Why do i love armstrong gibbs
The adaptability of her verse to English song was acknowledged during her day in settings by three successful composers, Moses Snow, Thomas Farmer, and William Turner, each noticed in the sixth edition of The New Grove Dictionary of Music 'Grove 6'. Ephelia settings by these three musicmen were published, though without attribution, in secular song-books issued by the music-publishing firm of John and Henry Playford Image Even those songs, in a way, confront ugly realities.
But that tension is most obvious with these songs; yet they still aspire to beauty. His research has also connected archives of compositions, letters, and memoirs that were previously siloed at the Britten-Pears archive in Aldeburgh, England; the Dorothy Sayers archive at Wheaton College, and Cornell University.
Looking forward to hearing the results of your research into AG and his songs. A fresh approsch. Thank you so much. Why do I love? Armstrong Gibbs ; words by "Ephelia" Armstrong Gibbs ; words by "Ephelia". Request this item to view in the Library's reading rooms using your library card. To learn more about how to request items watch this short online video.
You can view this on the NLA website. Login Register. Current search limits: Clear format limits. Advanced search Search history. From the s he had collaborated closely with the poet Mordaunt Currie who wrote the words for 'Odysseus' and the cantata 'Deborah and Barak' besides the lyrics for many songs.
He died on May 12, leaving over solo songs, about part-songs, over 40 sacred works, 80 orchestral and instrumental works and music for about 20 plays, cantatas and other main choral works. If the name of Armstrong Gibbs is remembered at all in the last decade of the twentieth century, it is because of the lasting appeal of two of his solo songs - Five Eyes and Silver which are occasionally used as test-pieces for examinations or music festivals. The remainder of his output of at least solo songs not to mention his part-songs, string quartets, symphonies and works for stage has unaccountably fallen into obscurity.
None of the songs on this compact disc have been commercially recorded before, and the listener will be surprised by the quality and variety of the music. Gibbs enjoyed a very fruitful collaboration with the poet Walter de la Mare, and eleven of the tracks on this disc have been devoted to de la Mare settings. Gibbs believed that the words were paramount and he always allowed the poem to dictate the musical shape of the song.
His word-setting is mainly syllabic for reasons of clarity. The piano accompaniments are largely based on a wide variety of ostinati which are highly descriptive and provide a constant background for the melodies which are often angular and meandering; voice and accompaniment are interdependent and the songs, though never difficult, require 'team-work' and are very satisfying to perform.
There are echoes of Gibbs' teacher Vaughan Williams, of Debussy, of Irish airs and show songs, of popular waltzes and folk melodies, but the style and harmonic language is always recognisably Gibbs.