Charles Villiers Stanford

'Jeremy Dibble has written a book which adds substantially to Stanford's reputation and which greatly enriches both British and Irish musical scholarship. It is brilliantly done.' -Irish TimesJeremy Dibble presents the first authoritative, comprehensive study of the life and works of Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924), one of the most gifted and influential composers. Dibble reveals how, although perhaps best known for his church music, Stanford was also an eminent symphonist, songwriter, and author of many fine choral works. Cosmopolitan, ambitious, and pragmatic, he was untiring in his efforts to advance the cause of British music during its renaissance at the end of the nineteenth century, promoting the music of his contemporaries, and the many pupils he taught at Cambridge and the Royal College of Music, including Vaughan Williams, Ireland, Howells, Bliss, Holst, and Gurney.

The first book devoted to the composer Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) since 1935, this survey provides the fullest account of his life and the most detailed appraisal of his music to date. Renowned in his own lifetime for the rapid rate at which he produced new works, Stanford was also an important conductor and teacher. Paul Rodmell assesses these different roles and considers what Stanford's legacy to British music has been. Born and brought up in Dublin, Stanford studied at Cambridge and was later appointed Professor of Music there. His Irish lineage remained significant to him throughout his life, and this little-studied aspect of his character is examined here in detail for the first time. A man about whom no-one who met him could feel indifferent, Stanford made friends and enemies in equal numbers. Rodmell charts these relationships with people and institutions such as Richter, Parry and the Royal College of Music, and discusses how they influenced Stanford's career. Perhaps not the most popular of teachers, Stanford nevertheless coached a generation of composers who were to revitalize British music, amongst them Coleridge-Taylor, Ireland, Vaughan-Williams, Holst, Bridge and Howells. While their musical styles may not be obviously indebted to Stanford's, it is clear that, without him, British music of the first half of the twentieth century might have taken a very different course.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Herbert Howells (1892-1983) was a prodigiously gifted musician and the favourite student of the notoriously hard-to-please Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. Throughout his long life, he was one of the country's most prominent composers, writing extensively in all genres except the symphony and opera. Yet today he is known mostly for his church music, and there is as yet relatively little serious study of his work. This book is the first large-scale study of Howells's music, affording both detailed consideration of individual works and a broad survey of general characteristics and issues. Its coverage is wide-ranging, addressing all aspects of the composer's prolific output and probing many of the issues that it raises. The essays are gathered in five sections: Howells the Stylist examines one of the most striking aspect of the composer's music, its strongly characterised personal voice; Howells the Vocal Composer addresses both his well-known contribution to church music and his less familiar, but also important, contribution to the genre of solo song; Howells the Instrumental Composer shows that he was no less accomplished for his work in genres without words, for which, in fact, he first made his name; Howells the Modern considers the composer's rather overlooked contribution to the development of a modern voice for British music; and Howells in Mourning explores the important impact of his son's death on his life and work. The composer that emerges from these studies is a complex figure: technically fluent but prone to revision and self-doubt; innovative but also conservative; a composer with an improvisational sense of flow who had a firm grasp of musical form; an exponent of British musical style who owed as much to continental influence as to his national heritage. This volume, comprising a collection of outstanding essays by established writers and emergent scholars, opens up the range of Howells's achievement to a wider audience, both professional and amateur. PHILLIP COOKE is Lecturer in Composition at the University of Aberdeen. DAVID MAW is Tutor and Research Fellow in Music at Oriel College, Oxford, holding Lectureships also at Christ Church, The Queen's and Trinity Colleges. CONTRIBUTORS: Byron Adams, Paul Andrews, Graham Barber, Jonathan Clinch, Phillip A. Cooke, Jeremy Dibble, Lewis Foreman, Fabian Huss, David Maw, Diane Nolan Cooke, Lionel Pike, Paul Spicer, Jonathan White. Foreword by John Rutter.

This concise and practical guide to musical composition was written by Charles Villiers Stanford, one of the great composers and teachers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It provides an excellent introduction to the principles of musical structure and form, and is an essential resource for any serious music student. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The Anglo-Irish composer Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) is often remembered as the teacher of many of Britain's first generation of twentieth-century composers. He was, however, a composer of great diversity. An enthusiastic composer for the theatre and opera house, he was a symphonist, songwriter, and composer of church music; his national, indeed, international reputation was also reflected in the many works he wrote for some of the most prominent virtuosi of the time. Driven by a strong sense of ambition, he sought to advance the cause of British music not only as a composer but as a university professor, practical musician and conductor. Pre-eminent in the 1880s and 90s, he was eclipsed by Elgar during the Edwardian years, but his creative powers continued unabated until the early 1920s. As the author of a wide range of musical works, which we are now able to experience through more live performances, broadcasts and recordings (the latter has expanded exponentially since he first edition of this book), we are now aware of the composer's greater musical achievements, particularly in the province of opera. This expanded and revised edition offers new musical and biographical discussion drawing on a wider range of primary and secondary sources. It brings new insights to Stanford's life as performer, conductor and teacher/author at Cambridge and the RCM, as well as an arranger and editor of Irish folk music. Another emphasis in this revised edition is Stanford's lifelong aspiration to promote opera in English and the establishment of an English National Opera in London. Stanford's politics, particularly his opposition to Gladstonian Liberalism and to Home Rule for Ireland, also receive rightful discussion within the context of his creative output.