Edmund Rubbra facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Edmund Rubbra
Rubbra in 1948
Born	Charles Edmund Rubbra (1901-05-23)23 May 1901 21 Arnold Road, Semilong, Northampton, England
Died	14 February 1986(1986-02-14) (aged 84)
Occupation	Composer

Edmund Rubbra (born May 23, 1901 – died February 14, 1986) was a famous British composer. He wrote many different kinds of music. This included pieces for solo instruments, small groups of musicians (chamber groups), and large choirs and orchestras.

Many musicians thought highly of him. He was most famous in the middle of the 20th century. His most well-known works are his eleven symphonies. Even though many composers at the time were writing twelve-tone music, Rubbra created his own special style. His later music wasn't as popular with the public, but other musicians always respected him. Today, his music isn't as widely known as it once was. Edmund was also the brother of engineer Arthur Rubbra.

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

Edmund Rubbra was born Charles Edmund Rubbra in Northampton, England. His parents weren't professional musicians. However, they encouraged his love for music. His mother sang in the church choir, and his father played the piano a little.

Edmund was a very artistic and sensitive child. He once noticed how snow changed the light in his room. This made him think about how things could be "topsy-turvy." Later, this idea helped him write melodies that sounded good both forwards and backwards (inverted). He would then play them together, slightly out of sync, creating a unique echo effect.

Another childhood memory also shaped his music. When he was about nine, he heard distant bells while walking with his father. He felt lost in the sound, which seemed to drift downwards. This experience later inspired him to use "downward scales" in his music. These scales often became important parts of his musical textures.

Rubbra took piano lessons from a local teacher. He also practiced on a new piano lent by his uncle, who owned a music shop. Edmund would play Mozart's Sonata in C to show customers how good the piano was. If a piano sold, his family got a commission, and a new demonstration piano arrived.

His family moved a few times in Northampton. When they moved above his father's new clock and watch shop, they had to remove a window frame to get the piano into Edmund's room!

Education and Career Journey

Edmund started composing while still at school. One of his teachers asked him to write a school hymn. He knew hymns well because he played piano for his church's Sunday School. He also worked as an errand boy and gave some of his earnings to his parents.

At 14, he left school to work in a shoe factory office. He enjoyed collecting stamps from the factory's mail, which was a hobby of his. Later, he turned down an offer to work for another uncle's shoe factory. Instead, he became a clerk at a railway station. He had learned shorthand in school, which helped him get the job. He continued to study music every day, including harmony, counterpoint, piano, and organ.

Rubbra began writing chamber music early on. He composed a violin and piano sonata for himself and a friend. He also wrote a piece for a local string quartet. He often met with another young composer from Northampton, William Alwyn, to share ideas.

A sermon by a Chinese missionary inspired Rubbra to write Chinese Impressions, a set of piano pieces. This sparked a lifelong interest in Eastern cultures.

When he was 17, Rubbra organized a concert of music by Cyril Scott in Northampton. This was a big moment for him. His church minister secretly sent the concert program to Cyril Scott. Because of this, Scott took Rubbra on as a student. Rubbra could travel cheaply by train due to his railway job. After about a year, he won a scholarship to University College, Reading. There, Gustav Holst became one of his teachers. Both Scott and Holst were interested in Eastern philosophy, which further inspired Rubbra.

Holst also taught at the Royal College of Music and suggested Rubbra apply for a scholarship there. Rubbra got in. Before his last term, he joined the Arts League of Service Travelling Theatre as a pianist for a six-week tour. He missed his last term but gained valuable experience in playing and composing for the theater. In the mid-1920s, he also earned money playing piano for dancers from the Diaghilev Ballet. Around this time, he became close friends with Gerald Finzi.

In 1941, Rubbra joined the army. After 18 months, he got an office job because he knew shorthand and typing. While there, he led a small orchestra. The War Office then asked him to form a piano trio to play classical music for the troops. Rubbra agreed, and "The Army Classical Music Group" was formed. It included William Pleeth (cellist), Joshua Glazier (violinist), and Rubbra on piano. They traveled all over England, Scotland, and Germany, even bringing their own grand piano with them!

After the war, in 1947, Rubbra became a Roman Catholic. He even wrote a special mass to celebrate this. Around the same time, the University of Oxford invited him to be a lecturer in their music department. He accepted and taught there from 1947 to 1968. The army trio continued to play for a few years, but Rubbra eventually became too busy.

Rubbra was highly respected in the 1940s. His works were performed at major festivals alongside pieces by famous composers like Elgar, Kodály, and Vaughan Williams. When Vaughan Williams heard that the University of Durham was giving Rubbra an honorary music degree in 1949, he wrote a short letter saying, "I am delighted to hear of the honour which Durham University is conferring on itself."

The BBC asked Rubbra to write a piece for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. He composed Ode to the Queen for voice and orchestra. He was also asked to contribute to a collaborative work, Variations on an Elizabethan Theme, but later withdrew.

Rubbra retired from Oxford in 1968 but kept teaching at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He also continued composing until the very end of his life. He started a 12th Symphony less than a year before he passed away in Gerrards Cross on February 14, 1986.

Composer Ronald Stevenson described Rubbra's style as "a music of oneness." Sir Adrian Boult, a famous conductor, praised Rubbra, saying he "has never made any effort to popularize anything he has done, but he goes on creating masterpieces."

Personal Life

Edmund Rubbra was married three times. He had two sons, Francis and Benedict, from his second marriage to Antoinette Chaplin, a French violinist. They even toured Italy and gave recitals together. Later, he had another son, Adrian, with his third wife, Colette Yardley.

In the 1930s, Rubbra was a pacifist (someone who believes in peace and opposes war) and a vegetarian. He stopped being a vegetarian during World War II while in the army. Although he became a devoted Catholic, he was also interested in mysticism and went through a phase of studying Buddhism.

Rubbra's Compositions

Rubbra didn't follow strict rules when composing. He preferred to start with an idea and let the music develop naturally. His music often focuses on the flow of melodic lines rather than just chords, which gives it a singing quality. He found this way of composing, letting music grow from a single idea, very exciting.

Symphonies

Rubbra completed his first symphony in 1937. His next three symphonies followed quickly. He said they were "different facets of one thought," meaning each one was a response to the last.

His fifth Symphony, started in 1947, was different. It showed a more relaxed and flexible style. His sixth and seventh symphonies came out in 1954 and 1957.

Rubbra's last four symphonies changed again. He explained that in his later music, a specific musical interval (the distance between two notes) became more important than a musical key in building the structure. These symphonies were composed between 1968 and 1979. All of his symphonies are available on CD.

Vocal Music

Most of Rubbra's choral works (42 out of 59) use religious or philosophical texts. This shows his interest in these subjects. He wrote his first choral work in 1924 and his last in 1984, just two years before he died.

He wrote for children's voices and madrigals (songs for several voices). He also created masses and motets, including the dramatic Nine Tenebrae Motets. In 1948, he composed Missa Sancti Dominici to celebrate becoming a Roman Catholic. This mass was named after Saint Dominic because Rubbra joined the church on his feast day. His Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in A flat is still performed in Anglican cathedrals today.

Rubbra's songs are not very well known. He wrote them throughout his composing life. Most have piano accompaniment, but some use a string quartet, string orchestra, or harp. Three of his songs, published as Ode to the Queen, have full orchestral accompaniment.

Chamber Music

Even though Rubbra was a great pianist, he didn't write many pieces for solo piano. However, he wrote a lot of different chamber music (music for small groups of instruments) throughout his career. He felt his Violin Sonata, written in 1932, was the first of his works to be taken seriously. His First String Quartet followed a year later. He later revised this quartet and dedicated it to Ralph Vaughan Williams. He wrote three more string quartets over many years. The last one, written in 1977, was in memory of a young American admirer. This piece, like his later symphonies, focused on specific musical intervals rather than a key.

His Cello Sonata (1946) was dedicated to William Pleeth, the cellist from his army music group. Famous cellist Jacqueline du Pré sometimes performed it. Rubbra's Second Piano Trio was first played in 1970 by members of his old army music group, who reunited for the performance.

Rubbra also wrote several important pieces for the recorder. These pieces showed how the recorder could be an equal partner with other instruments. He wrote them for Carl Dolmetsch, a famous recorder player. Many of these pieces refer to 16th-century music.

Other chamber works by Rubbra include pieces for oboe, cor anglais (a type of oboe), and viola.

Other Works

Rubbra wrote Incidental music for several plays, including an unpublished score for Macbeth. In 1933, he wrote a one-act opera called The Shadow, set in Kashmir, showing his interest in the East.

He also composed three works for brass instruments, all of which were commissioned. One of them, Variations on "The Shining River", was a test piece for a major brass band competition in 1958.

Rubbra's last completed work was his Sinfonietta for a large string orchestra, written in 1986. It was commissioned for celebrations in New York and received excellent reviews.

Rubbra is also known for arranging other composers' works for orchestra. In 1938, he orchestrated Johannes Brahms's piano work Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel. He also orchestrated Rachmaninov's Prelude in G minor.

Partial List of Works

Orchestral

• Symphonies
  • Symphony No. 1, Op. 44 (1935–37)
  • Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 45 (1937, revised 1950)
  • Symphony No. 3, Op. 49 (1938–39)
  • Symphony No. 4, Op. 53 (1940–42)
  • Symphony No. 5 in B-flat, Op. 63 (1947–48)
  • Symphony No. 6, Op. 80 (1953–54)
  • Symphony No. 7 in C, Op. 88 (1956–57) (dedicated to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra)
  • Symphony No. 8, Op. 132, Hommage à Teilhard de Chardin (1966–68)
  • Symphony No. 9, Op. 140, Resurrection (also known as Sinfonia Sacra) (1968–72)
  • Symphony No. 10, Op. 145, da Camera (1974)
  • Symphony No. 11, Op. 153, à Colette (1980)
  • Sinfonietta for large string orchestra, Op.163
• A Tribute, Op. 56 (1942) for the celebration of Ralph Vaughan Williams's 70th birthday
• Improvisations on Virginal Pieces by Giles Farnaby, Op. 50
• Overture Resurgam (Plymouth 1942), Op. 149

Concertante (for soloist and orchestra)

• Piano
  • Sinfonia Concertante in C, Op. 38 (1934–36, revised early 1940s)
  • Piano Concerto in G, Op. 85
• Violin
  • Violin Concerto in A, Op. 103
  • Improvisation for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 89
• Viola
  • Viola Concerto in A, Op. 75
• Cello
  • Soliloquy, Op. 57 for cello, two horns, timpani and strings

Instrumental (for solo instruments or small groups)

• Violin Sonatas
  • Violin Sonata No. 1, Op. 11
  • Violin Sonata No. 2, Op. 31
  • Violin Sonata No. 3, Op. 133
• Cello Sonata in G, Op. 60
• Meditationi sur Coeurs Désolés (for Recorder and Harpsichord or Flute or Oboe and Piano), Op. 67
• Oboe Sonata in C, Op. 100
• Meditations on a Byzantine Hymn (for solo Viola), Op. 117
• Sonatina for Treble Recorder and Harpsichord, Op. 128
• Fantasia on a Chord: for Treble Recorder, Harpsichord and Viola da Gamba (ad lib.), Op. 154
• Duo for Cor Anglais and Piano, Op. 156

Chamber Music

• String Quartets
  • String Quartet No. 1 in F minor, Op. 35
  • String Quartet No. 2 in E-flat, Op. 73
  • String Quartet No. 3, Op. 112
  • String Quartet No. 4, Op. 150
• Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 68, in one movement
• Piano Trio No. 2, Op. 138
• Fantasia on a Theme of Machaut, Op. 86, for Flute, Harpsichord, and String Quartet
• Lyric Movement for String Quartet and Piano, Op. 24

Choral (for choir)

• Dormi Jesu, Op. 3
• Five Motets, Op. 37 for unaccompanied SATB choir
• Five Madrigals, Op. 51 for unaccompanied SATB choir
• Missa Cantuariensis, Op. 59 for double choir
• Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in A flat, Op. 65 for chorus and organ
• Missa in honorem Sancti Dominici, Op. 66 (Rubbra’s first Roman Catholic mass)
• Three Motets, Op. 76 for unaccompanied SATB choir
• Nine Tenebrae Motets, Op. 72 (three sets of three)
• Festival Gloria, Op. 94 for unaccompanied SATB choir
• That Virgin's Child Most Meek, Op. 114
• And when the builders Op. 125 for SATB choir and organ
• Missa Brevis, Op. 137 for treble voices and organ

For Chorus and Orchestra

• The Morning Watch, Op. 55
• Song of the Soul, Op. 78
• Inscape (Gerard Manley Hopkins), Op. 122
• Veni Creator Spiritus, Op. 130

Piano Music

• Sonatina, Op. 19
• Introduction & Fugue, Op. 19c
• Prelude and fugue on a theme by Cyril Scott (also played on organ), Op. 69
• Nine teaching pieces, Op. 74 (requires a second pianist)
• Introduction, Aria and Fugue, Op. 104
• Eight preludes, Op. 131
• Four studies, Op. 139
• Invention on the name of Haydn, Op. 160
• Fantasy-fugue, Op. 161
• Fukagawa (without opus)
• Nemo fugue (without opus)

Songs (for voice and accompaniment)

• Two Songs, Op. 2
  • 1. Easter
  • 2. Rosa Mundi
• Two Songs with String Quartet, Op. 3
  • 1. Tears
  • 2. A Litany
• Two Songs, Op. 4
  • 1. The Mystery
  • 2. Jesukin
• O My Deir Hert, Op. 5
• Two Songs with String Quartet, Op. 7
  • 1. Rejection
  • 2. Entrez-y-Tous en Sûreté
• Four Songs, Op. 8
  • 1. A Cradle Song
  • 2. There Is a lady
  • 3. Who Is Sylvia?
  • 4. Orpheus
• Three Songs, Op. 13
  • 1. Out in the Dark
  • 2. Hymn to the Virgin
  • 3. It Was A Lover
• Two Songs, Op. 14
  • 1. The Night
  • 2. Slow Spring
• Rune of Hospitality, Op. 15
• Two Songs, Op. 17
  • 1. A Prayer
  • 2. Invocation to Spring
• Rhapsody, Op. 18
• A Duan of Barra, Op. 20
• Soontree, Op. 21
• Two Songs, Op. 22
  • 1. Take, O Take Those Lips Away
  • 2. Why So Pale and Wan
• The Song of the Laverock, Op. 23
• Ballad of Tristram, Op. 26
• A Widow Bird State Mourning, Op. 28
• Four Mediaeval Latin Lyrics, Op. 32
  • 1. Rondel: Tempus Est Iocundum
  • 2. Plaint: Dum Estas Inchoatur
  • 3. Pastoral: Ecce, Chorus Virginum
  • 4. Lament: Planctus
• In Dark Weather, Op. 33
• Five Sonnets, for tenor and strings, Op. 42
• Amoretti: Five Sonnets, Op. 43
• Nocturne, Op. 54
• Three Psalms, Op. 61
  • 1. O Lord, Rebuke Me Not
  • 2. The Lord Is My Shepherd
  • 3. Praise Ye the Lord
• O Excellent Virgin Princess, Op. 77
• Ode To The Queen, Op. 83
  • 1. Sound Forth, Celestial Organs
  • 2. Fair As Unshaded Light
  • 3. Yet Once Again Our Measures Move
• Two Sonnets by William Alabaster, Op. 87
  • 1. Upon the Crucifix
  • 2. On the Reed of Our Lord's Passion
• No Swan So Fine, Op. 91
• Cantata Pastorale, Op. 92
• The Jade Mountain, Op. 116
  • 1. A Night Thought On Terrace Tower
  • 2. On Hearing Her Play the Harp
  • 3. An Autumn Night Message
  • 4. A Song of the Southern River
  • 5. Farewell To a Japanese Buddhist Priest Bound Homeward
• Salve Regina, Op. 119
• Fly Envious Time, Op. 148

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See also

In Spanish: Edmund Rubbra para niños