C. Hubert H. Parry: His Life and Music

Sir Hubert Parry was one of Britain's most creative and influential musicians, and a key architect of the English Musical Renaissance. This is a major reappraisal of Parry, both of his life and his vast legacy of compositions. Well known for three enduringly popular works--Blest Pair ofSirens, I was Glad, and Jerusalem, almost an unofficial national anthem--Parry has long been presented as a paternal, establishment figure. Yet Parry's personality was infinitely more complex, as Jeremy Dibble makes clear. Drawing on a wealth of documentary evidence made available for the first time, he is able to draw a detailed portrait of a radical, energetic, yet hypersensitive and lonely man. Dibble also charts Parry's development as a composer, and presents a detailed examination of his works illustrated with a number of musical examples.