Graham Parlett was the pre-eminent scholar of Bax's works. As part of his monumental publication A Catalogue of the Music of Arnold Bax, every work for which we have knowledge was assigned a catalogue number with its characters based on Graham's name. Hence, Spring Fire is GP.153 - the hundred-and-fifty-third composition on the list. The level of detail is immense, right down to the particular brand and model of stave paper Bax wrote on. It may sound futile pursuing minutiae across such a vast range of works, but as editor of many Bax pieces I have personally found this useful when staring at a scrap of paper trying to determine its position in the jigsaw puzzle of sources I was dealing with. Spotting that only one of the sources used Augener's No.17 paper enabled me to place the piece in the correct position and make further headway in my editorial role.
Graham was also a gifted orchestrator, and some of his editions of Bax's pieces have been recorded and performed professionally. Details of those can be found below and also at https://parlettpages.uk/bax/
Graham was in the process of restoring Symphonic Variations (GP.210) when he sadly passed away. Richard Adams - chairman of this charity - wrote the following words:
"Dr. Graham Parlett (1946-2021) was a renowned authority on the music of Sir Arnold Bax. Among Graham’s accomplishments is his comprehensive catalogue of Bax’s music that he compiled for his doctoral dissertation at King’s College, London, which he later expanded for publication.
Graham orchestrated several works by Bax including On the Sea-shore, Red Autumn, May Night in the Ukraine, and a suite from Bax’s early ballet, Tamara. He also reconstructed Bax’s score for the 1948 David Lean film, Oliver Twist, which was recorded for Chandos, as were most of his Bax orchestrations. Other composers whose music Graham orchestrated and arranged include John Ireland, Gordon Jacob, and Vaughan Williams. Graham was also responsible for the reconstruction and editing of several Bax scores including In Memoriam, the Violin Concerto, both versions of Christmas Eve, and Winter Legends – to name a few.
By profession, Graham was a curator at the Victoria & Albert Museum where he specialised in East Indian visual arts. Graham was born in London and read classics as a day student at the London University where he was awarded his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1972. He was a meticulous researcher and had a voracious curiosity about everything related to music, film, books, history, and art. To be in Graham’s company was to be awed by his knowledge as well as entranced by his good humour and warmth. I truly miss my dear friend. He would be so pleased to see Bax in its new editions."
Although Graham never got to see this charity come to life, it would have been impossible without his hard work over the last few decades.
Other scholarly work makes its appearances regularly in our newsletters and articles. Bookwise, there are two major biographies.
Colin Scott-Sutherland's excellent book is ideal for those wanting to start somewhere with understanding Bax's life. But Lewis Foreman's biography is incredibly detailed, no doubt thanks to the diligent reading and understanding of Bax's plentiful letters. Foreman has been able to effectively trace Bax's life almost down to the day and therefore gain great understanding into the emotional and physical realities of the composer beyond the musical realities.
However, both books are flawed and can present Bax as an alcoholic - explaining the red cheeks, the ambling gait, the idleness, and the way with women… but Dr Claire Colebourn's recent articles on Bax's congenital heart issues really explain all this as simply a terminal illness that took Bax from us earlier than necessary; the sad truth is that the medical procedure that would have saved Bax's life and given him energy to write another 400 pieces of music was invented as late as 1970.