Ar hyn of bryd mae'r cynnwys hwn ar gael yn Saesneg yn unig.
Ar hyn of bryd mae'r cynnwys hwn ar gael yn Saesneg yn unig.
Ar hyn of bryd mae'r cynnwys hwn ar gael yn Saesneg yn unig.
hyrwyddo a dathlu cerddoriaeth Cymru
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The music of
William Mathias
Composer of the Month
Rhiannon Mathias selects works which illustrate the extraordinary breadth and variety of her father's output
​Divertimento for string orchestra, Op. 7 (1958)
Mathias was 23 years old when he composed this three-movement work for string orchestra and a postgraduate student studying composition and piano at the Royal Academy of Music, London. Early performances and broadcasts of this invigorating piece led to him being offered a life-long publishing contract with Oxford University Press in 1961.
Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 40 (1968)
​Mathias was a virtuoso pianist and performed as soloist in all three of his Piano Concertos. This recording features him premiering his Third Piano Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mosche Atzmon, on 15 October 1968.
Ave Rex: A Carol Sequence, Op. 45 (1969)​
Commissioned by the Cardiff Polyphonic Choir in 1969, Mathias’s Ave Rex is a finely balanced sequence of four carols. The joyful ‘Sir Christèmas’, the fourth carol in the sequence, is particularly popular with choirs and audiences and is regularly sung to welcome in the festive season.
Laudi for orchestra, Op. 62 (1973)
In addition to his three symphonies, Mathias composed a series of one-movement orchestral works, which he called symphonic ‘landscapes of the mind’. ‘Laudi’ is Latin for ‘praises’, and this piece is a highly ritualistic, spiritual landscape for orchestra.
Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, Op. 53 (1971)
Mathias was a man of faith and composed a large number of pieces for church choirs. His Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis was commissioned by Jesus College, Cambridge, in 1971 and is often referred to today simply as the ‘Jesus Service’.
This Worlde’s Joie, Op. 67 (1974)​
Described by Mathias as ‘an act of celebration’, This Worlde’s Joie, Op. 67, is a 50-minute choral-orchestral work in four sections that reflect both the seasons of the year and the stages of life: I Spring (Youth); II Summer (Maturity); III Autumn (Decline); IV Winter (Death).
Vivat Regina, Op. 75 (1977)
Mathias’s Vivat Regina is a six-movement Suite for brass band. This piece was commissioned for Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee and was premiered in the Royal Albert Hall on 11 June 1977 by the massed bands of Black Dyke Mills, Cory, Farey, Foden’s, Hanwell and Morris, conducted by Walter Susskind.
Let the People Praise Thee, O Lord, Op. 87 (1981)​
A setting of Psalm 67, Mathias’s anthem was specially commissioned for the marriage of HRH Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer in St Paul’s Cathedral on 29 July 1981. The anthem has been featured on hundreds of recordings by choirs and continues to be sung regularly around the world today.
Lux Aeterna, Op. 88 (1982)
Described as one of the finest British choral-orchestral works of the twentieth century, Mathias’s Lux Aeterna is a dramatic 60-minute cantata for female soloists, chorus, children’s choir and orchestra. Mathias dedicated this piece to the memory of his mother, and the work was premiered in Hereford Cathedral at the Three Choirs Festival on 26 August 1982.
Santa Fe Suite for solo harp (1988)
Mathias composed several pieces for the harp – including a Harp Concerto, Op. 50 (1970) for Osian Ellis – and his Santa Fe Suite was premiered by Welsh harpist Caryl Thomas at the Wigmore Hall, London, in September 1988. He had recently returned from a festival of his music in Sante Fe when he composed piece, and the sounds of New Mexico can be heard in the music.
Symphony No. 2 (‘Summer Music’), Op. 90 (1983)​
Mathias’s powerful, three-movement Symphony No. 2 was premiered in Liverpool on 14 May 1983 by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, conducted by Vernon Handley, during a five-day ‘Contemporary Composer Seminar’ devoted to his music.
Gweddi’r Arglwydd / The Lord’s Prayer (1992)​
Among Mathias’s final works is a setting of Gweddi’r Arglwydd / The Lord’s Prayer for choir and organ. He composed this work for a choir from his hometown – the Whitland Male Voice Choir – and the piece was originally set in the Welsh language as Gweddi’r Arglwydd (TTBB). The English version of this piece, The Lord’s Prayer, is for mixed chorus (SATB).