Hubert Parry's Organ Works in the Context of the Great War and Parry's Study of J. S. Bach

Ruth Eldredge Thomas
Crown Center Sheraton Hotel - FREEMONT

C.H.H. Parry was a true polymath. His contributions to the world of music span anthems, cantatas, toccatas, and the first edition of the Grove Dictionary. In this 25-minute paper, Ms. Thomas will introduce Parry as an organist and musicologist, and analyze his organ works, perhaps his least-known genre (even among organists). The pieces will be considered in the context of Parry’s interest in JS Bach, of whom he was a biographer, the English Organ, and British nationalism, which was at its height during the Great War. Ms. Thomas will make a special introductory focus on seven previously unpublished works, currently held in the Bodleian Library, and which will be published in 2018 as part of the first Complete Organ Works of C.H.H. Parry (Wayne Leupold Press). As 2018 marks the centenary of Parry’s death, in addition to the end of the Great War, the timing of this paper and the new American edition are particularly significant and germane to both topics of JS Bach and music issues surrounding the War.

Wednesday, July 4
10:30 – 11:30am