Composers
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
1875 - 1912About
Samuel Coleridge Taylor (1875 - 1912) is a black, English composer who had success in England and the United States. At the age of five, Samuel began playing the violin and joined the choir of a Presbyterian church in Croydon, where H.A. Walters guided his progress and arranged his admittance to the Royal College of Music in 1890, where Ralph Vaughan William and Gustav Holst were his contemporaries. While still a student, he published anthems with Novello & Co, starting an association which was to last the whole of the composer’s life. Coleridge-Taylor won the Lesley Alexander composition prize two years running (1895 and 1896), and he met his best friend at the time, William Hurlstone, who died early in 1906, and who was a major influence on his taste. Furthermore in 1896, he became conductor of an amateur orchestra in Croydon and began teaching, guest conducting, recital work, and judging at music festivals to support his wife and two children. Taylor’s creative gifts were more apparent in his various colorful instrumental works as he continued to compose and gained early success at the Gloucester Festival with an orchestral Ballade in A Minor (1898), which was followed by his outstanding achievement, the Longfellow trilogy for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra of Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast (1898), The Death of Minnehaha (1899), and Hiawatha’s Departure (1900). In these and numerous other works, including incidental music, choral works, and a violin concerto (1911), influences from Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, and Grieg appear along with a spontaneity derived from appreciation of African American folk music, in which Coleridge-Taylor was a pioneer. His works like Hiawatha’s Wedding were a substitute for African American experience. Works like Twenty-Four Negro Melodies reveal the influence of the African American poet, Dunbar while Taylor’s understanding of race and racial conflict in the USA was gleaned from conversations with his friends and from the works of such writers as Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois, and he himself felt apart of that narrative as he struggled against the racial prejudices in English society. He states in the preface to Twenty-Four Negro Melodies he writes: “What Brahms has done for the Hungarian folk music, Dvorak for the Bohemian, and Grieg for the Norwegian, I have tried to do for these Negro melodies.”
Related Information
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-Coleridge-Taylor, https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/features/blackeuro/pdf/coleridge.pdf
Works by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Title | Collection | Voice Type | Range | Poet |
---|---|---|---|---|
A Corn Song | Voice | D4 - G5 | Paul Laurence Dunbar | |
A Lament | Voice | F4 - G5 | Christina Rossetti | |
A Prayer | African Romances, Op. 17 | Voice | D#4 - G5 | Paul Laurence Dunbar |
A Starry Night | African Romances, Op. 17 | Voice | E4 - G5 | Paul Laurence Dunbar |
A Vision | Voice | D#4 - F#5 | Louise Alston Burleigh | |
Alone with Mother | Five Fairy Ballads | Voice | C4 - E5 | Kathleen Easmon |
An African Love song | African Romances, Op. 17 | Voice | F4 - Ab5 | Paul Laurence Dunbar |
Ballad | African Romances, Op. 17 | Voice | F4 - G5 | Paul Laurence Dunbar |
Big Lady Moon | Five Fairy Ballads | Voice | Ab3 - Eb5 | Kathleen Easmon |
Dawn | African Romances, Op. 17 | Voice | F4 - Ab5 | Paul Laurence Dunbar |
Explanation | Voice | D#4 - G5 | W. Leatned | |
Fairy Roses | Five Fairy Ballads | Voice | C4 - E5 | Kathleen Easmon |
Genevieve | Voice | E4 - G5 | Samuel Taylor Coleridge | |
How Shall I Woo Thee | African Romances, Op. 17 | Voice | Gb3 - Gb5 | Paul Laurence Dunbar |
I Shot An Arrow Into The Air | Voice | F#4 - G5 | Henry Wadsworth Longfellow | |
If I could love thee | Voice | Eb4 - G5 | Louise Alston Burleigh | |
Keep Those Eyes (Duet) | Soprano | Tenor | Eb4 - Ab5; | G3 - G4 | Thomas Moore | |
Life and Death | High | Medium | Low | E4 - Ab5 | B3 - Eb5 | B3 - Eb5 | Jessie Adelaide Middleton | |
Love's Mirror | Voice | F#4 - F#5 | F. Hart | |
Love's Questionings | Voice | F4 - Ab5 | Alice Parsons | |
My lady | Voice | G4 - A5 | E. R. Stephenson | |
No. 2: Canoe Song | Op. 37 | Low | Bb3 - Eb5 | Isabella Crawford |
No. 3: A blood Red Ring | Op. 37 | Low | G3 - C5 | Barry Dane |
No. 4: Sweet Evenings Come and Go Love | Op. 37 | Low | F4 - Ab5 | George Eliot |
No. 6: Elëanore | Op. 37 | Low | E4 - F5 | Eric Mackay |
No. 6: Elëanore | Op. 37 | High | F#4 - G5 | Eric Mackay |
O Roses for the Flush of Youth | Sorrow Songs, Op. 57 | Voice | Bb3 - Eb5 | Christina G. Rossetti |
O What Comes Over the Sea | Sorrow Songs, Op. 57 | Voice | A3 - E5 | Christina G. Rossetti |
Onway! Awake, Beloved from The Cantata: Hiawatha's Wedding Feast | Tenor | F3 - Bb4 | H. W. Longfellow | |
Op. 79: The Willow Song | Voice | C4 - F5 | Shakespeare's Otello | |
Over the Hills | African Romances, Op. 17 | Voice | D4 - F#5 | Paul Laurence Dunbar |
She Sat and Sang Always | Sorrow Songs, Op. 57 | Voice | G3 - Eb5 | Christina G. Rossetti |
Solitude | High | Eb4 - Ab5 | Lord Byron | |
Song of the Nubian Girl | African Romances, Op. 17 | Voice | A3 - E5 | Thomas Moore |
Sweet Baby Butterfly | Five Fairy Ballads | Voice | A3 - F5 | Kathleen Easmon |
The Gift Rose | High | C#4 - F#5 | Dr. Frederic Petersen | |
The Oasis | Voice | E4 - G5 | Adrian Ross | |
The Rainbow Child | Songs of Sun and Shade | Voice | B3 - E5 | Marguerite Radclyffe-Hall |
The Shoshone's Adieu | Voice | C4 - F5 | Brice Fennell | |
The Stars | Five Fairy Ballads | Voice | Bb3 - Eb5 | Kathleen Easmon |
The Three Ravens (Die Drei Raben) | Voice | B3 - D5 | Wilhelmine GrotJohann Dohrn | |
This Is The Island of Gardens | Songs of Sun and Shade | Voice | Bb3 - F5 | Marguerite Radclyffe-Hall |
Thou Art | Voice | C4 - F5 | Optional A5 | M. Tulloch | |
Thou Art Risen My Beloved | Songs of Sun and Shade | Voice | C4 - F5 | Marguerite Radclyffe-Hall |
Thou Hast Bewitched Me Beloved | Songs of Sun and Shade | Voice | E4 - F5 | Marguerite Radclyffe-Hall |
Too Late for Love | Sorrow Songs, Op. 57 | Voice | B3 - Eb5 | Christina G. Rossetti |
Unmindful of the Roses | Sorrow Songs, Op. 57 | Voice | A3 - D5 | Christina G. Rossetti |
Until | Voice | E4 - G5 | Frank Dempster Sherman | |
When I am Dead My Dearest | Sorrow Songs, Op. 57 | Voice | C4 - Eb5 | Christina G. Rossetti |
Who Calls from Endymion's Dream (Opera in One Act for Soprano, Tenor, SATB, and Orchestra) | Tenor | F3 - A#4 | C. R. Barrett |
Title | Published | Size | Solo with Ensemble | Duration Range | Level | Orchestration |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ballade for Violin and Orchestra, op. 4 | Yes | Full Orchestra | Violin | 10-20 | Professional | 2222-4230-tmp-str |
Ballade, op. 33 in A minor | Yes | Full Orchestra | 10-20 | Professional | 2[1.2/pic] 222-4231-timp-perc-str | |
Bamboula, op. 75: Rhapsodic Dance | Yes | Full Orchestra | 5-10 | Professional | 3[1.2.pic] 222-4231-timp-perc(3)-str | |
Christmas Overture, from The Forest of Wild Thyme, op.74 no.5 | Yes | Full Orchestra | 5-10 | Collegiate or above | 2122-2230-timp-perc(2)-hp-str | |
Danse negre, from African Suite, op. 35, no. 4 | Yes | Full Orchestra | 5-10 | Collegiate or above | 3[1.2.pic] 222-4230-timp-perc(3)-str | |
Five "Negro Melodies" | Yes | Full Orchestra | 5-10 | Professional | 2222-4231-tmp-hp-str | |
Four Characteristic Waltzes, op. 22 | Yes | Full Orchestra | 10-20 | Professional | 3222-4231-timp-perc(2)-str | |
Haytian Dances op. 52 | Yes | String Orchestra | Professional | Perc(1 opt)-str | ||
Hemo Dance from Herod, op. 47 | Yes | Full Orchestra | 5-10 | Professional | 3[1.2.pic]222-4230-tmp-perc(1)-str | |
Hiawatha: Suite from the Ballet Music, op. 82 | Yes | Full Orchestra | 10-20 | Professional | 2222-4231-tmp-perc(4)-hp-str | |
Hiawatha’s Departure (The Song Of Hiawatha cantata no. 3), op. 30 no. 4 | Yes | Full Orchestra and Chorus | Sop, Tenor, Bari. | 20+ | Professional | 3[1.2.pic] 222-4231-timp-perc(2)-hp-str SATB chorus |
Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast (The Song Of Hiawatha cantata no. 1), op. 30 no. 1 | Yes | Full Orchestra and Chorus | Tenor | 20+ | Professional | 3[1.2.pic] 222-4231-timp-perc(3)-hp-str SATB chorus |
Idyll Op. 44 | Yes | Full Orchestra | 10-20 | Professional | 2222-4231-tmp-hp-str | |
Keep Me from Sinking Down, for Violin and Orchestra | Yes | Chamber Orchestra | Violin | 5-10 | Professional | 2222-2000-tmp-str |
Legend from the Concertstück, Op. 14 | Yes | Full Orchestra | Violin | 5-10 | Professional | N/A |
Nero: Orchestral Suite, op. 62 | Yes | Full Orchestra | 20+ | Professional | 2222-4231-tmp-perc-str | |
Novellette, op. 52, no. 1, A major | Yes | String Orchestra | 5-10 | Collegiate or above | Perc(1 opt)-str | |
Novellette, op. 52, no. 2, C major | Yes | String Orchestra | 5-10 | Collegiate or above | Perc(1 opt)-str | |
Novellette, op. 52, no. 3, A minor (Valse) | Yes | String Orchestra | 5-10 | Collegiate or above | Perc(1 opt)-str | |
Novellette, op. 52, no. 4, D major | Yes | String Orchestra | Under 5 | Collegiate or above | Perc(1 opt)-str | |
Othello: Orchestral Suite, op. 79 | Yes | Full Orchestra | 10-20 | Collegiate or above | 3[1.2.pic] 222-42[2-crt]30-timp-perc(3)-str | |
Overture to "The Song Of Hiawatha", op. 30 no. 3 | Yes | Full Orchestra | 5-10 | Professional | 3[1.2.pic] 222-4231-timp-perc(2)-str | |
Petite suite de concert, op. 77 | Yes | Full Orchestra | 10-20 | Collegiate or above | 3[1.2.pic] 222-4230-timp-perc(3)-str | |
Romance in B major | Yes | String Orchestra | Professional | str | ||
Romance in G, op. 39 | Yes | Full Orchestra | Violin | 10-20 | Professional | 2222-4231(opt)-tmp-str |
Scenes from an Everyday Romance, op. 41 | Yes | Full Orchestra | 10-20 | Professional | 3[1.2.3/pic] 222-4230-tmp-perc(2)-hp-str | |
Scenes from an Imaginary Ballet, from The Forest of Wild Thyme, op.74 no.1 | Yes | Full Orchestra | 10-20 | Professional | 2[1/pic.2/pic]2[1.2/EH]22-4231-tmp-perc(1)-hp-harm(opt)str | |
Solemn Prelude, op. 40 | Yes | Full Orchestra | 5-10 | Professional | 2222-4231-tmp-pers(1)-str | |
Symphonic Variations on an African Air, op. 63 | Yes | Full Orchestra | 20+ | Professional | 2[1.2/pic] 2[1.2/Eh] 22-4231-timp-perc(2)-hp-str | |
Symphony in A minor, op. 8 | Yes | Full Orchestra | 20+ | Professional | 2222-4231-tmp-str | |
The Death of Minnehaha (The Song Of Hiawatha cantata no. 2), op. 30 no. 2 | Yes | Chorus and Orchestra | Soprano and Baritone | 20+ | Professional | 3[1.2.pic] 222-4231-timp-perc(2)-hp-str SATB chorus |
Thelma or The Amulet, Op.72 | Yes | Full Orchestra | Professional | 3[1.2.pic] 222-4331-timp-perc(2)-hp-str | ||
Three Dream Dances, from The Forest of Wild Thyme, op.74 no.2 | Yes | Full Orchestra | 5-10 | Professional | 3222-4231-timp-perc-hp-str | |
Violin Concerto in G Minor Op. 80 | Yes | Full Orchestra | Violin | 20+ | Professional | 2222, 4230, timp, str |
Zara’s Earrings 0p. 7 | Yes | Full Orchestra | Soprano | Professional | 2222-4000-tmp-perc(1)-str |