Shepherds' Dance (Henry VIII)

Sir Edward German (17 February 1862 – 11 November 1936) was an English musician and composer of Welsh descent, best remembered for his extensive output of incidental music for the stage and as a successor to Arthur Sullivan in the field of English comic opera.

As a youth, German played the violin and led the town orchestra of Whitchurch, Shropshire. He also began to compose music. While performing and teaching violin at the Royal Academy of Music, German began to build a career as a composer in the mid-1880s, writing serious music as well as light opera. In 1888, he became music director of Globe Theatre in London. He provided popular incidental music for many productions at the Globe and other London theatres. He also wrote symphonies, orchestral suites, symphonic poems and other works. He also wrote a considerable body of songs, piano music, and symphonic suites and other concert music, of which his Welsh Rhapsody is perhaps best known.

He was knighted in 1928.

The music scholar David Russell Hulme wrote of German that French influences are clearly apparent in his music "and there are even occasional reminders of Tchaikovsky, but paradoxically he was, like Elgar, a stylistic cosmopolitan who wrote music that is quintessentially English."

In 1892, German composed music for a production of Henry Irving's version of Henry VIII at the Lyceum Theatre, London, where he incorporated elements of traditional old English dance. "Shepherds' Dance" is taken from the larger movement, "Morris Dance."

This fine and tricky transcription was done by the great Edwin H. Lemare (1865-1934). This arrangement was published by Novello
as "No. 32" in his "Recital Series of Transcriptions." As with anything done by Lemare, it is never easy!

In this performance, the finely rustic orchestral oboe of the Solo is the featured solo voice.

MANY THANKS to Erzahler who sent this score to me! :-)

The score is attached below, as well as several photos of German and Lemare.