Cecil Forsyth
Encyclopedia
Cecil Forsyth was an English composer and musicologist. He was born in Greenwich on November 30, 1870, and he died in New York (to which he moved in 1914) on December 7, 1941. He studied at Edinburgh University and at the Royal College of Music (with Charles Villiers Stanford
and Hubert Parry
), and played viola
in various London Orchestras. His compositions include the Viola Concerto in G minor (which premiered at the Proms in 1903 with Émile Férir as soloist), the operas Westward Ho! and Cinderella, and the "choral ballad" Tinker, Tailor. His books about music include Music and Nationalism: A Study of English Opera (1911), Choral Orchestration (1920), A History of Music (1916--with Stanford), and A Digest of Music History (1923).
Forsyth is arguably best known for his Orchestration, originally published in 1914 and revised in 1935. Dover published a reprint of this revision in 1983 with a new foreword by composer William Bolcom
, who lauds especially its insight into instrumental culture and its wit. Conductor Adrian Boult
recounts in Adrian Boult on Music how Forsyth advised Ralph Vaughan Williams
about the orchestration of the latter's A London Symphony.
Charles Villiers Stanford
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford was an Irish composer who was particularly notable for his choral music. He was professor at the Royal College of Music and University of Cambridge.- Life :...
and Hubert Parry
Hubert Parry
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet was an English composer, teacher and historian of music.Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is best known for the choral song "Jerusalem", the coronation anthem "I was glad" and the hymn tune "Repton", which sets the words...
), and played viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
in various London Orchestras. His compositions include the Viola Concerto in G minor (which premiered at the Proms in 1903 with Émile Férir as soloist), the operas Westward Ho! and Cinderella, and the "choral ballad" Tinker, Tailor. His books about music include Music and Nationalism: A Study of English Opera (1911), Choral Orchestration (1920), A History of Music (1916--with Stanford), and A Digest of Music History (1923).
Forsyth is arguably best known for his Orchestration, originally published in 1914 and revised in 1935. Dover published a reprint of this revision in 1983 with a new foreword by composer William Bolcom
William Bolcom
William Elden Bolcom is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, two Grammy Awards, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. Bolcom taught composition at the University of Michigan from 1973–2008...
, who lauds especially its insight into instrumental culture and its wit. Conductor Adrian Boult
Adrian Boult
Sir Adrian Cedric Boult CH was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London for the Royal Opera House and Sergei Diaghilev's ballet company. His first prominent post was...
recounts in Adrian Boult on Music how Forsyth advised Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
about the orchestration of the latter's A London Symphony.