Thomas Tallis

Composers Datebook 

Composer of the English Renaissance

Thomas Tallis (c. 1505 – 23 November 1585) was an English composer who occupies a primary place in anthologies of English choral musi and with William Byrd, considered the leading composer of the English Renaissance.  Tallis is one of England's greatest composers, and he is honoured for his original voice in English musicianship.

No contemporaneous portrait of Tallis survives; the one painted by Gerard Vandergucht dates from 150 years after Tallis died, and there is no reason to suppose that it is a fair likeness. In a rare existing copy of his blackletter signature, he spelled his name "Tallys".

His works include Tallis's Canon ('Glory to thee my God this night'), the antiphonal Spem in alium non habui (English: "I have never put my hope in any other...") for 40-part Renaissance motet, composed in c. 1556/1570 for  eight choirs of five voices each, and a collection of 34 motets, Canioness sacarae, of which 16 are Tallis and 18 by Byrd. Tallis was one of the earliest composers to write for the Anglican liturgy.  


Early Life

Little is known about Thomas Tallis's early life. He was born in the early 16th century toward the end of Henry VII's reign. The name "Tallis" is derived from the French word taillis, which means a "thicket." There are suggestions that he was a child of the chapel (boy chorister) of the Chapel Royal, the same singing establishment which he joined as an adult.
 
Tallis's first known musical appointment was in 1532 as organist of Dover Priory (now Dover College), a Benedictine priory in Kent. His career took him to London, then to Waltham Abbey in the autumn of 1538, a large Augustinian monastery in Essex which was dissolved in 1540. He was paid off and acquired a book about music that contained a treatise by Leonel Power which prohibits consecutive unisons, fifths, and octaves.



 

 ^{Thomas Tallis' Spem in Alium, with Tallis Scholars Ensemble.}

Gerald Finzi

Classical Music / Great Composers Dateline:  July 14


Gerald Raphael Finzi (14 July 1901 – 27 September 1956), was a British composer. He is best known as a choral composer, but also wrote in other genres. His large-scale compositions include the cantata Dies natalis for solo voice and string orchestra, and his concertos for cello and clarinet.

Gerald Finzi was born in London. He became one of the most characteristically "English" composers of his generation. Finzi was educated privately. His father, a successful shipbroker, died a fortnight short of his son's eighth birthday.

During the first World War the family settled in Harrogate, and Finzi began to study music at Christ Church, High Harrogate, under Ernest Farrar, a former pupil of Irish composer Charles V. Stanford. Finzi found him a sympathetic teacher, and Farrar's death at the Western Front deeply affected him. It was also during these formative years that he suffered the loss of all three of his brothers. These adversities contributed to his bleak outlook on life.


Suggested listening:

Finzi's Romance in E-b Major, Op. 11. Youtube, uploaded by imusiki. Accessed July 14, 2017. 


Despite being an agnostic of Jewish descent, several of Fenzi's choral works incorporate Christian texts. His music is elegiac in tone.  Below is Finzi's Magnificat. 

Andrew Lloyd Webber

 Classical Music / Composers Datebook: March 22

 

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber, is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. His various musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. To date, he has composed 21 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, and a Latin Requiem Mass. He shares the same birthday with another 'giant' in musicals: Stephen Sondheim, 18 years his senior.  

 

 

Early years

Andrew Lloyd Webber was born on 22 March 1948 in Kensington, London, the elder son of William Lloyd Webber, a composer and organist, and Jean Hermione Johnstone, a violinist and pianist. His younger brother, Julian Lloyd Webber, is a world-renowned solo cellist. On the BBC's genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are?, he learned that his mother's great-great-uncle was the soldier Sir Peregrine Maitland who in 1815 served as a major general at the Battle of Waterloo.

In 1965, when Lloyd Webber was a 17-year-old budding musical-theatre composer, he was introduced to the 20-year-old aspiring pop-song writer Tim Rice. Their first collaboration was The Likes of Us, an Oliver!-inspired musical based on the true story of Thomas John Barnardo. They produced a demo tape of that work in 1966, but the project failed to gain a backer.

The Likes of Us is stylistically fashioned after the Broadway musical of the 1940s and 1950s; it opens with a traditional overture comprising a medley of tunes from the show, and the score reflects some of Lloyd Webber's early influences, particularly Richard Rodgers, Frederick Loewe, and Lionel Bart. In this respect, it is markedly different from the composer's later work, which tends to be either predominantly or wholly through-composed, and closer in form to opera. 

^Mid-1970s

Lloyd Webber collaborated with Rice once again to write Evita (1978), a musical based on the life of Eva Perón. As with Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita was released first as a concept album (1976), featuring Julie Covington singing the part of Eva Perón. The song "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" became a hit single and the musical was staged at the West End's Prince Edward Theatre in a production directed by Harold Prince and starring Elaine Paige in the title role. This original production was enormously successful, eventually running for nearly eight years in the West End. 

Yvonne Elliman sings Jesus Christ Superstar ('73) "I don't know how to love him", the most brilliant interpretation in my books. Elliman doesn't just sing, she tells a story and shows her mixed feelings, emotions and doubts... all in a heartbeat.Youtube, uploaded by Blu Eyeangell. Accessed March 22, 2024.

Mid-80s

Lloyd Webber premiered The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre in the West End in 1986. He wrote the part of Christine for his then wife, Sarah Brightman, who played the role in the original London and Broadway productions alongside Michael Crawford as the Phantom. It became a hit and is still running in the West End; in January 2006 it overtook Lloyd Webber's Cats as the longest-running show on Broadway. On 11 February 2012, Phantom of the Opera played its 10,000th show on Broadway. With over 14,200 London productions it is the second longest-running West End musical. The Broadway production closed on 16 April 2023, having played 13,981 performances, the most in Broadway history.

'Music of the Night' - Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, The Phantom of the Opera. Youtube, accessed March 22, 2024. 

Frank Bridge

Classical Music / Composers Datebook: February 26.

English Composer Frank Bridge (1879-1941)

Frank Bridge, English composer, conductor and teacher was born in Brighton, February 26, 1879. He studied at London's Royal College of Music (RCM) from 1899 to 1903 under prominent composer Charles Villiers Stanford.

Bridge played the viola and conducted before devoting himself to composition where he received the patronage of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge.

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Music / Composers Datebook:  October 12

Brief biography of English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, his life, influence and list of major works - symphonies, tone poems, sacred music and operas. His work is much a part of great English music began by Elgar.  He is mainly famous for Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.

Ralph Vaughan Williams is best known for his deep love of the English countryside, English history, art and literature, all expressed in his music. With his affinity in English folk music, his roots surfaced, having been the great-nephew of the naturalist Charles Darwin. He was about seven, when the latter published his treatise on evolution, The Origin of Species. 

Brief Biography 

Ralph Vaughan Williams was born in Down Ampney on December 12, 1872, son of a clergy, and his mother related to Darwin. When his father died, the family moved to Surrey. 

John Stanley

Classical Music Datebook: January 17

Composer and Organist John Stanley

Blind English organist and composer John Stanley, was born on January 17, 1713, in London.

John Stanley was blind from an early age. He studied music with Maurice Greene and held a number of organist appointments in London. He was a friend of George Frideric Handel. Following Handel's death, Stanley joined first with John Christopher Smith and later with Thomas Linley to continue the series of oratorio concerts Handel had established.

In 1779, Stanley succeeded William Boyce as Master of the King's Musick.

Edward Elgar

Classical Music / Composers Datebook: June 2

English composer famous for "Pomp and Circumstance"

English Romantic composer and church organist, Edward Elgar (b. June 2, 1857 - d. February 23, 1934), is born in Broadheath.  He succeeded his father as church organist in Worcester's St. George's Roman Catholic church. Famous for his Enigma Variations and the magnificent "Pomp and Circumstance", Elgar is often considered as the greatest English-born composer since Henry Purcell, two centuries ago.

The introduction of the microphone in 1925 made far more accurate sound reproduction possible, and Elgar made new recordings of most of his major orchestral works and excerpts from his well-known "The Dream of Gerontius".

Benjamin Britten

Classical Music / Composer's Datebook: November 22

Benjamin Britten's brief biography – his life, major works, list of operas. Opera and vocal music. Considered 20th century's most prominent key figure in 20^th and one of the most important composers.    

  

Benjamin Britten (Lord Edward Benjamin Britten) came as a major English composer after Elgar, more than half a century later. His music sets him apart from compatriots Elgar and Vaughan Williams, with focus on voice music and opera. His birth coincides with St Cecilia’s Day, patron saint of music. 

 

Early Life and Frank Bridge's Influence

He was the son of a dental surgeon and a singer mother. Along the British coast where Lord (Edward) Benjamin Britten was born on November 22, 1913 in Lowestoft, he was aged 10 when he heard Frank Bridge’s song The Sea. This had a tremendous impact on him as a boy. Significantly, he also studied with Frank Bridge before entering the Royal College of Music in London.  

 

Early Compositions and Exposure

Britten's Sinfonietta was published when he was 19 years old. His first international success was the Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, played at the Salzburg Festival in 1937 followed by a number of works that established him as the leading English composer of the day, especially his Sinfonia da Requiem and  Serenade. 

 

Adult Life and Career

In 1939 he moved to North America with his lifetime partner, the tenor Peter Pears, returning to Britain during the Second World War. He participated in the war by playing concerts for the wounded. 

 

Later Years

His second opera, Peter Grimes, was premiered in London in 1945, established him as a dramatist and gained him international fame. This was followed by The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, a wonderful journey around the orchestra. Until his death in Aldeburgh, 4th December, 1976, about six more operas followed.

Much of his music is inspired by words, as shown by the many song cycles, the Spring Symphony and the Nocturne. He had a close artistic association with Shostakovich and the great Russian cellist Matislav Rostropovich.  

 

Appointments and Awards

Britten was appointed a Companion of Honour, to the Order of Meriot, and the first British composer awarded a life peerage.

 

Britten's Operas

Peter Grimes

The Rape of Lucretia

Albert Herring

Billy Budd

The Turn of the Screw

Noye's Fludde

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Death in Venice

 

Britten's Other Major Works

Sinfonietta

Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge

Violin Concerto

Song Cycle, Les Illuminations

Sinfonia da Requiem

Hymn to St Cecilia, for five-part chorus

Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell (Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra)

A Ceremony of Carols

Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings

Cantata, Saint Nicholas

Spring Symphony

War Requiem

Cello symphony

 

Suggested Recording:

Britten: Song cycle: Les Illuminations, Op.18; Nocturne, Op.60, etc…

Decca CD. 

 

Image Credit:

Benjamin Britten. Wikipedia Commons (Britten in 1968, by Hans Wild) / Public Domain 

 

Resources:

The Great Composers by Wendy Thompson, Hermes House (2001)

The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music, edited by Stanley Sadie, Macmillan (1994)

The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2^nd Edition, edited by Stanley Sadie (2000)

 

 

(c) November 2009. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved. 

Arthur Sullivan

Composers Datebook:  May 13 

Master of the Operetta. Musical Partner of Playwright William Gilbert

Brief biography of British composer Arthur Sullivan, of the Gilbert & Sullivan fame, their "Savoy Operas."  Best known for 'The Mikado'.

Sir Arthur Sullivan (b. London. 13 May 1842 - d. London. 22 November 1900), English composer of the 19^th century, is best known for the series of sparkling and witty comic operettas he wrote in collaboration with librettist Sir William Gilbert. The humorous The Mikado is their most popular. 

Aside from the The Mikado, other popular Gilbert and Sullivan operettas include HMS Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, Patience, Iolanthe, the Yeomen of the Guard, and The Gondoliers. Together, they produced 13 operettas.

Sullivan was born in London, May 13, 1842. The son of a bandmaster, he was properly trained in the German tradition, won the first Mendelssohn Scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London and studied further at the Leipzig Conservatory, where he met Liszt and Grieg, before returning to England as a church organist. He became a professor of Composition ta the Royal Academy.

Prior to his partnership with Gilbert, Sullivan was already composing sacred music, with “Onward, Christian Soldiers” probably the best known. Aside from sacred music, Sullivan also composed serious instrumental music and concert works. Although his compositions were overshadowed by the 19th-century composers like Brahms, Mendelssohn and Schumann, his works were still attractive and crafted professionally.

 

Sullivan much wanted to succeed as a composer of serious music, the oratorio, in particular, but it's his operettas with Gilbert that is well remembered and kept alive. His operatic works, for example, the opera Ivanhoe in 1890, he valued highly.

 

His career focus and direction changed from a significant meeting in 1871 with playwright William Gilbert. The changes also brought Gilbert and Sullivan fame and prominence. Together their team to produced successful operettas known as "Savoy Operas" usually performed at the Savoy Theatre in London's Strand.

Here's a link to the production of The Mikado 1992 Buxton. YouTube, uploaded by Jim Manson. Accessed 13 May 2011. 

One of the highly popular songs from this operetta is "Alone and yet Alive," most disheartening from loss of hope and courage, sung by the character Katisha who mourns her loss. Below, the same despondent song, interpreted by mezzo soprano Jacqueline Dark as Katisha, recorded at State Theatre, Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne. (YouTube, uploaded by Jacqui Dark. Accessed May 13, 2016.) 

 

 

Sullivan's partnership with Gilbert broke down sometime in 1890, after a quarrel over expenses at the Savoy. During a 'peace conference' at the Savoy Theatre, Gilbert's temper got the better of him: he roared that Carte was exploiting and robbing both himself and Sullivan, turned on Carte and Sullivan, called them blackguards, then stormed out of the meeting. Gilbert and Sullivan, however, reunited in the 1890s for two more operas, but these did not achieve the popularity of their earlier works.

Sullivan's infrequent serious pieces during the 1880s included two cantatas, The Martyr of Antioch and The Golden Legend, his most popular choral work. He also wrote incidental music for West End productions of several Shakespeare plays, and held conducting and academic appointments. Sullivan's only grand opera, Ivanhoe, though initially successful in 1891, has rarely been revived. 

Sullivan continued to compose comic operas with various librettists and wrote other major and minor works. He is regarded as Britain's foremost composer. His comic opera style served as a model for generations of musical theatre composers that followed, and his music is still frequently performed, recorded and pastiched. Arthur Sullivan died at the age of 58, in November 22, 1900, following a heart attack.

Although to this day The Mikado is a universal favourite, it is worth noting that H.M.S. Pinafore opened in London (May 1878) run for 700 consecutive performances. From historical context their light opera paved way to the development of the stage and screen musical age. Sullivan was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1883. 

 

Quoted from Queen Victoria (1819-1901): "You ought to write a grand opera, Sir Arthur, you would do it so well." 

 

Sullivan's Major Works:

 

The Sorcerer, 1877

HMS Pinafore, 1878

The Pirates of Penzance, 1879

Patience, 1881

Iolanthe, 1882

Princess Ida, 1884

The Mikado, 1885

The Yeomen of the Guard, 1888

The Gondoliers, 1889

Photo Credit:

Arthur Sullivan. en.wikipedia.org / Public Domain.

Resources:

 

1. The Grove Dictionary of Music, edited by Stanley Sadie, Macmillan (1994)

2. The Oxford Companion to Music, edited by Alison Latham, OUP (2002)

3. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org

Note: This piece was originally published for Suite101.com,  January 13, 2008. This is an abridged version. / Tel)

(c) May 2008. Updated Mary 13, 2021. Tel. Inspired Pen Web.  All rights reserved.