England

Page 4

1. 

   Nature Sounds

   Why birds sing their songs: great maestros proving the musicality of nightingale, cuckoo, yellowhammer

   It is no coincidence that the sounds emitted by birds are known in many languages as "songs", rather than simple animal…

   June 23, 20191 comment

2. 

   Piano

   Gymnopédies: the ambient genre predicted by piano gems of late Romanticism

   The term ambient music was introduced in the 1970s by the famous English experimenter Brian Eno who used newly invented…

   June 2, 2019

3. 

   Orchestra

   The multicultural heritage of Granville Bantock from Celtic folk music to Eastern philosophy of Omar Khayyám

   Granville Bantock was one of the most cheerful English composers whose rich heritage comprised more than 800 works…

   May 8, 2019

4. 

   Collaboration

   Robert Fripp & Toyah Willcox: the prog family who proclaimed Sunday All Over the World

   One of the brightest collaborations of the late 1980s arose after the wedding of postpunk singer Toyah Willcox and…

   May 5, 2019

5. 

   Viol

   Bach and Abel: a collaboration that lived in two generations of composers

   The prominent German composer and multi-instrumentalist Carl Friedrich Abel was born into an extraordinary musical…

   April 7, 20191 comment

6. 

   Piano

   Mussorgsky's pictures redrawn for the prog rock exhibition

   Piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition written by the Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874 retains its innovative…

   March 5, 2019

7. 

   Orchestra

   Only 3 Mantras survived from Sanskrit opera Avatara by John Foulds

   One of the greatest areas of music history still remaining largely uncharted is the influence of Indian philosophy on…

   February 22, 2019

8. 

   Technologies

   Quadraphonic vinyl reveals new Atom Heart Mother details

   In the late 1960s, after the stereo sound almost completely replaced the mono format in the recording industry, the…

   January 29, 20194 comments

9. 

   Orchestra

   A story of love and friendship in the music of World War I

   Frederick Septimus Kelly, a gifted Australian-born musician who spent much of his life in England, was among the…

   January 18, 2019

10. 

    Songwriter

    Just Another Diamond Day: the stunning rediscovery of the hippie-era gem

    Vashti Bunyan is an English singer and songwriter primarily known for her 1970 album Just Another Diamond Day, which…

    November 30, 2018

11. 

    Classical Guitar

    Anthony Holborne: the master of Elizabethan consort music

    Antony Holborne was an English Renaissance composer whose music for lute and cittern appeared in two important…

    October 22, 2018

12. 

    Collaboration

    Literary recital for fiddle and harmonium with British flavour

    A rare duo that brings together two of Britain's foremost folk and jazz artists was formed by a Scottish fiddler Aidan…

    August 31, 2018

13. 

    Synthesizer

    Classical modernity in Anna Meredith's underwater reality

    The Scottish composer Anna Meredith has already worked with the BBC and countless orchestras and chamber ensembles…

    August 30, 2018

14. 

    Trumpet

    Jazz dinosaur of the new generation

    Rising English trumpeter Laura Jurd has garnered an armful of awards in her relatively brief career, including both for…

    August 24, 2018

15. 

    Orchestra

    Florida orange plantations cultivated an overlooked English composer

    Frederick Delius (1862–1934) was one of the most distinctive composers in the revival of English music at the end of…

    August 19, 2018

16. 

    Collaboration

    Harp traditions of two continents united in a unique collaboration

    Senegal and Wales share few obvious similarities, but Seckou Keita and Catrin Finch, respectively maestros of the kora…

    August 14, 2018

17. 

    Viol

    Exceptional sensibility of consort music from the traveling maestro of the Stuart era

    John Jenkins (1592–1678), lutenist and string player, was the most eminent composer of the Stuart and Commonwealth eras…

    August 6, 2018

18. 

    Orchestra

    'English Dances' creator was fascinated by jazz in youth

    Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold (1921–2006), British composer and conductor, has an impressive body of work to his name,…

    August 4, 2018

19. 

    Songwriter

    Cream's biggest hit inspired by Hendrix's debut in England

    Sunshine of Your Love by the British rock band Cream is perhaps their best known song that spawned numerous covers…

    July 30, 2018

20. 

    Hang

    Electronic jazz achieves ambiance with exotic Swiss-made drum

    The Portico Quartet is a contemporary jazz and ethnic fusion ensemble from South London. The band is known for their…

    July 25, 2018

21. 

    Songwriter

    Ghosts of past wars alive in the Lowlands of Holland

    The Lowlands of Holland is a popular British folk song that depicts a young widow mourning her husband whose ship was…

    July 16, 2018

22. 

    Orchestra

    Obscured by Vivaldi, an Italian virtuoso found fans in England

    Francesco Saverio Geminiani—influential Italian violinist, composer, and theorist—was born in 1687 in the scenic town…

    July 14, 2018

23. 

    William Blake

    Prog rock version of Jerusalem was banned by BBC

    Jerusalem is a British national song based on a poem by William Blake printed in 1808. At the heart of the poem is the…

    July 2, 20184 comments

24. 

    Songwriter

    Ursula Le Guin as told through English alt-folk

    Alt-folk band This Is the Kit is a project started by the British musician Kate Stables that comes to life through…

    June 29, 2018

25. 

    Meditation

    Brian Eno's Airport Music for orchestra

    It is useless to speculate now which direction the genre of ambient might have taken if not for Brian Eno, the revered…

    June 27, 20181 comment

26. 

    Songwriter

    The Birth of 'Venus': from Stephen Foster, to The Big 3, and Shocking Blue

    Stephen Foster (1826—1864) was an American composer whose vast contribution to a popular song, specifically the ballad…

    June 25, 20182 comments

27. 

    Trumpet

    Nameless trumpet sonata credited to Purcell after years of debate

    Henry Purcell, the most prominent English figure of the Baroque era, covered a wide field of genres, producing music…

    June 24, 2018

28. 

    Orchestra

    Mother of film score genre learned music through BBC radio broadcasts

    Doreen Mary Carwithen, also known as Mary Alwyn, was the first student to be selected from the Royal Academy to join an…

    June 23, 2018

29. 

    Classical Guitar

    William Walton forgot that his only guitar work was written for guitar

    Great guitarist Julian Bream commissioned music from a number of composers to contribute to the creation of the modern…

    June 19, 2018

30. 

    Orchestra

    The true soul behind Elgar's Enigma Variations

    Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations, originally titled Variations on an Original Theme, is famous for its mysterious name,…

    June 17, 2018