Alan Ridout (9 December 1934 – 19 March 1996) was a British composer and teacher.
Life
Born in
West Wickham
West Wickham is an area of South East London, England, mainly within the London Borough of Bromley with some parts lying in the London Borough of Croydon. It lies south of Park Langley and Eden Park, west of Hayes and Coney Hall, north of ...
,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, England, Alan Ridout studied briefly at the
Guildhall School of Music
The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and ja ...
before commencing four years of study at the
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including perform ...
Michael Tippett
Sir Michael Kemp Tippett (2 January 1905 – 8 January 1998) was an English composer who rose to prominence during and immediately after the Second World War. In his lifetime he was sometimes ranked with his contemporary Benjamin Britten ...
, Peter Fricker and (under a Dutch government scholarship) Henk Badings.Miall, Peter. Obituary: Alan Ridout in ''The Independent'', 23 October, 2011
He went on to teach at the Royal College of Music, the
University of Birmingham
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
, the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...
, and at
The King's School, Canterbury
The King's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for 13 to 18 year old pupils) in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's ...
. He also broadcast musical talks on the radio.
Alan Ridout lived for much of his life in Canterbury, but after a serious heart attack in 1990 he moved to France, settling in the town of Vitré, Brittany, before moving on to
Caen
Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,tonal, though in younger life he wrote some microtonal works.
His works include church, orchestral and chamber music, often intended for amateurs and children. Much of the church music came out of a collaboration between Ridout and Allan Wicks, organist and master of the choristers at
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...
which began in 1964.
The six string quartets, composed over a period of nine years (1985-1994), are adventurous and varied in form and mood, but "not so testing as to be outside the scope of the good amateur ensemble". There are also a large number of concertinos for solo instruments with piano or string accompaniment often written especially for students or friends. He also wrote pieces for unaccompanied instruments such as ''Caliban and Ariel'' (1974), for unaccompanied bassoon, a musical recreation of two
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
characters from ''The Tempest''. It was first performed in Canterbury by
Laurence Perkins
Laurence Perkins (born 1954) is a British classical bassoonist. He studied under Charles Cracknell at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Perkins was principal bassoonist of the Manchester Camerata
The Manchester Camerata i ...
(then a student) and has been frequently performed (and recorded) by him since.
Alan Ridout worked regularly with the
Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra
The Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra (LSSO) is a youth orchestra based in Leicester, England. The players, aged between 15 and 18, are all drawn from secondary schools in the county of Leicestershire and the City of Leicester.
History
Th ...
(LSSO). His ''Three Pictures of Picasso'', originally written for the
National Youth Orchestra
A youth orchestra is an orchestra made of young musicians, typically ranging from pre-teens or teenagers to those of conservatory age. Depending on the age range and selectiveness, they may serve different purposes. Orchestras for young stud ...
, was performed by the LSSO at a De Montfort Hall concert conducted by Rudolf Schwarz in 1964 with the composer present. His second symphony, also for the LSSO, was dedicated to
Michael Tippett
Sir Michael Kemp Tippett (2 January 1905 – 8 January 1998) was an English composer who rose to prominence during and immediately after the Second World War. In his lifetime he was sometimes ranked with his contemporary Benjamin Britten ...
to mark his 60th birthday (though Ridout did not hold Tippett in high regard). The symphony was first performed in 1965 and also featured in the television programme ''Overture with Beginners'' (see video link below).
The 1967 Leicestershire Schools Music Festival included a number of LSSO commissions and in May that year Ridout's dance drama ''Funeral Games for a Greek Warrior'' made its debut at De Montfort Hall. In July 1967 the LSSO made its first commercial disc for the Pye Golden Guinea label and Ridout responded to a request for a short work for inclusion on the disc by composing a lively ''Concertante Music''. The work's debut took place on a record rather than at a public concert. ''Concertante Music'' was then taken on the LSSO tour of Denmark and Germany in September 1967 (see external video link below).
Andrew Plant's monograph 'The Higher Storie: Alan Ridout's music for counter-tenor' is the only in-depth study of the composer that has yet been undertaken.
Selected works
Ridout was a prolific composer; the complete list of his works runs to 100 pages.
;Choral
*''On Christ's Nativity'' for choir SATB (1954)
*''St. John Passion'' for tenor, bass, chorus and organ (1962)
*''Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis (St. John's service)'' for choir SATB and organ (1962)
*''O most merciful Redeemer'' for choir SATB (1965)
*''Sacred Songs for Treble Voices (1st set)'' for boys' choir and organ (1965)
*''The Beatitudes'' for 4-part treble voices (1966)
*''Let us with a gladsome mind'' for mixed choir and organ (1967)
*''Communion Service'' for choir and congregation (1968)
*''Sacred Songs for Treble Voices (3rd set)'' for boys' choir and organ (1969)
*''The History of the Flood'' to 6 voices and to a poem by John Heath-Stubbs (1971)
*''Songs of Advent'' for unison voices and organ (1987)
*''Through the Day'' for 2-part treble voices and organ (1989)
*''Samuel!'' Cantata for treble, baritone and bass soli, mixed choir and organ (1993)
*''Canticle of Joy'' for countertenor and tenor solo, mixed choir and orchestra (1994)
;Vocal
* ''Whom time will not reprieve'', four songs for countertenor and viola (1989)
;Orchestral
For a ?complete list of his orchestral works, se * Symphony No. 1 (1958)
* Concerto for Orchestra (1959)
*''Three Pictures of Picasso'' (1962)
*Symphony No. 2 (1964)
* Symphony No. 3 (for wind, brass and percussion) (1965)
*''Funeral Games for a Greek Warrior'' for orchestra and children's choir (1966)
*''Concertante Music'' (1967)
* Symphony No. 4 (for wind, brass and percussion) (1967)
* Symphony No.5 ''Sinfonia da chiesa'' for women's voices and orchestra (1969)
*Concerto for double bass and strings (1974)
*Concertino for bassoon and strings (1975)
*Concertino for trumpet and strings (1976)
*Concertino for clarinet and strings (1976)
*Concertino For flute and strings (1978)Recorded on SOMM CD0653 (2022) /ref>
*Concertino for tuba and strings (1979)
*Concertino for Alto Saxophone and Strings (1979)
*Concerto for treble recorder, strings and percussion (1979)
* Symphony No 6 for wind orchestra (1981)
*''Aubade'' for violin and orchestra (1982)
*''Pedro the Parrot'', for
National Youth Ballet
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
(1983)
* Symphony No.7 for trumpets, percussion, piano and strings (1983)
*Cello Concerto No. 1 for cello, strings and percussion (1984)
* Symphony No.8 for string orchestra (1984)
*Ode (1986)
*Cello Concerto No. 2 for cello and voices (1994)
*Cello Concerto No. 3 ''The Prisoner'' for solo cello and 8 cellos (1995)
;Organ
*''The Seven Last Words'' (1965)
*''Two Pictures of Graham Sutherland'' (1967)
*''Resurrection Dances'' (1969)
*''Three Nativity Dances'' (1971)
*''Processions'' (1974)
*''Six Studies'' (1976)
*''The Fourteen Stations of the Cross'' (1978)
*''Canticle of the Rose'' (1989)
*''Toccata'' (1989)
*''Messe d'orgue'' (1995)
;Brass
*Sonata for solo trombone (1975)
*''Eclogue'' for trombone and piano (1975)
*''Autumn Story'' for tuba and piano (1978)
*''Six Diversions'' for horn and piano (1989)
*''Light and Shade'': six easy pieces for horn and piano (1991)
;Winds
*Sonatina for clarinet and piano (1967)
*''Pigs'' for four bassoons (1972)
*Sonata for bassoon and piano (1972)
*Concertante for woodwind quartet (1972)
*''Three nocturnes'' for flute and piano (1972)
*''Caliban and Ariel'' for solo bassoon (1974)
*Suite for oboe and piano (1974)
*''The Emperor and the Bird of Paradise'' for narrator and solo flute (1974)
*''6 Melodies'' for flute or oboe and piano (1976)
*''Epitaph for Michael'' for clarinet (1976)
*''Tarka, the water wanderer'' for three flutes (1987)
*''A Day in the Country'': 12 easy pieces for recorder and piano (1990)
*''The Shippen'' for wind quintet (1990)
*''The Shepherd's Calendar'' for 4 bassoons (1991)
*''Farndale Dances'' for solo piccolo (1992)
*''Snow Scenes'' for saxophone in E and piano (1992)
*''To Autumn'' for flute and piano (1992)
*''Folies de Paris'' for contrabassoon and piano (1994)
;Strings
*''Partita'' for cello solo (1959)
*''Bagatelles'' for cello and piano (1967)
*''Music for Three Violoncelli'' (1967)
*''Ferdinand'' for speaker and solo violin (1971)
*''Little Sad Sound'', a melodrama for narrator and double bass (1974)
*String Quartet No. 1 (1985)
*String Quartet No. 2 (1987)
*String Quartet No. 3 (1987)
*''Seascapes'': six easy pieces for viola or cello and piano (1990)
*''Dance Preludes'' for double bass or cello and piano (1992)
*String Quartet No. 4 "Malden" (1992)
*String Quartet No. 5 "Stocklinch" (1993)
*String Quartet No. 6 "The Vitréen" (1994)
;Piano
*''Dance Bagatelles'' (1956)
*Suite for clavichord or piano (1960)
*Sonatina (1968)
*''Portraits'': Eight pieces for piano (1973)
*''White Notes, Black Notes, Key Notes'' (1990)
;Percussion
*Sonatina for timpani (1967)