Charles Villiers Stanford

 

Charles Villiers Stanford
1852-1924

The Irish composer Sir Charles Villiers Stanford was a respected academic, conductor, and composer from the late Romantic Era. 

Stanford put his hands into many genres as a composer. The sheer number of recordings afforded to his works should give some idea as to his importance. 

As a teacher, his music paved the way, along with that of Sir Hubert Parry, towards the English Renaissance of Classical Music. His students consist of a Who's Who of 20th Century British composers, such as Vaughan Williams, Holst, Bridge, Howells, Ireland, and Bliss.

While Parry bore a strong vein of late-Romantic German models such as Brahms and Wagner, one which marked an influence upon Elgar, yet he also created a singular 'British sound' in his large-scale choral/orchestral works in particular. Stanford's soundworld was influenced by earlier Romantic German models such as Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Schumann instead, creating a more distinctly British sound across his compositions, usually allied with descriptors such as stiff upper lip and academic.

As a conductor, Stanford was influential in promoting the music of contemporary British composers, particularly choral works. Sir Charles' own choral piece The Bluebird may very well be his own compositional masterpiece, despite its small stature. So too, his Three Latin Motets stand head-and-shoulders alongside Anton Bruckner's heavenly creations for those who enjoy a cappella choral music.

Having recently traversed much of Hubert Parry's oeuvre, it only seemed natural to move on to Stanford. It will certainly be easier to make comparisons between the two, although neither have had the weight of genius attached to their music, an aspect which is usually associated with their composer successors.

Recordings and reviews currently on hand
(Click orange links to visit a musing)
(Green links are reviews yet to come)

Recordings

1987: Symphony 3 & IR 3
1988: Symphony 5 & IR 4
1988: Symphony 6 & IR 1
1989: Nonet 
1990: Symphony 4 & IR 6
1990: Symphony 7 & IR 5
1991: Symphony 1 & IR 2
1991: Symphony 2 & Clarinet Concerto
1995: Piano Concerto 1
1997: Stabat Mater & Te Deum
1998: Three Motets
1998: Piano Concerto 2
2000: Violin Concerto 1
2006: Song of the Fleet
2007: Piano Concerto 3
2011: Cello Concertos
2012: Service Music
2013: Partsongs
2014: Violin Concerto 2
2016: String Quartet 5 & 8
2018: String Quartet 3, 4, & 7
2019: Song of Agincourt
2019: Missa Via Victrix
2020: String Quartet 1, 2, & 6
2020: String Quintets
2021: Piano Quintet
2023: Requiem
2024: Orchestral Songs

Bits 'n Bobs
Here I will stream individual pieces by the composer I no longer have in my collection, or I haven't fully reviewed as of yet. Often I will mix other genres than those titled in the posts links below.


    •  Choral Music

    •  Concertante Works

    •  Orchestral Works

    •  Vocal Music