble. Somewhere in the past, I have heard an orchestral version of this tune – possibly on one of the Guild Light Music series.  However, apart from that, he has been a closed book to me – and I guess ton many other folk too.

Yet, that was not always the case. According to the liner notes, his was once a household name. 

His biography is easy to locate on Wikipedia and is given in the liner notes. However, a couple of headlines will not go amiss. In spite of the German sounding name, he was born in London on 4 November 1872 – the same year as Ralph Vaughan Williams!  He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, before embarking on a career as musical director at the Palace Theatre in London. He was to remain there for 20 years.  Other posts at this time included principal conductor at the Queen’s Theatre and also the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Additionally he travelled to the Lancashire Coast to conduct concerts in the seaside town of Southport.  Alongside his conducting, he wrote a considerable corpus of music including scores for the theatre, for silent movies and for the concert hall. Many of these diverse pieces are recorded on this present CD.  Herman Fink died shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War on 21 April 1939.

The present CD is an excellent cross section of Fink’s music.  A variety of genres are explored including the purely orchestral, extracts from his revues and musicals a number of ‘patriotic’ songs from the Great War.

Two of his musicals are characterised by the ballet from My Lady Dragonfly and the operetta Decameron Nights.  They are competent examples of the (extremely) light music genre presented on this CD.  Songs from the revues such as The Passing Show and Round the Map are characterized by ‘Queen of the Flowers’ and ‘Gilbert the Filbert’. Dances include ‘Hullo Girls’, which was composed for the Palace Theatre, and ‘Pirouette’, which was composed for Anna Pavlova.

Stylistically, do not expect Edward Elgar, Edward German or Haydn Wood. This music is good, well written and enjoyable: however, it is largely ephemeral. I guess the nearest thing would be music written for the the annual pantomime or possibly for a television series. Yet, when all is said and done, this CD is a piece of musical archaeology: it is exciting to unearth it some 90-odd years after it was composed.

Divine Arts Recording Group has made an excellent release with their exploration of Herman Finck. They have captured the mood and the spirit of the Edwardian and Georgian times. The singers and the band sound perfectly home in the music hall and end-of-pier environment – and that is not a sleight or criticism. The performers, Kelli Uustani, Pirjo Levandi and Mart Sander are all from the Bel-Etage Theatre in Tallinn, Estonia, which was itself an old music hall.  The company is well regarded in its championship of British music including Gilbert & Sullivan and Lionel Monckton. They support a ballet troupe and two orchestras who fulfil many engagements at home and abroad.

The sound quality is good. The liner notes are sufficient and have a number of evocative images and photographs, including the cover of the sheet music to In the Shadows.   I look forward to subsequent releases from this accomplished group.

Finally, the waltz that I learnt to play all those years ago has an interesting history. Originally composed for the Palace Girls at the eponymous theatre it was called ‘Goodnight’ – however, it was later changed to In the Shadows. Finally, this was one of the last numbers played by the orchestra on the Titanic before she sank. It is played on this CD in its vocal waltz incarnation. 

The CD can be bought from the DIVERSIONS web page. 

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