Recorded on 2nd March 2019 at St. Cuthbert's Church, Earls Court
Andromeda Part 1
Click below to jump to rehearsal figure:
The Chorus sections are as follows:
• from Figure 5 to Figure 16 (Full Chorus)
• from Figure 21 to Figure 27 (Tenors & Basses)
• from Figure 28 to Figure 31 (Full Chorus)
• from Figure 31 to Figure 33 (Sopranos & Altos)
• from Figure 36 to Figure 37 (Full Chorus)
Opus 18
Andromeda (Part 1)
Written in 1903-05 by Cyril Bradley Rootham (CBR), "Andromeda" is a dramatic choral work based on the eponymous poem by Charles Kingsley. The work is set for soprano, contralto and baritone soli, chorus and orchestra.
About this work
Opus 18 "Andromeda" is a dramatic cantata based on Charles Kingsley's poem of 1852. The work is scored for soprano, contralto and baritone soloists, chorus and full orchestra: the solo roles are Andromeda, Cassiopeia and Perseus.
"Andromeda" is in two parts: a first part of 500 bars and a second part of 802 bars. This web page provides the vocal score and playback for Part 1.
Dedication
Cyril Rootham dedicated the work "To the memory of my mother ": Mary Rootham (née Gimblett Evans) who had died on 24 May 1901 aged only 51. Truly the composer must have poured all his energy into creating this monumental work.
First performance
The work was first performed at the Bristol Musical Festival in 1909, probably in the Colston Hall which had been rebuilt after a devastating fire in 1898 and reopened in 1901.
Op.18 "Andromeda": original vocal score proof
(Novello, 1908)
Only 33 years old and still relatively unknown, how did Cyril Rootham get a performance of his new work in the Colston Hall? It can surely be no coincidence that CBR's father (Daniel Wilberforce Rootham) was the musical director of the Bristol Festival Chorus.
This recording
Recorded at St. Cuthbert's Church (Earls Court) on 2 March 2019, this vocal score performance is the first ever recording of Op.18 "Andromeda". Intended as a rehearsal opportunity leading up to two live performances in June 2019, the recording was co-funded by the Rootham family and the Charles Kingsley 200 Festival. The recording engineer was James Waterhouse.
Casting and production were handled by Julia Stutfield of Cantata Dramatica
and the conductor was Quintin Beer.
The pianist was Raya Kostova,
Philippa Boyle sang the role of Andromeda,
Shelley Cox took the parts of Casseopeia and Athene,
and Perseus was sung by David Jones.
Members of the chorus were:
• Soprano: Emily Jennings, Angharad Rowlands, Helena Thompson
• Alto: Helena Cooke, Bethany Horak-Hallett, Rosie Parker
• Tenor: James Rhoads, Will Searle, Will Wright
• Bass: Hugo Herman-Wilson, Piers Kennedy
Quintin Beer (conductor), Raya Kostova (piano) and chorus
in St Cuthbert's Church, Earls Court on 2 March 2019
in St Cuthbert's Church, Earls Court on 2 March 2019
'Andromeda'
Charles Kingsley
You can download the entire text of Charles Kingsley's "Andromeda" as a PDF file (229 Kb).
The poet
Charles Kingsley (1819-1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian and novelist. His life is outlined in his Wikipedia biography.
Charles Kingsley
(Project Gutenberg)
The CK 200 Festival
Planned to mark the 200th anniversary of Charles Kingsley's birth in 1819 and to celebrate his life and work, the Festival will feature two performances of CBR's Op.18 Andromeda on 14-15 June 2019. More details are available on the Festival website at ck200.live
Publication status
By permission of the Master and Fellows of St. John's College, Cambridge
We are very grateful to St. John's College for making available the original manuscript of the full score held in their Special Collections Library,
thus allowing us finally to publish this major work more than 100 years after its composition.
Back in 1908 the vocal score was engraved and printed in proof form by Novello to enable the first performance, but in the end the work was never published. We are most grateful to Lewis Foreman for loaning his copy of the original vocal score, and to Alistair Jones who has typeset the entire new vocal score and full score using the proof vocal score and the original full score manuscript.
We would also like to acknowledge the help of Stewart Thompson at London Music Press, who has steered this major work through the stages of proofreading and production.
The vocal score is already available from London Music Press as:
ISMN 979-0-708166-01-6 "Andromeda: vocal score"
Andromeda: new vocal score
(published by London Music Press)