Britain wrote her name in gold in global history thanks to many great personalities born in her midst. Of them, the world remembers with respect and gratitude some great british composers as well as those who created unmatched and enchanting pieces of music during their lifetime.
One of them is Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958). He was born on 12 October 1872 and died on 26 August 1958. During this period, he composed hundreds of recognized music achievements in the form of ballets, operas, religious and chamber music, symphonies and orchestral music.
The members of Ralph’s family were very wealthy and they valued life enriched with good moral conducts. Throughout his life, Vaughan Williams composed music that had an affinity to folklore and the public. His famous compositions include ‘Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis’ and ‘The Lark Ascending’. People lauded Ralph’s ‘A Masque for Dancing’ (Ballet 1930) very much. He has also composed music for eight stage performances.
Another recognized personality among the classical composers in Britain was Sir Edward William Elgar was born on 2 June 1857. He produced many a great piece of music until he died on 23 February 1934. Sir Edward’s prominent works include ‘Enigma Variations’, ‘Violion and Cello’, and ‘Pomp and Circumstance Marchers’. British as well as International Classical music was inspired very much by Edgar’s music, so in 1924, he received the rank of Master of the King’s Music in Britain. The World recognizes some of the violin concertos and symphonies of Sir Edgar as invaluable masterpieces of the music classics.
Another historical personality among the British-born composers was Edward Benjamin Britten (Barron Britten 1913 – 1976). Britain regarded Edward Benjamin as the most prominent classical music composer in England during the 20th century. ‘Peter Grimes’, ‘War Requiem’, and ‘The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra’ are some of his best pieces of music. He was born in Suffolk to a dentist and studied at the London Royal College of Music. He came into the limelight when he composed ‘A Boy Was Born’ in 1934.
That there are British-born composers in the forefront of the music field is proven with the achievements of another British Composer, Frederick Theodore Albert Delius (1862 – 1934). He was born to a wealthy trading family, and his family asked him to manage a plantation estate of oranges in Florida in 1884. Influenced by the infusion of African –American music, he went to Europe in 1886, to study it further. His Opera ‘A Village Romeo and Juliet’ became very popular among music lovers. He was infected with syphilis in 1918 while he was in Paris. Blinded and paralyzed, Frederick still succeeded in composing great pieces of music. He worked closely with European Musicians such as Richard Wagner, and Edvard Grieg.
This list of great British-born composers is continuing with famous names in the music field such as Henry Purcell (1659-1635), Gustav Holst (1874 – 1934), and George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). The great classical works of composers of British heritage include operas such as ‘Irmelin’, ‘The Magic Fountain’, ‘Koanga’, ‘Margot-la-Rouge’, and other modern music pieces such as ‘A Song of Summer’, and ‘Songs of Farwell’.
