It is always a great pleasure to discover a forgotten voice of the past. I came across the British composer William Baines, whose life was tragically cut short at the age of 23.
Yorkshire born he wrote around 150 works, an impressive number given his short life. His style is typical of the era, with a touch of Debussy,Skrjabin,Delius, and he displays very personal, vivid imagination. Here is a piece I was very impressed with, highly original and of a haunting quality:
And then I discovered this interesting, old-fashioned radio play about him, which the BBC had produced in 1989. It is one of the most beautiful productions I have heard in a long time.
I have always been a British music enthusiast (Bax,Dyson, Moeran and Granville Bantock amongst my most cherished discoveries), and this is a wonderful addition.
Here is a list of selected works:
