The Clock and the
Dresden Figures – piano with
orchestra Back to list of
works index
This work was first performed from manuscript parts
on 8th February 1930, and reached the recording studio on 27th
of the same month – before the sheet music was available. It is indicative of Ketèlbey’s
standing at the time that he was able to synchronise issue of the recording
with publication of the music.
Composer’s synopsis
Two Dresden-China Figures standing on each side of a Clock come to life and dance to the ticking of the Clock; after a while the Clock goes wrong, the spring breaks suddenly and the two figure rush back to their former positions.
|
Artists |
Label |
Matrix |
Format |
Country |
Date |
Gramophone Review |
Locations |
|
Ketèlbey, Albert W. Ketelbey’s
Concert Orchestra |
Columbia
DX 27 |
WAX
5420 |
12” 78 |
UK |
[Apr
30] rec.Feb 30 |
May
30 p.564 |
BL,
PD, (TM CAS) |
|
Re-issue |
- Columbia Cinema Service YBX 20 |
WAXD 39 |
12” 33 |
UK |
[Mar 31] |
||
|
Re-issue |
-
Pearl GEMM CD 9968 |
CD |
UK |
1992 |
BL,
PD, TM |
||
|
Re-issue |
-
Evergreen Melodies C 62 |
CD |
UK |
[1999] |
PD,
TM |
||
|
Re-issue |
-
Naxos 8.110174 |
CD |
UK |
2001 |
NX,
PD, TM |
||
|
Re-issue |
-
Living Era CD AJA 5601 |
CD |
UK |
2006 |
LMS summer 06 |
||
|
Re-issue |
- Revivendo RVPC 004 |
|
CD |
Brazil |
|
|
|
|
New
Empire Orchestra |
Decca
K 523 |
MA 1455-3 |
12” 78 |
UK |
[Aug
30] |
Oct
30 p.234 |
|
|
Re-issue |
-
Decca K 560 |
12” 78 |
UK |
excerpt |
BL |
||
|
Ernest Leggett’s Orchestra |
Sterno 511 |
s 971 |
10” 78 |
UK |
[Nov 30] |
||
|
Athenaeum
Light Orchestra, Adlington |
Piccadilly
651 |
2xx 3988 |
10” 78 |
UK |
[?Jan 31] |
ad.Feb 31 |
(TM
CAS) |
|
Re-issue |
-
Synchrophone 153 |
xx
3988 |
10” 78 |
UK |
[ca.1931] |
|
|
|
Re-issue Synchrophone Novelty Orchestra (=Argosy
Light Orchestra?) |
-
Octacros 153 |
3988 |
10” 78 |
UK |
[1934] |
|
|
|
Re-issue Synchrophone Novelty Orchestra |
-
Octacros 1291 |
3988 |
10” 78 |
UK |
[1936] |
|
|
|
Frank
Westfield's Orchestra |
Parlophone E 6379 |
? |
UK |
[Jan
31] |
|||
|
Ferdy Kauffman (Kaufmann) & his Light Orchestra |
HMV
C 2116 |
CDR 8936-II or ?62-743 |
12” 78 |
UK |
[Mar
31] |
Apr
31 p.543 |
BL,
TM, TMmp3, WC |
|
Re-issue |
-
Electrola EH 598 |
CDR 8936-2 |
12” 78 |
Germany |
MMU |
WC |
|
|
Rochester
Pops Orchestra, Gould |
Columbia
CL 560 |
|
10” LP |
US |
[1954] |
|
|
|
Re-issue |
-
Columbia AL 47 |
|
10” LP |
US |
|
|
|
|
Re-issue |
-
Philips GO 6605R |
|
10” LP |
France |
[1959] |
|
WC |
|
Re-issue |
-
Coronet KLL 002 |
|
10” LP |
Australia |
|
|
|
|
Re-issue |
- Columbia Masterworks LPCB
27003 |
|
10” LP |
Brazil |
|
|
|
|
Vienna
State Opera Orchestra, Aliberti |
Westminster
WP 6082 |
|
LP |
US |
[1958]rec.June 57 |
|
(TM
CD) |
|
Re-issue |
-
Sonotape SWB 7027 |
|
2-track tape |
|
1958 |
|
|
|
Re-issue |
- Westminster WTP 132 |
|
4-track tape |
US |
1960 |
|
|
|
Leslie
Pearson, Philharmonia Orchestra, Lanchbery |
EMI
ASD 3542 |
LP |
UK |
1978 |
July
78 p.261 |
BL,
PD, TM |
|
|
Re-issue |
- Angel EAC
55030 |
|
LP |
Japan |
[1978] |
|
|
|
Re-issue |
- Angel S 37483 |
|
LP |
US |
1978 |
|
|
|
Re-issue |
- EMI 26
1370 |
|
LP |
Germany |
1978 |
|
|
|
Re-issue |
- EMI 7C 06102986 |
|
LP |
Sweden |
1978 |
|
|
|
Re-issue |
-
Hörzu 1C 05702986Q |
|
LP |
Germany |
1978 |
|
WC |
|
Re-issue |
- His
Master’s Voice TC-ASD 3542 |
|
CAS |
UK |
1978 |
|
|
|
Re-issue |
- World Record Club R-05771 |
|
LP |
Australia |
1979 |
|
|
|
Re-issue |
-
Angel SS 45012 |
|
EP |
US |
1979 |
|
|
|
Re-issue |
- His Master’s Voice 1546401 |
|
LP |
Sweden |
1983 |
|
|
|
Re-issue |
- Richmond B 20083 |
|
LP |
US |
|
|
|
|
Re-issue |
- Angel EAC-80451 |
|
LP |
Japan |
|
|
|
|
Re-issue |
-
Voz de su Amo 10C
265002986Q |
|
LP/CAS |
Spain |
[1980] |
|
WC |
|
Re-issue |
-
Voix de son maître 2C 2692986 |
|
LP/CAS |
France |
|
|
|
|
Re-issue |
-
EMI CDC 7478062 |
|
CD |
UK |
1987 |
Nov 87 p.825 |
WC |
|
Re-issue |
-
EMI 7243 5730 025 |
|
CD |
UK |
1990 |
|
|
|
Re-issue |
-
EMI CDM 253 8402 |
|
CD |
Netherlands |
1992 |
|
|
|
Re-issue |
-
EMI 7234 5680 6122 |
|
CD |
UK |
1993 |
|
|
|
Re-issue |
-
CD-CFP 4637 |
|
CD |
UK |
1993 |
Mar
94 p.114 |
BL,
TM |
|
Re-issue |
-
TC-CFP 4637 |
|
CAS |
|
1993 |
Mar
94 p.114 |
|
|
Re-issue |
-
EMI 50112920 |
|
CD |
Japan? |
1994
[2007?] |
|
TM |
|
Re-issue |
- EMI
Classics 7243 5730 0124 |
|
CD |
Netherlands |
1998 |
|
|
|
Re-issue |
-
EMI Classics 5730002 |
|
CD |
Germany |
[1998] |
|
WC |
|
Re-issue |
-
HMV 5724852 |
CD |
|
1998 |
|||
|
Re-issue |
-
EMI Classics 0724 3573 00056 |
|
CD |
|
[1999] |
|
NX |
|
Re-issue |
-
EMI Classics 0742 3573 00155 |
|
CD |
|
[1999] |
|
NX |
|
Re-issue- |
- EMI Classics
7243 8266 6424 |
|
CD |
Europe |
2002 |
|
|
|
Re-issue |
-
EMI Classics 00946 35239959/351399-2 |
|
CD |
|
[2006] |
|
NX |
|
Re-issue |
- Angel
HCD-1353 |
|
CD |
Japan |
|
|
|
|
Michael
Reeves, London Promenade Orchestra, Faris |
Philips
6514 152 |
LP |
UK |
1982 |
Apr
82 p.1423 |
BL,
TM |
|
|
Re-issue |
- Philips 7337152 |
|
CAS |
|
1982 |
Apr
82 p.1423 |
WC |
|
Re-issue |
- Philips 400 011-2 |
CD |
UK |
1983 |
Apr 83 p.1152 |
BL,
PD, TM |
|
|
Re-issue |
- Musical
Heritage Society MHS 11165F |
|
CD |
Germany |
1986 |
|
|
|
Re-issue |
- Philips MCCE
7084 |
|
CAS |
Mexico |
1991 |
|
|
|
Re-issue |
-
Decca/Universal 473 720-2 |
CD |
UK |
2003 |
June
03 p.50 |
BL,
PD |
|
|
Re-issue cond. Myers “La pendule et les figurines de
Saxe” |
Mon
Patrimoine Musical |
|
mp3 |
France |
2019 |
|
|
|
Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leaper |
Marco Polo 8.223442 |
CD |
UK |
1992 |
Apr 94 p.48 |
BL,
NX, PD, TM |
|
|
Re-issue Sylvia Čápová, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra |
- Naxos 8.555175 |
|
CD |
UK |
2023 |
|
|
|
Paul
Searle Barnes, Palm Court Theatre Orchestra, Godwin |
Chandos
FBCD 2002 |
CD |
UK |
1998 |
BL,
PD, TM |
||
|
Re-issue |
-
Chandos CHAN 6676 |
|
CD |
UK |
2004 |
|
NX |
|
?Re-issue of unidentified recording |
Yesterday’s
Music C 171 |
|
CD |
UK |
2018 |
|
|
|
International Concert Orchestra |
HMV |
? |
12” 78 |
|
? |
|
WC |
|
Re-issue |
- Gramophone L 867 |
? |
12” 78 |
|
? |
|
WC |
|
Salon-Orchester Ricardo |
Ultraphon A 617, A 623 |
15220 |
10” 78 |
Germany |
? (by 1931) |
MMU |
WC |
The recording by Aliberti is also listed on the sleeve of the World Record
Club re-issue (TP 359), but is not included in those copies of the actual disc
I’ve found.
A fragment of a recording of this piece was used in
the 1935 film Car of Dreams, at 29'12", played on the car radio.
Watch this at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7Bvde1325I
|
Conductor |
Notes |
Link |
|
Aliberti |
With
xylophone sometimes replacing piano |
|
|
Atheneum
LO |
2
cuts, 24 bars. |
|
|
Faris |
With
saxophone |
|
|
Anthony
Godwin |
Chiming
clock on tubular bell. |
|
|
Gould |
Fast.
Impresssive breaking of spring. |
|
|
Kauffman |
Very
quiet tick-tick, often inaudible. |
www.albertketelbey.org.uk/mp3/clock%20and%20dresden%20figures%20-%20Kauffman.mp3 |
|
Ketelbey |
Very
fast, crotchet =140. Clocks goes tick-tick, not tick-tock. |
http://www.mgthomas.co.uk/Soundfiles/Orchestral/Soundfiles-Orchestral.htm |
|
Lanchbery |
Clean
rhythmic performance. Comic spring break. |
|
|
Leaper |
Chiming
clock on very small bell tuned to F#, not D |
|
|
Leggett |
Cuts
5 bars. Strings in background, glock out tune,
spring doesn't break. |
In the published parts, three different sources
suggest metronome marks of crotchet=120, ca.124 and 126 respectively. Nearly all the recordings apart from Ketèlbey himself have their clocks running at this typical
clock speed of two ticks a second. At
one point the piano has an 8-bar ossia passage (arpeggios instead of the
melody), which is taken by some of the pianists (Ketèlbey,
Pearson, Godwin). The sound of the
clock-spring breaking is usually produced by a rattle, but side drum, maracas
and sandpaper may also be heard; to my ear the best effect comes in the Lanchbery recording, where it sounds like a metal ruler
being twanged over the edge of desk.
The Clock and the
Dresden Figures – other soloists and
accompaniments
The xylophone was published as an alternative to
piano some time after the original publication
date. Perhaps it was linked to the Jack
Simpson recording, but there the soloist varies the text considerably,
including more repeated notes.
|
Medium |
Artists |
Label |
Matrix |
Format |
Country |
Date |
Gramophone Review |
Locations |
|
Glock & xylophone with
orchestra |
Paul-Godwin-Künstler-Orchester, “La pendule et les figurines de porcelaine de Saxe” |
Grammophon 23568 |
11971/2BTii, C 40239 |
10” 78 |
Germany |
[1930] |
MMU |
WC (TM mp3) |
|
|
Re-issue |
-
Polydor 23568 |
C 40239 |
10” 78 |
Europe |
[1930] |
|
|
|
|
Re-issue |
- ILD Classics 642187 |
|
CD |
|
2000 |
|
|
|
Xylophone
with dance band |
Jack
Simpson, (New Mayfair Orchestra, Noble) |
OB 4479-2 |
10” 78 |
UK |
[Feb
33] |
Feb
33 p.364 |
BL,
TM, (TM CD) |
|
|
Piano with wind band |
39e Régiment
d’Infanterie Revoil |
Corelia CC 81302 |
|
LP |
France |
1981 |
|
|
|
With
brass band |
Desford
Colliery Dowty Band, Snell |
Polyphonic
Reproductions DPRL 001D |
|
UK |
1986 |
BL |
||
|
|
Re-issue |
- Music for Pleasure MFP
5782 |
|
LP |
UK |
1987 |
VLM Aut.89 |
BL |
|
Xylophone, glockenspiel and
marimba with brass band |
Eikanger-Bjorsvik Band, cond. Snell (arr. Snell) |
Bocchino BOCC 106 |
|
CD |
UK |
2006 |
|
|
|
? |
Brass Band Berner Oberland,
Bach |
feiyr.com |
|
web |
Switzerland |
2012 |
|
|
|
Xylophone, glockenspiel and
marimba with brass band |
Youth Brass 2000, Fountain |
private recording |
|
web |
UK |
2022 |
|
|
Dempsey
names Simpson’s accompaniment as New Mayfair Orchestra, conducted by Roy
Noble. Sometimes a piano supports the
soloist. This clock ticks at an amazing
172 ticks a minute!
In Paul Godwin’s version, the solo part is mainly taken by
glockenspiel/celeste? and xylophone, but some material is redistributed among
the woodwind, and the accompaniment is also slightly revised. He makes 2 cuts, each of 8 bars. Hear him at http://www.albertketelbey.org.uk/mp3/clock
and dresden figures - godwin.mp3
Revoil has a very strident piccolo. The ticking effect is odd, and the quarter chime uses a phrase from the Westminster Chimes. Here this version at 7’07” on https://archive.org/details/REVOIL
The Eikanger-Bjorsvik
Band has three tuned percussion as soloists. Their
delightful performance with its spectacular breaking of the spring can be heard
at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u75np1UdFX4
Similar scoring is used by
the YB2K (Youth Brass 2000, from Ketèlbey's home city
of Birmingham), at a performance in Skegness on 8 Jan 2022. See them at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo1KutYfggA
The Clock and the
Dresden Figures – piano
unaccompanied
|
Artists |
Label |
Format |
Country |
Date |
Review |
Locations |
Archive |
|
Dario Muller |
Dynamic CDS 7684 |
CD |
|
2014 |
Europe |
NX |
|
|
Markus Staab |
private recording |
web |
Germany |
2017 |
|
|
|
|
Themodist Full Scale
30592b |
roll |
|
? |
PD |
mr12 |
||
|
- |
1910 Push-up 65/88 Note Pianola |
roll |
|
? |
|
|
|
Muller’s recording is in a collection called “Magic Boxes,” allowing
him a more flexible rhythm than strict clockwork. Hear him at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx7ZoMT7C_I
Listen to Adam Ramet playing
the pianola roll at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8igZJJkMg6M. The performance of the spring breaking is
very disappointing.
Staab can be heard at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voXG_zPZYXw
The Clock and the
Dresden Figures – song
|
Artists |
Label |
Format |
Country |
Date |
Review |
Locations |
|
Dora Lou (Annick Hemon voice, Dominique Ponty piano, Cyril Lefebvre guitar), “La pendule et les
porcelains de Saxe” (words J. Racaille) |
Gorgone GP 0391, 812241, 590065 |
CD |
France |
1991 |
|
WC, (TM mp3) |
|
Re-issue |
- ADDA 590065 |
CD |
France |
1991 |
|
|
|
Re-issue |
- WSP Ephémère
WWCP 7111 |
CD |
Japan |
|
|
|
Dora Lou paints a
charming picture: if the figurines and toys can dance at night, why shouldn’t
real people dance during the day? The
guitar adds some unsettling glissandos, particularly when the spring breaks. Hear them at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhl5fdOMPfA
Words by
Joseph Racaille (1990), transcribed by Antoine Fréart
A minuit quand sonne la pendule en toc,
Tintent doucement
dans la vaste maison qui sommeille,
Parmi des vilains meubles pseudo d'époque,
Et sur le faux marbre de la cheminée s'éveillent,
Répondant à l'appel du grêle carillon,
Des créatures aussi fantasques que
minuscules,
Dessus l'affreux canapé vert du salon,
Qui s'agitent avec un entrain tout à fait ridicule.
Et dansent, dansent tous en rond
Les petits
bibelots à la con.
Les Pierrots,
les marquises,
Les nègres en chemise,
Les danseuses légères,
Les bergères,
Tendres Colombines
Et joueurs de mandolines,
Les marquis,
les Bouddhas,
Les petits
bibelots à la noix !
Si nous sourions de l'idéal berger
De son flûtiau chorégraphiant ses brebis jusqu'au
soir,
Ne devrait-on pas plutôt par honnêteté
Pour égayer notre journée,
avouer souhaiter voir,
En symbolique hommage à leur corporation,
Et dans le
cadre même de leur noble activité
Dans les
bureaux, les cheminées, les avions,
Sur le ring, le
turf, le pavé, les marchés, les chantiers,
Danser, danser les
chevaliers
De leur labeur journalier
Les plombiers, les boxeuses,
Les noires ramoneuses,
Les belles infirmières,
Les hôtesses de l'air,
Les rudes buralistes,
Les laitiers, les dentistes,
Les jockeys,
les sherpas,
Les petits miteux à la noix !
webpage updated 8 May 2023