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Ronald Geoffrey Corp, (4 January 1951 – 7 May 2025) was a British composer, conductor and
Anglican priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
. He was founder and artistic director of the New London Orchestra (NLO) and the
New London Children's Choir The New London Children's Choir was a children's choir which rehearsed at Highgate Primary School in North London and, latterly, All Hallows, Gospel Oak, giving singing opportunities to members aged seven to eighteen. Members were from London and s ...
. Corp was musical director of the London Chorus, a position he took up in 1994, and was also musical director of the Highgate Choral Society. Corp was born and grew up in Wells, Somerset, later studying music at
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
. He was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(OBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to music.


Ordained ministry

Corp attended the Southern Theological Education and Training Scheme to prepare for the priesthood. He was ordained in the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
as a
deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
in 1998 and a
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
in 1999. From 1998 to 2002, he served as a non-stipendiary minister (NSM) of St Mary's Church,
Kilburn, London Kilburn is an area in North West London, North West London, in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Brent, Brent and the City of Westminster. Kilburn High Road railway station lies 3.5 miles (5.6 km) n ...
. From 2002 to 2007, he served as a NSM at St Mary's Church, Hendon. From 2007, he served as a NSM at the Church of St Alban the Martyr,
Holborn Holborn ( or ), an area in central London, covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part (St Andrew Holborn (parish), St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Wards of the City of London, Ward of Farringdon Without i ...
. All three
parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
in which he served are in the
Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...
tradition. He belonged to the
Society of the Holy Cross The Society of the Holy Cross (SSC; ) is an international Anglo-Catholicism, Anglo-Catholic society of male priests with members in the Anglican Communion and the Continuing Anglican movement, who live under a common rule of life that informs t ...
(SSC). Corp died in
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
on 7 May 2025.


Conductor


New London Orchestra

''See also New London Orchestra'' When Ronald Corp founded the New London Orchestra in 1988, his conducting career was launched: engagements have included concerts and recordings with many orchestras including the
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmo ...
, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra,
BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale sym ...
,
Ulster Orchestra The Ulster Orchestra is a full-time professional orchestra in Northern Ireland. Based in Belfast, the orchestra plays the majority of its concerts in Belfast's Ulster Hall and Waterfront Hall. It also gives concerts across the United Kingdom ...
and Royal Scottish National Orchestra, as well as appearing at the BBC Proms. Through his role as conductor and artistic director, Corp programmed and aimed to bring to life repertoire written in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries that was rarely heard in concert. His introductions from the stage were a key part of his mission to make music more accessible. Together with the New London Orchestra, his championing of neglected music resulted in some 20 recordings with
Hyperion Records Hyperion Records is a British classical music record label. It was independent until February 2023, when it was acquired by the Universal Music Group. Under Universal, Hyperion is one of the three main classical record labels, alongside Decca a ...
which feature composers such as Milhaud, Satie, Elinor Remick Warren, Virgil Thomson, John Foulds and the Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz; and a series of Light Music Classics, four of them of British, and one each of American Light Music Classics and European Light Music Classics. The issue in late 2010 by Corp and the NLO of the first digital recording of Rutland Boughton's opera '' The Queen of Cornwall'' was designated 'Disc of The Month' in ''
Opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
'' magazine, March 2011 and 'Editor's Choice' in '' Gramophone'', September 2011.


New London Children's Choir

The New London Children's Choir was launched by Ronald Corp in 1991 with the aim of introducing children to the challenges and fun of singing and performing all types of music. The Choir was one of the busiest and most successful children's ensembles in the country. It commissioned dozens of new pieces and premiered numerous other works by composers including its patrons Louis Andriessen and
Michael Nyman Michael Laurence Nyman, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 23 March 1944) is an English composer, pianist, libretto, librettist, musicologist, and filmmaker. He is known for numerous film soundtrack, scores (many written during his lengthy ...
as well as many by Corp himself. The choir performed frequently at the Proms, made a number of film soundtrack and TV recordings, including the soundtrack to ''Star Wars'' Episode 1, 'The Phantom Menace' and 'Cinderella', and was engaged for concerts and recordings with major London orchestras and opera companies. Choir members appeared on stage at the Coliseum and the Royal Opera House, and toured with artists including Lou Reed and Nick Cave.


Composer

Corp began writing music at a very early age. Learning the piano gave him a means of hearing and notating the pieces. He wrote throughout his life and left a substantial body of work. The list of his compositions is extensive and dominated by works for voice, whether solo, for small vocal groupings, church choirs or massive choral societies – Highgate Choral Society and the London Chorus have been regular performers over the years. His first major choral work ''And All the Trumpets Sounded'' was premiered in 1989 by Highgate Choral Society, the composer stating, "My piece focuses on war, the dead and the trumpets of the last judgement". Five years later, and combining text from the ''
Te Deum The ( or , ; from its incipit, ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to a date before AD 500, but perhaps with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin ...
'' with
Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication '' Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ...
and Hopkins, the cantata ''Laudamus'' was premiered to great critical acclaim at
St John's, Smith Square Smith Square Hall (formerly St John's Smith Square) is a concert hall in the centre of Smith Square, City of Westminster, Westminster, London. Its name was changed by its current operator, Sinfonia Smith Square, in 2024. Originally a church, ...
by the London Choral Society (now the London Chorus). In 2003 BBC Radio 3 commissioned a major work for the BBC Singers – an ''
a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
'' setting of Matthew Arnold's '' Dover Beach''. Following his work with youth choruses and the formation of the
New London Children's Choir The New London Children's Choir was a children's choir which rehearsed at Highgate Primary School in North London and, latterly, All Hallows, Gospel Oak, giving singing opportunities to members aged seven to eighteen. Members were from London and s ...
, Corp also established himself as a composer for young voices. On the strength of this reputation, he was commissioned to write for the Farnham Youth Choir who were winners of their section in the 'Sainsbury Choir of the Year' (1998), resulting in ''Four Elizabethan Lyrics'' to texts by
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
, Dekker, Jonson and Chidiock Tichborne. Other substantial works for children's choir include ''Cornucopia'', a cycle of songs with orchestra (1997), and its successor ''Kaleidoscope'' (2002) which includes a setting of '
The Owl and the Pussycat "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat" is a nonsense verse, nonsense poem by Edward Lear, first published in 1870 in the American magazine ''Our Young Folks'' and again the following year in Lear's own book ''Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany, and Alphabets ...
'. His Christmas opera ''Wenceslas'' was premiered by the New London Children's Choir in 1982 and revived in 2008, while a more recent children's opera, ''The Ice Mountain'', had three performances in 2010–11 by the same choir, and has been recorded. His interest in literature is evident in the many song-sets devoted to settings of a single poet, ''e.g.'' ''The Music of Francis Thompson'' which received its première at Benslow Music Trust in January 2010. An earlier set, ''The Music of Whitman'', had its première at the 2011 Tardebigge English Song Festival in Worcestershire, performed by Mark Stone (baritone) and Stephen Barlow (piano); while ''The Music of Browning'' was first performed in October of the same year as part of the Little Venice Music Festival with Robert Presley (baritone) and Andrew Robinson (piano). In March 2013, the baritone Lee Tsang premiered ''The Music of Larkin'' at Middleton Hall in Hull, Yorkshire. There are also discrete songs such as the humorous '' The Bath'', and song-cycles such as ''Flower of Cities'' which takes London as its unifying theme. Among his orchestral works are Symphony No. 1 (2009) which evokes "a journey from darkness to light" and the programmatic triptych ''Guernsey Postcards'' (2004) with its depictions of a local fair, Pembroke Bay and St. Peter Port, commissioned by the Guernsey Camerata. Another large-scale work is the Piano Concerto No.1 (1997) which has received three performances by pianists Julian Evans and Leon McCawley and was described by one critic as,
... possibly the most winningly successful British Piano Concerto of the last forty years or so. It is, wholly exceptionally, very well written in true virtuoso pianistic style.
The String Quartet No.1 'The Bustard' was premiered at the
Wigmore Hall The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good building acoustics, acoustics. It specialis ...
by the Maggini Quartet in 2008. On Saturday 9 July 2011, Corp celebrated his 60th birthday year at the
Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...
in London with a performance of ''And All the Trumpets Sounded'' and the world première of ''The Wayfarer'' (In Homage to Mahler) for 16 solo singers and orchestra – a setting of two of
Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...
's own poems from his Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and of his early poem 'Im Lenz'. Ronald Corp conducted the NLO, and the combined forces of Highgate Choral Society, The London Chorus and the New London Children's Choir were deployed in the rest of the concert. A pre-concert talk took place with Corp in conversation with Richard Morrison. On 23 November 2011 a new anthem ''
Laudate Dominum Psalm 117 is the 117th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people." In Latin, it is known as . Consisting of only two verses, Psalm 117 is the short ...
'' was performed at the Festival of St. Cecilia Service at Westminster Cathedral. This had been specially commissioned by the Musicians Benevolent Fund and was sung by the combined choirs of
Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral, officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, is the largest Catholic Church in England and Wales, Roman Catholic church in England and Wales. The shrine is dedicated to the Blood of Jesus Ch ...
,
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
and St. Paul's Cathedral under Martin Baker. The Queen's Diamond Jubilee was celebrated by a special concert given at the Barbican by Highgate Choral Society and the NLO on Saturday 9 June 2012, to include the première of ''This Sceptr'd Isle'' by Corp, a stirring seven-minute setting of text from
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
's
Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...
, the orchestra replete with surging sea-imagery and fanfares for four trumpets. Corp's orchestrations of
Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (born 17 May 18661 July 1925), better known as Erik Satie, was a French composer and pianist. The son of a French father and a British mother, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, Paris Conservatoire but was an undi ...
's ''Gnossiennes'' are featured in the film Chocolat of 2000. More detailed information on Corp's life as a composer can be found on th
Ronald Corp website


Later works

An interest in Buddhist literature is reflected in his setting of parts of the ''
Dhammapada The ''Dhammapada'' (; ) is a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form and one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist scriptures.See, for instance, Buswell (2003): "rank among the best known Buddhist texts" (p. 11); and, "on ...
'' (2010) for eight solo singers (or SATB choir) interspersed with recordings of bells at temples sacred to the
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
; and the cycle ''Songs of the Elder Sisters'' (from the '' Therigatha'') for mezzo-soprano, baritone, alto flute, clarinet and viola. The latter was recorded in February 2012 with Sarah Castle (mezzo-soprano) and Sam Evans (baritone) while ''Dhammapada'' had been recorded and released by Stone Records in 2011. Andrew Stewart writes: "How does the composer respond to those who question why a Christian minister was drawn to set a fundamental Buddhist text? ''Dhammapada'', he says, was created to open dialogue among faiths: 'It’s about inviting people to open their ears and minds to spirituality. These words, thought to be by the Buddha himself, tell us essential truths, which stand against cynical and untrusting ways of seeing the world and our place in it.' ''Dhammapada'' contemplates the corrupting force of material things and the transience of wealth, beauty and power." The music critic Michael Church reviewed the recording thus: "...Set for small choir, it becomes a beguiling work, full of scrunchy dissonances but graceful to the ear", designating it 'Album of the Week' in ''The Independent'', 29 January 2011. Also recorded in May 2012 were the String Quartet No. 3, the Clarinet Quintet 'Crawhall' and ''
The Yellow Wallpaper "The Yellow Wallpaper" (original title: "The Yellow Wall-paper. A Story") is a short story by American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman, first published in January 1892 in '' The New England Magazine''. It is regarded as an important early work ...
'' for mezzo-soprano and string quintet, all composed in 2011. In these, the Maggini String Quartet are joined by Andrew Marriner (clarinet), Rebecca de Pont Davies (mezzo-soprano) and John Tattersdill (double bass). Regarding the subtitle of 'Crawhall' for the Quintet, Ronald Corp stated:
Joseph Crawhall (1821–1896) was an engraver, writer, businessman, patron of arts, book designer, collector of antiquities, campaigner for the perseveration of architecture and a significant character in the life of Newcastle. His colourful life and wonderful woodblock illustrations have inspired this clarinet quintet which I hope gives some flavour of this most remarkable and likeable man.
''The Yellow Wallpaper'' is a dramatic '' scena'' with text by Francis Booth adapted from the short story of
Charlotte Perkins Gilman Charlotte Anna Perkins Gilman (; née Perkins; July 3, 1860 – August 17, 1935), also known by her first married name Charlotte Perkins Stetson, was an American humanist, novelist, writer, lecturer, early sociologist, advocate for social reform ...
. This work continues the current trend for chamber compositions and unconventional instrumental/vocal groupings: ''Lullaby for a Lost Soul'' features a setting for counter-tenor, vibraphone, flute and cello with re-imaginings of the melancholy music of John Dowland. The text follows themes of loss, death and helplessness. It was recorded in September 2012. In January 2013, three of these works, ''The Yellow Wallpaper, Songs of the Elder Sisters'' and ''Lullaby for a Lost Soul'' were performed at the event 'Corp de Ballet' in collaboration with The Chantry Dance Company for a CD launch at the Village Underground, Shoreditch, London.


Recordings of Corp's music

Besides the recordings shown in the discography below, other recordings of compositions by Corp include: *''And All the Trumpets Sounded'' performed by The London Chorus, Mark Stone (baritone) and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Corp on Dutton Epoch (2011). *''A Christmas Mass'' sung by
Chantage Chantage is a London-based chamber choir conducted by James Davey. Drawing singers from all over the country and all walks of life, the choir won the 2006 Radio 3 Choir of the Year competition. On 17 January 2009 Chantage backed Mercury Award ...
on the disc ''Hark! Chantage at Christmas'' on EMI (2008). *''Five Flower Songs'', ''Spring'' (When Daisies pied), ''Give to my Eyes, Lord'' and 'At Day-close in November' plus children's choir works by other composers on ''Pigs Could Fly'', performed by the
New London Children's Choir The New London Children's Choir was a children's choir which rehearsed at Highgate Primary School in North London and, latterly, All Hallows, Gospel Oak, giving singing opportunities to members aged seven to eighteen. Members were from London and s ...
on Naxos (2008). *''Susanni'' sung by Worcester Cathedral Choir under Donald Hunt on the disc ''Joy to the World'' – A selection from ''The Novello Book of Carols'' on Hyperion/Helios (2003). *'' A Cradle Song'' with the Armagh Girl Singers under Aubrey McClintock on Lammas Records (1999).


Discography


List of compositions

The music of Ronald Corp is published by Boosey and Hawkes (BH), Chester Music (C), Colla Voce (CV), Faber Music (F), Novello (N), Oxford University Press (OUP), Royal Society of Church Music (RSCM), Stainer and Bell (SB), Trinity Guildhall (TG) and the Ronald Corp website (RC). Where no publisher is given, please refer to the Ronald Corp website. Programme notes, music excerpts and links to publishers and score purchasing facilities can be found on th
Ronald Corp website


References


External links

* * Ronald Corp o
Stone Records
* Ronald Corp o
Hyperion
* Ronald Corp recordings o
iTunes
* *
''The Independent'' newspaper
interview with Edward Seckerson on 28 June 2011 * of the Clarinet Quintet 'Crawhall', third movement – ''Allegretto grazioso'' played by Andrew Marriner and the Maggini String Quartet * of excerpt from ''Dhammapada'' performed by Apsara Chamber Choir directed by the composer * of Ronald Corp's setting of 'The Owl and the Pussycat' performed by Mark Stone and Simon Lepper
Video
of excerpts from the 2012 recording of ''Songs of the Elder Sisters'' with the Chantry Dance Company
Archive
of premières and significant performances of Ronald Corp's music 2007–2012
Bacewicz ''Music for Strings''
on Hyperion {{DEFAULTSORT:Corp, Ronald 1951 births 2025 deaths English composers English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) 21st-century English Anglican priests People from Wells, Somerset Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Officers of the Order of the British Empire English Anglo-Catholics Anglo-Catholic clergy 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century British male musicians