Set IX of the English Lyrics, published in 1909, was composed mainly in 1908 in memory of Mary Coleridge, a novelist and great-grand-niece of poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who died unexpectedly at 46.
Composition History
Sir Hubert Parry's 12 sets of English Lyrics were composed between 1874 and 1918, with the last two sets compiled posthumously.
Composer Biography
Parry had a close relationship with Irish baritone Harry Plunket Greene, who pioneered the solo song recital, and even wrote many songs with Greene's voice in mind; Greene later married Parry's daughter.
Composer's Artistic Vision
For Parry, the title "English Lyrics" was an artistic manifesto asserting English as a language to be sung, distinct from German lied and French mélodie.
Historical Context
The English Lyrics emerged during a period of cultural re-evaluation in Britain, spurred by events like German Unification in 1871, which awakened a sense of competition with Germany's cultural dominance.
Performer Biography
Roderick Williams, a baritone on this recording, is also a composer whose works have been premiered at Wigmore and Barbican Halls, and he won the best choral composition prize in the British Composer Awards in 2016.
