Of Anglo-Irish composer E.J. Moeran, English critic and composer Philip Heseltine (aka, Peter Warlock) wrote in 1924 "there is no one of his years who as yet achieved so much." At the time, Moeran was all of 31 years of age and had already amassed an impressive résumé of compositions, which shortly afterward narrowed down to a trickle, resulting in an overall output of modest size. Although recognized among experts in the field of twentieth century British music as one of the most solid craftsmen of his era, Moeran remains ...
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Of Anglo-Irish composer E.J. Moeran, English critic and composer Philip Heseltine (aka, Peter Warlock) wrote in 1924 "there is no one of his years who as yet achieved so much." At the time, Moeran was all of 31 years of age and had already amassed an impressive résumé of compositions, which shortly afterward narrowed down to a trickle, resulting in an overall output of modest size. Although recognized among experts in the field of twentieth century British music as one of the most solid craftsmen of his era, Moeran remains among the least known figures among his contemporaries, which would include William Walton, Arthur Bliss, George Butterworth, and Warlock himself. Although modern recordings of a large part of Moeran's music have been made, particularly on the Chandos label, his music is admittedly hard to cozy up to. Given that its technical accomplishment operates at a very high level and it generally avoids the bucolic sentimentality of the so-called "cowpat school," there is a certain reserve and...
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