In 1935, Foulds traveled to India, where he collected folk music, became Director of European Music for All-India Radio in Delhi, and worked towards a musical synthesis of East and West.
Composer Biography
John Foulds, the composer, was largely self-taught and began using quarter-tones as early as the 1890s, showcasing his ahead-of-his-time approach.
Compositional Technique
Foulds was fascinated by strict composition in non-diatonic modes, codifying 90 such modes, especially those corresponding to Southern Indian ragas.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Foulds's principal creative energies were directed towards ambitious and exploratory works, often influenced by his interest in the music of the East, particularly India.
Composer Biography
Foulds's gigantic World Requiem (1919-21), composed in memory of the dead of all nations, was performed annually by up to 1,200 singers and instrumentalists at the Royal Albert Hall from 1923 to 1926.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Foulds, an amateur painter and friend of artists, created 'Music-Pictures' to explore the affinities between music and styles of painting, sometimes evoking actual paintings or painters' styles.
Performer Biography
Kathryn Stott, the pianist on this recording, launched her international career after becoming a prizewinner in the Leeds International Piano Competition in 1978.
