Maconchy: Proud Thames

Day 325

Elizabeth Maconchy: Proud Thames

Elizabeth Maconchy was one of the second generation of British women composers. She was writing at a time when women were beginning to be accepted as composers in their own right, but still regarded as something of a special case. It is only in more recent years that women composers have taken their place as of right.

This short overture was written for a competition to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II - it was first performed at the Royal Festival Hall, in a concert which also included Kirsten Flagstad’s farewell performance. It is broadly a portrait of the river starting from the earliest small streams though to it is flowing into the sea. The little trumpet phrase at the beginning expands and devotes though the piece in an inventive and attractive manner  - I really enjoyed it. I suspect that it rather got overshadowed at the premiere by other items on the programme. How typical of Maconchy’s music this I do not know - her string quartets seem to be the most important part of her output and perhaps those are something to start exploring next.