Gerald Finzi: His Life and Music [Hardcover]

Diana McVeagh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 22, 2005

'A Song outlasts a Dynasty.' Gerald Finzi's maxim embodies his creed. As a song writer, his affinity with Thomas Hardy is stronger even than Fauré's with Verlaine, or Wolf's with Mörike. His most famous work is his exquisite cantata Dies Natalis. His Intimations of Immortality is worthy of Wordsworth's poem, and his Cello Concerto is a big turbulent work. From being a solitary introverted young man, he developed into a great activator. He held strong views on education, pacifism, vegetarianism, the nature/nurture debate, the Arts and Crafts movement, the English pastoral tradition, English apple varieties, the significance of ancestry, friendship and marriage in an artist's life. His country home became a centre from which his influence radiated widely. He championed the neglected Ivor Gurney, and revived 18th-century composers with the amateur orchestra he founded. Most of his output is recorded and he is increasingly performed in the USA. McVeagh is known as an Elgar scholar and for her articles and sleevenotes on Finzi. His widow Joy asked her to write the book; she knew Joy well and quotes often from her unpublished journal. She interviews the main figures in Finzi's life, so has exclusive stories, many of them very funny. She quotes too from his correspondence with Vaughan Williams, Edmund Blunden, Arthur Bliss, Edmund Rubbra, Howard Ferguson and Herbert Howells. She discusses every work within the narrative of Finzi's life, and shows what makes his output individual.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is one of the best-written books about a musician to appear for many years. --Michael Kennedy, BBC Music Magazine

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Boydell Press (September 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843831708
• ISBN-13: 978-1843831709
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,659,959 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Graceful work captures composer's heart and mind, December 14, 2009

By 

Rand McNally (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gerald Finzi: His Life and Music (Hardcover)

This is a detailed, chronological account of Finzi. Important episodes in his life are punctuated by discrete sections that provide analysis of concurrent musical works. Finzi is shown as a man who loved poetry and music (he had significant collections of each) and whose entire life was devoted to what he felt was his role as an artist in modern society. He comes off as a bit cold and critical, dismissive of those who didn't evince creativity, but endlessly giving of time and attention to his fellow musicians, especially composers. As a reader who knew very little about the world of music in mid-20th-century England, I rather enjoyed being plunged into the company of those who lived for discussion, ideas, and performance. Yet Finzi's world, his rural cottage life, and his devotion to works of long-dead artists seem utterly disconnected from the world of popular culture around him. After all, this was the ago of Big Bands and Jazz. But it appears that nothing in the popular taste had an impact on Finzi and his coterie. In fact, very little in the "outside" world seems to matter, except of course World War II, which found Finzi clerking in London and not terribly productive musically. The author pauses now and again to offer a discourse into Finzi's way of approaching work, and his attitudes toward art. The portraits of his companions, and especially his wife, Joy, suggest what was likable about Finzi and never intrude greatly on the narrative. Musicologists will appreciate the extended musical analyses. Much of this was over my head, so I read and skipped along in these parts and didn't worry so much about whether I fully underestood them. I was after a portrait of the man and his times, and while I can't say Finzi led a dramatic life, his life is certainly one of intense dedication and integrity with regard to his work, and in that sense has much to recommend it. The long labors of the author are obvious in this at times fascinating account.

5.0 out of 5 stars Good information useful to Music community, October 21, 2011

By 

F. Norman Belk "HeavyChevy" (Greenville, SC, US) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gerald Finzi: His Life and Music (Paperback)

This "Life and Music" title is a good addition to any Music Library. There is a need to understand Gerald Finzi's contribution to this period in musical growth.