Gustav Holst: St. Paul’s Suite Context In the earlier days of his career, Gustav Holst (1874-1934) struggled to earn a living as a full-time composer. In 1904, after holding an array of different teaching positions, he was appointed as Musical Director at St Paul’s Girls’ School in Hammersmith. This became Read more…
Johann Sebastian Bach: Zion hört die Wächter singen Context J. S. Bach’s church cantata Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (‘Awake, calls the voice to us’) was composed for the 27th Sunday after Trinity. It’s first performance happened on the 25th November 1731. This work completed Bach’s second annual cycle Read more…
Lili Boulanger: D’un Matin de Printemps Context Born on 21st August 1893 in Paris, Lili Boulanger was considered at a young age as a musical child prodigy. This was perhaps not too surprising for the Boulanger family, with her mother and grandmother being singers, her elder sister Nadia being a Read more…
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade Context When he was a boy, Rimsky-Korsakov’s imagination was hungry for travel. He was confined in his small Russian town until he was a teenager. He received letters from his older brother, Voin, who was in the Far East serving in the Navy and he fell in Read more…
William Walton: Crown Imperial Context Composed between 1936-37 for the coronation of King Edward VIII on 12th May 1937, the Royal event did not turn out quite as expected. Whilst the performance of Walton’s Crown Imperial did happen on this date, the person crowned was not Edward VIII. Edward had Read more…
Carl Orff: In Trutina Context Composed between 1935-36, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana was described by the composer as a “scenic cantata.” Based on 24 poems from the medieval collection with the same name, Carmina Burana is a large-scale 25-movement work. Generally the cantata is considered to be heavily influenced by Read more…
Eric Whitacre: When David Heard Context Eric Whitacre was born in Nevada in1970, and from a young age he studied the piano. He later got into a band, where he played the synthesizer, and it was at this point that Whitacre aspired to be a rock musician. Just before going Read more…
Gioachino Rossini: Duetto buffo di due gatti Context & Music Also famously known as the ‘Cat Duet’, Rossini’s Duetto buffo di due gatti (‘Humorous duet for cats’) is now a popular performance piece. Originally for two sopranos, this comical encore is a popular duet for any two voice types. Consisting Read more…
Alma Mahler: Five Songs for Voice and Piano Context Composed between 1899-1910 and published around the year 1911, Alma Mahler’s Five Songs for Voice and Piano have stood the test of time. Each of the five songs are based on a poem that Mahler liked: Die stille Stadt (The Quiet Read more…
Richard Strauss: Serenade for Winds Context Richard Strauss composed his Serenade for Winds in Munich in 1882 at age 17. The world premiere of the work took place in Dresden on 27th November 1882. An extraordinary teenager, the sheer charm and skill that exudes his Serenade for Winds makes it Read more…