April 23rd is St. George’s Day in England, commemorating the country’s patron saint. It may not be a bank holiday (that’s a national holiday to those not familiar with the UK’s bizarre semantics) but that is no reason to not celebrate. To help with that, here is a look at some of the best composers and classical music to come out of the country represented by the St. George’s Cross.

English opera dates back to the 1600s, a time when licences were required by theatres enabling them to perform either drama or musical concerts. These restrictions meant that 17th century theatre goers would have experienced Shakespeare and Ben Jonson plays set to music.

One famous, early protagonist of this style is Henry Purcell, the composer who set a reworking of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night Dream to music with 1692’s The Fairy-Queen. Purcell composed Dido and Aeneas, arguably the first English opera (music historians generally bestow that accolade upon John Blow’s Venus and Adonis of 1683) and a landmark of huge significance.

English language opera enjoyed a revival in the mid-19th century. Arthur Sullivan came to prominence writing incidental music to accompany Shakespeare, firstly with The Tempest in 1862.  He later joined forces with satirical librettist W. S. Gilbert to form one of the most enduring collaborations of all time. Championed by producer Richard D'Oyly Carte, who built them their own theatre, the duo produced a spectacular body of work including masterpieces such as The Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore and The Mikado.

An illustration called 'The Usher's Charge' by Arthur Sullivan, published in 1890 to accompany the opera Trial by Jury

Sullivan was the first Principal of the National Training School for Music, which opened in 1882 before later morphing into the Royal College of Music. England boasts an impressive arsenal of musical institutions, each contributing to the robust and interesting output of the country.

In 1813 the London Philharmonic Society was established. One of the founding members was Thomas Attwood, a composer and the organist of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. The society was responsible for commissioning Beethoven’s Choral Symphony, also known as Beethoven’s Ninth.

The Royal Academy of Music was first created in 1822, although the ‘Royal’ bit came later, in 1830, in the form of a Royal Charter awarded by King George IV. Alumni of the Academy, now a part of the University of London, include Lesley Garrett, Arthur Sullivan and Simon Rattle. 

English opera enjoyed another renaissance in the 20th century with the rise to eminence of Benjamin Britten. Britten maintained the sky high standards of his predecessors, Gilbert and Sullivan, although he took more influence from the classics and experimented with much darker subject matter than his forebears. Operas such as Peter Grimes and The Turn of the Screw are modern masterpieces and continue to be performed with regularity. Britten was part of the trio that founded the Aldeburgh Festival, a celebration of classical music that takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk.

Like many of his fellow composers, Britten’s repertoire was not confined to opera. He wrote ballets, orchestral pieces, chamber music, choral and vocal music and a myriad different works. English classical music reflects the same kind of diversity, with some of the country’s most beloved pieces being hymns.

 ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ was composed by Edward Elgar in 1902, as the ‘trio’ theme from Pomp and Circumstance March no. 1. The words were written by the poet A. C. Benson and were set to the music on the suggestion of King Edward VII.

The Grave Personified, a watercolour by William Blake

A poem by William Blake provided the lyrics for England’s most loved hymn: “And did those feet in ancient time, Walk upon England’s mountain green?” These words constituted the preface to his epic poem Milton a Poem from 1808. The music was composed by Sir Hubert Parry over one hundred years later, in 1916, and Blake’s poem re-entered the public consciousness as the hymn ‘Jerusalem’. Parry was a venerated composer and teacher; he directed the Royal College of London from 1895 until his death as well as serving as a music professor to Oxford University.

Contemporary classical music is also in robust health in England. Composers such as Master of the Queen’s Music Peter Maxwell Davies and Royal Academy of Music professor Thomas Ades are ensuring interesting and exciting pieces will be awaiting the discerning listener for many St. George’s Days to come.