This piece of music was written as a memorial to the lifeboat crew members who lost their lives going to the rescue -- it brings tears to my eyes. My uncle survived his lifeboat days. Some crew members further along the coast died.
The Padstow lifeboat station was further south from my grandmother's house -- our local lifeboat station was in the harbour beneath the clifftop her house stood on.
The foghorn note is the ships siren signalling distress as it was driven onto the rocks. The lifeboat went to their aid. Lifeboats in the UK are funded by voluntary donations -- the government does not fund them. All the crews are volunteers -- most leave their workplaces to go out on rescue calls. My uncle was coxswain of a lifeboat for many years. I remember watching him go out with the lifeboat from my grandmother's house atop the cliffs above the harbour as we waited for their safe return !
If I'm not mistaken, the 'foghorn' note is the tritone of the home key and it does its job brilliantly! It was chosen to replicate the local foghorn's sound, which then allowed the key to be chosen. A fine performance. The lady on the basson was showing her emotions, and rightly so!
@@sammckinstry I don't know what their local foghorn sounded like -- and was told it was the ship's distress signal. If it was the foghorn's note, each foghorn was designed to have it's own distinctive sound. I well remember the sound of the one in the Bristol Channel on Flatholme. It would be interesting to find out what their local foghorn's sound was. Most stopped in the late 1980s.
@@sarahsumner-p2h According to a Padstow person the pitch of the "wrong" note was taken from the actual foghorn at Padstow Lifeboat Station, which is a nice touch. Listen to the prformance of Black Dyke Mills Band's version for a timing contrast. Arnold conducted it faster than 110 on a BBC film.th-cam.com/video/_qzYhRQbjPE/w-d-xo.html
One thing I really love about this piece is the sheer number of times Arnold manages to repeat the foghorn note, but in such a way that EVERY SINGLE ONE is funny. It ought to get monotonous, but no, it just gets more hilarious with each repeat. The piece is joyously ridiculous and beautifully written, both at the same time.
True this. I started anticipating it and sure enough, my anticipation was proven wrong. It's comedic rhetorics done right. Also, the harmonic textures in some places (where I was expecting the D) was equisitely balanced. Also props to the woodwinds for sustaining those dissonances all the way to their resolutions. Delicious.
This piece of music was written as a memorial to the lifeboat crew members who lost their lives going to the rescue -- it brings tears to my eyes. My uncle survived his lifeboat days. Some crew members further along the coast died.
The Padstow lifeboat station was further south from my grandmother's house -- our local lifeboat station was in the harbour beneath the clifftop her house stood on.
Much the clearest of the three recordings on offer here.
The foghorn note is the ships siren signalling distress as it was driven onto the rocks. The lifeboat went to their aid. Lifeboats in the UK are funded by voluntary donations -- the government does not fund them. All the crews are volunteers -- most leave their workplaces to go out on rescue calls. My uncle was coxswain of a lifeboat for many years. I remember watching him go out with the lifeboat from my grandmother's house atop the cliffs above the harbour as we waited for their safe return !
If I'm not mistaken, the 'foghorn' note is the tritone of the home key and it does its job brilliantly! It was chosen to replicate the local foghorn's sound, which then allowed the key to be chosen. A fine performance. The lady on the basson was showing her emotions, and rightly so!
@@sammckinstry I don't know what their local foghorn sounded like -- and was told it was the ship's distress signal. If it was the foghorn's note, each foghorn was designed to have it's own distinctive sound. I well remember the sound of the one in the Bristol Channel on Flatholme. It would be interesting to find out what their local foghorn's sound was. Most stopped in the late 1980s.
@@sarahsumner-p2h According to a Padstow person the pitch of the "wrong" note was taken from the actual foghorn at Padstow Lifeboat Station, which is a nice touch. Listen to the prformance of Black Dyke Mills Band's version for a timing contrast. Arnold conducted it faster than 110 on a BBC film.th-cam.com/video/_qzYhRQbjPE/w-d-xo.html
One thing I really love about this piece is the sheer number of times Arnold manages to repeat the foghorn note, but in such a way that EVERY SINGLE ONE is funny. It ought to get monotonous, but no, it just gets more hilarious with each repeat.
The piece is joyously ridiculous and beautifully written, both at the same time.
True this. I started anticipating it and sure enough, my anticipation was proven wrong. It's comedic rhetorics done right. Also, the harmonic textures in some places (where I was expecting the D) was equisitely balanced. Also props to the woodwinds for sustaining those dissonances all the way to their resolutions. Delicious.
This is a lovely performance; I love the tempo and, as has already been mentioned, it is full of clarity and detail - thank you!
I agree about the tempo-if it's too quick, the humour of the foghorn blasts is lost.
This is well within the the pace that Arnold intended - about 110 to the minute.
One of the greatest English brass band works and yes the tempo is just right some bands play it too fast.