Shakespeare and Music

by Christopher Wilson

CONTENTS

PAGE
CHRISTOPHER WILSON: A MEMOIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [vii] INTRODUCTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [xi] ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [1] AS YOU LIKE IT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [7] THE COMEDY OF ERRORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [10] CORIOLANUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [14] CYMBELINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [17] HAMLET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [21] KING HENRY IV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [40] HENRY VIII. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [42] JULIUS CAESAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [47] KING LEAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [50] MACBETH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [54] MEASURE FOR MEASURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [67] THE MERCHANT OF VENICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [74] THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [80] A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [88] MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [98] OTHELLO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [106] KING RICHARD III. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [115] ROMEO AND JULIET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [118] THE TAMING OF THE SHREW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [130] THE TEMPEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [134] TIMON OF ATHENS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [148] TWELFTH NIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [150] THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [158] THE WINTER'S TALE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [161] SHAKESPEARE'S SONGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [164] INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [167]

CHRISTOPHER WILSON

A MEMOIR

(Reprinted, by kind permission of the Editor, from
The Musical Times of April 1, 1919)

When Christopher Wilson published his master-song, "Come away, Death," in 1901, The Times said of it that it was "all that such a song should be—fantastic, yet deeply pathetic, and as musicianly as a work by a Mendelssohn scholar ought to be." The words italicised remain true of all that this gifted composer left us; and the pity of it is that for various reasons, some of which will appear in the present notice, so little of his work has been printed.

"Chris" Wilson, as he was known to hosts of friends in Bohemian circles, was born at Melbourne, in Derbyshire, on October 7, 1874. He came of musical stock on both sides. Many stories, based on undoubted fact, are current as to the boy's proficiency on the pianoforte, even before he reached his teens; and while at Derby School, where his headmaster was J. R. Sterndale Bennett, a son of the composer, he played for the eleven—a somewhat rare combination of talents. There was never a doubt as to young Christopher's future calling; and his brilliant career at the Academy more than fulfilled his early promise. He carried off no fewer than three bronze and three silver medals, and was at the end of his third year awarded three certificates: for the pianoforte, harmony, and sight-singing. He also gained the Agnes Zimmermann Prize. Wilson received every encouragement from the Principal, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, while his professors for harmony and composition, pianoforte, and viola (his second subject) were Mr Frank Davenport (his uncle), Mr Oscar Beringer, and Mr Walenn, respectively. No one was surprised when he capped all his previous successes by carrying off the Mendelssohn Scholarship in 1895. He went abroad—as winners of the British Prix de Rome usually do—and studied under Wüllner at Cologne, von Herzogenberg at Berlin, and Widor at Paris. His gifts were appreciated by his foreign teachers as they had been at home. The beautiful Suite for strings (since, 1901, published by Schott) was performed at Cologne at one of the principal concerts—a compliment that had been paid to only one young Englishman before him, Arthur Sullivan. Moreover, he was selected by Wüllner to "coach" a tenor at the Opera in the part of Tristan—no small distinction. There can be no question that Wilson brought back to England one great asset[[1]]: he had heard all the great operas over and over again, and it was as a composer and conductor for the theatre that he was destined to make his mark. His sense of the stage and of atmosphere and his love for everything relating to the theatre were remarkably keen; so his success in this sphere was not surprising. His gifts were quickly recognised by Sir Frank Benson, Mr Oscar Asche, Miss Ellen Terry, Mr and Mrs Fred Terry, Mr Otho Stuart, Mr Waller, and others; for the two first named he acted as musical director for well over ten years. Apart from the numerous Shakespearian productions for which he wrote the music, his most striking successes were obtained in Kismet, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, and the Greek plays. In these latter he made no more use of the ancient modes than Mendelssohn had done; but the result was highly effective and true to atmosphere. Opinions are bound to differ as to the comparative merit of the music written for the Shakespeare plays: on the whole, perhaps, King Lear, Richard II., Antony and Cleopatra, Much Ado about Nothing, The Merchant of Venice, and Measure for Measure mark his highest level of achievement. Wilson was, of course, acquainted with all the traditional music, of which he availed himself whenever he considered it suitable; the numerous gaps he filled in with unerring taste and skill. Future searchers in the British Museum Catalogue may consider his output relatively small, in spite of the fact that he died in his forty-fifth year. But it should be remembered that incidental music of this kind, apart from the lyrics, mostly remains in MS. None the less, one may rest assured that its spirit and traditions will live on, and that much of it will be handed on by successive conductors for the enjoyment of future generations.