6th Apr, 2022 10:00
Early Printed Books, Historical Autographs & Documents, Travel, Maps & Decorative Prints
Davies (Peter Maxwell, 1934-2016). A significant archive comprising approx. 120 individual items
Sold for £15,000
Davies (Peter Maxwell, 1934-2016). English composer and conductor, Master of the Queen's Music 2004 to 2014. A significant archive comprising approximately 120 individual items of autograph manuscripts including music manuscripts, autographs letters and postcards, annotated scores and miscellaneous autographs, c. 1952-2000, most notably including very early and significant Autograph Musical Manuscripts of Fünf Gedichte von Christian Morgenstern, 1952; the carol Ave Maria, Blessed Flower, c. 1961; 3 postcards with musical quotations including 1 titled Tabula prima; 54 autograph letters signed, 30 autograph postcards signed, published scores of his own and other composers' works, some with Davies' signature and annotations, further miscellaneous autograph items and other ephemera including biographical important photocopies of unpublished material by Maxwell Davies, etc.
(Quantity: approx. 120)
Provenance: Roderic Dunnett, a writer and close friend of the composer who has written widely on music including modern British opera.
The collection comprises:
Autograph Musical Manuscript of Fünf Gedichte von Christian Morgenstern signed at the end of the score (‘Peter Maxwell Davies / September 1952 / Fünf Gedichte von Christian / Morgenstern’), 6 pages, folio., covers detached and page edges creased. An astonishing score from the 18 year old composer, who is writing in a chromatic, but tonal musical language.
An extremely rare, early and significant work.
Autograph Musical Manuscript of the Carol Ave Maria, Blessed Flower signed (‘Max’ and ‘Peter Maxwell Davies’), 1 page, large quarto (small tear and two file holes, neither affecting the music or text, however the ’vies’ of Davies has been removed by one of them). Being 18 long bars for mixed choir laid out on two staves, with an autograph note about the Carol, which was written in 1961 for Cirencester Grammar School Choir where Davies taught music. In the autograph note, Davies also refers to the note values he has used in this manuscript, saying, ‘… I think I eventually wrote it out in half-time values…’. This is borne out by the published version of this important manuscript.
Autograph Musical Manuscript entitled Tabula prima unsigned, 1 page, written in blue biro on a postcard and laid out along each side of the postcard (two file holes not affecting the manuscript but just touching the corner of the musical stave). A note on the verso, signed with initials (‘PMD’) indicates that the work is “... A tiny canon, with the title borrowed from the illustration which set off the Vesalius work, on a cantus from it”.
Autograph Postcard Signed (‘Max) with a short autograph musical quotation of 1 bar, sending greetings from Brazil and informing the recipient that the seminars he is teaching at the university are “…interesting and worth it…” but lamenting the humidity and asking for news. 1 page (with the usual stamps and postal cancellations, one touching but not obscuring, part of the text and musical quotation). The bar is a melody based on a rumba.
Autograph Postcard signed (‘Max’) with an unidentified autograph musical quotation, 2 bars for piano written on a hand drawn stave, 1 page, Dorset, 1973. Enquiring when he can see the recipient, and suggesting dates.
28 Autograph Letters Signed (‘M’ or Max’), 57 pages (various sizes) Many of the letters are of the utmost biographical importance and are astonishing for their levels of candour.
The following four quotes come from only 1 letter (written oddly, over 9 pages but without using the complete page - thus taking on the form of a litany of confessional thoughts):
“… Last year I wrote Mad Songs, finished ‘St. Thomas Wake’, an orchestral commission for Dortmund, wrote ‘Solita’ for flute and ‘Canda Pavonis’ + Sub team protectionem’ for piano, the Pavans (Foxtrots) on Purcell, + Vesalii Icones. Too much, never again. It’ll take weeks to recover. Still…”.
“…As a child, I always hated myself, particularly my body & my funny-shaped head which wasn’t like other people’s…A continuation of this paragraph would be too painful…”
With uncanny prescience, (in 2007, £450,000 was embezzled from him by one of MaxOpus’s Directors), Davies informs his recipient that:
“…I am going to be in very nasty financial trouble. But this is boring…"
Maxwell Davies then goes into explicit sexual and anatomical detail relating to specific areas of his lower torso and then rather tangentially refers to his piece Revelation and Fall, written in 1966:
“…I am glad you got the Rev and Fall record - I’m still pleased with that. It’s I think one of my intensest pieces - much more weighty than 8 Songs for a mad King..”
Many of the other letters discuss or mention his own works or continue in confessional tones, in particular with regards to the awful trauma that faced all gay men growing up before 1967:
“…A few facts, which is only fair, as I think I perceived a lot about you! - I remember at the age of 14 realising that my whole attitude to people - the person I loved most - the person I loved was contrary to the law. There was no-one to discuss such things with - my parents wouldn’t know what I was talking about…and in a northern grammar school full of mine and cotton workers’ sons such things are jokes only, fit for a laugh… which meant that after the first shock, when I locked myself in the public loo of the cemetery for 3 days deciding whether to go on or not, I realised I was not alone…”.
A further letter discusses a project for a new work based on Lancelot and the Grail, extracted from the 1972 book ‘The Grail Legend’ by Emma Freud and Marie-Louise von Franz, which the composer asks to be translated into Latin:
“…I’d like to start the orch[estral] piece with a setting of an adaptation latinised of the Grail extract overleaf, as an introduction to four splendid movements, the first 3 entirely orchestral and the fourth containing a stetting of the poem already made..”
[There appears to be no reference to this proposed work in the PMD Catalogue of Works]
13 Autograph Letters signed (‘Max’ and ‘M’), 22 pages 4to, 8vo and varying sizes (2 on ‘The Fires of London’ headed paper and 1 on the reverse of ‘The Fires of London’ concert advertising the first performance of Hymn to St Magnus), (file holes affecting 4 letters with very little loss of text, general creasing and paper loss to 2 letters with minor loss to text), Orkney, London, 1971 to 1977. Mentioning various works, including a proposed Orchestral piece for the London Symphony Orchestra, a new work for the Bath Festival, a performance of St Thomas Wake by Charles Groves, Stone Litany with Boulez, The Martyrdom of St Magnus, one of his symphonies, and in one that “… My new orchestral work is developing but slowly; I’m only just into real composition...”. Further mentioning the recipient’s Latin translations, travel arrangements and food poisoning.
13 Autograph Letters Signed (‘all ‘Max’, except one with his first name initial’), 3 on a postcard. All to Roderick Dunnett. Many with musical content: mentioning “…a new opera…”, “…a new symphony in Boston…”, “…”Finished Clarinet Concerto…”, informing Dunnett that “… [I] want you to read the text of the new ‘opera’. Very nasty.”, “…Since Helsinki with the exception of a more-or-less day trip to Buckingham Palace to get the CBE draped round my neck by HM, I have been here [Orkney]…”, “…have finished ‘Resurrection’ for Darmstadt, have undertaken a huge job for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra of 10 Concertos plus…”. In one revealing letter, PMD refers to the Aids epidemic that started in the 1980s “…[I have] been aids-tested - as have almost everyone has that I know who might at some stage through whatever cause have been in danger: ….despite not being a carrier would be again, if I thought I could be - but one is careful.”
8 Autograph Postcards Signed (‘Max’), various European cities, Australia and Hoy 1973 to 2001. Mentioning tours and various works, including Canticum Canticorum, Miss Donnithorne’s Maggot, Eight Songs for a Mad King, Symphony no. 6 and the First Quartet, and in one, that “… it is good to write music again…”.
11 Autograph Postcards Signed (‘Max’) and one (‘M’) (filing holes affecting only one postcard with minor loss of text and one with a small tear not affecting text or signature), New Zealand, USA, Antarctic, Orkney and London, 1970s (two postmarked 1973 and 1974). Alluding to his tour of America and his teaching of a composition course at Tanglewood, sending greetings from a red tent in The Antarctic, finalising various arrangements to meet and giving news of his general whereabouts. One postcard sends Christmas greetings in the form of a handwritten bar of music with a rest and pause above it.
11 Autograph Postcards Signed, 1969-1992, some to his most important works, with others discussing his personal philosophies and interests, his personal thoughts and feelings and his ongoing relationship with the recipient.
Remarkable 7 page document written in pencil by PMD, being the notes for a lecture on Sonata Form, mentioning most composers who wrote using that structure, as well as drawing parallels to architecture and other extra-musical disciplines. A fascinating insight into PMD’s pedagogy, having begun his career as a teacher at Cirencester Grammar School.
Published Score of Maxwell Davies’s Three Organ Voluntaries, 7 pages, Chester Music. Signed on the inside front cover (‘Peter Maxwell Davies’) and further inscribed and signed (‘Max/ 1979’).
Published Score of Maxwell Davies’s Farewell to Stromness and Yesnaby Ground, 5 pages, Boosey and Hawkes. Signed and inscribed to the inside front cover (‘All good wishes for / Christmas and New Year - Max’).
Two Published Scores of Maxwell Davies’s Strathclyde Concerto No. 2 for Cello and Orchestra, Chester Music and Ave Maris Stella, Boosey and Hawkes. Both signed on the title page (‘Peter Maxwell Davies’) and further inscribed and signed on the Strathclyde Concerto (‘For Roddy, with Christmas and New Year greetings from Max December 1990’), bleeding to both signature and inscription, and the Ave Maris Stella (‘Roddy - thank you for the best Ex Libris sticker ever. Max’).
Published Scores of works by Schoenberg (3) and Webern from Maxwell Davies’s own library with his annotations. Plus further miscellaneous material. For a more complete list please contact the auctioneers.
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Auction: Early Printed Books, Historical Autographs & Documents, Travel, Maps & Decorative Prints, 6th Apr, 2022
To see a page-turning version of our catalogue, please see the Virtual Catalogue.
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The amount is calculated as follows:
Royalty For the portion of the Hammer Price (in Euro)
4.00% up to 50,000
3.00% between 50,000.01 and 200,000
1.00% between 200,000.01 and 350,000
0.50% between 350,000.01 and 500,000
0.25% in excess of 500,000
Invoices will be issued in Pounds Sterling. For the purposes of calculating the resale royalty the Pounds Sterling/Euro rate of exchange will be the European Central Bank reference rate on the day of the sale. Please refer to the DACS website www.dacs.org.uk for further details.
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Buyer's Premium :
The buyer's premium is 20%, except those lots asterisked (*) in the title for which Value Added Tax (VAT) will be added to the premium, resulting in a buyer's premium of 24% inclusive of VAT. Eligible items include manuscripts, prints, photographs, drawings, framed maps, paintings, pens and other objects which are subject to VAT at a rate of 20% on the buyer's premium as part of the Auctioneers Margin Scheme. VAT zero-rated items such as books, unframed maps and albums are not subject to VAT on the buyer's premium.
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An additional commission of 3% plus VAT (3.6% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer price is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the Dominic Winter Auctioneers website (dominicwinter.co.uk). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.
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Payment is preferred by direct Bank Transfer to our bank account. Our bank details will be supplied to you with your invoice.
Payment can be made in cash at the Cashier's Office, either during or after the sale. Alternatively, you can pay by cheque (Pounds Sterling only), please allow 5 working days for the cheque to clear before collection of goods.
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Payment (Overseas Buyers)
Payment must be made by direct Bank Transfer to our bank account. Our bank details will be supplied to you on your invoice. No card payments will be accepted unless by special prior arrangements with the auctioneers. All transfers must state the relevant invoice number. The amount we receive must be the total due after currency conversion and the deduction of any bank charges (normally £7).
UK Shipping
We are not specialist shippers. Some items, such as framed & glazed or fragile goods, will require specialist handling and buyers will be asked to use Mailboxes or RF Shipping Ltd. (details below).
For non-fragile items and items of reasonably small size, we offer an in-house packing and shipping facility for UK buyers. When possible, purchases will be sent by either Royal Mail Special Delivery or DPD overnight service. The charge for this service is variable (£15 minimum per parcel) and will be added to your invoice. Please note shipments to the Highlands and Islands may require shipment by courier and may be more expensive. Please contact us for a quote before bidding.
For larger packages and fragile goods, we recommend Mailboxes, Pack & Send or RF Shipping Ltd who will collect fully paid-for purchases from us twice a week and liaise with the buyer direct. For more information please contact Sarah Ball by telephone on +44 (0)1285 860006 or email sarah@dominicwinter.co.uk. These companies will require payment direct for their services.
