Latest news with #TheDreamofGerontius
Daily Record
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
BBC star musician dies as fans pay tribute to huge talent whose 'legacy will live on'
"Thank you for the music and for making a difference in so many children's lives. Your legacy will live on." BBC musician Richard Corp has died as tributes flood in for the "highly talented composer". It has been announced that Ronald died, aged 74, in Bath on Wednesday. The conductor and composer had enjoyed a decades-long career in music, including having worked with the BBC on several occasions, reports the Mirror. Since the news, tributes have been flying in for the late musician, who was also ordained as a priest, with those who knew him remembering him on social media. Ronald is known as the founder of both the New London Orchestra (NLO) and the New London Children's Choir (NLCC), which launched in 1988 and 1991 respectively. More recently, he had been the musical director of the London Chorus for over 30 years after taking on the role in 1994. Ronald had worked with the BBC over the years, including having conducted its BBC Concert Orchestra on occasion. He's said to have made his first appearance at the BBC Proms in the Albert Hall in 1990 with the BBC Club Choir. The news of Ronald's death was announced by the London Chorus, including on Instagram last night. They wrote beside a photo: "It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Musical Director, Ronald Corp, on 7th May. Ron was a highly talented composer, conductor and chorus master." The caption continued: "He was motivated at all times by the sincerity of his love of music and of the people with whom he made it. He had been associated with The London Chorus for 40 years, 30 of those as Musical Director, and was a staunch advocate for choral music and singing." And the choir concluded: "Just over a year ago, we had the joy of being conducted by Ron in a performance of Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius. It was one of many highlights in a long and richly fulfilling relationship. Ron will be missed hugely by us all. 'Go forth upon thy journey, Christian soul!'" Classic FM also shared the news yesterday. A post on the radio station's account read: "Ronald Corp OBE, composer, conductor, ordained priest and a great champion of English choral music, has died aged 74. Corp founded the New London Orchestra and the New London Children's Choir, and was due to perform one of his own works at this year's Three Choirs Festival in Hereford. Thank you for the music, maestro." The post was met with tributes to Ronald. One person reacted in the comments section: "Truly sad news, Ron was a fabulous musician and a lovely person." Whilst another said: "A huge loss - he will be remembered so fondly." Someone else wrote in their response to Classic FM's post: "Such an honour to have sung for him for so many years in NLCC. He made me LOVE singing and music. Always so much fun to be around him. Will be greatly missed." A fourth said in their comment that Ron's legacy"will live on". They wrote: "Thank you for the music for making a difference in so many children's lives. Your legacy will live on." Another person reacted to the news, sharing their condolences: "Oh how sad - I was in the BBC Club choir when he was conductor and he was lovely!" Someone else commented on the platform yesterday: "Rest in peace dear Ron." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!
Daily Mirror
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Very famous BBC musician dies as fans pay tribute to 'talented' star
Tributes have been paid to composer and conductor Ronald Corp, who, as well as founding groups like the New London Orchestra, worked with the BBC over the course of his career BBC musician Richard Corp has died, it's been announced. The conductor and composer had enjoyed a decades-long career in music, including having worked with the BBC on several occasions. It has been announced that Ronald died, aged 74, in Bath on Wednesday. The news has prompted tributes to the late musician, who was also ordained as a priest, with those who knew him remembering him on social media. Ronald is known as the founder of both the New London Orchestra (NLO) and the New London Children's Choir (NLCC), which launched in 1988 and 1991 respectively. More recently, he had been the musical director of the London Chorus for over 30 years after taking on the role in 1994. Over the years, Ronald had worked with the BBC, including having conducted its BBC Concert Orchestra on occasion. He's said to have made his first appearance at the BBC Proms in the Albert Hall in 1990 with the BBC Club Choir. The news of Ronald's death was announced by the London Chorus, including on Instagram last night. They wrote beside a photo: "It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Musical Director, Ronald Corp, on 7th May. Ron was a highly talented composer, conductor and chorus master." The caption continued: "He was motivated at all times by the sincerity of his love of music and of the people with whom he made it. He had been associated with The London Chorus for 40 years, 30 of those as Musical Director, and was a staunch advocate for choral music and singing." And the choir concluded: "Just over a year ago, we had the joy of being conducted by Ron in a performance of Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius. It was one of many highlights in a long and richly fulfilling relationship. Ron will be missed hugely by us all. 'Go forth upon thy journey, Christian soul!'" Classic FM also shared the news yesterday. A post on the radio station's account read: "Ronald Corp OBE, composer, conductor, ordained priest and a great champion of English choral music, has died aged 74. Corp founded the New London Orchestra and the New London Children's Choir, and was due to perform one of his own works at this year's Three Choirs Festival in Hereford. Thank you for the music, maestro." The post was met with tributes to Ronald. One person reacted in the comments section: "Truly sad news, Ron was a fabulous musician and a lovely person." Whilst another said: "A huge loss - he will be remembered so fondly." Someone else wrote in their response to Classic FM's post: "Such an honour to have sung for him for so many years in NLCC. He made me LOVE singing and music. Always so much fun to be around him. Will be greatly missed." A fourth said in their comment that Ron's legacy "will live on". They wrote: "Thank you for the music for making a difference in so many children's lives. Your legacy will live on." Sharing their thoughts, another person reacted to the news: "Oh how sad - I was in the BBC Club choir when he was conductor and he was lovely!" Someone else commented on the platform yesterday: "Rest in peace dear Ron."
RTÉ News
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Cork city to come alive as Choral Festival set to begin
One of the country's oldest festivals celebrates 70 years this May bank holiday weekend as Cork city comes alive to the sound of choral music. Organisers say more than 5,000 rooms will be filled in hotels and accommodation across the city with choristers and visitors to the International Choral Festival. Established in 1954 to nurture and develop choral music in Ireland, it has since evolved into one of Europe's top choral festivals, attracting thousands of choristers to the city with more than 90 events taking place over five days. The festival runs from 30 April to 4 May and will include grand gala concerts, school concerts, pop-up performances, and fringe events including the Cobh Fringe Festival. The festival opens tonight at Cork City Hall with Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius, performed by the Cork Fleischmann Symphony Orchestra, the East Cork Choral Society, Madrigal '75 and the Guinness Choir (Dublin). The centrepiece of the festival will once again be the Fleischmann International Trophy Competition which will see top amateur choirs from home and abroad compete. The festival's artistic director, Peter Stobart, said this year's programme will honour "our roots while also looking to the future, with bold performances, unique collaborations and extraordinary voices".
The Guardian
22-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
British Library acquires torn-out drafts of Edward Elgar masterpiece
The British Library has acquired previously unknown sketches and drafts by Sir Edward Elgar for one of his best-known masterpieces, Introduction and Allegro for Strings. Spanning 15 pages, they shed light on the creative process of Britain's most revered composer. One bears the beginnings of an unknown organ piece on which he had started work. The library will announce the acquisition on Sunday to mark the 91st anniversary of Elgar's death. Having made his name with The Enigma Variations and The Dream of Gerontius, Elgar completed the virtuosic Introduction and Allegro in 1905 during what is considered to have been his finest decade. He conducted its first performance by the then newly formed London Symphony Orchestra, which had commissioned it. With this work, it has been said, Elgar extended the expressive language of string instruments. In 1930, four years before his death, he tore out sketches from one of his sketchbooks and gave them to Frank Webb, his former violin student, with whose descendants the pages had remained until now. Webb's son, Alan, later recalled: 'On occasion, he [Elgar] would visit my father … Once, he pulled some manuscript sheets out of his pocket and said: 'Here, would you like these?' 'These' were sketches for the Introduction and Allegro.' The library's acquisition means the pages will be reunited with the rest of the sketchbook for the first time since then. Sandra Tuppen, the library's head of music collections, said this collection was 'significant for the light that it shines' on Elgar's creativity. 'We've already got in the library very preliminary sketches for the piece and the autograph manuscript of the final version,' she said. 'This new acquisition is important because it fills that gap. It shows him putting together the pieces, fleshing out ideas. We didn't have anything comparable before.' Tuppen said all the music in the sketches was used in the final version, but not always in the same order. 'For researchers, this will be an opportunity to forensically analyse how he composed the piece.' She added: 'This is the first time it's come to light. It's completely unknown to scholars, as far as I'm aware. It's not mentioned in any reference books. So it will be an opportunity now for scholars to study it and to use it when making new editions.' The piece was scored for string quartet and string orchestra. Tuppen said: 'In the manuscript, you can see him … writing in the names of the instruments that he wants for different sections. So he's already working out the orchestration in the sketches.' One of the melodies, known as the Welsh Tune, was inspired by distant choir singing that Elgar heard while on holiday in Wales in 1901. Tuppen said: 'The Welsh Tune comes several times in the manuscript. He's working out the harmony. Then, at the very end, he's got the full orchestrated version as it appears in the final work. So you really see him working through it in the manuscript.' The library boasts the world's largest collection of Elgar's original manuscripts and letters. It received a large amount of material direct from his daughter, Carice. She had given the sketchbook to a close friend, who in turn donated it to the library in 1984. The British Library has now paid £50,000 for the torn-out pages in a sale organised by Christie's private sales on behalf of Webb's descendants. If such a collection had come on to the open market, it probably would have fetched much more due to its rarity, Tuppen said. 'Christie's approached us direct to ask if we would be interested in having a look at it because they thought it might well relate to material in our collection. I identified which sketchbook the material came from.' She speculates that Elgar tore out those particular pages because Webb was a violinist. 'They weren't just random pages, because the manuscript from which he tore them contains lots of other works, including some vocal pieces. So it looks as if he particularly picked the sheets to give to his friend. 'This is now preserved for the nation and anyone will be able to come and have a look at it.' After some conservation work, it will be displayed in the library's treasures gallery.
