20th century English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams is perhaps best known for h...(+)
20th century English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams is perhaps best known for his symphonies and large-scale choral works however the essence of his music can also be found in his songs. His 1903 House of Life cyclefeatures 6 songs out of which the most famous one is the second Silent Noon. Composed before the rest of the cycle and first published separately this piece in E-flat major for Voice and Piano can easilystand alone. By using the sonnet of renowned 19th century English painter and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti Williams celebrates the beauty of the English language and advances toward the true 20th century Englishart song. All of the songs in House of Life are written for sonnets from Rossetti?s sonnet-sequence of the same name and thus the continuity of the cycle is enforced both by the music and the lyrics. At the same time thesimilarity given by the strict rules of the Petrarchan sonnet-form emphasises the differences in mood meaning and music between the six songs. Even though the (male) narrator in Silent Noon is optimistic andhopeful some of the variations in the passages suggest the despairing of love in Song 6 (?Love?s Last Gift?) which gives this piece an interesting lyrical atmosphere.
Composer and arranger Albert W Ketèlbey is now almost unknown except for his ...(+)
Composer and arranger Albert W Ketèlbey is now almost unknown except for his work Bells Across the Meadows but until the time of the Second World War he strode the country’s musical stage like a giant of light musicalentertainment. In 1929 he was declared ‘Britain’s greatest composer’ according to the number of performances of his works. Over the course of his career he was a church Organist musical director at London’s VaudevilleTheatre editor to several music publishing firms and Music Director of the Columbia Gramophone Company.His most popular works are a series of Orchestral tone poems like this one based on a verse from his own poem In a MonasteryGarden. The simplified version was prepared by the composer.
Franck's Panis Angelicus is a slow and expressive piece which has been beautifu...(+)
Franck's Panis Angelicus is a slow and expressive piece which has been beautifully arranged as a trio for Female Voices (SSA) with Piano or Organ Accompaniment by Henry Geehl. The words include the English translation.
Debussy’s beautiful beloved Clair De Lune was written as the third movemen...(+)
Debussy’s beautiful beloved Clair De Lune was written as the third movement of his Suite Bergamasque at the turn of the last century. It was inspired by a poem of contemporary Paul Verlaine and is asignificant example of Debussy’s innovative use of key time and tonal colour. The piece has been arranged for Orchestra though not by Debussy Harp Guitar and many other instrumental combinations.Clair De Lune was composed for Piano in D flat and has here been transposed to C.