Postlude in D

Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (10 August 1889, Great Baddow, Chelmsford, Essex – 12 May 1960, Chelmsford, Essex) was an English composer. A monument on the north chancel wall of the church of St John the Baptist, Danbury, Essex states that "He lived, worked and is buried in Danbury".

He studied with Edward Dent at Trinity College, Cambridge, and with Charles Wood and Ralph Vaughan Williams at the Royal College of Music, where he himself taught composition and music theory from 1921 to 1939. From 1937 to 1952, he also served as the Vice President of the British Federation of Music Festivals.

Armstrong Gibbs composed one opera, one operetta, incidental music for several plays, several cantatas, three symphonies, a concertino for piano and string orchestra, five string quartets, one violin sonata, pieces for piano, works for choir, and many songs, a great number of which were settings of texts penned by his friend Walter de la Mare.

His music has a distinctive sound to it, and I find that it doesn't do exactly what you expect. I can't say that I like or dislike his stuff...

I've called him "modern," as he is not romantic to my ears.

I've always found the "Postlude in D" to be an odd piece. It comes from the same book as the previous fanfare by Jackson.

It is essentillay a 2-part canon over a pedal point. Finding balancing choruses can be a challenge, but it sounds natural on the Salisbury Willis.

There is some chordal dialogue in the central section, and after a return to the canon, there is a brief Coda.

In the past I've always "disliked" the piece on the rare occasions that I played it... :-(

Here, I actually liked it very much! :-)