Patrick Larley
Encyclopedia
Patrick Larley is a British
composer
.
, Cheshire
, England
, though lived in Fearnhead in Warrington
. Parents were Ian and Helen Larley and Patrick was the second youngest of four children. Patrick Larley studied organ and singing at the Royal Manchester College of Music
and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists
. He pursued a career in cathedral music, holding posts of Vicar Choral in Wells Cathedral
and then becoming Sub-Organist in St Asaph Cathedral
, moving on to become Master of Choristers and Director of Music at St James’ Choir School, Great Grimsby Parish Church in Lincolnshire
. After this he became Director of Music in Ellesmere College
in Shropshire
.
He is now a freelance composer, conductor, harpsichordist and organist, and is also Musical Director of Ludlow
Choral Society in Shropshire
and Birmingham
Festival Choral Society, and formerly directed Nantwich
Choral Society in Cheshire
. He has founded and directs a number of vocal ensembles including Voice, Gallery Players and Chudleigh’s Cumpanie. He has given recitals in cathedrals and churches throughout Britain and has toured France, Germany, Czech Republic, Belgium, Italy and Ireland as a conductor and organist.
He and his wife live in a small farming village in North Wales
.
He has three children, Christopher, Katie and Alex, and three grandchildren, Eve, Martha and Bear.
, William Mathias
, John Rutter
, Frederick Delius
and Leonard Bernstein
.
A number of his choral works have been recorded on CD, broadcast on BBC Radio 3
and performed widely in the UK and in America.
Choir and Orchestra:
Unaccompanied Voices:
Choir and Organ:
Orchestral:
Instrumental
Solo voice
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Biography
Born in FrodshamFrodsham
Frodsham is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its population is 8,982. It is approximately south of Runcorn, 16 miles south of Liverpool, and approximately south-west of Manchester...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, though lived in Fearnhead in Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
. Parents were Ian and Helen Larley and Patrick was the second youngest of four children. Patrick Larley studied organ and singing at the Royal Manchester College of Music
Royal Northern College of Music
The Royal Northern College of Music is a music school in Manchester, England. It is located on Oxford Road in Chorlton on Medlock, at the western edge of the campus of the University of Manchester and is one of four conservatories associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music...
and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists
Royal College of Organists
The Royal College of Organists or RCO, is a charity and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, but with members around the world...
. He pursued a career in cathedral music, holding posts of Vicar Choral in Wells Cathedral
Wells Cathedral
Wells Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, who lives at the adjacent Bishop's Palace....
and then becoming Sub-Organist in St Asaph Cathedral
St Asaph Cathedral
St Asaph Cathedral is the Anglican cathedral in St Asaph, Denbighshire, north Wales. It is sometimes claimed to be the smallest Anglican cathedral in Britain.- History :...
, moving on to become Master of Choristers and Director of Music at St James’ Choir School, Great Grimsby Parish Church in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
. After this he became Director of Music in Ellesmere College
Ellesmere College
Ellesmere College is an independent co-educational English independent school located in Ellesmere and based in rural northern Shropshire, England.-History:...
in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
.
He is now a freelance composer, conductor, harpsichordist and organist, and is also Musical Director of Ludlow
Ludlow
Ludlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Welsh border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...
Choral Society in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
and Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
Festival Choral Society, and formerly directed Nantwich
Nantwich
Nantwich is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The town gives its name to the parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich...
Choral Society in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
. He has founded and directs a number of vocal ensembles including Voice, Gallery Players and Chudleigh’s Cumpanie. He has given recitals in cathedrals and churches throughout Britain and has toured France, Germany, Czech Republic, Belgium, Italy and Ireland as a conductor and organist.
He and his wife live in a small farming village in North Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
He has three children, Christopher, Katie and Alex, and three grandchildren, Eve, Martha and Bear.
Music
Much of Larley's output has been sacred choral music, ranging from short unaccompanied gems such as the well-known A Girl for the Blue through to full-scale works for choir, soloists and orchestra such as his Mass of a Thousand Ages written for the new millennium and first performed in April 2000. His musical style is fresh, tonal and approachable, with soft dissonances, soaring melodies and lilting syncopation, blending seamlessly his strong ecclesiastical roots in plainchant and monastic liturgy with the simplicity of a Celtic folk-like idiom. Reviewers and commentators have likened his musical style at various times to that of Gerald FinziGerald Finzi
Gerald Raphael Finzi was a British composer. Finzi is best known as a song-writer, but also wrote in other genres...
, William Mathias
William Mathias
William Mathias CBE was a Welsh composer.-Brief biography:Mathias was born in Whitland, Carmarthenshire. A child prodigy, he started playing the piano at the age of three and composing at the age of five. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music under Lennox Berkeley, where he was elected a fellow...
, John Rutter
John Rutter
John Milford Rutter CBE is a British composer, conductor, editor, arranger and record producer, mainly of choral music.-Biography:Born in London, Rutter was educated at Highgate School, where a fellow pupil was John Tavener. He read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the...
, Frederick Delius
Frederick Delius
Frederick Theodore Albert Delius, CH was an English composer. Born in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family of German extraction, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce...
and Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
.
A number of his choral works have been recorded on CD, broadcast on BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
and performed widely in the UK and in America.
Works
His works include:Choir and Orchestra:
- A Mass of a Thousand Ages for choir, children’s choir, mezzo-soprano and bass soloists, brass quintet, wind quartet and organ, 2000 (70'0")
- Appearing, Shining, Distant or Near for choir, high soprano solo, organ, piano and celeste, tubular bells and gong, 1998 (20'0")
- Stone Circles for choir, female semi-chorus, soprano solo, brass, organ and percussion, 1998 (65'0")
Unaccompanied Voices:
- A Girl for the Blue for SATB and soprano solo (7'20")
- On the Edge of Glory - a meditation on the life of St. Columba for SATB, soprano and tenor solo, 1997 (10'50")
- Crucifying and Resurrection from Divine Poems by John DonneJohn DonneJohn Donne 31 March 1631), English poet, satirist, lawyer, and priest, is now considered the preeminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are notable for their strong and sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs,...
for SATB (5'40") - The Dreame (John Donne) for SSAATTBB (8'0")
- To His Beloved - settings of four poems by W. B. YeatsWilliam Butler YeatsWilliam Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
: The Lake Isle of Innisfree, The Rose of Peace, He wishes for the cloths of heaven and When you are old and grey and full of sleep (16'0") - Songs of the Cosmos - two songs for SATB with optional drones: The Song of the Stars and The Song of the Sky Loom (5'00")
- Heaven (echo poem) (George HerbertGeorge HerbertGeorge Herbert was a Welsh born English poet, orator and Anglican priest.Being born into an artistic and wealthy family, he received a good education that led to his holding prominent positions at Cambridge University and Parliament. As a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, Herbert excelled in...
) for SATB/SA solo (2'30") - A Glasse of Blessings (George Herbert) for SATB (3'30")
- Antiphon (George Herbert) for ATTBarB (2'30")
- Two Medieval Carols: Hayle, flowre of al vyrgynyte for SATB/ST solo (4'10") and Wolcum Yole! for SATB
- Good Friday Night for SATB/Mez solo (12'0")
- Wake now my love, for it is time for SATB (2'00")
- Responses for Treble Voices for SA
Choir and Organ:
- On Christmas Day for choir, mezzo-soprano solo and optional audience participation (25'0")
- Canticles of Light for choir, separate treble section and organ (2nd chamber organ optional)
- Irish Blessing for SATB, unison or treble voices with organ, piano or harp accompaniment
- The Gresford Mass - a congregational setting composed for All Saints’ Parish Church, GresfordGresfordGresford is a village and a local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales.According to the 2001 Census, the population of the community, which also includes the village of Marford, was 5,334....
, North Wales - I said to the Man for SATB (3'0")
- Listen to me ye Coasts and Islands for SATB (4'0")
- O Lord, Support us for unison or treble voices (2'0")
- Psalm 150 (O Praise God in His Holiness) unison for congregation (1'50")
- Truly the Lord is in this Place for SATB (4'0")
- This Joyful Eastertide, an anthem for unison or treble voices (2'30")
Orchestral:
- Worthenbury, a prelude for string orchestra (5'10")
- Sinfonia Nativitie for string orchestra, 1997 (12'0")
- Pneuma for symphonic wind band with piano, 1991 (12'0")
- Fanfara alla Fuga for symphony orchestra, 1994 (3'20")
- Fidden Sound for symphony orchestra (13'0")
Instrumental
- Carillon Victoria for organ (2'30")
- Fantasia on ‘St Andrew’ for organ (3'00")
- Offertory Prelude for organ (11'00")
- Sonatina for Classical Organ (7'30")
- The Farmington Suite for organ, piano or harpsichord (6'30")
Solo voice
- On a Fine Morning, a song cycle for tenor solo and piano, settings of five poems by Thomas HardyThomas HardyThomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
: On a fine morning, A church romance, If it’s ever Spring again, The darkling thrush and Great things (13'0") - My True Love for voice with piano or harpsichord: Now is the time at hand, Some there are as fair and My true love hath my heart
- Folksong arrangements for voice and piano: Barbara Allen, Jock O’Hazeldene, She moves through the fair, The Lincolnshire poacher and The sweet nightingale
Recordings
Larley's music is available on a number of CDs including:- The Rose of Peace - unaccompanied choral music performed by Chudleigh’s Cumpanie
- A Girl for the Blue - Music for AdventAdventAdvent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi...
and ChristmasChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
performed by Chudleigh’s Cumpanie - On a Fine Morning - music for solo voice and piano
- A Mass of a Thousand Ages - live recording of the first performance at St Mary’s Parish Church, NantwichNantwichNantwich is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The town gives its name to the parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich...
on April 8 2000, conducted by the composer (this recording was selected as one of the Musicweb International Recordings of the Year in 2005) - Praise for Creation - performed by LudlowLudlowLudlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Welsh border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...
Choral Society