Rubbra Edmund Rubbra

Edmund Rubbra (/ˈrʌbrə/; 23 May 1901 – 14 February 1986) was a British composer. He composed both instrumental and vocal works for soloists, chamber groups and full choruses and orchestras. He was greatly esteemed by fellow musicians and was at the peak of his fame in the mid-20th century. The most famous of his pieces are his eleven symphonies. Although he was active at a time when many people wrote twelve-tone music, he decided not to write in this idiom himself. Instead he devised his own distinctive style. His later works were not as popular with the concert-going public as his previous ones had been, although he never lost the respect of his colleagues. Therefore, his output as a whole is less celebrated today than would have been expected from its sheer merit and from his early popularity. He was the brother of the engineer Arthur Rubbra.

Partial list of works

Orchestral

• Symphonies
  • Symphony No. 1, Op. 44
  • Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 45
  • Symphony No. 3, Op. 49
  • Symphony No. 4, Op. 53
  • Symphony No. 5 in B-flat, Op. 63
  • Symphony No. 6, Op. 80
  • Symphony No. 7 in C, Op. 88 (dedicated to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and premiered by them with Andrzej Panufnik conducting)
  • Symphony No. 8, Op. 132, Hommage à Teilhard de Chardin
  • Symphony No. 9, Op. 140, Resurrection (also known as Sinfonia Sacra) ([1])
  • Symphony No. 10, Op. 145, da Camera
  • Symphony No. 11, Op. 153, à Colette
  • Sinfonietta for large string orchestra, Op.163
• Improvisations on Virginal Pieces by Giles Farnaby, Op. 50

Concertante

• Piano
  • Piano Concerto, Op. 30, withdrawn
  • Sinfonia Concertante in C, Op. 38
  • Piano Concerto in G, Op. 85
• Violin
  • Violin Concerto in A, Op. 103
  • Improvisation for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 89
• Viola
  • Viola Concerto in A, Op. 75
• Cello
  • Soliloquy, Op. 57 for cello, two horns, timpani and strings

Instrumental

• Violin Sonatas
  • Violin Sonata No. 1, Op. 11
  • Violin Sonata No. 2, Op. 31
  • Violin Sonata No. 3, Op. 133
• Cello Sonata in G, Op. 60
• Meditationi sur Coeurs Désolés (for Recorder and Harpsichord or Flute or Oboe and Piano), Op. 67
• Oboe Sonata in C, Op. 100
• Meditations on a Byzantine Hymn (for solo Viola), Op. 117
• Sonatina for Treble Recorder and Harpsichord, Op. 128
• Fantasia on a Chord: for Treble Recorder, Harpsichord and Viola da Gamba (ad lib.), Op. 154
• Duo for Cor Anglais and Piano, Op. 156

Chamber

• String Quartets
  • String Quartet No. 1 in F minor, Op. 35
  • String Quartet No. 2 in E-flat, Op. 73
  • String Quartet No. 3, Op. 112
  • String Quartet No. 4, Op. 150
• Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 68, in one movement
• Piano Trio No. 2, Op. 138
• Fantasia on a Theme of Machaut, Op. 86, for Flute, Harpsichord, and String Quartet
• Lyric Movement for String Quartet and Piano, Op. 24

Choral

• Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in A flat, Op. 65 for chorus and organ
• Three Motets, Op. 76 for unaccompanied SATB choir
• Five Motets, Op. 37 for unaccompanied SATB choir
• Missa in honorem Sancti Dominici, Op. 66 (Rubbra’s first Roman Catholic mass and the result of his conversion)
• Missa Cantuariensis, Op. 59 for double choir
• Missa Brevis, Op. 137 for treble voices and organ
• Nine Tenebrae Motets, Op. 72 (a, b and c, three sets of three written over a period of time)
• Dormi Jesu, Op. 3
• Festival Gloria, Op. 94 for unaccompanied SATB choir
• That Virgin's Child Most Meek, Op. 114

For chorus and orchestra

• The Morning Watch, Op. 55
• Song of the Soul, Op. 78
• Inscape (Gerard Manley Hopkins), Op. 122
• Veni Creator Spiritus, Op. 130

Piano music

• Sonatina, Op. 19
• Prelude and fugue on a theme by Cyril Scott (also played on organ), Op. 69
• Nine teaching pieces, Op. 74 (requires a second pianist)
• Introduction, Aria and Fugue, Op. 104
• Eight preludes, Op. 131
• Four studies, Op. 139
• Invention on the name of Haydn, Op. 160
• Fantasy-fugue, Op. 161
• Fukagawa (without opus)
• Nemo fugue (without opus)

Songs

• Two Songs, Op. 2
  • 1. Easter
  • 2. Rosa Mundi
• Two Songs with String Quartet, Op. 3
  • 1. Tears
  • 2. A Litany
• Two Songs, Op. 4
  • 1. The Mystery
  • 2. Jesukin
• O My Deir Hert, Op. 5
• Two Songs with String Quartet, Op. 7
  • 1. Rejection
  • 2. Entrez-y-Tous en Sûreté
• Four Songs, Op. 8
  • 1. A Cradle Song
  • 2. There Is a lady
  • 3. Who Is Sylvia?
  • 4. Orpheus
• Three Songs, Op. 13
  • 1. Out in the Dark
  • 2. Hymn to the Virgin
  • 3. It Was A Lover
• Two Songs, Op. 14
  • 1. The Night
  • 2. Slow Spring
• Rune of Hospitality, Op. 15
• Two Songs, Op. 17
  • 1. A Prayer
  • 2. Invocation to Spring
• Rhapsody, Op. 18
• A Duan of Barra, Op. 20
• Soontree, Op. 21
• Two Songs, Op. 22
  • 1. Take, O Take Those Lips Away
  • 2. Why So Pale and Wan
• The Song of the Laverock, Op. 23
• Ballad of Tristram, Op. 26
• A Widow Bird State Mourning, Op. 28
• Four Mediaeval Latin Lyrics, Op. 32
  • 1. Rondel: Tempus Est Iocundum
  • 2. Plaint: Dum Estas Inchoatur
  • 3. Pastoral: Ecce, Chorus Virginum
  • 4. Lament: Planctus
• In Dark Weather, Op. 33
• Five Sonnets, for tenor and strings, Op. 42
• Amoretti: Five Sonnets, Op. 43
• Nocturne, Op. 54
• Three Psalms, Op. 61
  • 1. O Lord, Rebuke Me Not
  • 2. The Lord Is My Shepherd
  • 3. Praise Ye the Lord
• O Excellent Virgin Princess, Op. 77
• Ode To The Queen, Op. 83
  • 1. Sound Forth, Celestial Organs
  • 2. Fair As Unshaded Light
  • 3. Yet Once Again Our Measures Move
• Two Sonnets by William Alabaster, Op. 87
  • 1. Upon the Crucifix
  • 2. On the Reed of Our Lord's Passion
• No Swan So Fine, Op. 91
• Cantata Pastorale, Op. 92
• The Jade Mountain, Op. 116
  • 1. A Night Thought On Terrace Tower
  • 2. On Hearing Her Play the Harp
  • 3. An Autumn Night Message
  • 4. A Song of the Southern River
  • 5. Farewell To a Japanese Buddhist Priest Bound Homeward
• Salve Regina, Op. 119
• Fly Envious Time, Op. 148