This Sceptr'd Isle
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As part of sounds: voices of our time, Exmoor Singers planned a high-concept programme for a concert in the Purcell Room, in the South Bank Centre, London, on the theme of the British Isles. The concert title was This Sceptr'd Isle. To our astonishment, we were unable to trace a choral setting (from any period) of the famous speech from Shakespeare’s Richard II. Seeking to remedy this surprising lack, we approached two composers with whom we were familiar, Paul Ayres and Peter McGarr, to see whether one or other of them might be interested in setting the text. |
This royal throne of kings, this sceptr'd isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.
William Shakespeare, "King Richard II", Act 2 scene 1
Perhaps predictably, both composers responded enthusiastically and we were thus presented with a dilemma. However, it seemed absurd to choose between them as their styles could hardly be more different, and so we decided to commission a setting from each of them.
What we did not predict was the dynamic of two composers (who had not previously met) writing, in effect, in competition. There is no doubt that the creative process was influenced by that fact: indeed, one composer (attending a rehearsal of his own piece) initially asked to see the other’s score but then changed his mind because he felt it would be too disturbing. There is thus a sense in which the art work consists in the tension between the two compositions.
The concert This Sceptr’d Isle and the first performances of Ayres' 'This Sceptr'd Isle' and McGarr's 'Dreaming England (This Sceptr'd Isle)' were given in the Purcell Room on 24 April 2005.
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Paul Ayres - This Sceptr'd Isle | |
Peter McGarr - Dreaming England (This Sceptr'd Isle) |
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Paul Ayres was born in London, studied music at Oxford University, and now works freelance as a composer & arranger, choral conductor & musical director, and organist & accompanist. His music usually involves words - solo songs, choral pieces, music for theatre productions - and he is particularly interested in working with pre-existing music, from arrangements of folksongs, hymns, jazz standards and nursery rhymes to ‘re-compositions’ of classical works, as in Messyah, Purcell’s Funeral Sentence and 4A Wreck. Exmoor Singers has previously performed his Ruth, and Nature and Man. Paul is assistant director of music at St George's Church Hanover Square, plays piano for improvised comedy shows and has given many solo organ recitals in the UK, Scandinavia, Europe, North America and Australia. |
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Peter McGarr was born in Manchester and studied Music and Dance at Mather College. He is self-taught in composition and for several years taught steel pan, achieving the Outstanding Performance Award from Music for Youth for his steel band Orchestral Steel. He was nominated Music Teacher of the Year. Peter was presented with the George Butterworth Award for contemporary music from the Society for the Promotion of New Music. Exmoor Singers has previously performed his Beautiful Days, and Lullabies. Exmoor Singers nominated both composers and their respective works for the Making Music British Composer of the Year Award 2006. |
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