Contents
- Playlist
- About these works
- Types of recording
- Technical stuff
- Browser requirements
- Disclaimer
- Future plans
Playlist
| Year | Title and Duration | Genre | Commercial CD | Playlist Recording | Player | Sheet Music Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1560-1590? | William Byrd: Have mercy upon me O God (SATB and strings) 3'09" |
Anthem | No | Recording: Choir of St John's College, Cambridge in 1927 |  with score |
ChoralWiki PDF file |
| 1898 | Opus 5 No 1: Strew on her Roses (SATB) 2'15" |
Part-songs | No | Concert: The Treasury Singers in November 2016 |
with score |
Typeset: proofreading |
| Opus 5 No 2: Love and Laughter (SATB) 3'10" |
with score |
|||||
| 1904 | Opus 16: A Shepherd in a Glade (SATB a cappella) 3'28" |
Part-song | No | Concert: Ripieno Choir in June 2014 | with score |
NOV400736 Novello Presto Classical |
| 1905 | Opus 18: Andromeda (Soli, chorus and piano) 56'43" |
Choral | No | Studio recording: Cantata Dramatica event in March 2019 | with score |
ISMN 979-0-708166-01-6 London Music Press |
| 1905 | Opus 20: Capriccio for String Quartet in D minor 12'35" |
Chamber music | No | Studio recording: Crystal Palace String Quartet in April 2017 |
with score |
Typeset: available 2019 |
| 1911 | Opus 24: The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance (SATB a cappella) 3'13" |
Anthem | No | Performance: St Peter's Church Choir in May 2017 |
with score |
41300 Stainer & Bell |
| 1908 | Opus 27: String Quintet in D major 31'45" |
Chamber music | No | Studio recording: London City Quartet (augmented) in April 2017 |
score soon... |
Typeset: proofreading |
| 1906 | Opus 28: Epinikion - Song of Victory 10'29" |
Organ | Yes | Recital: Marilyn Harper in August 2014 |
with score |
H455 Stainer & Bell |
| 1909 | Opus 33: The Lady of Shalott (mezzo-soprano solo, chorus and orchestra) 33'30" |
Choral | No | Concert: Broadheath Singers in September 1999 |
with score |
typeset: available 2019 |
| 1910 | Opus 37: Elegiac Rhapsody on an Old Church Melody 8'12" |
Organ | Yes | Recital: Graham Barber in November 2000 |
with score |
50038 Stainer & Bell |
| 1912 | Opus 38 No.2: The Stolen Child (chorus and orchestra) 6'04" |
Choral | Yes | Studio recording: Northern Sinfonia of England, Sinfonia Chorus, BBC Northern Singers, Richard Hickox in October 1986 |
with score |
Typeset: available 2019 |
| 1915 | Opus 51: For The Fallen (chorus and orchestra) 20'04" (concert) 14'59" (MP3 files) |
Choral | Yes | Concert: Chiswick Choir in November 2011 |
with score |
CM 1086 Cathedral Music |
| Synthesised MP3 practice files: SATB and piano | with score |
|||||
| 1921 | Opus 64: Suite in Three Movements (flute and piano) 8'38" |
Chamber music | No | Studio recording in June 2014 | with score |
CH01552 Chester Music Presto Classical |
| 1922 | Opus 65: Brown Earth (chorus, semichorus & orchestra) 9'12" |
Choral | No | Synthesised MP3 file | with score |
typeset: available 2019 |
| 1928 | Opus 81: Ode on the Morning of Christ's Nativity (soloists, chorus, boys' semichorus and orchestra) 42'25" |
Choral | Yes | Concert: Cambridge University Musical Society (conductor David Willcocks) in 1962 |
with score |
Stainer & Bell: HL167 |
| 1930 | Opus 83: Septet (viola, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn and harp) 16'54" |
Chamber music | No | Unknown: probably members of the Northern Sinfonia in the 1980s |
with score |
Typeset: available 2019 |
| 1932 | Opus 86: Symphony No 1 in C minor orchestra 31'15" |
Orchestral | Yes | Recording: London Symphony Orchestra in 1975 |
|
planning to typeset in 2019 |
| 1933 | Opus 87: Daybreak at Sea (SSATBB a cappella) 4'04" |
Part-song | No | Concert: Ripieno Choir in June 2014 | with score |
OCS758: Presto Classical |
| 1933 | Opus 88: Suite for Pianoforte 10'08" |
Piano | No | Studio recording: Philip Lange in January 2018 | with score |
Typeset: available 2019 |
| 1933 | Opus 89: March for Military Band 4'02" |
Band music | No | Concert: London Military Band in March 2017 | with score |
Typeset: available 2019 |
| 1933 | Opus 90 No 2: Evening Service in E minor (SATB and organ) 8'26" |
Sacred | Yes | Wells Cathedral: May 1965 | with score |
CM 501: Cathedral Music |
| 1935 | Opus 92: Guy's Cliffe at Night (soprano, alto and piano) 3'21" |
Part-song | No | Performance: Cantilena in June 2014 |
with score |
OCS176: Presto Classical |
| 1936 | Opus 93: City in the West (chorus, string orchestra and harp) 10'52" |
Choral | Yes | Northern Sinfonia of England, Sinfonia Chorus, BBC Northern Singers, Richard Hickox: Oct 1986 | with score |
Typeset: available 2019 |
| 1936 | Opus 94: Hark, Where Poseidon's White Racing Horses (SSATB a cappella) 4'30" |
Part-song | No | Concert: Ripieno Choir in June 2014 | with score |
OCS787: Presto Classical |
| 1938 | Opus 97: Symphony No 2 in D major orchestra and women's chorus 38'13" |
Orchestral | Yes | Recording: BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in 1984 |
|
Typeset: proofreading |
| 1975 | Arthur Hutchings: "The music of Cyril Rootham" radio broadcast 15'10" |
Talk | No | Recording: anniversary talk on BBC Radio 3 in 1975 | |
Transcript: download (PDF 174Kb) |
About these works
Here is a brief outline for each of these works, with some interesting historical background:
- William Byrd "Have mercy upon me O God": we have included this pioneering 1927 recording of the Choir of St John's College, Cambridge, because this is one of the few extant recordings conducted by Cyril Rootham and was the very first recording made by the Choir of St John's College, Cambridge. It also demonstrates that CBR was keen to push the boundaries of technology.
- Opus 5 No 1 "Strew on her Roses" sets to music the poem "Requiescat" by Matthew Arnold.
Opus 5 No 2 "Love and Laughter" is not as light-hearted as the title suggests; the words are by Arthur Gray Butler. Both these part-songs were originally to be sung a cappella, but in these recordings they are accompanied on the organ.
- Opus 16 "A Shepherd in a Glade" revives the words used by John Dowland in No. XVII from his Second Book of Songs or Ayres (1600). This Part-song with its interesting harmonies won CBR the prize in the 1904 competition run by The Musical Times, and is intended for unaccompanied voices.
- Opus 18 "Andromeda" is a dramatic cantata which sets Charles Kingsley's eponymous saga. This private recording of the vocal score (soli, chorus and piano only) is the first opportunity to hear the complete work since its première in 1908. The producer was Julia Stutfield and the conductor was Quintin Beer.
- Opus 20 "Capriccio for String Quartet in D minor": romantic and intense, this work was composed in 1905 and is in a single movement, varied by frequent changes of tempo. This performance by the Crystal Palace String Quartet is the first ever recording of the work.
- Opus 24 "The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance" is a grace anthem composed for St John's College, Cambridge, using three verses from Psalm 16. The work is dedicated to the composer and organist Dr Basil Harwood.
- Opus 27 "String Quintet in D major": this work is the only string quintet composed by CBR and calls for two cellos. The piece is dedicated "To F. St. John Bullen".
- Opus 28 "Epinikion" (Song of Victory): although CBR was himself an organist, Epinikion is one of only five solo works for organ by CBR. This work in B minor was very popular during CBR's lifetime.
- Opus 33 "The Lady of Shalott" sets Tennyson's dramatic ballad for mezzo-soprano solo, full chorus and orchestra. CBR never heard this major work performed, and it had to wait until 1999 for its first performance.
- Opus 37 "Elegiac Rhapsody on an Old Church Melody": this work for organ consists of variations on the hymn tune "Iste Confessor" and is dedicated to the notable English organ designer George Dixon.
- Opus 38 "The Stolen Child" is a haunting setting of W B Yeats' poem and is doubly poignant because it is dedicated to CBR's wife Rosamond and young son Jasper. CBR originally wrote the piece for voices and piano in 1911, and then scored it for chorus and orchestra in 1912.
- Opus 51 "For The Fallen" was written in 1915 and sets Laurence Binyon's powerful 1914 poem about war and death (Elgar also set this poem to music in "The Spirit of England"). This performance by the Chiswick Choir was conducted by Alistair Jones in the church of St. Michael and All Angels, Bedford Park on 26 November 2011.
- Opus 64 "Suite in Three Movements" for flute and piano is dedicated to the French flautist Louis Fleury (1878-1926) who was a pioneer in the rediscovery of many forgotten Baroque flute compositions. Like CBR, Fleury was also interested in promoting new pieces by contemporary composers and indeed commissioned several works.
- Opus 65 "Brown Earth" for chorus, semichorus and orchestra is dedicated in memory of the mysterious "F. H. L.". This piece, which won a prestigious Carnegie Award, sets a poem by Thomas Moult. Its first performance was in the Royal Albert Hall in 1923.
- Opus 81 "Ode on the Morning of Christ's Nativity" is a setting of the poem "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity" by John Milton. Winner of the Carnegie Competition in 1928, the work was first performed in Cambridge in 1930 by the Cambridge University Musical Society (conducted by the composer). This was followed by a performance at the 1934 Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester. This recording was made at a concert given in November 1962 by the Cambridge University Musical Society, conducted by David Willcocks.
- Opus 83 "Septet" is dedicated to patron of the arts Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge (1864-1953). The work had its world premiere on 21 September 1933 at the Pittsfield Festival (Massachusetts, USA), followed by a UK premiere on 1 March 1936 in the Guildhall in Cambridge with Lionel Tertis playing viola. Most recently the Septet was performed at a concert in the Master's Lodge at St John's College, Cambridge on 2 June 2012.
- Opus 86 "Symphony No 1 in C minor" was composed in 1932, when CBR was confident in embarking on the symphonic form. It's a genial and robust work, perhaps reflecting the composer's state of mind at the time.
- Opus 87 "Daybreak at Sea" sets the poem by the young Michael McKenna, and is dedicated "In affectionate memory of the Poet".
- Opus 88 "Suite for Pianoforte" was composed in 1933 and is dedicated to Pamela McKenna, mother of Michael McKenna (see Op.87 above).
- Opus 89 "March for Military Band" was written in 1933 for the Cambridge branch of the British Legion. In this concert performance in Bracknell on 19 March 2017 the work was played by Alan Shellard's London Military Band, using an arrangement by Alan to match the slightly smaller forces of the Band. To bring this work back into the repertoire the work had been typeset from Rootham's manuscript full score by Alistair Jones, who took over the baton from Alan to conduct just this work.
- Opus 90 "Evening Service in E minor" is included in "The Treasury of English Church Music", reissued on CD from the original HMV LPs. The CBR "Evening Service" was recorded in Wells Cathedral in 1965 when Denys Pouncey was cathedral organist. EMI Records 0846402: boxed set available on CD from Presto Classical here.
- Opus 92 "Guy's Cliffe at Night" is a restrained and mystical setting of the poem by Mary Coleridge (1861-1907). The work is dedicated to Denys Pouncey, for several years assistant organist at St John's College, Cambridge. Pouncey worked closely with CBR in developing the sacred music of the College, and in later life was well known as organist at Wells Cathedral.
- Opus 93 "City in the West" sets a poem by the composer's son Jasper Rootham (1910-1990). In 1935 Jasper offered the poem to his father (by then already seriously ill) as a stimulus and inspiration to further composition.
- Opus 94 "Hark, Where Poseidon's White Racing Horses" is a setting of the poem by the Canadian poet Bliss Carman (1861-1929). The work was composed for the 100th anniversary of the Bristol Madrigal Society.
- Opus 97 "Symphony No 2 in D major" was composed in the last two years of the composer's life, when he was already ill. Although CBR completed the sketch for the work in his own hand, he later became too weak to write. Much of the orchestration was therefore dictated to his group of loyal friends. At the composer's wish, Patrick Hadley completed the orchestration of the final movement after CBR's death in March 1938.
- Arthur Hutchings "The music of Cyril Rootham": we have included this 1975 recording of the CBR centenary tribute given on Radio 3 by the late Arthur Hutchings, because it is interesting in its own right and also includes some historic musical extracts from 1936 and 1938 recordings.
