1911

Summary

Bantock continued to balance lectures at the University of Birmingham with his duties at the Birmingham and Midland Institute. Publications included his ‘Choral Symphony’ for unaccompanied voices, Atalanta in Calydon (a setting of Swinburne); Lucifer in Starlight for six-part unaccompanied men's chorus; the ‘poem for orchestra’ Dante and Beatrice, which Bantock premiered at the Queen's Hall on 24 May; and ‘Jaga-Naut’, the second of the Two Orchestral Scenes. He also completed the scoring of Fifine at the Fair and his incidental music for Macbeth and began a serenade for strings, In the Far West. Part I of Omar Khayyám was performed by Henry Wood at the Sheffield Festival on 28 April, and Bantock conducted the premiere of the Overture to a Greek Tragedy at the Worcester Festival on 13 September. He was still in touch with Wallace, managing ‘an hour's chat’ on 22 April, talking with him (along with Elgar, Corder, McNaught, Austin and Mackenzie) at the International Musical Congress a month later, and meeting Wallace and his wife for lunch in June. Wallace's Three Songs – settings of William Blake (‘The Sunflower’, ‘Love's Secret’, ‘The Shepherd’) – and Spanish Songs (his own texts) were published, as was Newman's English translation of Albert Schweitzer's J.S. Bach.

251 GRANVILLE BANTOCK TO ERNEST NEWMAN

BROAD MEADOW,

KINGS NORTON.

Sunday [January 1911]

Dear Ali Ibn.

I will expect you in my room tomorrow evening (Monday) any time from 7. PM to 7. 30, so that we can have a chat before the Lecture.

I understand that von Hase will be staying with you on Thursday night, & he will come to me on Friday. I saw him in London on Saturday, & found him in excellent spirits.

I am glad you escaped safely from Sidney Street. I missed you at B & H on Friday by about 5 minutes. It was odd about meeting those two aunts on Thursday. Yours.

Peciv. X.

252 GRANVILLE BANTOCK TO ERNEST NEWMAN

BROAD MEADOW,

KINGS NORTON.

Jan 9. 11

Dear Ali Ibn.

Here is Corbett Smith's letter.

I have just remembered that I have omitted to fill up the Form myself for the N.L.C.