The Music of Herbert Howells - by Phillip A Cooke & David Maw (Hardcover)

About the Book

The first large-scale study of the music of Herbert Howells, prodigiously gifted musician and favourite student of the notoriously hard-to-please Sir Charles Villiers Stanford.

Book Synopsis

The book's coverage is wide-ranging, addressing all aspects of the composer's prolific output and probing many of the issues that it raises. The essays are gathered in five sections: Howells the Stylist, Howells the Vocal Composer, Howells the Instrumental Composer, Howells the Modern and Howells in Mourning. The composer that emerges from these studies is a complex figure: technically fluent but prone to revision and self-doubt; innovative but also conservative; a composer with an improvisational sense of flow who had a firm grasp of musical form; an exponent of British musical style who owed as much to continental influence as to his national heritage.

Review Quotes

A major advance towards a fuller and more balanced understanding of the composer.-- "THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL MUSICAL ASSOCIATION"

Eye opening dimensions ... fascinating ... Above all, this collection of essays emphasises purely and simply what a sophisticated and accomplished composer he was - headed up by a cameo of a foreword in which Howells enthusiast John Rutter expertly and engagingly sets the scene.-- "CLASSICAL MUSIC, December 2013"

Now we can all appreciate these works afresh, with the useful and pertinent insights afforded by this welcome volume.-- "INTERNATIONAL PIANO"

Superb and highly welcome addition to the literature on Howells ... goes a very considerable way towards demonstrating that this neglect is indeed highly unjust ... Unprecedented insight into both known and unfairly neglected corners of his oeuvre and should be keenly sought by anyone with an interest in his work and English music in the twentieth century.-- "CHOMBEC News"

The first large-scale and in-depth survey of his music ... Phillip A. Cooke and David Maw have curated and contributed to an excellent resource for anyone who wants to understand fully Howells's contribution to his musical landscape.-- "TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT, February 2014"