We don’t write about Samuel Coleridge-Taylor as often as we should, he featured in one of our first posts (in 2016) and a few since, but he was one of our main inspirations when we started Historycal Roots and we welcome any excuse to write about him again. Although he has never been ‘hidden history’ (he was hugely famous in the 1890s and early years of the 20^th century), he undeniably fell out of fashion for several decades before making a comeback in recent years. Now, as we approach the 150^th anniversary of his birth on 15^th August 1875, it would be remiss of us not to take the opportunity to celebrate his life.

The Three Choirs Festival (the choirs of Gloucester, Worcester and Hereford) gave him a big break when, at the age of twenty-three, he was invited to write an orchestral work for the 1898 festival, hosted that year by Gloucester. It was, the already famous, Edward Elgar who put his name forward to the festival organisers, describing him as ‘by far and away the cleverest fellow amongst the younger men.’ The piece Coleridge-Taylor wrote for that year’s festival, ‘Ballade in A Minor’, was a great success and is still performed today. A review in The Morning Post commented that although the composer was ‘hitherto little, if at all, known in Gloucester …  the Music Committee was fully justified in asking him to contribute to this year’s Festival scheme.’ We might raise an eyebrow today at the description of the music as ‘half untamed’ and ‘half barbaric’ but the review goes on to say that ‘few composers have been greeted in so cordial a manner at a first appearance or received such an ovation as followed the conclusion of the Ballad.’^[1]The Morning Post, 15^th September 1898

For anyone unfamiliar with it, you can hear it here (NB: I tried but failed to find a version without intrusive adverts, you can skip them after a few seconds, but it is, nonetheless, annoying. It’s the price you have to pay to watch brilliant music for free on You Tube):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbQEZjmaAPc

His offerings for subsequent festivals, ‘A Solemn Prelude‘ (1899); ‘The Soul’s Expression’ (1900); and ‘Idyll’ (1901), were less successful and have rarely been heard since. So far our searches have found no reviews of these concerts although we did find this programme for the 1899 concert.

This underwhelming run did not prevent an invitation to write a piece for the 1903 festival hosted by Hereford. It was a revival of that work, The Atonement, that drew us to Hereford cathedral on 31^st July 2025.

As we settled into our seats in the glorious nave of the cathedral we weren’t sure what to expect, the piece had not been performed since its premiere in 1903 – perhaps there was a reason for this?

We are not musicologists or music reviewers, we go to concerts to listen to the music and, hopefully, enjoy it. Coleridge Taylor’s ‘The Atonement’ kept us fully engaged throughout its 85 minutes, it was long but it didn’t feel long. The choir and soloists were excellent as was the Philharmonia Orchestra under the baton of Samuel Hudson. We enjoyed it a lot and were glad we took the trouble to attend.

As we left, we chatted to one of the ushers who commented that the libretto (the words) was ‘all over the place’ and this is a comment that is reflected in an excellent piece written by John Quinn about the work in general and this performance in particular. Quinn’s article is honest about what he sees as the weaknesses of the composition as well as praising its strengths:

https://seenandheard-international.com/2025/08/the-three-choirs-festivals-revival-of-a-long-neglected-oratorio-by-samuel-coleridge-taylor/

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor died in 1912 and Quinn concedes that ‘had he lived longer, Coleridge-Taylor might have revised the work or, more likely, have produced much better choral/orchestral compositions.’ In fact, his best known work, ‘Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast’, was first performed on 11^th November 1898 just two months after the Ballade in A Minor received its premier in Gloucester and almost five years before ‘The Atonement’ premiered. It is tantalising to think what he might have achieved had he lived longer.

We can only repeat that, whatever its weaknesses, we enjoyed ‘The Atonement’.

One disappointment was that among an audience of around seven hundred we counted just three people of colour, classical music apparently remains a closed book for a great many people.

There was a photo in the programme that accompanied the concert showing Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (in the front, just to the left of the conductor) at the 1903 premier.  It is a poor quality image but we include it for its historic interest:

The premier took place at the Shire Hall, a short walk from the cathedral. It is a splendid building and, although the decor is very much less elaborate than it was in 1903, it is recognisably the space where the above picture was taken:

During our visit to Hereford we visited the Town Hall mistaking it for the Shire Hall (the Shire Hall would not have been accessible to us anyway). It also has a very grand interior space:

Opened in 1905, it seems curious that Hereford should have two such similar spaces  but this probably gives a good indication of the vibrancy of cultural life in the city at the turn of the century.

As this is a significant anniversary we hope that there will be other opportunities to celebrate this Black British composer. There has already been a CD released containing a number of his less well known works including Toussaint L’Ouverture (described as ‘a swashbuckling portrait in sound’ by the reviewer in Gramophone magazine)^[3]The CD is on the Avie label, AV2763 and, as is the modern way, can be listened to on Spotify if you have access to that service. It was reviewed in Gramophone‘s September 2025 issue.. Two pieces were also featured in the Great British Classics BBC Promenade concert on 5^th August (Isle of Beauty and The Evening Star)^[4]https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002gdll (only available in the UK) and, on 5^th September, we will be at the Royal Albert Hall to hear Sir Simon Rattle conduct another piece, ‘The Bamboula’. All BBC Prom concerts are available to listen to in full for, I believe, at least a month after they are broadcast. Do check out this glorious music and, unlike You Tube or Spotify, it costs nothing to listen!