The Sound of Great Britain

The United Kingdom has always had a particular place in the world of western classical music. While always at the center of the cultural scene in Europe, with the greatest composers of each century visiting and sometimes living in England, the fragmented aspect of the country's culture draws not only from the specificities of each of the lands that composed the British Empire, but also from the myths and legends of the north, following the Normand's arrival to Great-Britain in the middle ages. As such, British music has always been highly multi-cultural and for a long time seemingly carried a somewhat weaker sense of national identity. However, in the late XIXth century and early XXth, the surge of British composers of international fame pushed for the resurgence of the country's own style, with these composers forging all the elements of the multiple cultures that compose Great Britain into one specific and very recognizable style. Some of the most recognizable aspects of this style is the strong influence of folk tunes and early music elements, as well as the straightforward approach to expression of emotions, as opposed to the esoteric French approach and the visceral German sound. Each composer heard on this program has had a long lasting influence on British music, not only through specific highlights that have marked the audience for years, but also through more discrete rarities that are necessary to complete the musical picture of one of the most influential countries in the world at the time.