manx celtic music and dance

On Maughold Head

16 Sep 2013

Maurice Powell and Ewan Davidson (photo: Jenny Davidson)
Maurice Powell and Ewan Davidson (photo: Jenny Davidson)

An intriguing piece of music by a Manx composer that has not seen the light of day for decades has been discovered in a Winchester attic. Entitled ‘On Maughold Head’, the substantial tone poem was composed by John Edward Quayle in the 1950s and has never been performed.
On the July 12th this year, the Isle of Man Symphony Orchestra gave the first performance since 1946 of the recently unearthed  Fantasy-Overture ‘The Magic Isle’ by J E Quayle, whose long career the Rolls office masked a full and active musical life as a pianist, organist, violinist, conductor and composer. Unbelievably, just two weeks after that performance, J E Quayle’s grandson, Ewan Davidson, discovered the autograph score of a second orchestral work of his grandfather’s in the attic of his Winchester home, a substantial orchestral work entitled Fantasy-Overture no. 2 ‘On Maughold Head’.
Ewan Davidson recalls his grandfather working on the piece whilst he and his brother tried to play quietly so as not to disturb him. The substantial work, which runs to 69 pages of very neat full score, is thought to evoke the many happy weeks that J E Quayle and his family enjoyed in Maughold village and the surrounding area on their summer holidays during World War 1, when civil servants were not permitted to leave the Island.
The musical director of the Isle of Man Symphony Orchestra, Maurice Powell said: ‘In the next few weeks I hope to work closely with Manx music specialist Dr Chloe Woolley of the Manx Heritage Foundation, to identify the lovely Manx melodies on which this fascinating piece of music is based’. The orchestra, conducted by Mr Powell will be giving the World premier of ‘On Maughold Head’ during the 2014 concert season.
This means that no less than four works for orchestra by this accomplished Manx composer have survived, two descriptive Fantasy-Overtures and two delightful shorter works, which are arrangements of Manx national songs.
(Photograph by Jenny Davidson shows Maurice Powell and Ewan Davidson with the score at Maughold Head earlier this month; and photos of score, including the main theme based on the Manx traditional air, Jemmy as Nancy)

Chloe Woolley
 

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