Ethel Smyth: Fȇte Galante Overture Context Dame Ethel Smyth is one of the most important British composers that bridged the gap between the 19th and 20th centuries. She composed a number of orchestral works, chamber music, songs and six operas. Also a talented writer, Smyth also penned 9 books (in Read more…
Ethel Smyth: Trio for Piano, Violin & Cello Context Dame Ethel Smyth is one of the most important British composers that bridged the gap between the 19th and 20th centuries. She composed a number of orchestral works, chamber music, songs and six operas. Also a talented writer, Smyth also penned Read more…
Ethel Smyth: Serenade in D Context Dame Ethel Smyth is one of the most important British composers that bridged the gap between the 19th and 20th centuries. She composed a number of orchestral works, chamber music, songs and six operas. Also a talented writer, Smyth also penned 9 books (in Read more…
Ralph Vaughan Williams: In the Fen Country Context Inspired by the fairly bleak and desolate East Anglian marshland, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ In the Fen Country is one of his earliest orchestral works. The Fens, known for being flat and dull, was an interesting, and perhaps unusual inspiration for Vaughan Williams. Read more…
Ralph Vaughan Williams: 49th Parallel Prelude Context Unlike in America, the British film industry in the 1930-40s did not specifically employ specialist film composers to write scores for films. Instead, popular concert composers were asked, as was the case for the 1941 war drama 49th Parallel. In 1940, conductor Muir Read more…
Ralph Vaughan Williams: The Vagabond Context Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Vagabond was originally set for voice and piano and is part of a larger song cycle entitled Songs of Travel. Composed between 1901-1904, this was Vaughan Williams’ first major offering in the world of vocal music. Songs of Travel is Read more…
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Concerto for Two Pianos Context Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Concerto for Two Pianos was originally composed as a standard concerto for solo piano. Vaughan Williams wrote the work between 1926-1930, and it was first performed in 1933 with Adrian Boult conducting. Technically adventurous and devilishly difficult to perform, Read more…
Alan Menken: Overture from Beauty and the Beast Context When originally released in 1991, Alan Menken’s score for Beauty and the Beast was regarded as one of his best. The Oscar-winning score, with lyrics by Howard Ashman, was then recreated in the 2017 live-action version of the film. This new Read more…
Alan Menken: Main Titles from The Little Mermaid Context Alan Menken teamed up with Howard Ashman to work on the score for the 1989 Disney film, The Little Mermaid. It remains one of the most decorated albums in Menken’s wheelhouse, with it receiving multi-platinum sales and two Grammys, two Academy Read more…
Alan Menken: The Bell Tower Context Shortly after completing Pocahontas together, Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz were offered the chance to work on the music for the 1996 Disney film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The soundtrack to the film, like many other Disney films, mixes a selection of songs Read more…