Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912)
A worthwhile discovery
I have always loved finding out about rarely-performed repertoire. Thanks to Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE and Ashok Klouda, I had the pleasure of performing Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Nonet op. 2 (written when he was a student at the Royal College of Music in 1894) last night.
I would encourage everyone to get to know as much of this composer's music as possible. It's wonderful! In Chi-chi's words: 'every note he wrote seems to have been from the heart'. It's also wonderfully crafted, and he clearly was incredibly competent, with a proper knowledge of the instruments he was writing for. The music is full of beautiful tunes and exquisite harmonies, and is such a thrill to play.
This excellent article on Gramophone is a good place to start finding out more.
After our performance of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Nonet op. 2 at the Highgate Festival 2019 (l to r: Ben Gilmore, Gary Pomeroy, Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE, Simon Callaghan, Ashok Klouda, James Pillai, Amy Harman, Peter Sparks, Nicholas Daniel)
