Mr. Hamish MacCunn's first introduction to the musical world was his Concert Overture, ' Cior Mhor,' a work suggested by that peak in the Island of Arran as seen under two aspects of nature. This composition was followed by another Overture, ' Land of the Mountain and the Flood ' (a title surely suggestive enough) ; an Orchestral Ballad, ' The Ship o' the Fiend ' ; and lastly, a Ballad for Chorus and Orchestra, ' Lord Ullin's Daughter.' All these compositions were performed at the Crystal Palace, London, under that conductor to whom native composers owe so much for the pro- duction of their works, Mr. August Manns. It is with these compositions that this article will deal.
The Overture 'Cior Mhor' was looked upon as a very talented work, revealing freshness of idea and power of orchestration ; but the succeeding work, produced a year later, ' Land of the Mountain and the Flood,' marked a decided advance. The two principal subjects here are distinctly Celtic, the first having the characteristic ' snap,' the second, in admirable contrast, being more typical of the Ballad. A peculiarity in this Overture is the repetition of the first portion, a circumstance in the composition of the great composers' works in tliis form quite without precedent. The working out is very clever ; portions of botli subjects being heard as if echoed one to another among the mountains, and then a very powerful passage — a modified and extended version of the principal subject being given in its rugged fierceness to the trombones, accompanied by the rest of the orchestra in a manner wildly sug- gestive of the warfare of the clans. This is quite the most daring point in the Overture, and recalls to mind 'The Ride of the Walkyries' of Wagner. After the usual recapitulation the work ends with a lengthened Coda, included in which is a passage for brasses only — evidently a favourite device with the composer, one somewhat similar occurring in ' Cior Mhor.' Of ' The Sliip o' the Fiend ' I cannot speak ; no opportunity of either hearing it in Scotland or of studying the work having been possible. But the opinion of a London critic may be noted. Writing of a performance of the composition at the ' London Symphony Concerts ' the Musical Times says : ' The Scottish poem which forms the source of his inspiration in the present instance bears a resemblance to that of Burger's " Lenore," the Bohemian legend on which Dvorak has founded " The Spectre's Bride," and to many another story of an erring bride and ghostly bridegroom. In Mr. MacCunn's work the foundation is nautical, and is wonderfully vivid and picturesque, both in the treatment of the themes and the orcliestral colouring.' It is hoped that an opportunity of hearing this ballad may soon be aftbrded us. We now come to the largest effort Mr. Mac- Cunn has yet made — ' Lord Ullin's Daughter.' Pro- fessor Stanford, in his setting of Lord Tennyson's Ballad of the Fleet ' The Revenge,' inaugurated the composing of a dramatic work for chorus and orchestra alone, and it is natural that Mr. MacCunn should follow in the footsteps of one of the pro- fessors in his Alma Mater, the Royal College of Music, London. We are here once more struck with the national colouring so characteristic of the composer, the first subject having quite a Highland ring about it. As a whole the work is exceptionally clever — for a youth of twenty, won- derfully so. Its only drawback to popularity may lie in the exacting demands made upon the voices in some portions ; evidently our composer has something yet to learn as to the manner of writing for the voice. Of the orchestration nothing can be said, as the score is not yet published; but that is Mr. MacCunn's strong point, and judging from the pianoforte version it should be most effective. Where the composer has not come up to expectation, seems to be in repeating the words of the ballad, for the sake of the music, thereby spoiling their dramatic significance ; and in failing to mark the action of the narrative either by short pauses or by the cessation of the vocal parts, the music going on from beginning to end with ceaseless energy and ever-increasing interest.
Enough may have been said to induce the readers of this Journal to watch with interest the future career of Mr. Hamish MacCunn. His forth- coming compositions for soli, chorus, and orchestra, 'The Lay of the Last Minstrel,' commissioned by the Glasgow Choral Union for performance during the ensuing Ainter, will be eagerly awaited. It is hoped it may then be possible to chronicle another and still greater success in the Art of Music, and possibly another effort to establish a distinctively national style. W. T. H.
