Patrick Larley (born 1951) is a British composer.

Biography

He was born in

Frodsham Frodsham is a market town, civil parish, and electoral ward in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its population was 8,982 in 2001, increasing to 9,077 at the 2011 Census. It is ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and lived at Fearnhead in

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The populati ...

. Patrick is the third of the four children of Ian A. and Helen Dunsmuir/Larley: Larley studied organ and singing at the

Royal Manchester College of Music The Royal Manchester College of Music (RMCM) was a tertiary level conservatoire in Manchester, north-west England. It was founded in 1893 by the German-born conductor Sir Charles Hallé in 1893. In 1972, the Royal Manchester College of Music a ...

and became a Fellow of the

Royal College of Organists The Royal College of Organists (RCO) is a charity and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, with members worldwide. Its role is to promote and advance organ playing and choral music, and it offers music education, training and d ...

. He pursued a career in cathedral music, holding posts of Vicar Choral in

Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, whose cathedra it holds as mother church of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Built as a ...

and then becoming Sub-Organist in

St Asaph Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saints Asaph and Cyndeyrn, commonly called St Asaph Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Llanelwy), is a cathedral in St Asaph, Denbighshire, north Wales. It is the episcopal seat of the Bishop of St Asaph. The cathedr ...

, moving on to become Master of Choristers at Grimsby Minster and Director of Music at St James’ Choir School, Great Grimsby in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershir ...

. After this he became Director of Music in

Ellesmere College (''Striving for one's country'') , established = 1879 , song = ''Jerusalem'' , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding schoolDay School , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

. He is now a freelance composer, conductor, harpsichordist and organist, and is also Musical Director of

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which ...

Choral Society in

and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

Festival Choral Society, and formerly directed

Nantwich Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture. ...

Choral Society in

. He has founded and directs a number of vocal ensembles including ''Gallery Players'' and ''Chudleigh’s Company''. 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.

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 those of

Gerald Finzi Gerald Raphael Finzi (14 July 1901 – 27 September 1956) was a British composer. Finzi is best known as a choral composer, but also wrote in other genres. Large-scale compositions by Finzi include the cantata '' Dies natalis'' for solo voice an ...

William Mathias William James Mathias CBE (1 November 1934 – 29 July 1992) was a Welsh composer noted for choral works. Biography Mathias was born in Whitland, Carmarthenshire. A child prodigy, he started playing the piano at the age of three and began co ...

John Rutter John Milford Rutter (born 24 September 1945) is an English composer, conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer, mainly of choral music. Biography Born on 24 September 1945 in London, the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, Rutte ...

Frederick Delius file:Fritz Delius (1907).jpg, Delius, photographed in 1907 Frederick Theodore Albert Delius ( 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934), originally Fritz Delius, was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prosperous mercan ...

and

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

. A number of his choral works have been recorded on CD, broadcast on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also featuring. The st ...

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") 'In Praise of Music' for Chorus, Children's Choir, Soprano and Mezzo soloists, Orchestra (48') 'The Gentle Earth of Wales' for Chorus, Children's Choir, Soprano and Baritone soloists, Orchestra (50') The Birmingham Spirituals for Chorus, Semi-chorus, strings, 2 sax, flute, steel pans, piano, perc.

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 Donne John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's Cathedr ...

for SATB (5'40") * ''The Dreame'' (John Donne) for SSAATTBB (8'0") * ''To His Beloved'' - settings of four poems by

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

: ''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 Herbert George Herbert (3 April 1593 – 1 March 1633) was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as "one of the foremost British devot ...

) 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 'The Salutation' SATB (6')

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,

Gresford Gresford (; cy, Gresffordd ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. According to the 2001 Census, the population of the community, which also includes the village of Marford, was 5,334, reducing to 5,010 at the 2011 cens ...

, 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 Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Wo ...

: ''On a fine morning'', ''A church romance'', ''If it’s ever Spring again'', ''

The Darkling Thrush "The Darkling Thrush" is a poem by Thomas Hardy. Originally titled "By the Century's Deathbed", it was first published on 29 December 1900 in ''The Graphic.'' The poem was later published in ''London Times'' on 1 January, 1901. A deleted '1899' on ...

'' 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

Advent Advent is a Christian season of preparation for the Nativity of Christ at Christmas. It is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity. The name was adopted from Latin "coming; arrival", translating Greek ''parousia''. In ...

and

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

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,

on 8 April 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

Choral Society

References

* (the composer's own website - includes music samples) * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Larley, Patrick 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers English classical composers 1951 births Living people People from Frodsham English male classical composers 20th-century English composers 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians