Sir Ernest MacMillan Conducts The Music Of Francois Morel – Past Daily Weekend Gramophone

Sir Ernest MacMillan Conducts Music Of Francois Morel – Esquisse Op. 1 – CBC Radio Session – 1956 – CBC Transcription Service –

The music of Canadian Composer Francois Morel, played by the Toronto Symphony, conducted by Sir Ernest MacMillan in this 1956 CBC Studio recording.

This week it’s Morel’s first important work, Esquisse Opus 1, which he composed in 1947. Morel has had a long and wide-ranging career, as composer, conductor, educator and pianist. He was with the CBC from 1956-1979 as an in-house composer as well as on the faculty of a number of Universities in Canada.

Although he’s primarily known in his native Canada, many of his works have received premiers with U.S. Orchestras, most notably the Philadelphia, who premiered his work Anitphonie in 1953 under Leopold Stokowski. His most recent work, Passage à l’aube was premiere in Montreal in 2005.

Sir Ernest MacMillan was a staple in the diet of Canadian Classical music from the 1920s through the 1950s. Devoted to championing the works of his Canadian compatriots, MacMillan has received every award and accolade possible during his tenure as conductor, educator, soloist, writer and Statesman and his contributions to the music world were considerable and his guest appearances as conductor and soloist were made all over the world. He died in 1973 and his memory is still honored by the number of schools and institutions named after him.

All that by way of saying, hit the play button and enjoy some tonal color from Francois Morel, as presented by the venerable Sir Ernest MacMillan and The Toronto Symphony from 1956.

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