Charles Villiers Stanford

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Charles Stanford, 1921

Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (born September 30, 1852 in Dublin , † March 29, 1924 in London ) was an Irish composer .

Life

Charles Villiers Stanford was the son of a wealthy Irish lawyer. His family was extremely musical: his father was a singer, his mother a pianist. In this environment, Stanford's exceptional talent was quickly recognized and promoted. As a child he learned the piano and organ from well-known teachers in Dublin, while on a family trip to London in 1864, Stanford made contacts with composers and musicians there such as Arthur Sullivan .

Stanford studied from 1862 in London with Ernst Pauer and Arthur O'Leary , from 1870 at Queens' College in Cambridge , from 1874 to 1876 with Carl Reinecke in Leipzig and Friedrich Kiel in Berlin . From 1883 he taught composition at the Royal College of Music in London , and from 1887 he was professor of music at Cambridge University .

Together with Hubert Parry and Edward Elgar , Stanford made a decisive contribution to the renewal of English music towards the end of the 19th century ("English Musical Renaissance"). Stanford was seen as a strict teacher who relentlessly insisted on adherence to compositional standards to his students and who used to acknowledge any sloppiness with a short "All red, m'boy" ("Everything cramp, my boy"). His explosive temper repeatedly brought him into conflict with the university administration, and some of his students later distanced themselves from him.

Stanford remained Professor of Composition in Cambridge and London until his death in March 1924. Like many important English musicians, he was buried in Westminster Abbey . His grave slab bears the inscription "A great musician".

Although his own compositional output is very extensive, only a few of his works are performed today. Of his over 30 choral works, only the liturgical works are still in the repertoire of English church choirs. The choral symphonic work is largely forgotten. In recent years, the Requiem (1897) and the Stabat mater (1907) have become known to a wider public ( Naxos and Chandos, respectively ) through CD recordings . In the late 1980s, the British record company Chandos recorded all symphonies and Irish rhapsodies for compact discs with the Ulster Orchestra under the direction of Vernon Handley . The Irish RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet has been recording selected chamber music from Stanford for Hyperion since the beginning of the third millennium .

Stanford's “Seestücke” - the ballad The Revenge - A Ballad of the Fleet , op. 24, based on Alfred Lord Tennyson and the vocal cycles Songs of the Sea , op. 91 and Songs of the Fleet , op 117. The 3rd Symphony (“Irish”) was one of the most popular Romantic symphonies for a few years and was also in Gustav Mahler's conducting repertoire .

Some of his compositions show strong echoes of the music of Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms . At the same time, Stanford pioneered the direct use of Irish folk music in its six Irish Rhapsodies and the 3rd Symphony, which is also subtitled "Irish". Thereby he paved the way for the "Pastoral School", to whose exponents u. a. Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst , who were both Stanford students. In addition to Stanford's compositional work, it should not be underestimated that he was also active as a conductor (including Cambridge University Musical Society and Leeds Festival). His students include a. Arthur Bliss , Herbert Howells , John Ireland , George Dyson , Ernest John Moeran , Rebecca Clarke and the conductor Eugene Goossens .

Stanford composed seven operas , seven symphonies , six Irish rhapsodies , eight Irish dances , three piano and two violin concertos, a cello concerto, a clarinet concerto, chamber music works, piano and organ music, two oratorios ("The three holy Children" and "Eden" ), a mass , a Te Deum , a Magnificat , a Requiem , a Stabat mater and numerous songs .

Works

Operas:

Symphonies:

  • Symphony No. 1 in B flat major (1876)
  • Symphony No. 2 in D minor Elegiac (1879, rev. 1882)
  • Symphony No. 3 in F minor op.28 Irish (1887)
  • Symphony No. 4 in F major op.31 (1888)
  • Symphony No. 5 in D major, Op. 56 L'Allegro ed il Penseroso (1894)
  • Symphony No. 6 in E flat major, Op. 94 In honor of the life-work of a great artist: George Frederick Watts (1905)
  • Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 124 (1911)

Concert works:

  • Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 1 in G major op.59 (1894)
  • Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 2 in C minor, Op. 126 (1911)
  • Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 3 in E flat major, op.171 (1919, orch.Geoffrey Bush )
  • Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in B flat major (1873)
  • Concert variations on an English theme ("Down among the Dead Men") for piano and orchestra op. 71 (1897/98)
  • Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 1 in D major op.74 (1899)
  • Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 2 in G minor, Op. 162 (1918, orch.Jeremy Dibble)
  • Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major (1875)
  • Suite for violin and orchestra in D major op.32 (1888)
  • Concerto for violoncello and orchestra in D minor (1879/80)
  • Ballata and Ballabile for violoncello and orchestra op.160 (1918)
  • Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in A minor, Op. 80 (1902)
  • Concert piece for organ and orchestra, op.181 (1921)

other orchestral works:

  • Irish Rhapsody No. 1 in D minor op.78 (1902)
  • Irish Rhapsody No. 2 in F minor, Op. 84 The Lament for the Son of Ossian (1903)
  • Irish Rhapsody No. 3 in D major op.137 for violoncello and orchestra (1913)
  • Irish Rhapsody No. 4 in A minor, Op. 141 The Fisherman of Lough Neagh and What He Saw (1913)
  • Irish Rhapsody No. 5 in G minor op.147 (1917)
  • Irish Rhapsody No. 6 in D minor, op.191 for violin and orchestra (1922)

Choir / vocal works:

  • Magnificat and Nunc dimittis, op.10 No. 1
  • Jubilate and Te Deum, op.10 No. 2
  • Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in A major, op.12
  • The Revenge: A Ballad of the Fleet, op. 24 (1886) - for choir and orchestra
  • The Music to the Oedipus Rex of Sophocles, op.29
  • Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in F major, op.36
  • And I Saw Another Angel, op. 37 No. 1
  • If Thou Shalt Confess, op.37 no.2
  • Three Latin motets, op.38
    • Justorum animae
    • Coelos ascendit hodie
    • Beati quorum via
  • Requiem, op. 63 (1897) for two sopranos, mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass-baritone, large choir and orchestra
  • Te Deum in G major, op.81
  • Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in G major, op.81
  • Songs of the Sea, op. 91 for baritone, choir and orchestra
  • Stabat Mater, op.96
  • Autumn Leaves, op.106 No. 1
  • Fair Phyllis, op.106 No. 4
  • 6 biblical songs and hymns, op.113
  • Te Deum in C major, op.114
  • Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in C major, op.115
  • Songs of the Fleet, op.117 (1910) - for baritone, choir and orchestra
  • Cushendall, op.118
  • 8 part songs, op.119
  • Widerspin, op.127 no.7
  • Eternal Father, op.135 no.2
  • Grandeur, op.140 no.1
  • For lo, I raise up, op.145
  • Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in E flat major (1873)
  • Pater Noster (1874)
  • The Lord is my Shepherd (1886)
  • The Blue Bird
  • requiem
  • Six biblical songs for voice and piano
  • Twelve Songs of Heine, Book 1 & 2, for voice and piano

Chamber music works:

  • Piano quartet No. 1, op.15
  • Piano quintet in d minor, op.25
  • Cello Sonata No. 2, op.39
  • String quartet No. 3, op.64
  • String Quintet No. 1, op.85
  • 6 short preludes and postludes, op.105
  • Sonata for clarinet and piano, op.129
  • Six character pieces for piano, op.132
  • Five Caprices for Piano, op.136
  • Night Thoughts, six short pieces for piano, op.148
  • Three Sketches, op.155 Book 1 & 2
  • Cello Sonata No. 1
  • Fantasy for horn quintet in A minor
  • Piano Trio No. 1
  • String Quartet No. 1
  • String Quartet No. 2
  • Six Irish Dances for Violin and Piano
  • Six Sketches for Piano: Primary Grade
  • Six Sketches for Piano: Elementary Grade

Works for organ:

  • Six preludes for organ, op.88
  • Organ Sonata No. 1 in F major, op.149
  • Organ Sonata No. 2 “Eroica”, op. 151
  • Organ Sonata No. 3 "Britannica", op. 152
  • Organ Sonata No. 4 “Celtica”, op. 153
  • Organ Sonata No. 5 “Quasi una Fantasia”, op. 159
  • Organ Sonata No. 6
  • Idyll No. 1-5

Discographic notes

  • Symphonies 1-7 (complete): Ulster Orchestra, Vernon Handley, Chandos CHAN 9279-82
  • Violin Concerto in D major / Suite, op.32 : Anthony Marwood , BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Vernon Handley, Hyperion CDA67208
  • Cello Concerto in D minor / Alexander Baillie; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Nicholas Braithwaite. Lyrita SRC 321
  • Piano Concerto No. 1 in G major: Piers Lane, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins, Hyperion CDA66820 (with Hubert Parry , Piano Concerto in F sharp major)
  • Piano Concerto No. 2 / Concert Variations on an English Theme / Six Irish Rhapsodies: Margaret Fingerhut, Ulster Orchestra, Vernon Handley, Chandos CHAN 10116 (2)
  • Piano Concerto No. 3 in Eb, op. 171 / Malcolm Binns; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Nicholas Braithwaite, Lyrita SRC 321
  • Requiem, op.63: various soloists, RTÉ Philharmonic Choir, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Colman Pearce, NAXOS 8.555201-02
  • Songs of the Fleet / The Revenge-A Ballad of the Fleet / Songs of the Sea: Gerald Finley, BBC National Chorus and Orchestra of Wales, Richard Hickox, Chandos CHSA 5043
  • Anthems and Masses (choral works): Choir of St. John's College, Cambridge, Christopher Robinson, NAXOS 8.555794

literature

Web links

Commons : Charles Villiers Stanford  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Kennedy: The Works of Ralph Vaughan Williams , p.
personal data
SURNAME Stanford, Charles Villiers
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Irish composer
DATE OF BIRTH September 30, 1852
PLACE OF BIRTH Dublin
DATE OF DEATH March 29, 1924
Place of death London