Ian Parrott (5 March 1916 – 4 September 2012) was a prolific Anglo-Welsh composer and writer on music. His distinctions included the first prize of the

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a mem ...

for his

symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

''Luxor'', and commissions by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, and for many leading British musicians. In 1958 his

cor anglais The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an al ...

concerto was first performed at

Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Ra ...

, and in 1963 his cello concerto was given by

William Pleeth William Pleeth OBE (12 January 1916 – 6 April 1999) was a well-known British cellist and an eminent teacher, who became widely known as the teacher of Jacqueline du Pré. Biography Early years William Pleeth was born in London. His p ...

and the Hallé Orchestra – both concertos were conducted by Sir

John Barbirolli Sir John Barbirolli ( Giovanni Battista Barbirolli; 2 December 189929 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 19 ...

Early life

Ian Parrott was born in Streatham, London, in 1916. He first studied at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

. He was a music scholar at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at ...

, from 1934 to 1937, where he studied the

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with André Mangeot, and was awarded his doctorate in 1940. War service with the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield commun ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

took him to Egypt.

Career

After the war, Parrott became a lecturer at

Birmingham University The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

from 1946 to 1950. After about 1951, Parrott's compositions became deeply influenced by his interest in the Welsh landscape and culture, when he was appointed Gregynog Chair of Music at Aberystwyth until he retired in 1983, In 1955 Parrott became a founder member of the Guild for the Promotion of Welsh Music. That year he revived the Gregynog Festival, originally held from 1933 until 1938 by the art patrons Gwendoline and

Margaret Davies Margaret Sidney Davies (14 December 1884 – 13 March 1963), was a Welsh art collector and patron of the arts. With her sister Gwendoline, she bequeathed a total of 260 works, particularly strong in Impressionist and 20th-century art, which form ...

. He ended it in 1961, but the festival, revived again in 1988, has continued. Amongst Parrott's writings is ''The Spiritual Pilgrims'', a book on the Davies sisters. He also wrote a book on

Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

for the ''Master Musicians'' series. A leading authority on Elgar, Parrott was elected a vice-president of the

Elgar Society The Elgar Society was founded in 1951 to promote performance of the music of British composer Edward Elgar, especially the more rarely performed items. Registered as a charity on 22 January 1988, It is particularly concerned with introducing the co ...

in 1973. He was also a vice-president of the

Peter Warlock Philip Arnold Heseltine (30 October 189417 December 1930), known by the pseudonym Peter Warlock, was a British composer and music critic. The Warlock name, which reflects Heseltine's interest in occult practices, was used for all his publishe ...

Society. Parrott wrote a study of the piano music of

Cyril Scott Cyril Meir Scott (27 September 1879 – 31 December 1970) was an English composer, writer, poet, and occultist. He created around four hundred musical compositions including piano, violin, cello concertos, symphonies, and operas. He also wrot ...

. In 1994 he published ''The Crying Curlew'' for

's centenary. His autobiography ''Parrottcisms'' appeared in 2003. He died in Aberystwyth, and his funeral was held in

St Padarn's Church, Llanbadarn Fawr Saint Padarn's Church is a parish church of the Church in Wales, and the largest Middle Ages, mediaeval Church (building), church in Mid Wales, mid-Wales. It is at Llanbadarn Fawr, Ceredigion, Llanbadarn Fawr, near Aberystwyth, in Ceredigion, Wal ...

, where in 1985 he donated a stained glass window entitled "Music in Praise of the Lord". Parrott composed five

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

, four operas and many

chamber works Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

Selected works

Stage * ''The Black Ram'', opera in 2 acts (1957); libretto by

Idris Bell Sir Harold Idris Bell (2 October 1879 – 22 January 1967) was a museum curator, a British papyrologist (specialising in Roman Egypt) and a scholar of Welsh literature. Bell was born at Epworth, Lincolnshire to an English father and a Welsh ...

; Welsh text by

T. H. Parry-Williams Sir Thomas Herbert Parry-Williams (21 September 1887 – 3 March 1975) was a Welsh poet, author and academic. Parry-Williams was born at Tŷ'r Ysgol (''the Schoolhouse'') in Rhyd Ddu, Caernarfonshire, Wales. He was educated at the University ...

* ''Once Upon a Time'', opera (1959) Orchestral * ''Pensieri'' for string orchestra (1950) * ''Family Prelude and Fugue'' for strings and piano (1958) * Symphony No. 2 (1960) * Symphony No. 3 * ''Partita'' (1967) * ''Harrow March'' (1970) * ''Homage to Two Masters'' (1970) * ''Reaching for the Light'' for chamber orchestra (1971) * ''El Alamein'', symphonic prelude * ''Fanfare Overture'' * ''Luxor'', symphonic poem * ''Romeo and Juliet'', solemn overture * ''Seithenin'', concert overture * ''Suite of Four Shakespeare Dances'' * ''Three Moorish Princesses'' * ''Variations on a Theme of Dufay'' * ''Y fair'' (Three Ladies Suite) Wind band * ''Land of Song'', fantasia on Welsh tunes (1969) Concertante * Concerto for English horn (cor anglais) and orchestra (1958) * ''Concerto breve'' for cello and orchestra (1963) * Concerto for trombone and wind band (1968) * Concertino (1973) * Concerto for piano and orchestra * ''Prelude and Waltz'' for recorder or flute and string orchestra * ''Sinfonia Concertante'' for recorder, solo violin, string orchestra and percussion * Suite for violin and orchestra Chamber music * ''Minuet'' for oboe and piano (1950) * ''Aquarelle'' for clarinet or viola and piano (1952) * ''Welsh Airs'', arrangements for 2 descant recorders with piano or harp ad libitum (1955) * String Quartet No. 2 (1955) * String Quartet No. 3 * ''Septete 1962'' for flute, clarinet, 2 violins, viola, cello and piano (1962) * String Quartet No. 4 (1963) * ''Pantglas'' for violin and piano (1967) * ''Two Dances'' for flute and piano (1969) * ''Fresh about Cook Strait'', Wind Quintet No. 2 for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon (1970) * ''Devil's Bridge Jaunt'' for cello and piano (1974) * ''Fanfare and March'' for 2 trumpets, trombone and tuba (1976) * ''Gleaming Brass'', for 2 trumpets (or cornets), horn, trombone and tuba (1977) * ''Rhapsody'' for trumpet and organ (1977) * ''Fantasy-Sonata'' for clarinet and piano (1982) * ''Kaleidoscope'' for violin, cello and piano (1985) * ''Duetto'' for violin and viola (1986) * ''Autumn Landscape'' for oboe and piano (1987) * Duo for 2 guitars (1988) * ''Fun Fugato and Awkward Waltz'' for bassoon and piano (1989) * ''Arabesque and Dance'' for flute and piano (or treble recorder and harpsichord) (1990) * ''Fantasising on a Welsh Tune: Dygan Caerws'', trio for recorder or flute, oboe and piano (1995) * ''Portraits'' for treble recorder or flute and piano (1999) * ''Rondo giocoso'' for bassoon and piano (1999) * ''Dialogue and Dance'' for recorder and organ (2002) * ''The Choral Preludes'' for cello and piano Harp * ''Ceredigion'', 3 pieces with interludes (1962) * ''Soliloquy and Dance'' (1974) Organ * ''Toccata'' in C major (1965) * Suite

o. 1 O is the fifteenth letter of the modern Latin alphabet. O may also refer to: Letters * Օ օ, (Unicode: U+0555, U+0585) a letter in the Armenian alphabet * Ο ο, Omicron, (Greek), a letter in the Greek alphabet * O (Cyrillic), a letter of the ...

(1977) * Suite No. 2 (1986) Piano * ''Betinka'', romance (1940) * ''Fanatasy and Allegro'' for 2 pianos (1946) * ''Theme and Six Variants'' (1947) * ''Westerham'', rhapsody (1948) * ''Aspects'' (1975) * ''Fantasy'' (1986) * ''Theme from a Symphony'' for piano 4-hands (1986) Vocal * ''I heard a linnet courting'' for voice and piano (1948); words by

Robert Bridges Robert Seymour Bridges (23 October 1844 – 21 April 1930) was an English poet who was Poet Laureate from 1913 to 1930. A doctor by training, he achieved literary fame only late in life. His poems reflect a deep Christian faith, and he is ...

* ''In Phaeacia'' for high voice and piano (1948); words by

James Elroy Flecker James Elroy Flecker (5 November 1884 – 3 January 1915) was a British novelist and playwright. As a poet, he was most influenced by the Parnassian poets. Biography Herman Elroy Flecker was born on 5 November 1884 in Lewisham, London, to Will ...

* ''Leaves'' for voice and piano (1949); words by Elizabeth Ward * ''Dafydd y gareg wen'' for voice and piano (1969) * ''Flamingoes'' for medium voice and piano (1973); words by Jane Wilson * ''Two Thoughtful Songs'' for high voice and piano (1977); words by

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

and

Gerard Manley Hopkins Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame placed him among leading Victorian poets. His prosody – notably his concept of sprung rhythm – established him as an innova ...

* ''No Complaints'' for voice and piano (1984) * ''Eastern Wisdom'', 3 songs for voice and small orchestra (1987); words by

Luo Yin Luo Yin ( 833 – 910, courtesy name Zhaojian), born Luo Heng, was a poet of the late Tang and early Wuyue dynasties. Luo's poetry was widely read and cherished, but he was unsuccessful in life; having failed the imperial examination 10 times, ...

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

and from

Ecclesiasticus The Book of Sirach () or Ecclesiasticus (; abbreviated Ecclus.) is a Jewish work, originally in Hebrew, of ethical teachings, from approximately 200 to 175 BC, written by the Judahite scribe Ben Sira of Jerusalem, on the inspiration of his fa ...

* ''Song of Joy'' for voice and piano (1988) * ''Aphorisms and Arias of Death and Life'' for soprano, baritone and piano (1996) * ''Nothing like Grog'' for voice and piano Choral * ''Psalm 91'' for bass solo, chorus, semi-chorus and orchestra (1946); Biblical words * ''Carol plygain'' (Dawn Carol) for mixed chorus and piano (1958) * ''Can mewn bar salwn'' (Song in a Saloon Bar), part-song for male voices (tenor, baritone, 2 basses) and piano (1963); words by

A. S. J. Tessimond Arthur Seymour John Tessimond (19 July 1902 in Birkenhead – 13 May 1962 in Chelsea, London) was an English poet. He went to Birkenhead School until the age of 14, before being sent to Charterhouse School, but ran away at age 16. From 1922 to 19 ...

; Welsh words by

* ''The Song of the Stones of Saint David's'' for chorus and organ (1968) * ''Offeren yn arddull canu gwerin'' (Welsh Folk-Song Mass) for unison chorus, organ or piano and percussion (1974) * ''Surely the Lord Is in This Place'', introit for mixed chorus a cappella (1977) * ''Money Talks'' for male chorus and piano (1978); words by

; Welsh translation by

* ''My Cousin Alice'' for soprano, tenor, mixed chorus, piano and optional tape of North American birds (1982) * ''Anthem of Dedication'' for mixed chorus and organ (1985) * ''The Christ Child (The "Mother Christmas" Carol)'' for mixed chorus with piano or organ (1987); words by Barbara Bonner-Morgan * ''My Sweetheart's Like Venus'', Welsh folk-song arranged for baritone solo and mixed chorus (1987) * ''Master Hughes of Saxe-Gotha (An Unknown Musician)'' for mixed chorus and piano (1987); words by

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settin ...

* ''Magnificat and Nunc dimittis'', setting for treble voices and organ (1987) * ''Adam lay y bounden'' for unison voices and piano or organ (1990) * ''Arglwydd ein Iôr ni'' (O! Lord Our Sovereign), Psalm 8 for mixed chorus a cappella (1993) Literary * ''Pathways to Modern Music'' (A. Unwin, 1947) * ''A Guide to Musical Thought'' (Dennis Dobson, 1955) * ''Method in Orchestration'' (Dobson, 1957) * ''The Music of "An Adventure"'' (Regency Press, 1966) * ''The Spiritual Pilgrims'' (Llandybie: C. Davies, 1969) * ''Elgar'' (Dent, 1971) * ''The Music of Rosemary Brown'' (Regency Press, 1978) * ''

and His Piano Music'' (Thames Publishing, 1991) * ''The Crying Curlew:

, Family & Influences, Centenary 1994'' (Gomer, 1994) * ''Parrottcisms: The Autobiography of Ian Parrott'' (British Music Society, 2003)

Awards (selected)

* 1977,

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents George ...

Memorial Award from the Guild for the Promotion of

Welsh music The Music of Wales (Welsh: ''Cerddoriaeth Cymru''), particularly singing, is a significant part of Welsh national identity, and the country is traditionally referred to as "the land of song".Davies (2008), pg 579. This is a modern stereotype ba ...

* 1994, the first recipient of the

Glyndŵr Award The Glyndŵr Award (Welsh: Gwobr Glyndŵr) is made for an outstanding contribution to the arts in Wales. It is given by the Machynlleth Tabernacle Trust to pre-eminent figures in music, art and literature in rotation. The award takes its name a ...

for an Outstanding Contribution to the Arts in Wales

Bibliography

* ''The Spiritual Pilgrims'' (C. Davies, Llandybie, 1969) * ''Elgar (Master Musicians Series)'' (Dent, London, 1971) * ''The Crying Curlew: Peter Warlock, family & influences'' (Gomer, Llandysul, 1994) * ''Parrottcisms'' (British Music Society, Upminster, 2003)

References

"Ian Parrott"
by Paul Conway (1999); biography, works * Michael Kennedy (editor): ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music'' (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1994)

External links

Ian Parrott
works at

Boosey & Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and woodwind musical instruments. Formed in 1930 throu ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parrott, Ian 1916 births 2012 deaths English composers English classical violists Alumni of the Royal College of Music Alumni of New College, Oxford Academics of the University of Birmingham Academics of Aberystwyth University British Army personnel of World War II People from Aberystwyth People from Streatham Musicians from London Royal Corps of Signals soldiers