Tag: British Composer

Who knew that between the ages of 5 and 10 I lived next door to the world authority on the music of Edmund Rubbra? Who’d have thought that such a figure would have resided in Easton, Pa.?

Rubbra is a now underrated British composer of rewarding symphonies and choral music, sometimes overtly inspired by his Roman Catholic faith, always propelled by spontaneous melody and dreamy logic.

Ralph Scott Grover joined the faculty of Lafayette College, in Easton, in 1965. He was the first head of Lafayette’s music department. His affection for the music of Rubbra resulted in a book, “The Music of Edmund Rubbra” (Scolar Press, 1993). He was also invited to write the Rubbra article for “The New Grove Dictionary.”

Grover himself was a composer of art songs, or so I’m told. I remember he and his wife would spend time each year visiting at Rubbra’s castle in the UK. Previously, he had written a book titled “Ernest Chausson: The Man and His Music.”

I find it amusing to reflect that as a boy I would be playing on the sidewalk, around the tree out front, not knowing the first thing about classical music – my grandfather, with whom I lived, was a product of the Great Depression and World War II, who spent most of his life working with his hands – and here I was, living next door to someone totally steeped in English music, which would later become one of my life’s passions.

Mr. Grover died in 2002. I am happy to say that I met him again later in life, by which time I had already become quite knowledgeable about the field. In fact, I know he listened to me on WWFM. I remember that he and his wife pledged their financial support during one of my shifts. Grover also expressed an affection for the music of Gerald Finzi, whom I also happen to adore, and was a member of the Peter Warlock Society.

I do regret not having had more of a master-disciple relationship with him. By that time, I had already left Easton, and though he extended a non-specific invitation to visit, nothing ever came of it. We nearly missed one another completely. I’m thankful we had the conversations we did, and that he saw that I had become something more than the goofy kid he scarcely regarded.

Happy birthday, Edmund Rubbra (1901-1986). It is you I have to thank for this reminiscence.

Here’s a sample of Rubbra’s music: “Overture Resurgam,” from 1975, inspired by a memory of the war and an example of the composer’s religious convictions translated to sound. In March 1941 Nazi planes bombed Plymouth and laid waste to much of the city, including the Church of St. Andrew. Only its tower remained intact. On the north door of the tower stood one word, “Resurgam” – “Risen Again.”

PHOTO: Rubbra resurrected