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Frederic Cliffe (2 May 1857 – 19 November 1931) was an English composer, organist and teacher.


Life

Cliffe was born in Lowmoor, near Bradford,
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
. As a youth, he showed a promising musical aptitude and was enrolled as a scholar of the National Training School for Music, the parent of 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 ...
, under its first Principal
Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinafore'', '' The Pirates of Penzance ...
. As well as Sullivan his teachers there included John Stainer,
Ebenezer Prout Ebenezer Prout (1 March 1835 – 5 December 1909) was an English musical theorist, writer, music teacher and composer, whose instruction, afterwards embodied in a series of standard works still used today, underpinned the work of many British cl ...
and Franklin Taylor (1843-1919). In 1873 at the age of sixteen he was appointed organist to the Bradford Festival Choral Society. As organist to the
Leeds Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festi ...
, Cliffe took part in the first performance of Sullivan's cantata ''The Golden Legend'' on 6 October 1886.''Musical Times'' obituary, January 1932, p 80 He was organist to the Bach Choir between 1888 and 1894. From 1884 to 1931 he held the post of Professor of Piano at the Royal College of Music. Among his pupils there were John Ireland and
Arthur Benjamin Arthur Leslie Benjamin (18 September 1893, in Sydney – 10 April 1960, in London) was an Australian composer, pianist, conductor and teacher. He is best known as the composer of ''Jamaican Rumba'' (1938) and of the '' Storm Clouds Cantata'', ...
. Cliffe was also occasionally connected with opera productions at
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto ...
,
Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, ...
and
Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...
. For a time he was a professor at the
Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke ...
, though he maintained his links to the Royal College to the end of his life as a senior member of the Board of Professors. He also travelled widely as an examiner to the Associated Board of Music. Cliffe died in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, aged 74. His wife Zillah was a cousin of Arthur Benjamin's father. Their son was the author Cedric Cliffe (1902-1969). He published ''The Making of Music'' (1949) and wrote the librettos for operas by
Arthur Benjamin Arthur Leslie Benjamin (18 September 1893, in Sydney – 10 April 1960, in London) was an Australian composer, pianist, conductor and teacher. He is best known as the composer of ''Jamaican Rumba'' (1938) and of the '' Storm Clouds Cantata'', ...
, John Joubert and Joan Trimble.


Music

Cliffe's career as a composer spanned just two decades, from 1889 to 1910. His principal works were his two symphonies, the first of which was produced by
August Manns Sir August Friedrich Manns (12 March 1825 – 1 March 1907) was a German-born British conductor who made his career in England. After serving as a military bandmaster in Germany, he moved to England and soon became director of music at London' ...
at
The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around ...
in 1889, and subsequently performed at a Philharmonic concert and at the Proms in 1901, being well received on each occasion. ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'' hailed it as "a masterpiece". Although not overtly programmatic, its first movement was influenced by a visit to
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
by Cliffe. It was published by Novello. His Second Symphony had its first performance at the
Leeds Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festi ...
in 1892. Cliffe gave titles to each of its movements: I. At Sunset. II. Night. III. Fairy Revels. IV. Morning. It has been edited (2010) by Lionel Harrison and published by Patrick Meadows. The Violin Concerto, composed in Switzerland's Engadine Valley, was commissioned by the
Norwich Festival Norfolk & Norwich Festival is an arts festival held annually in Norwich, England. It is one of the oldest city festivals in England, having been held since 1824 and tracing its roots back further to 1772. It was initially conceived as a fundra ...
and performed there on 7 October 1896 with the Hungarian violinist
Tivadar Nachéz Tivadar Nachéz (1 May 185929 May 1930) was a Hungarian violinist and composer for violin who had an international career, but made his home in London during his career. Tivadar Nachéz (he himself signed with Nachèz) was born in Budapest, where ...
. His 'scena', ''The Triumph of Alcestis'', for contralto voice and orchestra, was composed for
Clara Butt Dame Clara Ellen Butt, (1 February 1872 – 23 January 1936) was an English contralto and one of the most popular singers from the 1890s through to the 1920s. She had an exceptionally fine contralto voice and an agile singing technique, and im ...
, and his five movement setting of
Charles Kingsley Charles Kingsley (12 June 1819 – 23 January 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the workin ...
’s ''Ode to the North East Wind'' (1905) was popular with choral societies. Its third movement is a programmatic orchestral Nocturne. However, after the ''Coronation March'' of 1910 he stopped composing altogether, and subsequently his works received fewer performances. According to the Bournemouth conductor
Dan Godfrey Sir Daniel Eyers "Dan" Godfrey (20 June 1868 – 20 July 1939) was a British music conductor and member of a musical dynasty that included his father Daniel Godfrey (bandmaster), Daniel Godfrey (1831–1903). His son, also Dan Godfrey, was ...
he "was not cast in the mould of a fighter and as a result he has, I feel, unwisely, retired from the struggle". Cliffe's music remained unperformed for many years after his death. After its initial performances, the Violin Concerto was unheard until revived by the
Lambeth Orchestra The Lambeth Orchestra is an amateur orchestra founded in 1972. It gives a regular series of 6 concerts each year at All Saints Church, West Dulwich and St John's Waterloo. The Orchestra's conductor for the last 30 seasons has been Christopher Fifi ...
, conducted by
Christopher Fifield Christopher Fifield (born 1945) is an English conductor and classical music historian and musicologist based in London. From 1982 until 2022 music director of the Lambeth Orchestra, Fifield is known for his exploration of neglected compositions, ...
, in May 2007. Fifield also conducted the first modern performance of the Symphony in C, 111 years after its premiere, on 16 December 2000.


List of works

*''Symphony in C minor '', 1889 (pub. 2019 Scores Reformed) *''Orchestral Picture: Cloud and Sunshine'', Philharmonic Society 1890 *''Symphony in E minor'', 1892 (pub. 2010 Soundpost) * Violin Concerto in D minor, 1896 (pub. 2007 Soundpost) *''The Triumph of Alcestis'', Scena for Contralto and Orchestra, Sheffield Festival 1902 *''Ode to the North-East Wind'', Choral Ballad, Norwich Festival 1905 *''A Silent Voice'', song * ''Out of the Deep'', anthem *''Coronation March'' 1910


Recordings

The Symphony No. 1 in C minor and his tone poem 'Cloud and Sunshine' have been recorded (Sterling CDS-1055-2 (2003) by the Malmö Opera Orchestra conducted by musicologist Christopher Fifield. His Violin Concerto in D minor was edited in 2007 by Fifield and published by Patrick Meadows, and has now been recorded by Philippe Graffin on
Hyperion Hyperion may refer to: Greek mythology * Hyperion (Titan), one of the twelve Titans * ''Hyperion'', a byname of the Sun, Helios * Hyperion of Troy or Yperion, son of King Priam Science * Hyperion (moon), a moon of the planet Saturn * ''Hyp ...
(CDA67838) with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by David Lloyd-Jones. In 2014 and 2015 Christopher Fifield led the Lambeth Orchestra in performances of the ''Coronation March'' and Symphony No. 2 in E minor that were subsequently released privately.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cliffe, Frederic 1857 births 1931 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century British composers 19th-century British male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century English composers 20th-century British male musicians Academics of the Royal College of Music Alumni of the Royal College of Music English classical composers English Romantic composers English male classical composers Musicians from Bradford