Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912)

Nationality: English
Born: August 15, 1875, Holborn, London Died: September 1, 1912, Croydon (age 37)

5 Fantasiestücke for String Quartet, Op. 5

(for 2 violins, viola and cello)
5:01 I. Prelude
4:19 II. Serenade
3:18 III. Humoresque
6:56 IV. Minuet
4:39 V. Dance
Duration: 23 minutes (approximately)
Composed: 1895 (age 19-20)
Published: 1896 (age 20-21)
2 recordings, 6 videos
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5:01
Catalyst Quartet
I. Prelude
4:19
Catalyst Quartet
II. Serenade
3:18
Catalyst Quartet
III. Humoresque
6:56
Catalyst Quartet
IV. Minuet
4:39
Catalyst Quartet
V. Dance
20:48
The Coleridge Ensemble
From Edition Silvertrust

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) was born in London, the product of a mixed race marriage, his father, a doctor, being an African from Sierra Leone and his mother a white Englishwoman. His father returned to Africa when he was a small boy and he was brought up by his mother in Croydon. His musical talent showed itself early and he was admitted to study the violin at the Royal College of Music where he eventually concentrated on composition when his gifts were ascertained. His teacher was the renowned composer, Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. He and his compositions gained considerable fame during his lifetime. His oratorio Hiawatha's Wedding Feast for a time became as popular as Handel's Messiah and Mendelssohn's Elijah. He made several visits to the United States because of his interest in American Negro cultural life. His fame was such that on one visit he was invited to the White House by Theodore Roosevelt.

The Fantasy Pieces or Fantasiestücke, to use the German name first coined by Schumann, were composed in 1898, several years before the famous Cobbett Fantasy Competitions. The tradition of fantasy pieces was well-established by the time Coleridge-Taylor came to compose his. They would consist of a set of character pieces, each of a different mood and type. The opening piece, aptly titled Prelude begins in a restless somewhat agitated fashion but it is immediately replaced by a calmer subject. The rest of the movement is taken with an interplay between the two. The Serenade which follows is quite lyrical with each phrase elided seamlessly in to the following one. Next comes a scherzo, Humoresque, which seems to have a vague Bohemian aura to it. A stately and elegant Minuet with its diffident trio section serves as the fourth piece. The themes of the exciting finale, Dance, are loosely related to those of the opening Prelude.

© Edition Silvertrust. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Related Composers

1900 WWI WWII Charles Stanford (1852-1924) Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) Clarence White (1880-1960) Avril Coleridge-Taylor (1903-1998)
Charles Stanford (1852-1924)
Teacher
Nationality: Irish | English
Born: September 30, 1852, Dublin Died: March 29, 1924, London (age 71)
Avril Coleridge-Taylor (1903-1998)
daughter
Nationality: English
Born: March 8, 1903, London Died: December 21, 1998, Seaford, Sussex (age 95)
Clarence White (1880-1960)
Student
Nationality: American
Born: August 10, 1880, Clarksville, TN Died: June 30, 1960, New York (age 79)