Biography
Early years
Bliss was born inEarly compositions
Although he had begun composing while still a schoolboy, Bliss later suppressed all his1940s
At first, Bliss found little useful work to do in England. He joined theLater years
In 1950, Bliss wasMusic
Early works
The musicologist Christopher Palmer was censorious of those who sought to characterise Bliss's music as "an early tendency to ''enfant terribilisme'' yielding very quickly to a compromise with the Establishment and a perpetuating of the Elgar tradition". Nonetheless, as a young man Bliss was certainly regarded as ''avant garde''. ''Madam Noy'', a "witchery" song, was first performed in June 1920. The lyric is by an anonymous author, and the setting is for soprano with flute, clarinet, bassoon, harp, viola, and bass. In a 1923 study of Bliss, Edwin Evans wrote that the piquant instrumental background to the gruesome story established the direction that Bliss was to take. The second Chamber Rhapsody (1919) is "an idyllic work for soprano, tenor, flute, cor anglais, and bass, the two voices vocalising on 'Ah' throughout, and being placed as instruments in the ensemble." Bliss contrasted the pastoral tone of that work with ''Rout'' (1920) an uproarious piece for soprano and instrumental ensemble; " the music conveys an impression such as one might gather at an open window at carnival time … the singer is given a series of meaningless syllables chosen for their phonetic effect". In his next work, ''Conversations'' for violin, viola, cello, flute and oboe (1921), Bliss chose a deliberately prosaic subject. It consists of five sections, entitled "Committee Meeting," "In the Wood," "In the Ball-room," "Soliloquy," and "In the Tube at Oxford Circus." Evans wrote of this work that although the instrumentation is ingenious, "much of heinterest isMature works
Of Bliss's early works, ''Rout'' is occasionally performed, and has been recorded, but the first of his works to enter the repertoire (at least in the UK) is the ''Colour Symphony''. Each of the four movements represents a colour: "purple, the colour of amethysts, pageantry, royalty, and death; red, the colour of rubies, wine, revelry, furnaces, courage, and magic; blue, the colour of sapphires, deep water, skies, loyalty, and melancholy; and green, the colour of emeralds, hope, joy, youth, spring, and victory." The first and third are slow movements, the second a scherzo, and the fourth fugal, described by the Bliss specialist Andrew Burn as "a compositional tour de force, a superbly constructed double fugue, the initial subject slow and angular for strings, gradually becoming an Elgarian ceremonial march, the second a bubbling theme for winds."Burn, Andrew (2006). Notes to Chandos CD CHAN 10380 Burn observes that in three works written soon after his marriage, the Oboe Quintet (1927), ''Pastoral'' (1929) and ''Serenade'' (1929), "Bliss's voice assumed the mantle of maturity … all are imbued with a quality of contentment reflecting his serenity." Of the works of Bliss's maturity, Burn comments that many of them were inspired by external stimuli. Some by the performers for whom they were written, such as the concertos forHonours, legacy and reputation
In addition to hisSee also
*Notes and references
;Notes ;ReferencesSources
* * * * * * *External links
Videos
* A short video of the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra conducted by Eric Pinkett. * Played on the piano by Sir Arthur Bliss ''Girl in a Broken Mirror'' A documentary featuring the ballet ''The Lady of Shallot'' performed by school pupils from Leicestershire and the LSSO conducted by Eric Pinkett. * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bliss, Arthur 1891 births 1975 deaths Military personnel from London 20th-century classical composers 20th-century English composers 20th-century British male musicians British ballet composers English classical composers English male classical composers Brass band composers Composers awarded knighthoods Masters of the Queen's Music Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medallists Alumni of the Royal College of Music British Army personnel of World War I Grenadier Guards officers Royal Fusiliers officers Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Bachelor People educated at Rugby School People educated at Bilton Grange Pupils of Charles Villiers Stanford Classical musicians associated with the BBC