The English Heritage Music Series, an initiative presented by the University of Minnesota’s Library Publishing Services, now offers free access to musical compositions previously out of reach or long out of print.
More than 160 performance scores for music by 24 English composers are available with works ranging from short, two minute a cappella part songs to oratorios of up to 2.5 hours in performance time.
These editions span a wide range of genres and forms, crafted to facilitate not only academic study but also active performance.
“While these works have enjoyed renewed interest and performance in the United States, we are eager to see them resonate more deeply with audiences and performers in the UK, enriching your concerts and recitals with forgotten gems of English music heritage,” said Matthew W. Mehaffey, editor of the English Heritage Music Series and professor of music at the University of Minnesota.
The mission of the series is to:
- source non-engraved/out-of-print compositions by English composers which are in the U.S. public domain
- preserve these compositions through the preparation of new performance editions using music notation software
- provide open Internet access to the view and download scores at no charge to facilitate study, performance and sharing of performance material.
Recent performances made possible by EHMS engravings include:
- De Profundis– C.H.H. Parry (1891) – presented by The Hertfordshire Chorus under the direction of David Temple at St. Alban’s Cathedral on February 26, 2022 De Profundis – English Heritage Music Series (umn.edu)
- The Three Holy Children – C.V. Stanford (1885) – presented by the Oratorio Society of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota Singers at Ted Mann Concert Hall on April 5, 2024. This was the first known performance of the oratorio since 1886. The Three Holy Children – English Heritage Music Series (umn.edu)
- The Artistry of Genius – Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (various dates)
The 2024 Summer Chorus, a collaboration between the Oratorio Society of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota School of Music, will present a concert featuring three of Coleridge-Taylor’s long-forgotten works for chorus and orchestra: Kubla Khan (A Rhapsody), Epilogue from Mel Blane and the final movement (Calvary) from his magnum opus The Atonement. The concert will take place on 3 August in Ted Mann Concert Hall on the University of Minnesota campus.
The series is currently focusing efforts on C.V. Stanford’s 1884 Grand Opera Savonarola which premiered in Hamburg in April 1884 and in London in the summer of that year. Source documents include the privately published vocal score (limited to 50 copies), MS 4160 (full score) and MS 4161 (vocal score) at the Royal College of Music Library and the libretto by Gilbert À Beckett, published by Boosey & Co. in 1882. There are expected to be completed by this autumn.
Additional full score works the series will work on in the future include:
- The Vision of Life – C.H.H. Parry
- King Saul – C.H.H. Parry
- Meg Blane (Prologue) – Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
- The Atonement (Complete) – Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
- Ode to the Sea – Arthur Somervell
- The Power of Sound – Arthur Somervell
- The Beatitudes – Harold Darke
- A Song of Redemption – Alan Gray
You can download the scores for free via the university’s portal.
If you have any questions about the series or if you have suggestions for works you’d like undertaken in the future, email Matthew at mehaffey@umn.edu