Hubert Parry: Frolic - An English Suite

Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry 1848 –1918. An English composer, teacher and historian of music. Parry’s first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is best known for the choral song “Jerusalem“, his 1902 setting for the coronation anthem “I was glad“, the choral and orchestral ode Blest Pair of Sirens, and the hymn tune “Repton“, which sets the words “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind“. His orchestral works include five symphonies and a set of Symphonic Variations. After early attempts to work in insurance at his father’s behest, Parry was taken up by George Grove, first as a contributor to Grove’s massive Dictionary of Music and Musicians in the 1870s and 80s, and then in 1883 as professor of composition and musical history at the Royal College of Music, of which Grove was the first head. In 1895 Parry succeeded Grove as head of the college, remaining in the post for the rest of his life. He was concurrently Heather Professor of Music at the University of Oxford from 1900 to 1908. He wrote several