Last
time on Clef Notes, we looked at a British composer who used Irish influences
in some of his works. Today, let’s look at another man born in England who
pulled from Ireland for some of his themes.
Composer,
conductor, and violist Frank Bridge (1879–1941) is most famous for teaching
Benjamin Britten, who attempted to get the word out about his beloved teacher
by writing his Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge. This work is based on the
second of Bridge’s Three Idylls for
String Quartet. Bridge received an exemplary education at the Royal College
of Music and even had the opportunity to study with Charles Stanford, whom we
discussed earlier this month.
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| Frank Bridge: Courtesy of wikimedia.org |
Below
you can listen to one of Bridge’s works that draws heavy influence from
Ireland. In it, Bridge uses the famous Irish “Londonderry Air,” made famous as
the “Danny Boy” tune. Other composers have used this tune as a theme over time,
including the famous Percy Grainger in his Irish
tune from County Derry. We will learn more about Grainger next time!
