Charles Villiers Stanford
Encyclopedia
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Irish
composer who was particularly notable for his choral music. He was professor at the Royal College of Music
and University of Cambridge
.
Stanford was born in Dublin, the only son of John Stanford, examiner in the city's Court of Chancery
and clerk of the Crown, County Meath
. Both parents were accomplished amateur musicians; his father sang bass (and was also a cellist
) and his mother was a pianist
. Charles trained under R. M. Levey (violin), Miss Meeke, Mrs Joseph Robinson, Miss Flynn and Michael Quarry (piano); and Sir Robert Stewart taught him composition and organ
. His precocious ability was recorded in an article in The Musical Times
in December 1898.
He came to London
in 1862 as a pupil of Arthur O'Leary
and Ernst Pauer
, and in 1870 won a scholarship to Queens' College
, Cambridge
. Three years later he moved to Trinity College
(for whom he wrote his Three Latin Motets), succeeding J. L. Hopkins as college organist, a post he held until 1892. His appointment as conductor
of the Cambridge University Musical Society gave him great opportunities, and the fame which the society soon achieved was in the main due to Stanford's energies.
During his tenure many interesting performances and revivals took place. From 1874 to 1877 he was given leave of absence for part of each year to complete his studies in Germany, where he studied first with Carl Reinecke
and then, more fruitfully, with Friedrich Kiel
. He took his BA degree
(Classics) in 1874 and MA in 1878, and was given the honorary degree of D.Mus.
at Oxford
in 1883 and at Cambridge
in 1888.
He first became known as a composer with his incidental music
to Tennyson's Queen Mary (Lyceum, 1876); and in 1881 his first opera
, The Veiled Prophet, was given at Hanover
(revived at Covent Garden
, 1893); this was succeeded by Savonarola (Hamburg
, April, and Covent Garden, July 1884), and The Canterbury Pilgrims (Drury Lane, 1884). His later operas were Shamus O'Brien (Opera Comique, 1896), Much Ado About Nothing (Covent Garden, 1901) (libretto - Julian Sturgis
), The Critic (Shaftesbury Theatre, London, 1916), and The Travelling Companion (David Lewis Theatre, Liverpool
, 1925).
He was appointed professor of composition at the Royal College of Music
in 1883; was conductor of The Bach Choir
from 1886 to 1902; was professor of music at Cambridge
, succeeding Sir George Alexander Macfarren
from 1887; conductor of the Leeds Philharmonic Society
from 1897 to 1909, and of the Leeds Festival
from 1901 to 1910. As conductor, he programmed works by contemporaries such as Parry, Elgar, Debussy, Sullivan and Vaughan Williams. He was an exacting but respected teacher whose pupils included Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
, Gustav Holst
, Thomas Dunhill
, Ralph Vaughan Williams
, John Ireland
, Frank Bridge
, Charles Wood
(who succeeded him as music professor), Geoffrey Shaw, Ivor Gurney
, Cecil Forsyth
, Rebecca Clarke, Herbert Howells
and Clive Carey
.
In 1878 Stanford was married, after initial parental opposition, to Jennie Wetton, whom he had first met while studying in Germany. They had two children. His principal leisure pursuits were angling and cards. Being possessed of a fiery and undiplomatic temperament, Stanford often had short-lived disagreements with his contemporaries, including, it is said, Elgar
(this is disputed by Harry Plunket Greene
) and Parry
(to whose memory, however, he dedicated his Latin Magnificat, as well as making musical reference to Parry's song O World, O Life, O Time in his Piano Prelude Addio). He was knighted
in 1902. Stanford's ashes are buried in Westminster Abbey, alongside Henry Purcell
.
s, a Requiem
(1897), a Stabat Mater
(1907), and many secular works, often with a nautical theme, including The Revenge (1886), The Voyage of Maeldune (1889), Songs of the Sea (1904), and Songs of the Fleet (1910). His church music
still holds a central place among Anglican
compositions; particularly popular examples include his Evening Services
in B flat, A, G, and C, his Three Latin Motets (Beati quorum via, Justorum animae, and Coelos ascendit hodie), and his anthems For lo, I raise up and Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem.
His instrumental works include seven symphonies
, six Irish Rhapsodies for orchestra, several works for organ, concerto
s for violin
, cello, clarinet
, and piano, and many chamber
compositions, including eight string quartet
s. He also composed songs, part-songs, madrigal
s, and incidental music to Eumenides and Oedipus Rex (as performed at Cambridge), as well as to Tennyson's Becket. His music shows the influence of Brahms
and Schumann
, and to a lesser extent of Irish folk music; he was generally unsympathetic to more modern developments. Although his chief importance is often held to be as a teacher of many English composers of the next generation, the last two decades have seen a revival of interest in his larger compositions (particularly the orchestral ones) after a long period of neglect. He published several books, including an informal autobiography, Pages from an Unwritten Diary (1914) and "Musical Composition" (1911), which includes an interesting passage on pure intonation.
Irish
Irish may refer to:*Irish cuisine* Ireland, an island in north-western Europe, on which are located:** Northern Ireland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom** Republic of Ireland, a sovereign state...
composer who was particularly notable for his choral music. He was professor at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
and University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
.
Life
Court of Chancery
The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid the slow pace of change and possible harshness of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law, the administration of the estates of...
and clerk of the Crown, County Meath
County Meath
County Meath is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Mide . Meath County Council is the local authority for the county...
. Both parents were accomplished amateur musicians; his father sang bass (and was also a cellist
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
) and his mother was a pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
. Charles trained under R. M. Levey (violin), Miss Meeke, Mrs Joseph Robinson, Miss Flynn and Michael Quarry (piano); and Sir Robert Stewart taught him composition and organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
. His precocious ability was recorded in an article in The Musical Times
The Musical Times
The Musical Times is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom. It is currently the oldest such journal that is still publishing in the UK, having been published continuously since 1844. It was published as The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular until...
in December 1898.
He came to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1862 as a pupil of Arthur O'Leary
Arthur O'Leary
Father Arthur O'Leary, O.F.M. was an Irish Franciscan preacher and polemical writer.-Life:...
and Ernst Pauer
Ernst Pauer
Ernst Pauer was an Austrian pianist, composer and educator.Pauer formed a direct link with great Viennese traditions: he was born in Vienna, his mother was a member of the famous Streicher family of piano makers, and for a time he was a piano pupil of Mozart's son, F. X. W. Mozart and a...
, and in 1870 won a scholarship to Queens' College
Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou , and refounded in 1465 by Elizabeth Woodville...
, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. Three years later he moved to Trinity College
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
(for whom he wrote his Three Latin Motets), succeeding J. L. Hopkins as college organist, a post he held until 1892. His appointment as conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
of the Cambridge University Musical Society gave him great opportunities, and the fame which the society soon achieved was in the main due to Stanford's energies.
During his tenure many interesting performances and revivals took place. From 1874 to 1877 he was given leave of absence for part of each year to complete his studies in Germany, where he studied first with Carl Reinecke
Carl Reinecke
Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke was a German composer, conductor, and pianist.-Biography:Reinecke was born in Altona, Hamburg, Germany; until 1864 the town was under Danish rule. He studied with his father, Johann Peter Rudolph Reinecke, a music teacher...
and then, more fruitfully, with Friedrich Kiel
Friedrich Kiel
Friedrich Kiel was a German composer and music teacher.Writing of the chamber music of Friedrich Kiel, the famous scholar and critic Wilhelm Altmann notes that it was Kiel’s extreme modesty which kept him and his exceptional works from receiving the consideration they deserved...
. He took his BA degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
(Classics) in 1874 and MA in 1878, and was given the honorary degree of D.Mus.
Doctor of Music
The Doctor of Music degree , like other doctorates, is an academic degree of the highest level. The D.Mus. is intended for musicians and composers who wish to combine the highest attainments in their area of specialization with doctoral-level academic study in music...
at Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in 1883 and at Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in 1888.
He first became known as a composer with his incidental music
Incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
to Tennyson's Queen Mary (Lyceum, 1876); and in 1881 his first opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, The Veiled Prophet, was given at Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
(revived at Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, 1893); this was succeeded by Savonarola (Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, April, and Covent Garden, July 1884), and The Canterbury Pilgrims (Drury Lane, 1884). His later operas were Shamus O'Brien (Opera Comique, 1896), Much Ado About Nothing (Covent Garden, 1901) (libretto - Julian Sturgis
Julian Sturgis
Julian Russell Sturgis was an American-born novelist, poet, librettist and lyricist who lived and worked in Britain nearly all of his life. He played football as an amateur for the Wanderers F.C...
), The Critic (Shaftesbury Theatre, London, 1916), and The Travelling Companion (David Lewis Theatre, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, 1925).
He was appointed professor of composition at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
in 1883; was conductor of The Bach Choir
The Bach Choir
The Bach Choir is a large chorus, based in London, England. It has around 220 active members. The choir's musical director is David Hill and previous musical directors have included Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Reginald Jacques and Sir David Willcocks.The Bach Choir is an...
from 1886 to 1902; was professor of music at Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, succeeding Sir George Alexander Macfarren
George Alexander Macfarren
Sir George Alexander Macfarren was an English composer.-Life:George Alexander Macfarren was born in London on 2 March 1813 to George Macfarren, a dancing-master, dramatic author, and journalist, and Elizabeth Macfarren, née Jackson. At the age of seven, Macfarren was sent to Dr...
from 1887; conductor of the Leeds Philharmonic Society
Leeds Philharmonic Society
Leeds Philharmonic Chorus is a leading choir in Europe, regularly performing to professional standards with internationally renowned soloists, orchestras and conductors....
from 1897 to 1909, and of the Leeds Festival
Leeds Festival (classical music)
The Leeds Festival was a classical music festival which took place between 1858 and 1985 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.The first festival celebrated the opening of Leeds Town Hall by Queen Victoria on 7 September 1858...
from 1901 to 1910. As conductor, he programmed works by contemporaries such as Parry, Elgar, Debussy, Sullivan and Vaughan Williams. He was an exacting but respected teacher whose pupils included Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was an English composer who achieved such success that he was once called the "African Mahler".-Early life and education:...
, Gustav Holst
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....
, Thomas Dunhill
Thomas Dunhill
Thomas Frederick Dunhill was an English composer and writer on musical subjects. He is best-known for his song-cycle The Wind among the Reeds.-Life and career:Thomas Dunhill was born in Hampstead, London...
, Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
, John Ireland
John Ireland (composer)
John Nicholson Ireland was an English composer.- Life :John Ireland was born in Bowdon, near Altrincham, Manchester, into a family of Scottish descent and some cultural distinction. His father, Alexander Ireland, a publisher and newspaper proprietor, was aged 70 at John's birth...
, Frank Bridge
Frank Bridge
Frank Bridge was an English composer and violist.-Life:Bridge was born in Brighton and studied at the Royal College of Music in London from 1899 to 1903 under Charles Villiers Stanford and others...
, Charles Wood
Charles Wood (composer)
Charles Wood was an Irish composer and teacher.Born in Armagh, Ireland, he was the fifth child and third son of Charles Wood Sr. and Jemima Wood. His father was a tenor in the choir of the nearby St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh , and later worked as the Diocesan Registrar of the church...
(who succeeded him as music professor), Geoffrey Shaw, Ivor Gurney
Ivor Gurney
Ivor Bertie Gurney was an English composer and poet.-Life:Born at 3 Queen Street, Gloucester in 1890, the second of four children of David Gurney, a tailor, and his wife Florence, a seamstress, Gurney showed musical ability early...
, Cecil Forsyth
Cecil Forsyth
Cecil Forsyth was an English composer and musicologist. He was born in Greenwich on November 30, 1870, and he died in New York on December 7, 1941. He studied at Edinburgh University and at the Royal College of Music , and played viola in various London Orchestras...
, Rebecca Clarke, Herbert Howells
Herbert Howells
Herbert Norman Howells CH was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music.-Life:...
and Clive Carey
Clive Carey
Francis Clive Savill Carey CBE , known as Clive Carey, was a British baritone, singing teacher, composer, opera producer and folk song collector.-Biography:Clive Carey was born at Sible Hedingham, Essex in 1883...
.
In 1878 Stanford was married, after initial parental opposition, to Jennie Wetton, whom he had first met while studying in Germany. They had two children. His principal leisure pursuits were angling and cards. Being possessed of a fiery and undiplomatic temperament, Stanford often had short-lived disagreements with his contemporaries, including, it is said, Elgar
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
(this is disputed by Harry Plunket Greene
Harry Plunket Greene
Harry Plunket Greene was an Irish baritone singer who was most famous in the formal concert and oratorio repertoire. He made a great contribution to British musical life also by writing and lecturing upon his art, and in the field of competitions and examinations...
) and Parry
Hubert Parry
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet was an English composer, teacher and historian of music.Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is best known for the choral song "Jerusalem", the coronation anthem "I was glad" and the hymn tune "Repton", which sets the words...
(to whose memory, however, he dedicated his Latin Magnificat, as well as making musical reference to Parry's song O World, O Life, O Time in his Piano Prelude Addio). He was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in 1902. Stanford's ashes are buried in Westminster Abbey, alongside Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
.
Music
Stanford was particularly known in his day for his choral works, chiefly commissioned for performances at the great English provincial festivals. These include two oratorioOratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
s, a Requiem
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
(1897), a Stabat Mater
Stabat Mater
Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Roman Catholic hymn to Mary. It has been variously attributed to the Franciscan Jacopone da Todi and to Innocent III...
(1907), and many secular works, often with a nautical theme, including The Revenge (1886), The Voyage of Maeldune (1889), Songs of the Sea (1904), and Songs of the Fleet (1910). His church music
Anglican church music
Anglican church music is music that is written for liturgical performance in Anglican church services.Almost all of it is written for choir with or without organ accompaniment...
still holds a central place among Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
compositions; particularly popular examples include his Evening Services
Service (music)
In Anglican church music, a service is a musical setting of certain parts of the liturgy, generally for choir with or without organ accompaniment.-Morning Prayer:*Venite *Te Deum or Benedicite...
in B flat, A, G, and C, his Three Latin Motets (Beati quorum via, Justorum animae, and Coelos ascendit hodie), and his anthems For lo, I raise up and Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem.
His instrumental works include seven symphonies
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
, six Irish Rhapsodies for orchestra, several works for organ, concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
s for violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, cello, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, and piano, and many chamber
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
compositions, including eight string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
s. He also composed songs, part-songs, madrigal
Madrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....
s, and incidental music to Eumenides and Oedipus Rex (as performed at Cambridge), as well as to Tennyson's Becket. His music shows the influence of Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
and Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
, and to a lesser extent of Irish folk music; he was generally unsympathetic to more modern developments. Although his chief importance is often held to be as a teacher of many English composers of the next generation, the last two decades have seen a revival of interest in his larger compositions (particularly the orchestral ones) after a long period of neglect. He published several books, including an informal autobiography, Pages from an Unwritten Diary (1914) and "Musical Composition" (1911), which includes an interesting passage on pure intonation.
Recordings
External links
- www.blackmahler.com Stanford is heavily featured in a the most recent book to be published about Samuel Coleridge-Taylor written by
- Article on the Third Symphony
- Article on the String Quartets
- Charles Villiers Stanford Piano Quartet No.1, Op.15, Piano Quintet Op.25 & Piano Trio Nos.1, 2 & 3, String Quintet Op.85 sound-bites and discussion of works
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx7eE8VQkls Performance of Cello Sonata no. 2
- Stanford Family Tree
- Moore's Irish Melodies, arranged by C. V. Stanford
- Stanford Cello Sonata No.2 reviews