Arthur Somervell
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Sir Arthur Somervell (5 June 1863Template:Spaced ndash2 May 1937) was an English composer and educationalist. After Hubert Parry, he was one of the most successful and influential writers of art song in the English music renaissance of the 1890s–1900s. According to Michael Hurd, his most important work is found in the five song cycles, particularly his settings of Tennyson in Maud (1898) and Housman in A Shropshire Lad (1904).<ref name=grove>Michael Hurd. 'Somervell, Sir Arthur', in Grove Music Online (2001)</ref>
CareerEdit
He was born in Windermere, Westmorland, the son of Robert Miller Somervell and his wife. His father was a shoe manufacturer who served as a JP, of "Hazelthwaite" at Windermere (1821-1899).<ref>Sir Arthur Somervell on Music Education- His writings, speeches and letters, ed. Gordon Cox, Boydell Press, 2003, p. 7</ref> The Somervell (originally Somerville) family came from Scotland, settling in London in the 1700s.<ref>Burke's Landed Gentry 1952, "Somervell of High Borrans", p. 2359</ref>
Somervell's brother, Colin Somervell, became a shoe-manufacturer like their father and later served as High Sheriff of Westmorland in 1916. Colin's son, Maj. Arnold Colin Somervell, O.B.E., served in this office in 1936; later, other members of the Somervell family also served.<ref>Burke's Landed Gentry 1952, "Somervell of High Borrans", p. 2359</ref>
Somervell was initially educated at Uppingham School and King's College, Cambridge,<ref>Template:Acad</ref> where he studied composition under Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. From 1883 to 1885 he studied at the High School for Music, Berlin, and from 1885 to 1887 at the Royal College of Music in London, under Parry. He studied composition with Friedrich Kiel. He became a professor at the Royal College of Music in 1894, and conducted his own works at the Leeds and Birmingham Festivals, 1895-97.<ref name=grove/>
In 1890 Somervell married Edith Lance Collet (1861-1944). There were four children: Viola Helen Antonia, Katharine Margaret, Hubert Arthur, and Ronald Arthur. Through their daughter Katherine ('Kit'), who became a dancer with Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, they were grandparents of writer Elizabeth Jane Howard.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Somervell was also influential in the field of music education. He worked for twenty-eight years as one of His Majesty's Inspectors of Schools (HMI), with special responsibility for the teaching of music.<ref name=ondb>Dibble, Jeremy. 'Somervell, Sir Arthur' in The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004)</ref> He was appointed Inspector of Music at the Board of Education and Scottish Education Department in 1901 (succeeding John Stainer).<ref>Cox, Gordon (ed.), Sir Arthur Somervell on Music Education, (2003)</ref><ref>Charlton, Peter. John Stainer and the Musical Life of Victorian Britain (1984), p. 107-8, 199</ref> In June the following year he received the degree Doctor of Music from the University of Cambridge.<ref>Template:Cite newspaper The Times</ref>
Somervell was knighted in 1929. After retirement he continued as Chairman of the School Orchestra Festivals, Queen's Hall, from 1932 until his death. He died at his home, 105 Clifton Hill, St John's Wood, aged 73. After he was cremated, his ashes were buried in the place of his birth, the Lake District, specifically within Grasmere Cemetery.<ref name=ondb/>
MusicEdit
Somervell's style was conservative, and shows the influence of Mendelssohn and Brahms. He achieved success in his own day as a composer of choral works such as The Forsaken Merman (1895), Intimations of Immortality (which he conducted at Leeds Festival in 1907), and a short oratorio The Passion of Christ (1914). For a time this rivalled Stainer’s ubiquitous Crucifixion in popularity.<ref>Obituary, The Musical Times, Vol. 78, No. 1131 (May 1937), p. 464</ref> His only symphony, Thalassa, was first performed in February 1913, and clearly follows on from the example of Brahms.<ref>'British Composer Premieres Vol. 3', reviewed at MusicWeb International</ref> The central ‘Lost in Action’ slow movement was regularly played as a stand-alone piece during the First World War.<ref>'Sir Arthur Somervell', biography, Hyperion Records</ref> The Clarinet Quintet was first performed by Haydn Draper at the Wigmore Hall on 19 May, 1919, but received few other performances until the recent revival of interest. His Violin Concerto of 1930 was dedicated to the violinist Adila Fachiri. His popular Handel adaptation "Silent Worship" was featured in the 1996 film Emma.<ref name=bbfc>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Today he is chiefly remembered for his song cycles, such as Maud (after Tennyson, 1898) and the first known musical setting (1904) of A. E. Housman's A Shropshire Lad.<ref>'Two Song Cycles by Arthur Somervell', in Opera Today, 2 June 2020</ref> Trevor Hold points out that Somervell had "a genuine, deep affection for literature", reflected in his wide and eclectic choice of texts. Maud was the first successful English song cycle, and "remains one of the masterpieces of English song".<ref>Trevor Hold. Parry to Finzi (2002), p. 91</ref> Stephen Banfield considers the Robert Browning cycle A Broken Arc (1923) his best, and 'The worst of it' his best song.<ref>Stephen Banfield. Sensibility and English Song (1985), p. 60-61</ref>
RecordingsEdit
- The Violin Concerto in G minor (1930) received its first recording in 2005 by Anthony Marwood and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Martyn Brabbins.<ref>Hyperion CDA67420 (2005)</ref>
- The "Thalassa" Symphony in D minor (The Sea Symphony), received its world premiere recording in 2011 for Cameo Classics, nearly 100 years after its composition. Written in 1912, the second movement, 'Elegy', commemorates Robert Falcon Scott's death in the Antarctic that year. The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra was conducted by Michael Laus.<ref>Cameo Classics CC9034CD (2011)</ref>
- The Piano Concerto (1921) and the Normandy Variations for piano and orchestra (1912) were recorded for Hyperion Records in 2011, with Martin Roscoe and the BBC Concert Orchestra under Martin Yates.<ref>Hyperion CDA67837 (2011)</ref>
- Two conversations about Bach (1915) for two violins and piano received its premiere recording in 2015, by Rupert Marshall-Luck (both violins, double-tracked), and Matthew Rickard (piano).<ref>Dream Shadows, EM Records EMRCD030 (2015)</ref>
- The Clarinet Quintet in G major (1913) was recorded by Stephan Siegenthaler and the Leipzig String Quartet on CPO in 2016.<ref>British Clarinet Quintets, CPO 777 905-2 (2016)</ref>
- There are many recordings of A Shropshire Lad and Maud. But the lesser known song cycle A Broken Arc (setting Browning) from 1923 has also been recorded.<ref>Meridian Records Duo DUOCD89026 (1994)</ref>
CompositionsEdit
OperettasEdit
- The Enchanted Prince
- Princess Zara; Knave of Hearts (Novello)
- Golden Straw (Curwen)
- Thomas the Rhymer
Orchestral worksEdit
- Thalassa Symphony in D minor (1912)<ref>Template:Google books, 1 March 1913, pages 175-6. Reports a performance - perhaps the premiere - of the work on 17 February that year. (Arthur Nikisch, London Symphony Orchestra.)</ref> (Boosey)
- Helen of Kirconnel (Novello)
- In Arcady (Suite for small orchestra) (Donajowski)
Concertante worksEdit
- Normandy, symphonic variations for piano and orchestra (Augener, 1911)
- Concertstuck for violin and orchestra (Augener, 1913)
- Highland concerto in A minor for piano and orchestra (1920)
- Violin Concerto (1930).
ChoralEdit
- Mass
- Power of Sound
- The Charge of the Light Brigade
- Elegy (Chorus and orch.) (Novello)
- Song of Praise (chorus and orch.) (Metzler)
- To the Vanguard; Passion of Christ (chorus and orch.) (Boosey)
- Mass in D minor (Ricordi).
- Windermere a tune to the hymn 'O Lord our God, arise!'
Chamber musicEdit
- Quintet for clarinet and strings
- Suites, studies and pieces for violin and piano (Augener, Weekes, Williams and Ashdown)
- Variations for 2 pianos (Augener)
SongsEdit
- Six songs by Robert Burns (1885–86)
- Maud Cycle (1898)
- Four songs of Innocence (1899)
- Singing Time, songs for small children (1899)
- Love in Springtime Cycle (1901). (Boosey)
- A Shropshire Lad Cycle (1904)
- James Lee's Wife Cycle (1908)
- A Broken Arc Cycle (1923)
- Windflowers, Cycle for vocal quartet (Boosey).
Musical education worksEdit
- Rhythmic Gradus for pianoforte (Bosworth)
- Exercises in sight-reading, etc. (Curwen)
- School of Melody, 10 Progressive Tunes for viola and piano (1919): (Augener)
- Sight-reading, 6 vols (Swan)
- Sight-reading exercises (Augener)
- Charts of the rules of Harmony and Counterpoint (Clarendon press)
ReferencesEdit
SourcesEdit
- A. Eaglefield-Hull (Ed.), A Dictionary of Modern Music and Musicians (Dent, London 1924).
- T. Holt, Parry to Finzi: Twenty English Song-Composers (Boydell Press, Woodbridge 2002), 87-101.
- K. Shenton, 'Sir Arthur Somervell', in British Music Society Journal 9 (1987), 45-54.