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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 พ.ค. 2014
- Born in the city of Gloucester in 1890, Ivor Gurney was both a poet and musician. As a boy he was a chorister at Gloucester Cathedral, where he studied under the organist, Dr Herbert Brewer. In 1911, he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music to study composition with Sir Charles Stanford but psychological problems led to a breakdown which interrupted his studies. Gurney served with the Gloucestershire Regiment during the First World War, fighting on the Somme, where he was first wounded in the shoulder, then gassed. During his time in the trenches, he wrote a number of songs, and also much fine poetry.
After the war he returned to the Royal College to continue his composition studies, this time with Dr Ralph Vaughan Williams. But his emotional instability remained a problem and he soon withdrew from the college. He continued writing poetry and music, however, and composed the Gloucestershire Rhapsody in 1919-20. Sadly, his psychological condition deteriorated and in 1922 he was committed to a mental institution, first in Gloucester and later in London. He died of tuberculosis on December 26th 1937.
This recording featured on a disc which accompanied the June 2014 edition of the BBC Music Magazine. - เพลง
I have lived in the Cotswolds my whole life. I grew up walking through the fields and the woods and over the hills almost every weekend, and I can honestly say that this piece really makes me feel at home. Such a beautiful piece, by a wonderful composer.
I have lived in Gloucester for 55 years and I wouldn't change it for the world. Gurney's music takes me to all the places I love.
Make this the cotswolds national anthem
This glorious thing, which I had never heard before in more than seventy years of listening, studyng and performing serious music, affected so deeply I burst into tears. The music and poetry of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century Britain has captured and preserved the essence of how beautiful life was before the infernal machinery of megadeath and wdespread destruction took over not long after this brilliant and beautiful man's too-brief-life ended so tragically in a madhouse. I only hope choirs of angels bowed before him and sang his praises as he entered the gates of paradise.
bellisimo
You echo my very thoughts.It is a truly wonderful piece of music.l to was not aware of its existence.
What a beautiful thing to say. Then the same shall apply to you.
Absolutely. I could not agree more. I found this music, which I had never heard before, breath-taking.
FRANCO, WRITING GREAT MUSIC NEVER GOT THE GATES OF PARADISE TO OPEN FOR ANYONE, YA GOTTA STUFF SOME JESUS DEEP DOWN INSIDE YA MATE, HE IS THE ONLY WHO WHO QUALIFIES TO GET YA THERE !!!
Touches the very soul of Englishness, inspired through our, then unspoiled countryside. That musician like Gurney, Coles, and Vaughn Williams were able to produce such fantastic pieces of music like this after the horror of war is a miracle in itself. Thanks for the upload Colin.
Thanks for your kind cooment, Stacey.
Beautifully put
Glorious and so quintessential rural England, my home! I love all these 20th century English composers, Butterworth, Vaughn Williams, Coles, Gurney, Benjamin Britten - they have left such a deep imprint on my classical heart and I can listen to them over and over again.
Thank you for this. And thank you for the Poppies. Anyone who was predisposed to mental illness, lived and fought through that awful war, and was able to do Anything afterward let alone make wonderful music and verse, is my hero.
I never heard of him. Found this accidentally on You Tube. What an exceptional man he must have been to write this music. It's extreme beauty and unbearable pain at the same time.
I was born in Gloucestershire and whilst I have lived in many parts of the world, this music takes me home, to a place that I love. Thank you for this opportunity to hear this again
Oh the glorious opening passage! I would consider myself lucky to feel even a tenth of the things Ivor Gurney felt on his walks in the English countryside. The angels are sighing when they hear the music he is composing on his walks in Heaven.
I am a mexican composer, and I really love England as a country, it´s landscapes, it´s culture, it´s art, specially the music; so personal, so english... thanks Colin for share this lovely music
Best regards and follow my site Alejandro Herrera de la Parra
+Alejandro Herrera de la Parra Kind comments Alejandro! Many thanks.
Dear Colin, I want to share my own music with you. Try Alejandro Herrera de la Parra in TH-cam and you will find some Works of mine. Best regards always
Alejandro---thank you for your kind comments. Every country in the world contributes it's culture to the worlds melting pot. That's why our diversity is ever creative , ever changing, ever interesting.
as an American I do so love England too--joining Anglican church soon--
On hearing this beautiful music for the very first time,I am so moved ,my thanks to you Colin for posting it.
When you considers what Gurney endured both during and post great war, to compose something as powerful as this was remarkable
It's hard to believe than this was written between 1919 and 1921, just after coming out of WW1 having been treated for a serious psychological condition.
Thank you Colin for posting this wonderful piece of music - I don't even need to look at the images, the music paints the Cotswolds so vividly in my mind.
ah, the price that genius has to pay!
this is absolutely heavenly.
A beautiful evocation of Gurney's countryside though both the music and images. Very sensitively and thoughtfully done. Congratulations and thank you. Thanks also to Philip Lancaster and Ian Venables for their work in editing the Gloucestershire Rhapsody for performance. For those who want to hear more of Gurney's orchestral music, I recommend his War Elegy, one of several compositions on the Dutton CD "The Spirit of England" that also features Elgar, Frederick Kelly, Hubert Parry and Lilian Elkington. A correction. Gurney was never suffered shell shock. His official army pension diagnosis was "Manic Depressive Psychosis" or as we know it today, bipolar illness. It is a complicated story. For those interested in learning more about Gurney's life, his incredible productivity during the war, rising star after the war when he was regarded as "one of the most promising men of his generation, and his final years, may I suggest my biography Ivor Gurney and Marion Scott: Song of Pain and Beauty (2008). Thank you again, Colin for a fine addition to Gurney's legacy.
Glad you enjoyed it Pamela. Let's hope that this piece gets a commercial recording one day, and perhaps a few public performances, too.
I love Ivor Gurney's haunting music and poetry. His is a sad story in the end, but the music is glorious.
Thanks so much for posting this very "English" music. Gurney was totally unfamiliar to me! This is a wonderful performance and recording!
As the previous comment remarks. I also have been lucky to live in Gloucestershire for most of my life and intend to stay here until I am no more. I listen to Gurneys' music and realise he must have felt as I do.
Hefted here and despite his awful problems, he seemed to understand the place altogether.
Thank you to him and to you who uploaded this piece.
Too exquisitely heart-rending to use as background music, so each time it comes on my playlist, I have to stop working and absorb it fully. We saw a commemorative plaque to Gurney in Glocestershire Cathedral a few years back (visiting from Canada) and we recognized the name because of your musical offering, including the information about his tragic life. Thank you for introducing so many people to his rich and sensitive music.
Thanks for taking the time to reply. It's good to know people like yourself appreciate the work of this rather tragic figure.
How strange. I was looking for George Butterworth and Gerald Finzi and found this lovely music instead, that I am surprised that I didn't know.
I often see Ivor Gurney's memorial in Gloucester Cathedral.
Colin, this video is very emotive. I recognise most of the images but more especially so the last section of landscape which has got to be Coaley Peak (easily found on Google Earth). My wife and dog (who thought she was human) just loved going there. She asked for her ashes to be spread there.
I have some of Ivor Gurney's songs in my collection, but this the first time that I have heard this wonderful piece. It will not be the last. Thanks for this sensational video... a treat for the ears, eyes and soul.
Just listened to that wonderful piece of Music.
I have a lot of his poetic works and knew of his music, but never heard any of it until today.
Beautiful and very moving.
Also visited Gloucester Cathedral where there are various tributes when you stroll around outside.
Many thanks to
Colin who provided all the pictures of the beautiful scenery set to.the music of the GLOUCESTERSHIRE RHAPSODY.
Something I will never forget.
Thanks again
Always loved the English romantics , Vaughn Williams , Butterworth , Delius , so this is quite a find for me .Thanks for sharing !
Very passionate. Subtle yet powerful orchestration. What a gift to the world.
A bit like the people of Gloucestershire.
May glory , prosperity and wealth be brought to England where produces many genius of various art .
From Tokyo of the Land of the Rising Sun .
Which are you watching this from ？
My favorite author is Varginia Woolf who was full of sorrow and pensive feeling .
Thank you!
@@271250cl
Someday please come to Tokyo of the luscious and mysterious spring where all Japanese people are making merry and floating under the cherry blossoms in full bloom .
Take care of yourself
Good luck .
Tokyo is the hustle and bustle with Coronavirus infection problem .
What a beautiful piece of music to have come from such a tragic life. Another great video, Colin.
After listening to this composition every day X 5 for the past few months I find there is this something in it, that it has more proper existence or better existence than the natural elements, as if this Music was greater than Nature. Nothing is so dear.
Glad you like it Nicolas!
"When the full story of Ivor Gurney can ultimately be told, nothing more tragic in the history of music and verse will be found" -
Gerald Finzi
For those interested in reading about Gurney's life, Pamela Blevins's book, "Ivor Gurney and Marion Scott: Song of Pain and Beauty" (The Boydell Press, 2008) is a fine account. Pamela Blevins is an American journalist and editor for whom Gurney became a passion. Her diligent research on visits to the UK has resulted in the best biography of Gurney, and his friend Marion Scott, to date.
+Gavin Bullock Thank you, I've been in love with his voice, whether poetical or musical, since a very short BBC radio documentary many years ago but hadn't noticed the book, will go and get it now.
+Tamara Cartwright-Loebl
Hope you enjoy it
thanks from Melb
Finzi also a tragedy...
This is an insightful comment by a composer I regard very highly. Finzi's music is profound and beautiful.
It is absolutely unthinkable what a man who could produce such beautiful music endured in the trenches. And such a decent human being. Glad to hear that BBC Radio 3 celebrated his work recently.
So beautiful, surely the epitome of England and Gloucestershire, in particular The Cotswold's.
Poet and musician..and young..
He painted this rhapsody with the keys of the lyricism and intense emotion..and why not, with a certain despair. After all his youth was stolen by the war and disease..
🇧🇷❤❤❤
The most beautiful epitaph I've seen. "Do not forget me quite O Severn meadows".
What a very fine video Colin. To compose music at all after the horrors Gurney had been through was a massive achievement and this is fine music. I liked the short biography that occurred quite unexpectedly towards the end, nice touch.
Thanks, Peter!
This is beautiful. So glad I found him. Sorry I didn't know about him sooner. The ultimate in fine British music along with so many others form that era.
Endlessly uplifting and inspiring! Makes you yearn for summer and endless hill walks! Thankyou for posting. Immencely joyfull.
It's not a piece I'd known. Thank you for introducing it to me.
A forgotten genius. I have listened to this masterpiece time and again, and am still elated. I came across his poetry many years ago but discovered his music later--such lyricism, beauty and pathos
Beautiful along with Elgar and Vaughn Williams ..Englishness at it’s best
I am currently reading Kate Kennedy's biography of Ivor Gurney, and although I had been aware of the poetry Gurney produced I was far less aware of the music. This is a beautiful piece and I shall explore much more. It is often the case that such works come from the pen of those who have experienced troubled and sad lives. Gurney did not want to be forgotten and I am sure that his poetic words and music will have ensured that will never happen.
I hope you enjoyed Kate Kennedy’s marvellous book as much as I did!
@@lyndon1904 I certainly did Lyndon. A book that deserves to win awards.
Amazing piece of music that I've never heard before written for Gloucester but fits brilliantly the Yorkshire countryside too!!
Marvelous. A rare gem. Many thanks for the upload. Grace, peace, and blessings.
Absolutely lovely , a nice piece of music .
knocks me out each time I listen to it. Thank you!
I was enchanted from the first few bars...how English ! How rich!
I was born in Gloucestershire but not heard this before .I will get a copy.
Herbert Howells, Gurney's greatest friend, wrote a piano concerto in 1925 that although extrovert and full of ebullience is saturated with a sadness and melancholy, particularly the slow movement. I was always convinced Gurney's tragic experience and the loss of other friends during the Great War influenced this work. I asked Howard Ferguson, who helped Harold Samuel its first performer in 1925 rehearse the work, if there was such an influence but was unable to help. So we shall never know.
Wow, cannot get enough of this amazing work.
I wasn't sure what the celebration of the centenary of the First World War would throw up, but one of the things that it has thrown up for me is the music of Ivor Gurney. I knew him as a poet but, sadly, had not heard any of his music till this year. It was delightful to come across this video. Many thanks.
Thanks Bob. The 100th anniversary reminds us what potential riches were lost in that senseless carnage.
A wonderful auditory and visual display, portraying this passionate work by a sensitive and fragile soul whose final years were sadly clouded as a result of his wartime experiences. He will be at peace now in a pastoral landscape, such as he loved during his lifetime. Thanks for posting this video.
Do get hold of a copy of 'Song of Pain and Beauty' by Pamela Blevins- The Boydell Press, 2008. Adds considerably to the biographical details of both Ivor Gurney and Marion Scott whose role in preserving much of Gurney's writings and compositions receives its due acknowledgment here !
+Peter Warden
I have repeated your recommendation above - did not see your post until I had done it! Sorry.
I agree
Such a beautiful combination of music and views . I am sorry that Gurneys life was sad . The music often reflects that.
I am so lucky to now live in Gloucestershire! Gerald Finzi briefly lived at Painswick..down the road from me..both Holst and RVW born in Glos.....tho RVW moved to Dorking, Surrey at an early age. Finzi and his wife compiled and edited a collection of Gurney`s poems, I believe. Gurney`s "On Crickley Hill" perfectly sums up the local landscape.. " O sudden steep...." The poem mentioned in another comment about the "Oxs and Bucks" accent is "The Silent One". Gurney `s line about "our darling land" is one I now fully endorse, tho an incomer.. Frank Mansfield is also a local poet worth checking out. Greetings from Glarstersheer.
duuurr Frank Mansell..sorry.
The Oxfs & Bucks accent: London vowels twinned with a West Country burr?
Agree with everyone's assessment of his genius at music and poetry. I'm sure he'd like his verse and songs to be remembered embodying his beautiful shire of Gloucestershire. Interestingly, he and Herbert Howells were both at the Gloucester Cathedral at the world premiere of the Tallis Fantasia of Ralph Vaughan Williams
Very lovely work by a British composer whose orchestral works are certainly neglected. Thank you for this upload!
yes--every worthwhile piece enriches us....even the minor composers have much to recommend themselves
He wrote some beautiful poetry in WW1. More accessible than Sassoon or Owen. Being a Gloucester Lad he felt an affinity with Wales - read 'First Time In'. Gurney also had a musician's ear for accents. In WW1 there were still many County Regiments eg the Ox and Bucks - the sadness of seeing a sergeant dead on the barbed wire and recalling earlier hearing his Buckinghamshire accent. Gloucestershire is a truly beautiful county.
A few years ago I stayed in a small Cotswolds village and went to the church on Sunday morning. An elderly gentleman with a west country accent read the lesson beautifully. It was like something out of a Thomas Hardy novel.
a work of genius--such beauty and lyricism. I first read about his life 45 years ago! tragic!
This is exquisite. I am a great fan of Gurney's poetry and music.
Lovely music and photomontage - achingly evocative. I lived in Broadway for a couple of years - many very happy memories of the Cotswolds. God I miss England . .
Did you ever read a poem called "The Soldier"? - It's by Rupert Brooke.
The images are at least as beautifully composed and played as the music. Even to a non-classicist it added up to a lovely moving experience of an English heartland. 👏🏻
amazing piece, and to think of the nightmare he suffered, so many of these talented composers were lost! Nice work Colin, I enjoy your posts very much :-)
yes, genius is nightmarish...it's a gift that has thorns
Such a fine composer! What a pity that he didn't live to create some more great musical works. As far as I can judge it (I'm a layman for classical music), Ralph Vaughn Williams really shines through here. And this is what I like very much about it because RVV is my absolute favourite in classical music.
This music has caused one of the most appealing EARWORMS I have ever experienced, Thank you! ;D
Keith Brown, wherever you are in this thread,...Uptown Girl??? You just busted me up! Thanks.
I simply adore this piece of music. The section from 9.15 to 9.30 sends shivers down my spine. I have watched the film Severn and Somme The Life of Ivor Gurney WW1 poet and composer and it is very sad. I sometimes think the some of the best music is created by a tortured soul. This is my daily medicine. Thank you so much Colin for uploading the wonderful music and marvellous images.
Such music deserves a masterful edit. Thank you, Colin. Quite well done. I'm getting close to "old" and I really enjoyed meeting Ivor Gurney; this was a fine occasion, witnessing labors of love.
Revisiting this work after a long spell. It kept haunting me. I watched a docudrama last year about how WW1 began, the war in which we lost so many creative and productive folk, as well as innumerable family providers. I mentally dedicate this work to all of them.
Heartfelt thanks to Ivor Gurney for reminding me of what a beautiful country England was.
Some lovely words put here about a composer of beautiful music, I agree with all of them Pictures also lovely.
I'm listening to this sweet soaring piece for the first time, and am liking it very much. Thank you for posting it so that people like me can encounter Gurney's music and be affected by it.
Glad you liked it Paul. I feel sure that it won't be long before a recording of this is available commercially.
same with me--though I have heard his songs. Breathtaking and poignant-
such wonderful flow and lyricism
Such a ravishing piece of music. A sad end to the composer; what lovely music he might have given us had he lived longer.
Very moving music. Thank you very much.
Gracias por la música y la historia de Ivor Gurney.
Una Vida muy triste Como Federico Garcia Lorca. Pero las obras de Los dos son magnifico y eterno.
Thanks so much. It is a very moving piece and, with the pictures, is a welcome reminder of where I would rather be - if it were not for the lockdown.
What an interesting composition. At first listen it seems his means were fairly commonplace for the era, but still he brought it all together in a way that transcends those limitations. Intrigued enough for a second listen, I find that his development is far above the commonplace, and at times his materials poke out above the mass of the average too. What a pleasure! Colin: remarkable collection of images. That had to take a lot of work, thank you!
Gurney, a troubled soul both before and after WW1, but a promising poet and I quite like the music. Bless his soul down by his beloved Severn!
as a gloucestershire boy born in the forest of dean its reminds me of the spring bluebells and sunshine ,,,,,i was so lucky a lad
A real jewel.
Thanks for the beautiful tribute to Ivor Gurney's uplifting and thought provoking music and the beautiful UK Countryside and the towns and villages Cheers Colin
What a tragic story that surrounds this fine music. To imagine conditions in the trenches is difficult to imagine Gurney writing music and poetry in such conditions is Impossible.
What a wonderful and relaxing video full of glorious music and vivid imagery. Very well done. Enjoyed it immensely. BRIAN
Thanks very much Brian.
Seems to have the same ' flow' as a Vaughan Williams piece. Wonderful pastoral musick. Will follow up this composer and poet, thank you.
David James " ... As Gurney’s most important extant orchestral work, and one which he cited as amongst his works in biographies issued during his lifetime, it finally received its first performance during the 2010 Three Choirs Festival, in Cheltenham Town Hall, given by the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Martyn Brabbins. In late August 2012 the work was recorded by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Parry for broadcast on Radio 3 in the autumn of 2012."
yes. enchanting and wonderfully pastoral and picturesque
@@radiootoo thank you
Wonderful. You can tell it's been created by a real poet, too.
To learn more about Gurney and the complicated trajectory of his life, may I suggest my 2008 biography Song of Pain & Beauty (Boydell). It was the first comprehensive biography to examine his illness; the war years; the dynamics of his friendship, and his close relationship with Marion Scott, whose efforts to preserve his music, poetry and letters saved him from becoming a footnote to both musical and literary history.
In many ways Gurney's life is more tragic than those, such as Butterworth, who paid the ultimate price in that madhouse. For a man of his talent to live much of his remaining years in a mental institution must have been worse than the horror he survived. Just ordered Song of Pain and Beauty from Amazon (£30), arriving on Tuesday. Thank you Pamela. Without your post I would never have known about your biography of Gurney. Critique to follow in due course.
@@desallen2174 I hope you find it enlightening. As sometimes happen when one writes a biography, more information becomes available after the book has been published. Such was the case with the Hunt sisters who played such an important role in Gurney's life -- their lives were complex, too. You might have a second edition in which I did add some information about them in a footnote. Much to my amazement I discovered a remarkable connection between one of the Hunt sisters (they were half sisters) and where I live in the mountains of North Carolina. Also learned about the poet Valentine Fane whose name appears on one of Gurney's late asylum poems The Wind. The poem was likely by Fane, a woman, and not a pseudonym Gurney used. I think he found the poem, copied it out and wrote her name with it. This poem doesn't sound like Gurney.
This is a lovely work from start to finish full of English imagery; such beauty from a life lived on the precipice of tragedy. Herbert Howells devotes a movement of his symphonic suite "The B's" to Gurney, a close friend and fellow student at the Royal College of Music. The whole of it is an exquisite work and one of my favorite of Howells. Gurney's dedication is titled "Lament: Bartholomew".
A great find of a músician for my unknown and died prematurely. Thank you.
Desconegut per a mi, ha estat un descobriment deliciós. Thank you Colin.
Mikal Salundru
This work is an absolute masterpiece and yet Gurney's Wikipedia page doesn't even mention it!
It was only recently discovered and this is the first ever recording so that might explain it, Tim
Many thanks for this lovely upload of this beauty.
Thank you Colin!
Unknown for me, but loved at first compass!
My mind released from the troublesome daily days and fliesin a vast grassy field . 🍎
From effulgent Tokyo in profound Japan
Which national are you watching this video ？
Beautiful
I always loved the music of English composers... But so far I have never heard of Ivor Gurney. What a beautiful piece of symphonic music!
Perhaps you would like to read about the poor chap's sad life sir
Blessings and peace
@@georgealderson4424 Already did. What a sad story indeed...
@@thommyrinke303 Yes indeed. If he had lived these days he may not have suffered so much and may even have been cured of his mental illness and TB
I do hope you have read his poetry too.
Thank you Ivor for a great piece of music
Thank you for this glorious post; and for taking the trouble with the wonderful photographs.
Lovely marriage of music and image. Many thanks.
Very interesting composition and scenery, very much enjoyed, Thank you!
What an exquisite and open piece! Glad to have stumbled upon it!
Very fine, very fine indeed--- the music and the images...... many thanks
Absolutely beautiful music.So peacefully.So let's the mind relax
A really great talent...some Incredible good parts in this piece!
Thank you.
This is unbelievably moving...thank you for a magnificent show.
Thanks David, glad you enjoyed it.
thank you sir!
Amazing piece of music, well orchestrated and a massive pity that Gurney didn't have the career that his talent shown here obviously deserved.
I am better for listening to it
I agree Andrew. A lost talent. Very sad
Stunningly beautiful...... thank you for this, Colin.
Glad you enjoyed it, Ken