Patrick Halling Q&A

[Deleted]

Below is a short extract from an interesting blog called "Patrick Halling’s Musical voyage" by his son, Carl Halling.

Patrick Halling was the leader of the [string] 'quartet/quintet' who played with Tull on 'Warchild' and 'Minstrel in the gallery'.

Their line-up was:

Patrick Halling (lead violin)
Elizabeth Edwards (violin)
Rita Eddowes (violin)
Bridget Proctor (violin)
Katharine Thulborn (cello)

Patrick has had a diverse and very broad legacy of work, The extract below relates to just part of that work as regards Tull. The whole piece is well worth a read and is a little like a quick insight into British music culture from the 60’s onwards.

"However, it was Jethro Tull, a British band that achieved both commercial and critical success on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond, that marked the height of his relationship with the new Art Rock phenomenon. Working with front man - as well as singer, flautist and composer - Ian Anderson, and conductor, arranger and keyboard player David Palmer, Pat served as leader for two Tull albums, which is to say, “Warchild” from 1974, and “Minstrel in the Gallery” from a year later, both recognised today as undisputed masterpieces of the Progressive genre.

During the Prog Rock boom which was at its height from about 1969 to 1975, Pat played on several albums which while not successful in the mould of best sellers by Tull, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes and others, have nonetheless received fresh critical acclaim through the internet, some of this verging on the adulatory.”

The whole blog can be found at:

carlroberthalling.blog.co.uk/2010/03/08/patrick-halling-s-musical-voyage-8136005/

In ‘talking’ with Patrick's son, Carl, he has suggested that Patrick would be happy to undertake one of our Q&A sessions soon.

So, get your thinking caps on and start to get together your questions to the man who might have a few insights into Tull's post-'A Passion Play' period and the aborted 'Warchild' movie, as well as having some other tales to tell from the wealth of people he has worked with over the years

[Max Quad]

Awesome, I'll have some questions. Thanks for the heads up. Need to pull the CD's from inventory.

[Deleted]

Jun 12, 2010 9:47:09 GMT -5 Max Quad said:

Awesome, I'll have some questions. Thanks for the heads up. Need to pull the CD's from inventory.

Cheers Max,

I think its pretty awesome to. it's nice to see that people associated with Tull are happy and willing to partake in these Q&A's, and hopefully fill in a few gaps in people's knowledge or understanding.

I'm sure our musically gifted 'interviewees' would be happy passing on advice as well to the musicians amongst us. I'm surprised that we haven't had a few more 'technical' questions for Ian Clarke yet.

Patrick's son Carl clearly respects his Dad's body of work, and was quite supportive of the idea of his Dad participating.

[Nonfatman]

Jun 13, 2010 6:05:05 GMT -5 @quizzkid said:

Jun 12, 2010 9:47:09 GMT -5 Max Quad said:

Awesome, I'll have some questions. Thanks for the heads up. Need to pull the CD's from inventory.

Cheers Max,

I think its pretty awesome to. it's nice to see that people associated with Tull are happy and willing to partake in these Q&A's, and hopefully fill in a few gaps in people's knowledge or understanding.

I'm sure our musically gifted 'interviewees' would be happy passing on advice as well to the musicians amongst us. I'm surprised that we haven't had a few more 'technical' questions for Ian Clarke yet.

Patrick's son Carl clearly respects his Dad's body of work, and was quite supportive of the idea of his Dad participating.

We have five or six questions for Ian so far, but we do need more. I think we have to periodically post announcements because what tends to happen is that the thread gets buried. The beauty of it is that there is really no time constraint. Whenever we gather a sufficient number of questions, we can send them off to Mr. Clarke. Aside from announcements, there are some other things we can do to garner interest. I will send you a PM on that, Quizz.

The Patrick Halling Q&A is a great score, too! I like the idea of Q&As of people who have been associated with Tull in a more tangential way, rather than just the band members themselves. It is interesting to get the perspective of someone who worked with them in the past on a few things, and to hear the stories behind that. I would like to do the same with the Tull album artists, and was hoping to start that off with Burton Silverman, but so far I have not heard back from him.

Jeff

[Max Quad]

Patrick,
1. How much were you involved in the Tull string arrangements?
2. Arrangement wise, does any one piece Tull stand out as extremely difficult?
3. Did you ever challenge Ian on any musical ideas?
4. Describe the atmosphere in the studio working with Ian and the lads.

Thanks for taking the time to participate.
David
Gaithersburg, MD

[Deleted]

How did you get the job?

What were the major differences that you noticed between how Warchid and Minstrel in the Gallery were recorded?

Which of the band members do you remember getting on with the easiest? The hardest?

Do you remember any particular tensions within the band, or any particularly interesting relationships?

How did working with Jethro Tull compare with working with other progressive rock acts at the time?

Thank you for providing this valuable insight to the band we all love

Kai Bailey
Falls Church, VA

[Sharkdaniel]

Hi Patrick,

My question is: did you have the chance to go on tour with Tull?

Greetings from Chile,
Daniel

[TM]

Hi Patrick,

I'm wondering if you could take us back to the making of those two Tull albums?

Did you work primarily with David Palmer, or was Ian Anderson and other band members involved in the string arrangements as well.

Did you play "along side" the band live, or were you performing whilst listening to recorded material?

Looking back, how would compare working with Jethro Tull to the other "rock" bands you worked with.

Thanks very much!

Paul from New Jersey

[carlhalling]

Dear Quizz Kid and everyone, hi, this is Carl, Patrick Halling's son here. I just wanted to apologise on behalf of Patrick for his not having responded to the questions. He's not too up on computers, so it's best I answer on his behalf to the best of my abilities, but I'll also be asking some of the questions to him next time I see him, and relay the answers back here. Quizz kid, thanks so much for the kind things you said about the Blog. OK, some of the questions: Hmmm..the answers would really need to come from Pat. Great questions! From what I recall, David Palmer and Ian worked very closely together. Pat never toured with Tull, I'm convinced of that. I'll ask the rest tomorrow as I'm due to be phoning Pat. Sorry it's all late. Carl.

[Deleted]

Aug 8, 2010 18:08:49 GMT -5 carlhalling said:

Dear Quizz Kid and everyone, hi, this is Carl, Patrick Halling's son here. I just wanted to apologise on behalf of Patrick for his not having responded to the questions. He's not too up on computers, so it's best I answer on his behalf to the best of my abilities, but I'll also be asking some of the questions to him next time I see him, and relay the answers back here. Quizz kid, thanks so much for the kind things you said about the Blog. OK, some of the questions: Hmmm..the answers would really need to come from Pat. Great questions! From what I recall, David Palmer and Ian worked very closely together. Pat never toured with Tull, I'm convinced of that. I'll ask the rest tomorrow as I'm due to be phoning Pat. Sorry it's all late. Carl.

Carl,, just sent you a PM on this. Thank you for joining here and being part of the community, please give our best regards to your father from this community of fans.

We will be pressing for more questions from the membership and hope to see a few more arriving in the next week or so.

[carlhalling]

Hi Quizz Kid and everyone. I certainly will give my regards to Pat from the community; he'll be delighted. All the best. Carl.

[TM]

Patrick,


As a member of a band (also named "Warchild") that performs the music of Jethro Tull in concert, I've worked with several violinists and a cellist in transcribing as best we can the string arrangements to several songs, including the ones you worked on (for the Warchild and Too Old to Rock albums). Have there been any publications of the string arrangements? How much input did you and the other musicians have in the composition and arrangements beyond David Palmer's and Ian Anderson's? And did you have the opportunity to perform with Jethro Tull in concert?
We all greatly admire the work you and the others in your quartet did with Jethro Tull! Cheers!


Michael Grin

[Nonfatman]

Hi, Patrick,

The mid-seventies period in which you were involved with Jethro Tull was probably was probably the time when strings were most prominent in Tull's music, such as on War Child and Minstrel. Later, though, there was a twenty year period when there were absolutely no strings in Tull, starting from the album Broadsword and the Beast, straight through until Dot Com.

The last ten years, however, has seen Ian returning to violins, string quartets and orchestras in a big way. My question to you is have you been following Ian's work this past decade? If so are you familiar with any of the young violinists he's worked with, like Lucia Micarelli, Ann Marie Calhoun or Anna Phoebe, or some of the string quartets he has worked with recently, such as on the 2001 album Living with the Past? And how do you think Ian's recent work stacks up with his earlier material?

Jeff, from New York

[Deleted]

Thanks to everyone who has contributed.

I'm closing this one now, I'll be collating the questions and sending them off to Patrick's son in the next couple of days.

[Deleted]

Patrick's son, Carl, recently contacted me to offer Patrick's apologies for not responding sooner to this Q&A.

Apparently he has been without a computer for awhile and therefore has also been out of 'electronic' contact.

Carl tells me that Patrick will soon be back with a PC and will be addressing this soon and that we can look forward to his responses.

[carlhalling]

Hi everyone, it's Carl here, Patrick Halling's son.

So sorry it's taken so long to get Pat's answers to the questions in, but I had a brainwave this morning, of writing the questions out and asking Pat to record Pat's replies into a small portable tape recorder, which is what I've done, and the replies are as follows. Obviously I didn't ask the questions exactly as they were posed, but used my own words, but the answers (slightly edited) do satisfy the questions, I feel:

1. How much were you involved in the Tull string arrangements? (David Gaithersburg)/ How much input did you and the other musicians have in the composition and arrangements beyond David Palmer's and Ian Anderson's? (Michael Grin)
Patrick Halling: That was David Palmer's department, but I did of course do my usual contribution of bowings and I thought dynamics could be improved, I suggested that, and altered phrasing, er, which I felt would be an improvement.

2. Arrangement wise, does any one piece Tull stand out as extremely difficult? (David)
Patrick Halling: They all required a high standard of playing, and we had to work very hard to achieve that.

3. Did you ever challenge Ian on any musical ideas? (David)
Patrick Halling: No, I don't recall ever doing that, no.

4. Describe the atmosphere in the studio working with Ian and the lads. (David)
Patrick Halling: Oh, very good, excellent, very professional, and good fun.

5. What were the major differences that you noticed between how Warchild and Minstrel in the Gallery were recorded? (Kai Bailey)
Patrick Halling: The method of recording which was done by the mobile unit was not my affair, and I automatically assumed they would be of a very high standard to suit Ian.


Which of the band members do you remember getting on with the easiest? The hardest? (Kai)
Patrick Halling: They were all great lads.

Do you remember any particular tensions within the band? (Kai)
Patrick Halling: None at all.

How did working with Jethro Tull compare with working with other progressive rock acts at the time? (Kai)/
Looking back, how would compare working with Jethro Tull to the other "rock" bands you worked with? (Paul)
Patrick Halling: Anything to do with Jethro Tull, and Ian Anderson, and David for that matter, was automatically of a very interesting and high standard, and was far more satisfying than some of the other Pop groups I played with.

My question is, did you have the chance to go on tour with Tull? (Daniel) / And did you have the opportunity to perform with Jethro Tull in concert? (Michael)
Patrick Halling: Not as such. We went to Monte Carlo as you probably know, to record.

Did you work primarily with David Palmer, or was Ian Anderson and other band members involved in the string arrangements as well? (Paul)
Patrick Halling: Well, David was on the stand doing the conducting, but Ian was always there, so you could almost say that I worked constantly with both of them.

My question to you is have you been following Ian's work this past decade? (Jeff)
Patrick Halling: I have, yes, I mean, I'm always interested in anything he does, he's a very interesting man, he's always doing something innovative...I'm very glad to hear that he's touring again...I would very much like to restart contact with Ian and maybe do some work with him.

If so are you familiar with any of the young violinists he's worked with, like Lucia Micarelli, Ann Marie Calhoun or Anna Phoebe? (Jeff)
Patrick Halling: No, I'm afraid not.

Have there been any publications of the string arrangements? (Michael)
Patrick Halling: I would have thought very unlikely.

I notice I've left one or two questions out; I'll try to ask them next time I see Pat. But in the meantime, I hope these replies prove interesting. Once again, I apologise for being so very long in producing these answers.

Very best wishes to everyone. Carl.

[Nonfatman]

Jan 6, 2012 9:47:28 GMT -5 carlhalling said:

Hi everyone, it's Carl here, Patrick Halling's son.

So sorry it's taken so long to get Pat's answers to the questions in, but I had a brainwave this morning, of writing the questions out and asking Pat to record Pat's replies into a small portable tape recorder, which is what I've done, and the replies are as follows. Obviously I didn't ask the questions exactly as they were posed, but used my own words, but the answers (slightly edited) do satisfy the questions, I feel:

1. How much were you involved in the Tull string arrangements? (David Gaithersburg)/ How much input did you and the other musicians have in the composition and arrangements beyond David Palmer's and Ian Anderson's? (Michael Grin)
Patrick Halling: That was David Palmer's department, but I did of course do my usual contribution of bowings and I thought dynamics could be improved, I suggested that, and altered phrasing, er, which I felt would be an improvement.

2. Arrangement wise, does any one piece Tull stand out as extremely difficult? (David)
Patrick Halling: They all required a high standard of playing, and we had to work very hard to achieve that.

3. Did you ever challenge Ian on any musical ideas? (David)
Patrick Halling: No, I don't recall ever doing that, no.

4. Describe the atmosphere in the studio working with Ian and the lads. (David)
Patrick Halling: Oh, very good, excellent, very professional, and good fun.

5. What were the major differences that you noticed between how Warchild and Minstrel in the Gallery were recorded? (Kai Bailey)
Patrick Halling: The method of recording which was done by the mobile unit was not my affair, and I automatically assumed they would be of a very high standard to suit Ian.


Which of the band members do you remember getting on with the easiest? The hardest? (Kai)
Patrick Halling: They were all great lads.

Do you remember any particular tensions within the band? (Kai)
Patrick Halling: None at all.

How did working with Jethro Tull compare with working with other progressive rock acts at the time? (Kai)/
Looking back, how would compare working with Jethro Tull to the other "rock" bands you worked with? (Paul)
Patrick Halling: Anything to do with Jethro Tull, and Ian Anderson, and David for that matter, was automatically of a very interesting and high standard, and was far more satisfying than some of the other Pop groups I played with.

My question is, did you have the chance to go on tour with Tull? (Daniel) / And did you have the opportunity to perform with Jethro Tull in concert? (Michael)
Patrick Halling: Not as such. We went to Monte Carlo as you probably know, to record.

Did you work primarily with David Palmer, or was Ian Anderson and other band members involved in the string arrangements as well? (Paul)
Patrick Halling: Well, David was on the stand doing the conducting, but Ian was always there, so you could almost say that I worked constantly with both of them.

My question to you is have you been following Ian's work this past decade? (Jeff)
Patrick Halling: I have, yes, I mean, I'm always interested in anything he does, he's a very interesting man, he's always doing something innovative...I'm very glad to hear that he's touring again...I would very much like to restart contact with Ian and maybe do some work with him.

If so are you familiar with any of the young violinists he's worked with, like Lucia Micarelli, Ann Marie Calhoun or Anna Phoebe? (Jeff)
Patrick Halling: No, I'm afraid not.

Have there been any publications of the string arrangements? (Michael)
Patrick Halling: I would have thought very unlikely.

I notice I've left one or two questions out; I'll try to ask them next time I see Pat. But in the meantime, I hope these replies prove interesting. Once again, I apologise for being so very long in producing these answers.

Very best wishes to everyone. Carl.

Thanks for posting your dad's answers, Carl! We appreciate it, and as always is the case with these Q&A's, it sheds additional light on the mid-seventies Tull. If you have time, and can get the answers to those additional few questions from him, we'd greatly appreciate that as well!



Jeff

[TM]

Thank you very much Carl! Much appreciated!

[carlhalling]

Thanks for posting your dad's answers, Carl! We appreciate it, and as always is the case with these Q&A's, it sheds additional light on the mid-seventies Tull. If you have time, and can get the answers to those additional few questions from him, we'd greatly appreciate that as well! Jeff

You're most welcome, Jeff, and I'll be sure to ask my dad those additional few questions, and post them here as soon as possible. Very best wishes. Carl

[carlhalling]

Thank you very much Carl! Much appreciated!

My pleasure, TM. All the best. Carl