Tintagel: A Cornish Rhapsody of Sea and Legend

Hallam Sinfonia's Principal Trombonist Andrew Knowles explains why he is particularly looking forward to playing Bax's tone poem "Tintagel" in our next concert, "Echoes of the Isles", on Saturday 21 June.

Arnold Bax's Tintagel has long been a favourite of mine, the descriptive nature and delicious layering of sounds right across the orchestra can be summed up in one word, sumptuous ! 

Sir Arnold Bax was an English 'Romantic' composer active in the first half of the 20th Century. Considered the leading English Symphonic composer during the interwar years he was largely forgotten after his death in 1953 as his music was considered by many to be old fashioned. The exception to this was the Symphonic Poem Tintagel which was often recorded by major orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra.

Bax led a colourful life enjoying the company of various mistresses and muses and it was during his days studying at the Royal Academy of music he developed a keen interest in Irish and Celtic, and later in life Nordic cultures. 

Whilst you can hear and feel the influence of other earlier composers in his work Bax avoided going in the same direction as Wagner and Strauss to concentrate on this Celtic theme safe in the knowledge that due to his private income he didn't have to pander to current trends. 

During the summer of 1917 ( Bax suffered a life long heart condition meaning he couldn't serve in the First World War but he did serve for a time as a special constable )  Bax spent 6 weeks in Cornwall with his then mistress , the pianist Harriet Cohen visiting Tintagel during that time.  Of course his interest in Celtic Culture meant he was very quick to feel the history and mystique surrounding the castle connected to King Arthur ( supposedly where he was conceived)  and composed and orchestrated the new piece between then and January 1919. The work is dedicated to Cohen. 

Tintagel is a shortish symphonic tone poem that is descriptive but as Bax himself pointed out 'is programme music in only the broadest sense'.  It describes first a serene and peaceful sea with the ruined castle standing majestically on the clifftop, then on to give his impression of the Kings Arthur and Mark followed by passages representing the crashing waves on the rocks, the sea in all its majesty and then the final passage demonstrating the enduring nature of Tintagel standing firm and proud despite the onslaught of nature. 

"Echoes of the Isles", including Tintagel and three other works, is on Saturday 21 June 2025 at 7.30pm, at Ecclesall Parish Church. Click here for more information and tickets.