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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.

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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