Saraband for a Solemn Occasion

Arthur Milner (1894-1972) was a Newcastle based teacher, performer and composer. He was an FTCL (piano), ARCM (piano) and ARCO. He held a Durham D.Mus by examination. He had been Director of Music at Newcastle Royal Grammar School for 22 years, whilst in his younger years had been organist at St. George's, Jesmond, which had a fine 4 manual Lewis organ. He was quietly spoken, a perfect gentleman and an excellent teacher.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s he wrote a fair number of organ pieces, numbering about 20, which were published mainly by Novello and Ashdown.

It is very difficult to find biographical material about him, and photos of him are scarce.

"Saraband for a Solemn Occasion" was published by Novello & Company Limited in 1959. It is dedicated: "For Laurence Swinyard."

Swinyard was an author, poet, and musician. I'm pretty sure he was quite a well-known figure, yet I can find no real information about him, nor did I come across any photos of him.

Marked to be played "Tempo di sarabande grave," I found this work to have a real appeal from the first few measures that I tired. The harmony is much more "traditional" than many of Milner's compositions, as it has a sort of "neo-modal" feel to the harmonies.

The melodic lines flow and overlap perfectly and the crescendo, climax and closing diminuendo are all perfectly judged and realized.

I'm not attaching this, or any of these Milner works because of copyright, but you may contact me through a Direct Message if you are interested.

A photo of Arthur Milner is attached below, as well as some photos of the magnificent church of St. George's, Jesmond, where he served as organist.