Description
Book SynopsisThis is the first book-length survey of 20th -century British music for solo organ. Beginning with a discussion of British organ music in the last decades of the Victorian era, the book focuses on the pieces that the composers wrote, their musical style, possible influences on the composition of specific works, and the details of their composition. Arranged in chronological order according to date of birth are detailed studies on important composers that made especially significant contributions to organ music including Parry, Stanford, Healey Willan, Herbert Howells, Percy Whitlock, Francis Jackson, Peter Racine Fricker, Arthur Wills, and Kenneth Leighton. Composers'' biographies, the role of organs and organ building developments, influential political and sociological events, and aesthetic aspects of British musical life are also discussed in detail. In the concluding chapter, the author discusses the major phases and achievements of the century and gauges what may lie ahead in the
Trade ReviewHardwick's timely survey offers an opinion on the relative virtues of the music in question and this is a welcome critique. * Classical Music *
Recommended. * CHOICE *
What a welcome arrival...Hardwick is absolutely first-rate in this book and I bow the knee in admiration, awe, and wonder…He covers an incredible amount of music in a relatively short space…I urge you to buy the book, study it, and, above all, play the music that he writes about. * The American Organist *
A most welcome volume that fills a long-standing gap in the literature...if you are interested in British organ music and its development over the last 100 years and could only take one book to your desert island, then this would probably be it. * Church Music Quarterly *
Each chapter of this wisely conceived book contains gems of information and insights on composers and musical trends that reveal the author's close familiarity with his subject. This comprehensive survey will stand as a definitive work on the topic for many years to come... * The Diapason *
Table of ContentsChapter 1 List of Plates Chapter 2 Preface Chapter 3 1 British Organ Music at the Dawn of the Century Chapter 4 2 Hubert Parry Chapter 5 3 Charles Stanford Chapter 6 4 Basil Harwood Chapter 7 5 The Pivotal Role of the Royal College of Music: Walter Alcock and Charles Wood Chapter 8 6 William Faulkes, William Wolstenholme, Alfred Hollins, and Edwin Lemare Chapter 9 7 Ralph Vaughan Williams and Frank Bridge Chapter 10 8 Edward Bairstow Chapter 11 9 John Ireland, William Harris, and Harold Darke Chapter 12 10 Healey Willan Chapter 13 11 Herbert Howells Chapter 14 12 Percy Whitock Chapter 15 13 Celebratory Music Chapter 16 14 New Wine in Old Bottles Chapter 17 15 Three Midcentury Composers of Gebrauchsmusik: Alec Rowley, Eric Thiman, and William Lloyd Webber Chapter 18 16 Francis Jackson Chapter 19 17 Serialism Chapter 20 18 Peter Fricker Chapter 21 19 Arthur Wills Chapter 22 20 Kenneth Leighton Chapter 23 21 Malcolm Williamson Chapter 24 22 Avant-Garde Program Music after 1950 Chapter 25 23 Maxwell Davies Chapter 26 24 William Mathias Chapter 27 25 Alan Ridout Chapter 28 26 Roman Catholic Organ Music and Colin Mawby Chapter 29 27 The Path Taken in the Twentieth Century and a Look at What May Lie Ahead Chapter 30 Catalogue of Works Chapter 31 Music Acknowledgments Chapter 32 Bibliography Chapter 33 Index Chapter 34 About the Author
