Although most of Percy Pitt's compositions seem to have been performed during his lifetime, not everything was published; and not every published work received an opus number. Many of his works were published by Augener, who also published Bridge, Delius and Ireland.[1] A partial list of Pitt's published compositions (both with and without opus numbers) appears in Pazdírek & 1904-1910 (34 volumes, published between 1904 and 1910). Some works appear to have been given an opus number after the volume was published some time before 1910. However, gaps still apparently remain in the sequence of opus numbers, e.g. Op. 2, 7, 12, 13 etc.[nb 1] Nevertheless, the opus numbers seem to have been chronologically assigned in approximate composition order.
A number of works exist both in versions for orchestra and for piano reduction (solo or duet), and the dates assigned to many of the entries in this incomplete list should be treated with caution.
According to his own introduction in Pitt's biography, Henry Wood gave the first performances of most of Pitt's major works after 1896 except the G minor Sinfonietta which was written at the request of Hans Richter, who conducted it at the 1906 Birmingham Triennial Music Festival.[2]
Yesterday and Today (Frances H. Burnett). Unpublished holograph MS dated 6 November 1892.[nb 10]
When I am dead, my dearest. (words, C. Rossetti) (pub. Gale, Weekes) (1896)
Chorus
The Blessed Damozel, for chorus and orchestra.[20]
Schwerting the Saxon, for chorus and orchestra.[20]
Zephyr, stay thy vagrant flight. Glee for TTBB male voices (1894)
List of works with opus number
Op. 1: Bagatelles, for Violin & Piano
1. Air de Ballet, 2. Lamento, 3. Romance, 4. Gavotte 5. Amoroso 6. Moto Perpetuo Souvenir.
Op. 2
Op. 3: Part Songs for ATBB Male Voices. (1895)
1. Sunset. 2. Serenade - While my Lady sleepeth. (Trans. J. G. Lockhart ) 3. A Cavalier's Song (G. J. Whyte-Melville)
Op. 4: Silhouettes (first set). Trois morceaux, for piano. (1895) Orch. by the composer (1907?)
1. 'Scene de Ballet' 2. Feuillet d'Album 3. Etude Mignonne
Op. 5: Hohenlinden, cantata for TTBB men's chorus and orchestra. (Words by Thomas Campbell.)(London: Novello, c1889)
Op. 6: Part songs for mixed choir:
1. A Song at Evening (S. K. Wiley), SATB. 2. Love is a Sickness full of Woes (Samuel Daniel), Madrigal in 6 parts, SSATBB. 3. The Stricken Hunter. Der traurige Jäger. A Lament. (Joseph von Eichendorff/engl. trans. C. Karlyle), SSATBB.[21]
Op. 21: Coronation March, for orchestra. Also arr. piano. (1896/7)[23][nb 12]
Op.22: Concertino in C minor for clarinet and orchestra. Also arr. clarinet & piano. (1897)[24][nb 13]
Op. 23
Op. 24: Fêtes Galantes. Miniature Suite for Orchestra after Verlaine. (1896)[25] Also arr. for piano duet, and for piano solo (at least Colombine) by the composer (1897)
Op.26: Cinderella, a musical fairy tale for pianoforte duet. London, G. Ricordi & Co., 1899. Illustrated by Nelia Casella[26] Also orchestrated by the composer. Illustrated piano duet score at imslp. Two extracts on YouTube.[nb 14]
Op. 27: Four Little Songs, for voice and piano.
1. Hildachen (E. Breck) 2. An Orchard Fancy. (K. Munkittrick) 3. The White Rose 4. Springtime (W.D. Howells)
Op. 54: Some Impressions and an Epilogue, for piano.
3. Aubade (Totland Bay). ?. Guitares et Mandolines.
Piano scores and English versions of works by others
Ludwig der Springer. Opera in three Acts, Op. 12. Libretto & music by Adolf Sandberger. Piano score by Percy Pitt and Wilhelm Ammermann.
Gianni Schicchi (Puccini). Libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. English version by Percy Pitt. Vocal score (English and Italian) Milano : G. Ricordi e C. Edit. Tip., 1930
The Vagabond and the Princess. Opera in one act by E. Poldini. Adapted from a fairy tale of Hans Christian Andersen by A.F. Seligmann; English version by Alfred Kalisch and Percy Pitt. (First performance, May 11, 1906)
References
Notes
^Opus 32 was used for the Oriental Rhapsody, Op. 32a, and for Behold the Name of the Lord, Op. 32 no. 2, although information on Op. 32 no. 1 is not forthcoming. Op. 33 seems to have been used twice.
^Written for Stephen Phillips's tragedy after Dante. Includes No. 11 Marriage Song: Take the lilies for her hair (3 female voices); No. 19 Drinking song: Oh, I love not.
^A web search returns little information about this work, apart from its initial announcement in the Royal Philharmonic Society's 104th season beginning 1 Nov 1915 The Standard, 11 October 1915, p. 10
^"Percy Pitt's Improvisation, after beginning by calling to mind Raff's 'La Fileuse,' settles down into an extended and fluent arpeggid study." 'The Musical Times', Vol. 61, No. 923 (1 January 1920), pp. 45–47. Article Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/908488
^A review in The Atheneum magazine, 1902 read: "There is feeling and imagination in the music, and skill of a high order. To the orchestra is assigned, after the manner of Wagner, the most important part. The performance was not satisfactory. Mr. Davies's voice was not in the best condition ; moreover, the orchestral playing was rough and too loud. Even had the rendering of them been faultless, so much thought is pressed into small space — all the five songs are brief — that they need more than one hearing. Of the poems by Lenau, Cornelius, Dahn, and Tasso there were English versions in the book from the clever pen of the vocalist."
^Recorded by Louise Kirkby Lunn, 10” Red acoustic HMV DA568 [Bb3887-I/3893-I]: The Heart Worships (Holst)/Love is a Dream (Pitt).
^Dedicated on the cover "à Madame Ysaÿe, souvenir d'un séjour à Bruxelles, September 1893". MS held at Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Worldcat.orgArchivegrid
^'...the reviewer notes the "charming, daintily-scored Serenade for small orchestra by Mr. Percy Pitt" which received its first performance on October 18 and was repeated on October 20. The Musical Times, 1910, quoted at landofllostcontent.blogspot
^Published in 'Repertoire Series of Pianoforte Music by Modern British Composers' (1919). General editors: C.H. Clutsam & Thomas Dunhill. London: Ascherberg, Hopwood & Crew.
^'Miss Nelia Casella', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951. University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011, accessed 17 Mar 2015
^Information on e.g. Op. 32 no. 1 appears to be lacking.