English suites no. 5

[calimac]

This is one of the suites that I had in mind to present to you when I started this series. It's by Hubert Parry, who was Vaughan Williams's composition teacher (and one of Holst's too). Though he was respected by his students, Parry is rather forgotten today, at least outside of Britain where he's remembered mostly for his grand choral setting of Blake's "Jerusalem", but he was one of the bright names of British music of the late 19C, along with Arthur Sullivan, and unlike Sullivan he survived a ways into the 20C.

The English Suite is a late work, not published till after his 1918 death, but it's an absolute charmer, with an especially cheerful finale. The movements are Prelude (0:00), In Minuet Style (3:48), Sarabande (6:44), Caprice (10:00), Pastoral (12:38), Air (15:16), and Frolic (17:16).

Watch on YouTube

Comments

[cmcmck]

Not forgotten by us.

There's a definite fondness for Parry in this household.

And tell me how Stainer gets so utterly forgotten, will you?

[calimac]

I'm not expecting to produce anything that you haven't heard of. Others of my interested readers, however, are not so well-versed.

[cmcmck]

That said, you do occasionally! :o)

[sartorias]

This really is a lovely, lovely piece. Thanks for the link--would probably not have come across it otherwise.