Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) was born in Dublin, studied at Cambridge University and in Leipzig and Berlin, and in 1882 was one of the founding fathers of the Royal College of Music in London, where he taught composition for the rest of his life.
He was a prolific composer, writing seven symphonies, nine operas, concertos, orchestral music, choral music and songs, which he combined alongside his teaching and conducting duties. Stanford, together with Hubert Parry and Alexander Mackenzie, were considered responsible for a renaissance in music in Britain, and towards the end of the 20th-century there has been a resurgence of interest in his music.
The Blue Bird, setting words by Mary Elizabeth Coleridge, was composed in 1910 and depicts a bluebird in flight over a lake. Originally for five-part…
The Blue Bird, setting words by Mary Elizabeth Coleridge, was composed in 1910 and depicts a bluebird in flight over a lake. Originally for five-part unaccompanied choir (SAATB), the soprano is intended to portray the bluebird and the wide vocal range of the soprano line has been described as illustrating “the bird’s free flight across the lake”.
The choral writing is generally chordal and slow moving, transcribing beautifully for double bass quintet, and emphasising the sonorous and lyrical qualities of the double bass.
