Havergal-Brian was certainly a composer unaccredited and misunderstood within his own long life. His output though prolific is never undynamic or glutinous as would usually inundate the musical visage of a lesser composer; it spits energy and life with a sheer audacity that is nothing short of life affirming. His Symphony No.3 marks a work that casts aspersions on the received premise that innovative music between the wars has now borne all of its fruits to us. I venture to say otherwise. Brian began his remarkable long and fruitful life in the Potteries in the year of 1876 and his longevity subsequently traversed many decades but many of them were of a penitential nature, spent in the musical wilderness, preceding a welcome remission during the years running up to his death in 1972.Biographical Note: Events had frequently transpired against Brian as far as effective ambassadors were available to smooth things over for regular performances of his music, although Granville Bantock, one of his greatest and longest standing friends, and others such as Robert Simpson (who was a composer in his own right), did so much to support Brian and later to exploit his musical virtues, both personally and creatively, even during the most difficult periods of his life. Brian's mind always remained unclouded in his determined zeal for creativity, diligence and the writing of new music. For Brian certainly suffered from his fair share of personal and financial woes, but I am not going to extrapolate on this further, as that is for others. Most people would blame the former canker heartily on Brian's failure to achieve the modern euphemism, 'to make friends and influence people', others on sheer bad luck; Brian tended to stipulate that his destiny was being tampered with by some ill wind and suffered from frequent bouts of paranoia. Though possibly his mind was adrift with the vexing trait of the unique solitary genius - a bloated vessel of ideas, striving to be reared by the mighty muse Saint Cecelia herself - a laconic mistress to the infidelity of transience. Brian's self being constantly suffered from governing pressures to release his prolific musical inventions and mental energy towards better ends, despite regular appeals to satisfy the more practical facets of his life; i.e. Seeking out and maintaining gainful employment that would satisfy his immediate marital circumstances and obligations to both his families and sets of children (Brian married twice). Brian felt vulnerable within his own limited sphere of influence. Finding such pressure on him to live up to the challenge that his unique pieces demanded of him, there might have been some degree of intrinsic nervousness and vulnerability. Indeed, on the other hand, he certainly was on fraternal terms with a distinguished role call of gregarious musical personalities throughout his career and had in the early days, many a fair opportunity to dazzle, despite lacking formal musical education, (for me this is a measured freedom). Elgar was a formidable musical influence in the early days and his cantata "King Olaf" formed a kind of "road to Damascus" for Brian. Indeed, the younger Brian managed to literally buttonhole Elgar's attention; rendering him a score of a church anthem he had composed previously. Elgar accordingly advised him to keep on composing, affording him to iron out alleged inconsistencies and weaknesses within the music. The fellow Midlander also went on to praise Brian's Cantata of 1905, "By The Water's Of Babylon", when he heard it performed at Music League Festival in 1909. I believe that Elgar felt mildly challenged by Brian's instinctive eccentricities in both instances but this initial faith ultimately failed to ring true in the longer run. The performance at the Proms of "First English Suite" in 1907 was a mighty triumph that promised an assurance of indelible notoriety but the sands literally ran through Brian's fingers during the immediate aftermath. Although admittedly this fall from grace was a gradual process, it was assured, and later cultivated a deep sense of resignation within Brian, that it was of small consequence that his music was disregarded or frequently avoided performance. So the squall became the gale but the weather beaten Brian never strayed far from his former mentors counsel and impetus; the creative flow thrived through economic pressure, social disparagement and domestic unrest. Brian's "Gothic Symphony" written 1919-27 became a representation of Brian's world; it was a giant superstructure built on mighty foundations. Out of grand symphonic designs, this was the largest and most ambitious ever to be developed, wrought from the sinews of Brian's past musical fascinations, personal relationships, close associations and idyllic scenic pictures from his life before the war.
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