Charles Villiers Stanford had the misfortune to live until his music had fallen out of fashion. The Mass Via Victrix, Op. 173, a substantial 1919 work for four soloists, chorus, orchestra, and organ, apparently remained unperformed, except for the Gloria, even though it was published in 1920. The small cantata At the Abbey Gate, Op. 177, suffered the same fate. Perhaps audiences gravitated more toward composers who had actually fought in the war, but the elderly Stanford was in London when it was bombed, and he was forced ...
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Charles Villiers Stanford had the misfortune to live until his music had fallen out of fashion. The Mass Via Victrix, Op. 173, a substantial 1919 work for four soloists, chorus, orchestra, and organ, apparently remained unperformed, except for the Gloria, even though it was published in 1920. The small cantata At the Abbey Gate, Op. 177, suffered the same fate. Perhaps audiences gravitated more toward composers who had actually fought in the war, but the elderly Stanford was in London when it was bombed, and he was forced to flee to Windsor. Whatever the case, the failure of the work must have been a bitter disappointment, for it shows evidence of heart and soul. As the title implies, the mass commemorates the war dead and gives thanks for Britain's victory. It combines a big public sort of conservative polyphony in the Gloria, with more passionate, inward material in the solos. Perhaps the mixture did not sit well with choir directors who examined the work. The Credo, however, is a major undiscovered...
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