Robin Milford - A biography
by Peter Hunter
Robin Milford was born in Oxford on 22
nd January, 1903,
to cultured parents, Humphrey and Martha Milford (Humphrey Milford
was later knighted for his work with the Oxford University Press
from 1900 to 1945, and founded the Music Department of the OUP
in 1923). Having attended preparatory school at West Downs (near
Winchester) and Rugby, Milford (a nervous and insecure young man)
gained a place at the Royal College of Music in 1921 to study
with R. O. Morris, Henry Ley, Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Milford’s
output suggests three distinct periods of style and influence
(the 1920s; the 1930s; and the 1940s and 1950s). The 1920s
can be viewed in terms of ‘youthful expectation and apprenticeship’
with the works of this period clearly demonstrating a keen
sense of creativity, imagination and craftsmanship (employing
a cross-style influenced by the Parry/Stanford school and
English folk-song). The first of Milford’s compositions date
from the early years of this decade when, through the encouragement
of Vaughan Williams, Milford directed two family concerts
of his works (the second of which included the children’s
opera
The Shoemaker, pre-1924) . It was at these that
Milford met Kirstie Newsom (governess to the grand-daughters
of Sir John Stainer). Kirstie was an able viola player and
singer with a fine voice and, along with Gerald Finzi, became
an important musical mentor. Marriage in 1927 gave the composer
much needed emotional stability.
The Shoemaker shows the composer’s already developed
ability and interest in writing serious works for children (involving
distinctive recitative, aria, carols, two- part choruses with
antiphonal answering, and dances), thus anticipating some of the
ideas of Benjamin Britten (the earlier
Three Sea Pictures
and
A Fairy Revel for piano,
both dating from 1924,
were also written for children). A profound lover of English
literature (particularly poetry), Milford composed his first well-known
songs for solo voice and piano during the 1920s. These songs
(including
The Moor, pre-1924,
The Fiddler of Dooney,
pre-1925,
On His Mistress, 1925 and
Old Age, pre-1928
,)
show the composer struggling to find his own style, with these
works showing a mixture of influences, including Parry, Stanford
and Bach [1].
Suite in D minor for oboe and strings (pre-1924)
ingeniously combines the influence of this English folk-song with
a format, itself, influenced by the Baroque composers.
My
Lady’s Pleasure for piano (pre-1925), on the other hand, consists
of three movements totally based upon features derived from English
folk-song (repeating melodic and rhythmic motifs, repeating melodic
phrases, and strong modal implications).
One of the final works of the 1920s (
The Darkling Thrush, 1929)
heralds the beginning of Milford’s second compositional period.
Here, the composer demonstrates the profound influence of Vaughan
Williams and English folk-song. Based on Hardy’s poem of the
same name, this work reflects
A Lark Ascending not only
through its use of solo violin and orchestra but also through
its melodic contours and modal harmony.
The 1930s can be viewed in terms of ‘happy maturity’ and repesent
Milford’s second period of composition. A happy marriage to Kirstie,
the birth of his son (Barnaby), successes in composition and publication,
recognition amongst professional musicians, and a close professional
and family friendship with Finzi, all allowed Milford to develop,
both musically and personally. Musical development is keenly
seen in Milford’s compositions of the 1930s in terms of melody,
harmony and textures.
The fine solo songs of the second period, such as the settings
of Bridges, 1933, (‘So sweet love seemed’, ‘Elegy’ and ‘Love on
my heart’) and Hardy, 1938, (‘To Sincerity’, ‘The Colour’, ‘If
it’s ever spring again’ and ‘Tolerance’) show the total ease with
which Milford composed in a style profoundly influenced by English
folk-song alongside his own developing personal language (involving
gentle dissonance and chromatic harmonic ‘side-steps’ within a
mainly tonal and modal canvas). Interestingly, the song ‘Daybreak’,
1930, derives from another influence, the ayre, through its melodic
constructions, lute-like accomaniment and delicate melisma. The
oratorio,
A Prophet in the Land (first performed at the
1931 Three Choirs Festival), demonstrates the composer comfortably
juxtaposing the influences of English folk-song, his contrapuntal
training with Morris at the RCM, prominent Baroque features (as
in Milford’s first publically performed works,
Concerto for
Strings Violin and Viols, 1925, and
Double Fugue for
Orcheastra, 1926 – both performed as part of the Patron’s Fund
Concerts at the RCM) and the ‘classical’ style of Parry, Stanford
and Elgar.
The second period also shows Milford’s developing maturity through
his writing for larger genres and more varied forms, including
orchestral works (such as the
First Symphony, 1933,
Concerto
Grosso, 1936, and
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in
G Minor, 1937), a more profound oratorio entitled
The Pilgrim’s
Progress, 1931 (again, influenced by Vaughan Williams), chamber
music (e.g.
Phantasy Quartet, 1933 for clarinet and string
quartet), cantatas for ladies’ voices and strings (e.g.
Easter
Morning 1, 1933), a cantata for mixed voices with orchestra
(
The Passing Year, [2] 1935) and a
Christmas Cantata
–
Midwinter, pre-1931, for baritone and soprano soli and
full orchestra, including harp and organ. Milford continued to
write interesting and challenging works for children during this
second period (e.g. the canata
Rain, Wind and Sunshine,
pre-1930, for treble voices, flute, strings and piano).
One of the final works of the second period to be influenced completely
by English folk-song is
Idyll, 1941. Written for violin
and piano, this work employs wonderful undulating melodic contours,
a strong sense of modality, and developed dialogue (including
canon) between violin and piano.
By 1939, Milford had commenced a transition into a third, and
final, period of composition. This period can be considered in
terms of 'darkness descending'. War was declared, and Milford
(instantly and quite inappropriately for his temperament) volunteered
for the army, had a complete breakdown after a short spell in
the army, subsequently suffered mercilessly at the hands of war
officials before his release from duty, escaped from Guernsey
with Kistie and Barnaby before the Nazi invasion, experienced
the tragedy of Barnaby’s death in a road accident during 1941,
supported Kirstie in a breakdown after Barnaby’s death, and spent
the remainder of his life coping with his insecurities and developing
depression (both in and out of hospital and with electric shock
treatment.)
The third period of composition is one of greater musical experimentation
with the composer openly admiting that it was time for him to
approach a more challenging style. Examples include the song
‘I will not let thee go’, 1939, the song cycles
In Tenebris,
1940-44, and
Swan Songs, 1948-51, choral works (including
This Year, Next Year, 1943-46, and
Days and Moments,
1951, both for soprano solo, ladies’ chorus and piano, and
Mass
for Five Voices, 1945-47),
Threne for cello and piano,
1946-47), and orchestral works such as
Elegiac Meditation,
1946-47, for solo viola and string orchestra and
Fishing By
Moonlight, 1952, for piano and string orchestra. Throughout
these works, Milford employs more angular melody and dense textures,
fragmentary melodic construction, greater chromaticism, tonal
ambiguity, dissonance, prominent falling contours, rejection of
tonal unity and lack of tonal centres in works of more than one
movement. Milford, however, never abandoned the influence of
folk-song, often juxtaposing these two styles of writing within
the larger works just mentioned.
Following the deaths of his two great friends, Finzi in 1956 and
Vaughan Williams in 1958, and the deletion of many work from the
catalogues of his publishers, Milford gave up on life and died
on the 29
th December, 1959
© 2011 Peter Hunter
Footnotes
1. Discussed in ‘Robin Milford (A composer illuminated
by his songs), Animus Music Publications, 2009
2. A developed form of Rain, Wind and Sunshine, 1930,
for treble voices
See also
List of works by Peter Hunter
& Martin Anderson
The
Milford Centenary by Martin Anderson
