The only mythical creature in the Chinese zodiac, the dragon has long been associated with prosperity and imperial power. Initially a vague motif in ancient Chinese art, the dragon is now an emblem of benevolent divinity, imperial power and sweeping unity. Its symbolism builds on thousands of years of folklore and Chinese history. Dragons have also been a source of inspiration to composers for many years…
John Frederick Lampe
The Dragon of Wantley
The Brook Street Band
John Andrews (conductor)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Magic Flute: Help! Help, or I am lost, doomed to fall prey to the cunning serpent!
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Bernard Haitink (conductor)
John Powell
How To Train Your Dragon: See you Tomorrow
Abbey Road Session Orchestra
Gavin Greenaway (conductor)
Philip Sparke
Year of the Dragon
Symphonic Winds
Alexander Veit (conductor)
John Frederick Lampe was born in Germany but came to England in 1724 and played the bassoon in opera houses. In 1730, he became the composer for Covent Garden Theatre and also played at the coronation of King George II. He wrote operatic works in English in spite of the vogue for Italian opera popularised by George Frederic Handel. From November, 1750 until his death, Lampe was based in Dublin and later in Edinburgh. He is buried in Canongate Kirkyard on the Royal Mile. The Dragon of Wantley was a big success at its 1737 premiere at the Haymarket Theatre in London and it ran for a record 69 performances. It even received more performances in the 18th century than any opera by the Handel. The absurd story sees The Dragon of Wantley terrorising the countryside of Yorkshire, eating its children like bonbons. The country people beg the local hero, Moore of Moore Hall, to slay it. He assents and asks for the hand of Margery. This arouses the jealousy of Mauxalinda, his cast-off mistress. Even though the opera is a send-up of Handel’s serious Italian operas he music remains utterly charming.
During the first scene of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Magic Flute, a fearsome serpent pursues Prince Tamino. Amid stormy and ominous music, the handsome, young nobleman cries for help but is knocked unconscious. Within moments, three ladies slay the monster. After a brief discussion of the young man’s attractiveness, they depart to advise their mistress of this unexpected occurrence. A panpipe-playing birdcatcher then appears. When Tamino regains consciousness, the birdcatcher falsely claims to have killed the serpent. The three ladies return and chastise him and then show Tamino a portrait of a beautiful girl. He is immediately smitten by this vision of loveliness and sings a rapturous aria praising her beauty. The opera, Mozart’s last, was premiered just before his death on December 5th 1791. On one level, The Magic Flute is a simple fairy tale concerning a damsel in distress and the handsome prince who rescues her. Beneath the surface, however, the piece is much more complex. It is an allegory of the quest for wisdom and enlightenment as presented through symbols of Freemasonry; Mozart was himself a Freemason. Most obvious of the Masonic symbols is the number three: among the cast are three boys, three ladies, and three slaves, and musical passages feature three chords (as those that begin the overture) or three stanzas, among other instances. The Magic Flute, which was successful from the beginning, continues to make frequent appearances on the world’s opera stages.
John Powell is an English composer and has been based in Los Angeles since 1997. Although he has composed the scores to over 70 feature films he is perhaps best known for composing the scores for the Bourne film series, X-Men and nine DreamWorks Animation films. He was nominated for an Academy Award for How to Train Your Dragon. Powell was a member of Hans Zimmer’s music studio and has collaborated frequently with other composers from the studio, including Harry Gregson-Williams on Antz, Chicken Run and Shrek and Zimmer himself on Chill Factor, The Road to El Dorado, and the first two Kung Fu Panda films.
Born and raised in London, Philip Sparke studied composition, trumpet, and piano at the Royal College of Music. Known as being one of the leading brass band and wind band composers, Sparke has won a notable amount of awards. Composed between 1984-85, The Year of the Dragon was originally written for brass band, but has since been orchestrated for wind band. It was composed to a commission from the Cory Band, one of the world’s premier brass bands, in 1984. The Finale is a tour-de-force with a rapid sequence of semi-quavers dominating the opening part of this bold and heroic movement.
Sounding Out 