So
far this month, Clef Notes has looked at Irish composers in light of St.
Patrick’s Day. For the remainder of this month, let’s switch gears a bit and
look at composers who were not born in Ireland, but found inspiration in
Irish/Celtic themes.
Granville
Bantock (1868–1946) was born in London and raised by a father who did not
support young Bantock’s desire to make music his profession. Despite this,
Bantock went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music, learning composition
from the famous Sir Frederick Corder. In addition to composition, Bantock became
a prominent conductor and educator.
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| Granville Bantock: Courtesy of wikimedia.org |
In
addition to finding influence in the work of Liszt and Wagner, Bantock also
drew from Irish and Celtic sources in some of his music. One example is his
Celtic Symphony. The one-movement work is based on Hebridean folksongs and
calls for at least six harps! Listen to this magnificent work below:
Join
me next time as we look at another English composer who drew from Irish
sources, Frank Bridge.
