The overture For Valour by Havergal Brian, one of his earliest orchestral works, features a large instrumental lineup including triple woodwind, six horns, and organ.
Historical Context
The words 'for valour' are the legend on the Victoria Cross, the highest British armed forces award, and Brian's overture For Valour was composed after the Boer War, a conflict where many VCs were awarded.
Compositional Technique
A common feature of Brian's works on this album is the development of short motivic cells to create large-scale forms, even when the music appears shaped by extra-musical programs or free-flowing associations of mood.
Performer Biography
Adrian Leaper, one of the conductors on this album, has been Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the RTVE Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Madrid since 2001.
Composer Biography
Havergal Brian, the composer, was never a conventional composer, and the three later works on this disc are among his most unconventional approaches to symphonic form.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Havergal Brian's Doctor Merryheart, designated a 'comedy overture', is a tone-poem in variation form, inspired by the tone-poems of Richard Strauss, whom Brian greatly admired.
Notable Performances
Havergal Brian's overture For Valour had its world premiere under Henry Wood at the Queen's Hall Proms on October 8, 1907.
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