Thea Musgrave (1928- )
Thea
Musgrave studied at the University of Edinburgh and later at
the
Paris Conservatory with Nadia Boulanger. She also studied composition
with Aaron Copland. Her music was initially recognized in Scotland, and
it was from there that she received her earliest commissions. Among
these are A Suite o' Bairnsongs, A Tale for Thieves, and The Abbott of
Drimrock. She has composed in many genres, but showed an early aptitude
for dramatic mediums. The ballet A Tale for Thieves and the chamber
opera The Abbot of Drimrock (1955), were both written on commissions
from the Scottish BBC. Her early works also possess a lyrical,
picturesque charm within a largely diatonic idiom, and no evidence of
avant-garde explorations. However, around 1955 Musgrave began
experimenting with denser chromaticism and abstract forms. In the 1960s
she also embraced serialism, which infused her work with a newfound
liveliness and energy. A confident, original personality emerged in her
later work, which loses nothing of the lyricism and plasticity of her
earlier works. The Decision was Musgrave's major work of the 1960's,
produced for the first time by the New Opera Company in 1967. A full
scale opera, it deals with the grim realities of a mining accident, and
confronts a variety of moral questions. It is illustrative of the
changes that her compositional style was undergoing at the time, for it
is imbued with a distinctive energy. Much of the immediate work that
followed was derived from this stylistic transformation. Her concertos
also reflect a heightened dramatic sense. They contain asynchronous
passages and borrowings in the manner of Charles Ives, a composer whom
Musgrave studied and emulated. Musgrave's concertos are complex,
dramatic happenings in which the soloist affects different groups of
instrumentalists throughout the orchestra. In her Clarinet Concerto,
commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society, the soloist walks about
the stage while interacting with different groups of instrumentalists
in the orchestra. In her French horn concerto, the soloist "activates"
a group, and then conducts them. The soloists in her concertos initiate
interactions among various groups in an abstract dramatic medium in
which the orchestra divides and recombines, and eventually unites as a
tutti ensemble. Thea Musgrave's later work has centered on the
operatic. Her first major opera of this period is The Voice of Ariadne,
a sophisticated tale about being haunted. Mary Queen of Scots (1977)
was the first opera for which Musgrave wrote her own libretto. She has
continued this practice in works such as A Christmas Carol and Harriet,
The Woman called Moses. Musgrave's compositions have been performed by
most of the major symphony orchestras, and she has often conducted her
works as well. She has won many awards, including the Koussevitsky
award in 1973. The Voice of Ariadne was performed by the New York City
Opera Company, and her Clarinet Concerto by the New York Philharmonic.
She has lectured at major universities both in the United States and
abroad, and in 1987 was made a distinguished professor at the City
University of New York.- Rita Laurance/AllMusic
COMPOSITIONS Musgrave Links ~ ~ ~ Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ Musgrave on Musgrave
Piano Sonata No. 1 (????, withdrawn)
Two Songs, baritone and piano (1951) [text: Ezra Pound]
A Tale for Thieves, ballet (1953) [after G. Chaucer's "The Pardoner's Tale"]
- A Tale for Thieves, suite, orchestra (1953) [from the ballet]
Four Madrigals, chorus (1953) [text: Sir Thomas Wyatt]
A Suite o' Bairnsangs (5 songs), voice and piano (1953) [text: Maurice Lindsay]
Cantata for a Summer's Day, chorus and chamber orchestra (1954) [text: Alexander Hume and Maurice Lindsay]
- Song of the Burn, chorus (1954) [text: Lindsay] [from "Cantata for a Summer's Day", 1954]
- Canta, Canta, clarinet, cello and piano (1997) [derived from original song in "Cantata for a Summer's Day", 1954]
The Abbot of Drimock, comic opera in 1 act (1955) [libretto: M. Lindsay]
Five Love Songs, soprano and guitar (1955) [text: various 16th and 17th century poets]
Piano Sonata No. 2 (1956)
Four Portraits, baritone, clarinet and piano (1956) [text: Sir John Davies]
Divertimento, string orchestra (1957)
Obliques, orchestra (1958)
String Quartet (1958)
A Song for Christtnas, soprano (or tenor) and piano (1958) [text: attrib. William Dunbar]
Scottish Dance Suite, orchestra (1959)
Triptych (3 songs), tenor and orchestra (1959) [text: Chaucer]
Theme and Interludes, amateur orchestra (1960)
Trio, flute, oboe and piano (1960)
Colloquy, violin and piano (1960)
Monologue, piano (1960)
Perspectives, small orchestra (1961, withdrawn)
Make ye merry for Him that is to come, children's chorus and female chorus, w/opt. organ (1961) [text: (15th-century]
Serenade, flute, clarinet, viola, cello and harp (1961)
Sir Patrick Spens, tenor and guitar (1961) [text: trad.]
Marko the Miser, children's opera (1962) [libretto: Musgrave and F. Samson, after A.N. Afanas'yev]
Theme and Interludes, orchestra (1962)
The Phoenix and the Turtle, chorus and orchestra (1962) [text: William Shakespeare]
Chamber Concerto No. 1, ob, cl, bsn, hn, tpt, trom, vln, va and vc (1962)
Sinfonia, orchestra (1963)
The Five Ages of Man, chorus and orchestra (1963) [text: based on extracts from Hesiod's "The Works and Days"]
John Cook, chorus (1963) [text: anon.]
The Devil and John Brown, TV film score (1963)
The Decision, opera in 3 acts (1964-65) [libretto: Lindsay] [inspired by the story "The Devil and John Brown"] - see film music
Festival Overture, orchestra (1965)
Nocturnes and Arias, orchestra (1965) [1966?]
Excursions, piano 4-hands (1965)
Two Christmas Carols in Traditional Style, oboe (or cl; or vln), violin, viola (or violin) and cello (1966) [text: Norman Nicholson]
Sonata for Three, flute, violin and guitar (1966)
Chamber Concerto No. 2, fl/picc/alto fl, cl/bass cl, vln/va, vc and pf (1966)
Chamber Concerto No. 3, cl, bsn, hn, str qt and db (1966)
Variations, brass band (1966)
Concerto for Orchestra (1967)
Memento creatoris, chorus, w/opt. organ (1967) [text: John Donne]
Impromptu No. 1, flute and oboe (1967)
Music for Horn and Piano (1967)
Night Music, chamber orchestra (1968)
Beauty and the Beast, ballet (1968-69)
Clarinet Concerto (1969)
Soliloquy, guitar and tape (1969) [see also "Soliloquy II" and "Soliloquy III", 1980]
Elegy, viola and cello (1970)
Impromptu No. 2, flute, oboe and clarinet (1970)
From One to Another, viola and tape (1970)
Memento vitae (Concerto in Homage to Beethoven), orchestra (1971)
Concerto for Horn and Orchestra (1971)
Primavera, soprano and flute (1971)
The Voice of Ariadne, chamber opera in 3 acts (1972-73) [libretto: A. Elguera, after H. James' "The Last of the Valerii"]
Viola Concerto (1973)
Rorate coeli, chorus (1974; rev. 1976) [text: William Dunbar]
Orfeo I, flute and tape (1975) ["an improvisation on a theme"] [arr. for flute and strings as "Orfeo II"]
- Orfeo, ballet, dancer, flute, string ensemble/orchestra or tape (1975) [based on instrumental works "Orfeo I" or "Orfeo II"]
- Orfeo II, flute and 15 strings (1975) [arr. from original work for flute and tape, 1975]
- Orfeo III, flute, violin, viola, cello and double bass (1975/1993) [arr. 1995 from "Orfeo I" and "Orfeo II"]
Space Play, wind quintet and string quartet (1974)
Mary, Queen of Scots, opera in 2 acts (1975-77) [libretto: Musgrave, after Elguera's "Moray"]
- Monologues of Mary, Queen of Scots, dramatic suite from the opera, soprano and orchestra (1976?-86)
O Caro M'é Il Sonno, chorus (1978) [text: Michelangelo]
A Christmas Carol, opera in 2 acts (1978-79) [libretto: Musgrave, after Dickens]
Time Remembered (or Sound Crystals), tape (1979)
Last Twilight, theatre piece, chorus, brass [3 hn,4 tpt, 4 trbn] and percussion (1980) [libretto: D.H. Lawrence]
Soliloquy II, guitar and chamber orchestra [fl/pic, 2 ob, bsn, strings] (1980) [see also "Soliloquy" I, 1969]
- Soliloquy III, guitar and chamber ensemble [fl, ob, cl, bsn, 2 vln, va vc, db] (1980)
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, radio opera (1981) [libretto: Musgrave, after A. Bierce]
Peripeteia, orchestra (1981)
Fanfare, brass quintet (1982)
The Lord's Prayer, chorus and organ (1983)
Harriet, the Woman Called "Moses", opera in 2 acts (1984; rev. 1985) [libretto: Musgrave]
- The Story of Harriet Tubman, music drama (1990) [libretto: Musgrave] [based on "Harriet, the Woman called Moses"]
- Remembering Harriet: A Story of the American Underground Railroad, soloist, narrator, chorus and orchestra (1984)
a concert work of excerpts from the opera "Harriet, the Woman called Moses"
Moving into Aquarius, orchestra (1984) [co-written w/Richard Rodney Bennett in honour of Sir Michael Tippett's 80th birthday]
Black Tambourine (6 songs), female chorus, piano and percussion (1985) [text: Hart Crane]
Pierrot, clarinet, violin and piano (1985)
For the Time Being: Advent, narrator and chorus (1986) [text: W.H. Auden]
The Golden Echo I, horn and tape (1986)
Golden Echo II, solo horn and 16 horns (1986)
Narcissus, flute (or clarinet) and digital delay (1987)
Niobe, oboe and tape (1987)
The Seasons, orchestra (1988)
Echoes Through Time, 5 solo voices, 5 speakers, [3 dancers], female chorus and speaking chorus (1988) [text: C. E. Cooper]
Piccolo Play, piccolo and piano (1989)
Rainbow, orchestra (1990)
Song of the Enchanter, orchestra (1990) [commissioned to honour the 125th anniversary of the birth of Jean Sibelius]
Fanfare for a New Hall, 2 trumpets (1990)
Simón Bolívar, opera in 2 acts (1989-92) [libretto: Musgrave]
- Remembering Bolívar, S, T, Bar soloists and orchestra (1992-94) [originally entitled "Suite from Simón Bolívar"]
Midnight, chorus (1992) [text: John Keats' "To Sleep"]
Wind Quintet (1992)
Autumn Sonata, bass clarinet and orchestra (1993)
Wild Winter I: Lamentations for Voices & Viols [S, 2T, B, consort of viols/2 treble, 1 tenor, 2 bass] (1993)
- Wild Winter II, chorus and string quintet (1993; arr. 1996)
Journey Through a Japanese Landscape,concerto for marimba and wind orchestra (1993-94)
Helios - Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra (1994)
On the Underground, Set No. 1, "On Gratitude, Love and Madness" (6 songs), chorus (1994)
On the Underground, Set No. 2, "The Strange and the Exotic" (4 songs), chorus (1994)
On the Underground, Set No. 3, "A Medieval Summer" (5 songs), chorus (1995)
Postcards from Spain, guitar (1995)
Songs for a Winter's Evening (7 songs), soprano and orchestra (1995) [text: Robert Burns]
From Spring to Spring, marimba and windchimes (1996)
Circe, 3 flutes (1996)
Phoenix Rising, orchestra (1997)
Canta, Canta, clarinet, cello and piano (1997) [derived from original song in "Cantata for a Summer's Day", 1954]
Threnody, clarinet (or English horn) and piano (1997)
In the Still of the Night, viola (1997)
Three Women - Queen, Mistress, Slave, soprano, narrator and orchestra (1998) [exerpts from "Mary, Queen of Scots",
"Simón Bolívar, and "Harriet, The Woman Called Moses"]
Voices from the Ancient World, 3 flutes and percussion (1998) [Eos; Pan; Boreas; Circe; Pandora; Selene]
A La Esperanza (Hope), soprano and organ (1998) [text: Sor Juana Inés De La Cruz]
Aurora, string orchestra (1999)
Echoes of Time Past, English horn, trumpet and string orchestra (1999)
Celebration Day, chorus and orchestra (1999) [text: John Dryden]
Lamenting With Ariadne, chamber ensemble [fl, cl/bass cl, tpt, hp, perc, vln, va, vc] (1999)
The Mocking-Bird, chamber opera in 1 act (2000)
Ring Out Wild Bells, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2000) [to celebrate new millenium January 1st 2001]
Pontalba, opera in 2 acts (2003) [libretto: Musgrave, based on book by Christina Vella]
Turbulent Landscapes, orchestra (2003)
Wood, Metal, Skin, concerto for percussion and orchestra (2004)
Going North (4 songs), female chorus and 2 clarinets (2004) [text: "A Song About Myself", John Keats]
Journey Into Light, soprano and chamber orchestra (2004) [text: 15th-century]
Two's Company, concerto for oboe, solo percussion and orchestra (2005)
Voices of Power and Protest, dramatic concert, chorus (2006) [text: Musgrave]
Points of View, chamber orchestra [fl, ob, Eng hn, bsn, hn, tpt, strings/5.4.3.2.1] (2007)
The Egrets Have Landed, violin and piano (2007) [for young performers]
Take Two Oboes (2007)
Night Windows, oboe and piano (2007)
Green, string orchestra [12 players] (2008)
Cantilena, oboe, violin, viola and cello (2008)
A Winter's Morning, lyric soprano and piano (2008) [text: Robert Burns]
Ithaca, chorus (2009) [text: C. P. Cavafy, trans. by Avi Sharon]
Sunrise, flute, viola and harp (2009)
Prelude: Bist du bei mir, piano (2009) [simple setting of melody from Bach's Anna Magdalena Notebuch]
Snapshots for Piano (2009)
Poets in Love (17 songs), for tenor, baritone and piano 4-hands (2009)
Towards the Blue, solo clarinet, wind quartet [fl, ob, hn, bsn] and string quartet (2010)
Sing To Celebrate Summer, tenor, harp and opt. audience participation (2010) [text: Chaucer]
Snow, soprano, oboe d’amore and bass viol (or viola) (2010) [text: Isaac Rosenberg]
Five Songs For Spring, song cycle, baritone and piano (2011) [text: Robert Burns]
WORKS BY GENRE Musgrave Links ~ ~ ~ Musgrave on Musgrave ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
The Abbot of Drimock, comic opera in 1 act (1955) [libretto: M. Lindsay]
Marko the Miser, children's opera (1962) [libretto: Musgrave and F. Samson, after A.N. Afanas'yev]
The Decision, opera in 3 acts (1964-65) [libretto: Lindsay] [inspired by the story "The Devil and John Brown"] - see film music
The Voice of Ariadne, chamber opera in 3 acts (1972-73) [libretto: A. Elguera, after H. James' "The Last of the Valerii"]
Mary, Queen of Scots, opera in 2 acts (1975-77) [libretto: Musgrave, after Elguera's "Moray"]
A Christmas Carol, opera in 2 acts (1978-79) [libretto: Musgrave, after Dickens]
Last Twilight, theatre piece, chorus, brass [3 hn,4 tpt, 4 trbn] and percussion (1980) [libretto: D.H. Lawrence]
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, radio opera (1981) [libretto: Musgrave, after A. Bierce]
Harriet, the Woman Called "Moses", opera in 2 acts (1984; rev. 1985) [libretto: Musgrave]
- The Story of Harriet Tubman, music drama (1990) [libretto: Musgrave] [based on "Harriet, the Woman called Moses"]
Simón Bolívar, opera in 2 acts (1989-92) [libretto: Musgrave]
The Mocking-Bird, chamber opera in 1 act (2000)
Pontalba, opera in 2 acts (2003) [libretto: Musgrave, based on book by Christina Vella]
Voices of Power and Protest, dramatic concert, chorus (2006) [text: Musgrave]
Ballet
A Tale for Thieves, ballet (1953) [after G. Chaucer's "The Pardoner's Tale"]
Beauty and the Beast, ballet (1968-69)
Orfeo, ballet, dancer, flute, string ensemble/orchestra or tape (1975) [based on instrumental works "Orfeo I" or "Orfeo II"]
Orchestra
A Tale for Thieves, suite, orchestra (1953) [from the ballet]
Divertimento, string orchestra (1957)
Obliques, orchestra (1958)
Scottish Dance Suite, orchestra (1959)
Theme and Interludes, amateur orchestra (1960)
Perspectives, small orchestra (1961, withdrawn)
Theme and Interludes, orchestra (1962)
Sinfonia, orchestra (1963)
Festival Overture, orchestra (1965)
Nocturnes and Arias, orchestra (1965) [1966?]
Concerto for Orchestra (1967)
Night Music, chamber orchestra (1968)
Memento vitae (Concerto in Homage to Beethoven), orchestra (1971)
Peripeteia, orchestra (1981)
Moving into Aquarius, orchestra (1984) [co-written w/Richard Rodney Bennett in honour of Sir Michael Tippett's 80th birthday]
The Seasons, orchestra (1988)
Rainbow, orchestra (1990)
Song of the Enchanter, orchestra (1990) [commissioned to honour the 125th anniversary of the birth of Jean Sibelius]
Phoenix Rising, orchestra (1997)
Aurora, string orchestra (1999)
Turbulent Landscapes, orchestra (2003)
Points of View, chamber orchestra [fl, ob, Eng hn, bsn, hn, tpt, strings/5.4.3.2.1] (2007)
Green, string orchestra [12 players] (2008)
Band
Variations, brass band (1966)
Journey Through a Japanese Landscape,concerto for marimba and wind orchestra (1993-94)
Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
Clarinet Concerto (1969)
Concerto for Horn and Orchestra (1971)
Viola Concerto (1973)
Orfeo II, flute and 15 strings (1975) [arr. from original work for flute and tape, 1975]
Soliloquy II, guitar and chamber orch [fl/pic, 2 ob, bsn, strings] (1980) [also "Soliloquy III": gtr & chmbr ens] ["Soliloquy" I, 1969]
Autumn Sonata, bass clarinet and orchestra (1993)
Journey Through a Japanese Landscape,concerto for marimba and wind orchestra (1993-94)
Helios - Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra (1994)
Echoes of Time Past, English horn, trumpet and string orchestra (1999)
Wood, Metal, Skin, concerto for percussion and orchestra (2004)
Two's Company, concerto for oboe, solo percussion and orchestra (2005)
Points of View, chamber orchestra [fl, ob, Eng hn, bsn, hn, tpt, strings/5.4.3.2.1] (2007)
Chorus w/Orchestra
Cantata for a Summer's Day, chorus and chamber orchestra (1954) [text: Alexander Hume and Maurice Lindsay]
The Phoenix and the Turtle, chorus and orchestra (1962) [text: William Shakespeare]
The Five Ages of Man, chorus and orchestra (1963) [text: based on extracts from Hesiod's "The Works and Days"]
Remembering Harriet: A Story of the American Underground Railroad, soloist, narrator, chorus and orchestra (1984)
- a concert work of excerpts from the opera "Harriet, the Woman called Moses"
Celebration Day, chorus and orchestra (1999) [text: John Dryden]
Choral
Four Madrigals, chorus (1953) [text: Sir Thomas Wyatt]
- With serving still this have I won
- Tanglid I was in love’s snare
- At most mischief I suffer grief
- Hate whom ye list, for I care not
Song of the Burn, chorus (1954) [text: Lindsay] [from "Cantata for a Summer's Day", 1954]
Make ye merry for Him that is to come, children's chorus and female chorus, w/opt. organ (1961) [text: (15th-century]
John Cook, chorus (1963) [text: anon.]
Two Christmas Carols in Traditional Style, oboe (or cl; or vln), violin, viola (or violin) and cello (1966) [text: Norman Nicholson]
- Carol for the Watchers
- Wise Men's Carol
Memento creatoris, chorus, w/opt. organ (1967) [text: John Donne]
Rorate coeli, chorus (1974; rev. 1976) [text: William Dunbar]
O Caro M'é Il Sonno, chorus (1978) [text: Michelangelo]
Last Twilight, theatre piece, chorus, brass [3 hn,4 tpt, 4 trbn] and percussion (1980) [libretto: D.H. Lawrence]
The Lord's Prayer, chorus and organ (1983)
Black Tambourine (6 songs), female chorus, piano and percussion (1985) [text: Hart Crane]
- North Labrador
- Legend
- Black Tambourine
- My Grandmother's Love Letters
- Pastoral
- Repose of Rivers
For the Time Being: Advent, narrator and chorus (1986) [text: W.H. Auden]
Echoes Through Time, 5 solo voices, 5 speakers, [3 dancers], female chorus and speaking chorus (1988) [text: C. E. Cooper]
Midnight, chorus (1992) [text: John Keats' "To Sleep"]
Wild Winter I: Lamentations for Voices & Viols [S, 2T, B, consort of viols/2 treble, 1 tenor, 2 bass] (1993)
- Wild Winter II, chorus and string quintet (1993; arr. 1996)
- Prologue: War broke: and now the Winter of the world ....closes in [text: Wilfred Owen]
- Lament No. 1: He cerrado mi balcón [text: García Lorca]
- Lament No. 2: Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind [text: Stephen Crane]
- Reprise: War broke, war broke [text: Wilfred Owen]
- Lament No. 3: Guerre, ô guerre occupée au choc des escadrons [text: Victor Hugo]
- Interlude: Crow to crow did fly [text: Pushkin]
- Alternative Interlude: As I was walking all alane [text: Scots traditional]
- Lament No. 4 (Madrigal): Le donne lagrimose, e'l vulgo inerme [text: Petrarch]
- Lament No. 5 (Chorale): Den wilden Orgeln des Wintersturms [text: Georg Trakl]
- Coda: ....(wild) winter closes in [text: Wilfred Owen]
On the Underground, Set No. 1, "On Gratitude, Love and Madness" (6 songs), chorus (1994)
- Benediction [text: James Berry
- Her anxiety [text: W.B. Yeats]
- Lady "Rogue" Singleton [text: Stevie Smith]
- Much madness is divinest sense [text: Emily Dickinson]
- Aunt Jennifer's tigers [text: Adrienne Rich]
- Sometimes [text: Sheenagh Pugh]
On the Underground, Set No. 2, "The Strange and the Exotic" (4 songs), chorus (1994)
- Dreams [text: Robert Herrick]
- I saw a peacock with a fiery tail [text: anon., 17th century]
- The subway piranhas [text: Edwin Morgan]
- Dreams (reprise)
On the Underground, Set No. 3, "A Medieval Summer" (5 songs), chorus (1995)
- Now Welcome Summer . . . [text: anon., 14th century]
- Welcome summer with thy sunne soft . . . [text: anon., early 15th century]
- Now welcome Summer with thy sunne soft [text: anon., 13th century]
- I shall say what inordinate love is [text: anon., 15th century]
- I shall say what inordinate love is [text: "The Parliament of Fowls", Geoffrey Chaucer]
Going North (4 songs), female chorus and 2 clarinets (2004) [text: "A Song About Myself", John Keats]
- There was a naughty boy, A naughty boy was he, He would not stop at home, He could not quiet be
- There was a naughty boy, A naughty boy was he, For nothing would he do but scribble poetry
- There was a naughty boy, A naughty boy was he, He kept little fishes in washing tubs three
- There was a naughty boy, A naughty boy was he, He ran away to Scotland the people for to see
Voices of Power and Protest, dramatic concert, chorus (2006) [text: Musgrave]
Ithaca, chorus (2009) [text: C. P. Cavafy, trans. by Avi Sharon]
Chamber
String Quartet (1958)
Trio, flute, oboe and piano (1960)
Serenade, flute, clarinet, viola, cello and harp (1961)
Chamber Concerto No. 1, ob, cl, bsn, hn, tpt, trom, vln, va and vc (1962)
Sonata for Three, flute, violin and guitar (1966)
Chamber Concerto No. 2, fl/picc/alto fl, cl/bass cl, vln/va, vc and pf (1966)
Chamber Concerto No. 3, cl, bsn, hn, str qt and db (1966)
Variations, brass band (1966)
Impromptu No. 1, flute and oboe (1967)
Elegy, viola and cello (1970)
Impromptu No. 2, flute, oboe and clarinet (1970)
Space Play, wind quintet and string quartet (1974)
Soliloquy III, guitar & chamber ensmble [fl, ob, cl, bsn, str qt, db] (1980) [also "Soliloquy II": gtr & chbr orch] ["Soliloquy" I, 1969]
Fanfare, brass quintet (1982)
Pierrot, clarinet, violin and piano (1985)
Golden Echo II, solo horn and 16 horns (1986)
Fanfare for a New Hall, 2 trumpets (1990)
Wind Quintet (1992)
Orfeo III, flute, violin, viola, cello and double bass (1975/1993) [arr. 1995 from "Orfeo I" and "Orfeo II"]
From Spring to Spring, marimba and windchimes (1996)
Circe, 3 flutes (1996)
Canta, Canta, clarinet, cello and piano (1997) [derived from original song in "Cantata for a Summer's Day", 1954]
Voices from the Ancient World, 3 flutes and percussion (1998) [Eos; Pan; Boreas; Circe; Pandora; Selene]
Lamenting With Ariadne, chamber ensemble [fl, cl/bass cl, tpt, hp, perc, vln, va, vc] (1999)
Ring Out Wild Bells, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2000) [to celebrate new millenium January 1st 2001]
Take Two Oboes (2007)
Cantilena, oboe, violin, viola and cello (2008)
Sunrise, flute, viola and harp (2009)
Towards the Blue, solo clarinet, wind quartet [fl, ob, hn, bsn] and string quartet (2010)
Instrument and Piano
Colloquy, violin and piano (1960)
Music for Horn and Piano (1967)
Piccolo Play, piccolo and piano (1989)
Threnody, clarinet (or English horn) and piano (1997)
The Egrets Have Landed, violin and piano (2007) [for young performers]
Night Windows, oboe and piano (2007)
Solo Instrument
Soliloquy, guitar and tape (1969) [see also "Soliloquy II" and "Soliloquy III", 1980]
From One to Another, viola and tape (1970)
Orfeo I, flute and tape (1975) ["an improvisation on a theme"] [arr. for flute and strings as "Orfeo II"]
The Golden Echo I, horn and tape (1986)
Narcissus, flute (or clarinet) and digital delay (1987)
Niobe, oboe and tape (1987)
Postcards from Spain, guitar (1995)
From Spring to Spring, marimba and windchimes (1996)
In the Still of the Night, viola (1997)
Piano
Piano Sonata No. 1 (????, withdrawn)
Piano Sonata No. 2 (1956)
Monologue, piano (1960)
Excursions, piano 4-hands (1965)
Prelude: Bist du bei mir, piano (2009) [simple setting of melody from Bach's Anna Magdalena Notebuch]
Snapshots for Piano (2009)
Vocal
Two Songs, baritone and piano (1951) [text: Ezra Pound]
A Suite o' Bairnsangs (5 songs), voice and piano (1953) [text: Maurice Lindsay]
- The Man-in-the Mune
- Daffins (Daffodils)
- Willie Wabster
- A Bairn's Prayer at Nicht
- The Gean (The Cherry Tree)
Five Love Songs, soprano and guitar (1955) [text: various 16th and 17th century poets]
- Except I Love
- O Love, How Strangely Sweet
- Poor is the Life
- Weep Eyes, Break Heart
- The Spring of Joy Is Dry
Four Portraits, baritone, clarinet and piano (1956) [text: Sir John Davies]
- The Phisition
- The Lawyer
- The Divine
- The Courtier
A Song for Christtnas, soprano (or tenor) and piano (1958) [text: attrib. William Dunbar]
Triptych (3 songs), tenor and orchestra (1959) [text: Chaucer]
- Your yën two wol slee me sodenly
- So hath your beautë fro your herë chaced
- Sin I fro Love escapëd am so fat
Sir Patrick Spens, a ballad, tenor and guitar (1961) [text: trad. Scottish]
Primavera, soprano and flute (1971)
Monologues of Mary, Queen of Scots, dramatic suite from the opera, soprano and orchestra (1976?-86)
Remembering Bolívar, S, T, Bar soloists and orchestra (1992-94) [originally entitled "Suite from Simón Bolívar"]
Songs for a Winter's Evening (7 songs), soprano and orchestra (1995) [text: Robert Burns]
- I am my mammy's ae bairn
- Summer's a pleasant time
- O, whistle an' I'll come to ye, my lad!
- Ca' the yowes to the knowes
- Ye banks and braes o' bonnie Doon
- Jamie come try me
- John Anderson my jo, John
A La Esperanza (Hope), soprano and organ (1998) [text: Sor Juana Inés De La Cruz]
Three Women - Queen, Mistress, Slave, soprano, narrator and orchestra (1998) [exerpts from "Mary, Queen of Scots",
"Simón Bolívar, and "Harriet, The Woman Called Moses"]
Journey Into Light, soprano and chamber orchestra (2004) [text: 15th-century]
A Winter's Morning, lyric soprano and piano (2008) [text: Robert Burns]
Poets in Love (17 songs), for tenor, baritone and piano 4-hands (2009)
- I have come to you with greetings [text: Afanasy Fet]
- O mistress mine, where are you roaming? (duet) [text: Shakespeare]
- Westron wynde when wyll thow blow (tenor solo) [text: anon. 16th century]
- Wenn ihr Freunde vergesst, wenn ihr Künstler höhnt (baritone solo) [text: Hölderlin]
- La peregrina voz y el claro acento (tenor solo) [text: Juan de Tasis]
- Eros, wie seh ich dich hier! In jeglichem Händchen die Sanduhr! (baritone solo) [text: Goethe]
- Ich bin wie eine Fahne von Fernen umgeben (tenor solo) [text: Rilke]
- The night has a thousand eyes (duet) [text: Francis William Bourdillon]
- Beautiful is she, this woman (tenor solo) [text: from "3 Songs from the Haida/Queen Charlotte Islands, BC]
- Que no quiero amores (baritone solo) [text: anon. circa 1554]
- Crede ratem ventis, animum ne crede puellis (baritone solo) [text: Pentadius, circa 3rd century AD]
- Lament him, Mauchline husbands a’ (duet) [text: Robert Burns]
- Vrai Dieu, qu’amoureux ont de peine! (tenor solo) [text: chanson populaire, 2nd half 15th century]
- In the blithe days of honeymoon (tenor solo) [text: James Boswell]
- Fummo un tempo felici (baritone solo) [text: Torquato Tasso, 1544-1595]
- O how tenderly yet with apprehension [text: Fedor Tyutchev]
- Music, when soft voices die (duet) [text: Percy Bysshe Shelley]
Sing To Celebrate Summer, tenor, harp and opt. audience participation (2010) [text: Chaucer]
Snow, soprano, oboe d’amore and bass viol (or viola) (2010) [text: Isaac Rosenberg]
Five Songs For Spring, song cycle, baritone and piano (2011) [text: Robert Burns]
- When first I came to Stewart Kyle
- Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes
- Twa bony lads were Sandy and Jockie
- Ae fond kiss and then we sever
- Of a’the airts the wind can blaw
Incidental/Film
The Devil and John Brown, TV film score (1963)
Electronic
Soliloquy, guitar and tape (1969) [see also "Soliloquy II" and "Soliloquy III", 1980]
From One to Another, viola and tape (1970)
Orfeo I, flute and tape (1975) ["an improvisation on a theme"] [arr. for flute and strings as "Orfeo II"]
Time Remembered (or Sound Crystals), tape (1979)
The Golden Echo I, horn and tape (1986)
Narcissus, flute (or clarinet) and digital delay (1987)
Niobe, oboe and tape (1987)
MUSGRAVE LINKS Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ Musgrave on Musgrave ~ top of page ~
The Composer's Quest - Thea Musgrave Profile (Elizabeth Clark, HeraldSchotland)
An Interview with Thea Musgrave, Scottish-American Composer (Gena Raps)
Thea Musgrave (Francis Routh, MusicWeb International)
Thea Musgrave, A Bio-bibliography (Donald L. Hixon, Greenwood Pr, books.google.com)
Thea Musgrave - A Conversation with Bruce Duffie (bruceduffie.com)
Thea Musgrave: Scottish Octagenarian Composer, Now Setting Robert Burns (Andrew Ford, The Music Show)
Theme and Drama in Thea Musgrave's Early Music, 1956-1960 (Mijung Koo, CUNY)
Composer's website . . . inquire about Thea Musgrave: here
Musgrave @ Wikipedia
Musgrave @ About.com
Musgrave @ American Music Center
Musgrave @ Answers.com
Musgrave @ BBC Music
Musgrave @ Bravissimo
Musgrave @ Chester Novello
Musgrave @ Classic Cat
Musgrave @ Classics for Kids
Musgrave @ Classical Archives
Musgrave @ Classical Composers Database
Musgrave @ Classical Connect
Musgrave @ The Classical Source
Musgrave @ ClassicsToday
Musgrave @ composition:today
Musgrave @ Facebook
Musgrave @ The High Pony Tail
Musgrave @ Historical Anthology of Music by Women (James R. Briscoe, Indiana Univ Pr, books.google.com)
Musgrave @ InstantEncore
Musgrave @ IRCAM (in French)
Musgrave @ Leonarda Records
Musgrave @ Modern Classical
Musgrave @ MusicWeb International
Musgrave @ Naxos
Musgrave @ The New York Times
Musgrave @ NMC Recordings
Musgrave @ Norton/Grove Dictionary of Women Composers (Julie Anne Sadie, Rhian Samuel, books.google.com)
Musgrave @ Operas.com.ar
Musgrave @ Operone.de
Musgrave @ REC Music Foundation /The Lied and Art Song Texts Page
Musgrave @ sound festival
Musgrave @ Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary
Musgrave @ Women in Music Festival/Eastman School of Music
Musgrave @ Women of Achievement
Musgrave @ Women of Note
Publisher
Musgrave @ Chester Novello
Musgrave @ G. Schirmer
Streaming Audio
Musgrave @ BBC Radio 4/Woman's Hour
Musgrave @ Classical Archives
Musgrave @ Classical Connect
Musgrave @ last.fm
Musgrave @ The Music Show/ABC Radio Int'l - Interview
Musgrave @ Rhapsody.com
Musgrave @ SoundCloud
Recordings
Musgrave @ Composer's website
Musgrave @ ArkivMusic
Musgrave @ CD Universe
Musgrave @ ClassicsOnline
Musgrave @ Discogs
Musgrave @ Leonarda Records
Musgrave @ NMC Recordings
Video
Musgrave @ YouTube
Musgrave @ Google Video
~ top of page ~
Musgrave on Musgrave: On Her New Commission "Green" (VIDEO)
Musgrave on Musgrave: Interview w/Andrew Ford/The Music Show, ABC Radio (streaming audio)
Composers
Speak on the Web at Pytheas~ click on composer picture to listen ~
Musgrave on Musgrave: On Female Maestros/BBC Radio 4 (streaming audio)
Composers
Speak on the Web at Pytheas~ click on composer picture to listen ~
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