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3 unusual facts about The Famous Tay Whale


Mátyás Seiber

His output includes Ulysses (1947), a cantata on words by James Joyce and a clarinet concertino; scores to animated films, including Animal Farm (1954); a setting of the Scottish "poet and tragedian" William McGonagall's work, The Famous Tay Whale (written for the second of Gerard Hoffnung's music festivals); three string quartets; and choral arrangements of Hungarian and Yugoslav folk songs.

The Famous Tay Whale

McGonagall's poem was set to music by the composer Mátyás Seiber in 1958.

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The premiere performance of this work – scored for orchestra, foghorn, espresso coffee machine and narrator – took place at the second of Gerard Hoffnung's music festivals, with Edith Evans in the role of the narrator.



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