George Lloyd: Seven Extracts from 'The Serf' for Violin & Piano
11/1/2024, 7 Tracks, 28:14
Featuring
Ruth Rogers
Simon Callaghan
George Lloyd
Did you know?
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Composition History
The 'Seven Extracts from 'The Serf'' for violin and piano, arranged by George Lloyd in 1974, represent his first instrumental work featuring his own instrument to be included in his official catalogue.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Lloyd identified his violin teacher, Albert Sammons, as having the most lasting effect on his creativity, noting Sammons's 'instinctive, freely expressive playing' and 'gorgeous' lyrical sound.
Composer Biography
George Lloyd, the composer, began learning the violin at age five and was a pupil of the renowned violinist Albert Sammons for six years.
Composition History
Despite Lloyd's belief that 'The Serf' contained some of his best writing, the opera was never revived after its initial run, and later attempts at a staging or commercial recording also fell through.
Composition History
Lloyd's opera 'The Serf', from which these extracts are taken, is set in North Yorkshire during the mid-twelfth century reign of King Stephen, a time of civil war.
Critical Reception
'The Serf' received positive notices, with The Times praising the 25-year-old composer's ability to 'handle a big form in a big way' and other critics noting its 'fine sense of contrast'.
