DOCSLIB.ORG

Symphony No. 2 "Cambridge" Overture to an Unwritten Tragedy Symphonic Variations

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Symphony No. 2 Hubert PARRY Symphony No. 2 "Cambridge" Overture to an Unwritten Tragedy Symphonic Variations Royal Scottish National Orchestra Andrew Penny Charles Hubert Parry (1848 - 1918) Overture to an Unwritten Tragedy Symphony No. 2 in F major, 'The Cambridge' Symphonic Variations in E majorlminor Sir Hubert Parry came from a family of some distinction. He was the second son, and third surviving child of Thomas Gambier Parry by his first wife. His father's maternal great-uncle was Lord Gambier, Admiral of the Fleet, whose name he had taken, while Thomas Parry himself inherited a fortune from his own father, a director in the East India Company. Hubert Parry was educated at Eton, where he was able to distinguish himself in music, not so much in the desultory musical atmosphere that then obtained at the College, but through association with George Elvey at St George's Chapel, Windsor, and from Elvey he was at least able to have sound enough technical instruction and compose music for the choir. While at school he took the Oxford Bachelor of Music degree, the requirements of which, it must be said, have changed considerably since Parry's time. At Oxford he made the most of the musical opportunities offered, continuing, as at school, to compose music, particularly songs and sacred music and to enjoy informal musical gatherings, although his university studies were in law and history. During this period he was able to study, in a long vacation, with Henry Hugo Pierson in Stuttgart. Parry enjoyed an association with the Herbert family, notably with his school-friend George Herbert, 13th Earl of Pembroke. His marriage to Herbert's sister Maude, an alliance that won the disapproval of his mother-in-law, Lady Herbert, had various consequences. In the first place Parry was obliged to earn a living and this he attempted, with his father's help, by joining Lloyds'. His wife's variable state of health was to cause continuing worry and difficulties that seemed to impede his musical interests, which remained dominant. Above all, in London he made the acquaintance of the pianist and Wagnerian Edward Dannreuther, who became his friend, teacher and adviser. In 1877, after a winter spent impatiently in Cannes for his wife's health, Parry wound up his affairs with Lloyds'. In addition to the income settled on his wife by her family, he had been earned payment for the contribution of articles for Grove's new dictionary of music and musicians. In 1880 Dannreuther played Parry's Pintlo Concerto it1 F sharp nnljor, a choice of key that did not endear him to the orchestra, at the Crystal Palace and success here was followed by a cantata based on Shelley's Pron~ethelisUilbollild for the Gloucester Festival, where it was performed in 1882. At the end of the same year he was invited by Grove to join the new Royal College of Music as Professor of Musical History and shortly afterwards was offered an Honorary Doctorate in Music at Cambridge, where Protizethezls Uimbozitld had been performed in 1881 under stanford His First Synlplroily, for which Richter had eventually found no time in his London concert season, was -~iven with some success in Birmingham. The connection with Stanford and Cambridge led to the suggeslion of incidental music for the Cambridge Greek ~lav,Y'lze Birds of Aristo~hanesand in later years Parry provided incizental misiifor Oxford of The Frogs, The Clolrds and The Admnzintls, with music for Cambridge performances of the Agnnlettztzot~ of Aeschylus in 1900. An even closer connection with Cambridge came with the composition of the Synrplzotly No. 2 ill F nmnjor, known as Tlze Cambridge or the Utmiversity Synlphotly. Written between October 1882 and May 1883 for the Cambridge University Musical Society, the symphony has an inner programme, the life and aspirations of an undergraduate. The whole work, very much in the German tradition and conceived at a period when the symphonies of Brahms and Dvoi6k might be heard in London, is an outstanding achievement and was so regarded by discerning contemporaries. The first lnoven~entof the symphony opens with a slow introduction, the feelings of a schoolboy, now turned undergraduate, leading to an Allegro that expresses the joy and happiness of friends and, reflecting Parry's own university experience, the beginning of love. The introduction contains elements that are later developed in a movement that offers the expected two subject groups and a central development. The second movement, a Scherzo, it is suggested in a later programme note for a performance under Richter, reflects the merriment of holidays, a long vacation spent at home, a harvest festival and a hint of love, an element that dominates the slow movement. After this, the finale, a movement replaced in 1895 by music of grander conception, still suggests graduation and emergence now into the world, with all its hopes and aspirations. Parry's Overture to nil Ui~zuritfe~zTragedy was written in 1893 in response to a commission for the Worcester Festival. The Parrys' family property, Highnam Court, in the West Country, had brought a continuing connection with the choral and orchestral festivals of the Three Choirs, the cathedral choirs of Gloucester, Worcester and Hereford. The new Ouertl~rewas given no specific programme, but a perceptive contemporary critic guessed Parry's intentions when he associated the work with Shakespeare's Otl~ello.Tragedy is implicit in the long introduction, while the following Allegro offers themes suggesting the strength and nobility of Othello and, in a lyrical second subject, the innocence and love of Desdemona. As with the Seco~ld Sy~~lpho~ly,the introduction provides ideas that undergo later development and there is again a distinct contrapuntal element that adds interest to the central development. It may be added that Elgar, a West Country man by birth and inclination, was among the violinists at the first performance, and certainly in Parry's music, both here and in the earlier symphony, there are hints of a vein that Elgar too explored. In 1894 Parry became director of the Royal College of Music and further honours were to follow, with a knighthood in 1898, the chair of music at Oxford in 1900 and a baronetcy in 1903. His Syiirphorric Vnrintiorrs were written in 1897 in response to a commission from the Royal Philharmonic Society. The first performance in June was followed by performances in Liverpool and Birmingham and again the following year in London, with other performances abroad. Parry had written earlier sets of variations for piano, notably the Tlleiile nild Niireteerr Vnrintioils completed in 1885. He had, of course, heard sets of variations by Brahms and DvofWs Syiirplrorric Vnrintions. His own work is symphonic in rather a different way, since it sets out to follow the general plan of a four-movement symphony. The theme and the first eleven variations form a first movement, followed by a 'Pause' variation with the augmented theme played by the brass. The variations, in any case, fall into groups of six, the first in E minor, the second in E major. ThisMnestoso erlergico first movement is followed by six variations that provide a C major scherzo, marked Allegro scherznrrdo. There is a change of pattern in the four variations that constitute the A minor slow movement, Lnrgo nppnssiorlnfo. The last movement, that has been regarded by some critics as symphonically too insubstantial to balance the preceding structure, consists of four variations, the key now turning to E major and marked Viunce. Parry's last orchestral work, a symphonic poem originally called Froin Denflz to Life, was written in 1914. War brought sorrows and difficulties, with the number of male students at the Royal College of Music seriously depleted, German friends interned and some conflict between a patriotism that was never for a moment in doubt and his loyalty to German music, musicians, philosophers and thinkers, by whom he had always been heavily influenced. He died in October 1918, a month before the armistice. Royal Scottish National Orchestra Formed in 1891 as the Scottish Orchestra, in 1951 the ensemble, now full- time, took the name of the Scottish National Orchestra, later assuming the title Royal, a recognition of its importance in the musical life of Scotland. Distinguished conductors who have worked with the orchestra include Karl Rankl, Hans Swarowsky, Walter Susskind, Bryden Thomson and Sir Alexander Gibson, the last named becoming the first Scottish-born principal conductor in 1959. Neeme Ja~i,who was conductor from 1984 to 1988 is now Conductor Laureate and Walter Weller was appointed Music Director in 1992. The orchestra has a busy schedule in Scotland, including regular seasons in its home-town of Glasgow, annual appearances at the Edinburgh Festival and regular performances in the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts in London. In addition to concerts in England, the orchestra has travelled to other countries abroad, with tours of North America, Japan, Austria and Switzerland. The wide repertoire of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra extends from the Baroque to the contemporary. There have been two recent awards from the Gramophone magazine and the orchestra now embarks on a series of recordings for Naxos that will include work by Bruckner, Bax, Holst and Alfven. Andrew Penny Andrew Penny was born in Hull and initially studied the clarinet at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, where he also worked as conductor of the Opera Unit. The newly established Rothschild Scholarship in Conducting led to study with Sir Charles Groves and Timothy Reynish and work as assistant with Richard Hickox and Elgar Howarth. Winner of the prestigious Ricordi Prize, he achieved a major success with the Vaughan Williams opera Riders to the Sen at Sadlers Wells Theatre in London.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Parry US 8/5/09 16:32 Page 12
    572104bk Parry US 8/5/09 16:32 Page 12 Here God made holy Zion’s name, And did the countenance divine And here he gave them rest. Shine forth upon our clouded hills? Oh, may we ne’er forget what he hath done, And was Jerusalem builded here PARRY Nor prove unmindful of his love, Among these dark satanic mills? That, like the constant sun, On Israel hath shone, Bring me my bow of burning gold! Choral Masterpieces And sent down blessings from above. Bring me my arrows of desire! Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold! Songs of Farewell C.H. Parry (from Judith) Bring me my chariot of fire! I will not cease from mental fight, @ Jerusalem Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand, Manchester Cathedral Choir And did those feet in ancient time Till we have built Jerusalem Walk upon England’s mountains green? In England’s green and pleasant land. Christopher Stokes And was the Holy Lamb of God On England’s pleasant pastures seen? William Blake (1757-1827) 8.572104 12 572104bk Parry US 8/5/09 16:32 Page 2 Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848–1918) for He is our help and our shield. His grace from above. Songs of Farewell Praise Him who hath taught you He delivered the poor in his affliction, To sing of His love. Sir Hubert Parry came from a family of some which remained dominant. Above all, in London he the fatherless and him that hath none to help him. O praise ye the Lord! distinction.
    [Show full text]
  • The Crucifixion: Stainer's Invention of the Anglican Passion
    The Crucifixion: Stainer’s Invention of the Anglican Passion and Its Subsequent Influence on Descendent Works by Maunder, Somervell, Wood, and Thiman Matthew Hoch Abstract The Anglican Passion is a largely forgotten genre that flourished in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Modeled distinctly after the Lutheran Passion— particularly in its use of congregational hymns that punctuate and comment upon the drama—Anglican Passions also owe much to the rise of hymnody and small parish music-making in England during the latter part of the nineteenth century. John Stainer’s The Crucifixion (1887) is a quintessential example of the genre and the Anglican Passion that is most often performed and recorded. This article traces the origins of the genre and explores lesser-known early twentieth-century Anglican Passions that are direct descendants of Stainer’s work. Four works in particular will be reviewed within this historical context: John Henry Maunder’s Olivet to Calvary (1904), Arthur Somervell’s The Passion of Christ (1914), Charles Wood’s The Passion of Our Lord according to St Mark (1920), and Eric Thiman’s The Last Supper (1930). Examining these works in a sequential order reveals a distinct evolution and decline of the genre over the course of these decades, with Wood’s masterpiece standing as the towering achievement of the Anglican Passion genre in the immediate aftermath of World War I. The article concludes with a call for reappraisal of these underperformed works and their potential use in modern liturgical worship. A Brief History of the Passion Genre from the sung in plainchant, and this practice continued Medieval Era to the Eighteenth Century through the late medieval and early Renaissance eras.
    [Show full text]
  • A Comparison of Origins and Influences in the Music of Vaughn Williams and Britten Through Analysis of Their Festival Te Deums
    A Comparison of Origins and Influences in the Music of Vaughn Williams and Britten through Analysis of Their Festival Te Deums Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Jensen, Joni Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 05/10/2021 21:33:53 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/193556 A COMPARISON OF ORIGINS AND INFLUENCES IN THE MUSIC OF VAUGHAN WILLIAMS AND BRITTEN THROUGH ANALYSIS OF THEIR FESTIVAL TE DEUMS by Joni Lynn Jensen Copyright © Joni Lynn Jensen 2005 A Document Submitted to the Faculty of the SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND DANCE In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS WITH A MAJOR IN MUSIC In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2 0 0 5 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Document Committee, we certify that we have read the document prepared by Joni Lynn Jensen entitled A Comparison of Origins and Influences in the Music of Vaughan Williams and Britten through Analysis of Their Festival Te Deums and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the document requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts _______________________________________________________________________ Date: July 29, 2005 Bruce Chamberlain _______________________________________________________________________ Date: July 29, 2005 Elizabeth Schauer _______________________________________________________________________ Date: July 29, 2005 Josef Knott Final approval and acceptance of this document is contingent upon the candidate’s submission of the final copies of the document to the Graduate College.
    [Show full text]
  • View/Download Liner Notes
    HUBERT PARRY SONGS OF FAREWELL British Choral Music remarkable for its harmonic warmth and melodic simplicity. Gustav Holst (1874-1934) composed The Evening- 1 The Evening-Watch Op.43 No.1 Gustav Holst [4.59] Watch, subtitled ‘Dialogue between the Body Herbert Howells (1892-1983) composed his Soloists: Matthew Long, Clare Wilkinson and the Soul’ in 1924, and conducted its first memorial anthem Take him, earth, for cherishing 2 A Good-Night Richard Rodney Bennett [2.58] performance at the 1925 Three Choirs Festival in late 1963 as a tribute to the assassinated 3 Take him, earth, for cherishing Herbert Howells [9.02] in Gloucester Cathedral. A setting of Henry President John F Kennedy, an event that had moved Vaughan, it was planned as the first of a series him deeply. The text, translated by Helen Waddell, 4 Funeral Ikos John Tavener [7.41] of motets for unaccompanied double chorus, is from a 4th-century poem by Aurelius Clemens Songs of Farewell Hubert Parry but only one other was composed. ‘The Body’ Prudentius. There is a continual suggestion in 5 My soul, there is a country [3.52] is represented by two solo voices, a tenor and the poem of a move or transition from Earth to 6 I know my soul hath power to know all things [2.04] an alto – singing in a metrically free, senza Paradise, and Howells enacts this by the way 7 Never weather-beaten sail [3.22] misura manner – and ‘The Soul’ by the full his music moves from unison melody to very rich 8 There is an old belief [4.52] choir.
    [Show full text]
  • UC Santa Barbara Dissertation Template
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara English Reception of Felix Mendelssohn as Told Through British Music Histories A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Music by Linda Joann Shaver-Gleason Committee in charge: Professor Derek Katz, Chair Professor David Paul Professor Stefanie Tcharos September 2016 The dissertation of Linda Joann Shaver-Gleason is approved. ____________________________________________ David Paul ____________________________________________ Stefanie Tcharos ____________________________________________ Derek Katz, Committee Chair September 2016 English Reception of Felix Mendelssohn as Told Through British Music Histories Copyright © 2016 by Linda Joann Shaver-Gleason iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I must first acknowledge my own mortality. During the course of writing this dissertation, I was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer which had spread to my spine. I spent weeks in the hospital and months afterward mostly bedridden. So, I owe a debt of gratitude to oncologists Juliet Penn and James Waisman for finding a chemotherapy that fights my tumors while keeping the side effects manageable enough for me to work. A warm thank you to the folks at the Solvang Cancer Center who take care of me during chemo sessions, and thank you also to the people at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital, Lompoc Valley Medical Center, City of Hope, and Sansum Clinic Lompoc. Without them, I would not be around to thank anyone else. Thank you to my family who helped out during this difficult time, particularly my parents, Carl and Patricia Shaver; my sister-in-law, Andrea Langham; and my niece, Daisy Langham. Thank you also to Ellen and Rich Krasin, Ruth and Steve Marotti, Shirley Shaver, Mary Lou Trocke, Jim and Cindy Gleason, and Ralph Lincoln.
    [Show full text]
  • The Stainer Memorial in St. Paul's Cathedral Author(S): F
    The Stainer Memorial in St. Paul's Cathedral Author(s): F. G. E. Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 45, No. 731 (Jan. 1, 1904), pp. 26-28 Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/903295 Accessed: 27-06-2016 09:14 UTC Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Musical Times Publications Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Musical Times This content downloaded from 128.197.26.12 on Mon, 27 Jun 2016 09:14:36 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 26 THE MUSICAL TIMES.-JANUARY I, 1904. In an interesting article in Le Courrier Musical, THE STAINER MEMORIAL November 15, 1903, entitled ' De quelques ameliora- tions souhaitables pour le d6veloppement de lart IN ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL. musical en France,' signed M.-D. Calvocoressi, occurs The spirit of John Stainer seemed to hover the following:- round the little company gathered together in When in Spain three years ago, I heard M. Pedrell's St. Paul's Cathedral on the morning of the 16th of 'Los Pireneos,' a manifestation of national art cal- last month.
    [Show full text]
  • There Is an Old Belief
    Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848-1918) There is an old belief aus “Songs of Farewell” für vierstimmigen Chor (SATB) a cappella Hrsg. Christian Bährens & Matthias Knop © 2020 Christian Bährens There is an old belief, Es gibt einen alten Glauben, That on some solemn shore, dass an einem erhabenen Ufer, Beyond the sphere of grief jenseits aller Trauer, Dear friends shall meet once more. geliebte Freunde sich wiedertreffen werden, Beyond the sphere of Time jenseits aller Zeit And Sin and Fate's control, und fern der Sünde und der Macht des Schicksals, Serene in changeless prime gelassen in beständigem Blühen Of body and of soul. von Körper und Seele. That creed I fain would keep Diesen Glauben will ich bewahren, That hope I'll ne'er forgo, von dieser Hoffnung werde ich niemals lassen; Eternal be the sleep, ewig sei der Schlaf If not to waken so. ohne dieses Erwachen. John Gibson Lockhart Übersetzung: Christian Bährens John Gibson Lockhart war ein schottischer Schriftsteller und Verleger und neben einigen Romanen vor allem durch die Biographie über das Leben und Wirken seines Schwiegervaters Sir Walter Scott bekannt. Er studierte Jura in Glasgow und OXford und ging nach Edinburgh, wechselte dort bald zur Literatur und wurde Mitarbeiter des politisch engagierten Blackwood’s Magazine, für das er neben literaturkritischen Artikeln auch Übersetzungen spanischer Lyrik in Englische verfasste. Durch den Einfluss Scotts avancierte er zum Herausgeber des Quarterly Review und schrieb später erneut eine viel beachtete Biographie, diesmal über den schottischen Nationaldichter Robert Burns. Charles Hubert Hastings Parry wurde in eine wohlhabende Familie geboren und genoss die denkbar beste Ausbildung.
    [Show full text]
  • Interrogating Music-Historical Narratives Through Ralph Vaughan Williams's Five Mystical Songs
    University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 6-1-2014 Interrogating Music-Historical Narratives Through Ralph Vaughan Williams's Five Mystical Songs Marilyn L. Brock University of Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the Music Commons Recommended Citation Brock, Marilyn L., "Interrogating Music-Historical Narratives Through Ralph Vaughan Williams's Five Mystical Songs" (2014). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 89. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/89 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. INTERROGATING MUSIC-HISTORICAL NARRATIVES THROUGH RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS’S FIVE MYSTICAL SONGS __________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Arts and Humanities University of Denver __________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts __________ by Marilyn L. Brock June 2014 Advisor: Dr. Jack Sheinbaum © Copyright by Marilyn L. Brock 2014 All Rights Reserved Author: Marilyn L. Brock Title: Interrogating Music-Historical Narratives through Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Five Mystical Songs Advisor: Dr. Jack Sheinbaum Degree Date: June 2014 ABSTRACT Although Ralph Vaughan Williams has remained an influential and well-liked composer throughout most decades since his death, the amount and specificity of scholarly writing about his work has been meager, and only during recent decades has it increased. One reason that Vaughan Williams has consistently been ignored is his use of “Romantic” harmonies during the twentieth century.
    [Show full text]
  • University of Birmingham Style, Character and Revelation in Parry's
    University of Birmingham Style, Character and Revelation in Parry’s Fourth Symphony Riley, Matthew DOI: 10.1017/9781108628778.007 License: None: All rights reserved Document Version Peer reviewed version Citation for published version (Harvard): Riley, M 2019, Style, Character and Revelation in Parry’s Fourth Symphony. in S Collins (ed.), Music and Victorian Liberalism: Composing the Liberal Subject. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 129-150. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108628778.007 Link to publication on Research at Birmingham portal Publisher Rights Statement: This is an author-produced version of a chapter forthcoming in Music and Victorian Liberalism, published by Cambridge University Press. General rights Unless a licence is specified above, all rights (including copyright and moral rights) in this document are retained by the authors and/or the copyright holders. The express permission of the copyright holder must be obtained for any use of this material other than for purposes permitted by law. •Users may freely distribute the URL that is used to identify this publication. •Users may download and/or print one copy of the publication from the University of Birmingham research portal for the purpose of private study or non-commercial research. •User may use extracts from the document in line with the concept of ‘fair dealing’ under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (?) •Users may not further distribute the material nor use it for the purposes of commercial gain. Where a licence is displayed above, please note the terms and conditions of the licence govern your use of this document. When citing, please reference the published version.
    [Show full text]
  • What the Press Says About Hubert Parry: Songs of Farewell (NAXOS)
    What the Press says About Hubert Parry: Songs of Farewell (NAXOS) “Sir Hubert Parry’s Jerusalem, with which this stirring CD ends, is inextricably linked with the Last Night of the Proms rather than the start of the season, but it sits well on a disc of his ‘choral masterpieces’. The uplifting anthem I Was Glad, written for the coronation of Edward VII in 1902, has also entered the more general choral repertoire, while the unaccompanied Songs of Farewell, written to texts by poets Henry Vaughan, John Davies, Thomas Campion, John Gibson, Lockhart and John Donne, equally merit the attention that the Manchester Cathedral Choir gives them with such care of expression. ‘Long Since in Egypt’s Plenteous Land’ from the oratorio Judith will be familiar to anyone who has sung Dear Lord and Father of Mankind in church, while Parry’s sold but malleable idiom in Hear My Words, Ye People, with Mark Rowlinson as a ringing, robust baritone soloist, will get the juices of any choral singer flowing. Telegraph rating Geoffrey Norris, The Daily Telegraph Although Parry’s Songs of Farewell are often sung by large choruses, their intimacy of sentiment is well suited to the 26 voices of the Manchester Cathedral Choir on this recording. The opening ‘My soul, there is a country’ immediately draws the listener in by its self-communing quality, and conductor Christopher Stokes intelligently punctuates Parry’s response to Henry Vaughan’s poetic adumbration of the afterlife. In the more extroverted Donne setting ‘At the round earth’s imagined corners’ a smaller group is positively beneficial in elucidating the complex seven-part writing, and Stoke’s neat, incisive clarification of mood and contrast are again impressive.
    [Show full text]
  • Sir Alexander Mackenzie (1847 ̶1935) Sir Charles Villiers Stanford
    Sir Alexander Mackenzie (1847 ̶ 1935) Sir Alexander Campbell Mackenzie was widely recognized as the greatest Scottish composer of his day. As a youth he went to Germany to study at the Saunderhausen Conservatory (1857-62), winning the King’s Scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in 1862. In 1865 he returned to his native Edinburgh, where he spent 14 years as violinist, teacher, and choir conductor. In 1879 he went to Florence and devoted himself to composition, until 1888 when he was appointed principal of the Royal Academy of Music, a post he held until 1924. He was knighted in 1895. Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852 - 1924) Born and raised in Dublin, Stanford was the only son of a prosperous Protestant lawyer. His genius for classical musical forms gained him admission to Cambridge University at the age of 18 where he quickly established a commanding reputation, and was appointed organist of Trinity College while still an undergraduate. Afterward he went to Germany to study composition with Carl Reinecke in Leipzig, and later with Friedrich Kiel in Berlin. He went on to compose in almost every music form including seven symphonies; ten operas; fifteen concertante works; chamber, piano, and organ pieces; and over thirty large-scale choral works. His voluminous sacred music continues to be the foundation of the Anglican tradition. Sir Hubert Parry (1848–1918) While still at Eton, Parry earned the Oxford bachelor of music degree, subsequently entering Exeter College at Oxford. His marriage to Maude Herbert, sister of his school chum George Herbert, 13th Earl of Pembroke, forced him to seek nonmusical work with Lloyd's register in London while establishing himself as a composer, but it was while working in London that he met and allied himself with teacher and pianist Edward Dannreuther, who was a great influence on the young man, arranging for private performances of much of Parry's early chamber music, and introducing him to the music of Wagner by procuring for Parry tickets for the second ever performance at Bayreuth of the Ring.
    [Show full text]
  • Reception Issues of Charles Villiers Stanford Adèle Commins Stanford
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by MURAL - Maynooth University Research Archive Library From Child Prodigy to Conservative Professor?: Reception Issues of Charles Villiers Stanford Adèle Commins [Stanford] touched the nation’s musical life vitally in three profoundly important spheres, and enriched all three - the Church, the great body of English Choralism, and English song. Herbert Howells1 Stanford made a significant contribution to musical life in England throughout the course of his life and posthumously. Unfortunately, much of Stanford’s early posthumous reception is clouded by Herbert Howells’ statement above which can be attributed to the lack of performances of Stanford’s works outside of the choral and church and song tradition. Although Howells correctly commends Stanford for his achievements in these fields, Stanford’s accomplishments in other areas must be accounted for in order to portray a more fully-realized picture of a composer who enriched musical life in England. This article seeks to unveil the changing images of Stanford portrayed during his lifetime and posthumously. Rodmell and Dibble have traced the positive reception of Stanford by the Dublin press during his childhood years. A bright future was augured for the young musician. Upon his arrival in England he was quickly assimilated into English society, taking an active role in musical circles across the country which led to an international reputation. Despite such acclamation, the reception of Stanford’s music changed throughout the course of his career. Possible circumstances surrounding the changes in the public perception of Stanford’s music will be examined in the context of issues relating to his intense personality, his relationships with fellow composers, his position in society and how changing attitudes towards his music may, in turn, have influenced his direction as a composer.
    [Show full text]