Philip Radcliffe

Philip Radcliffe (27 April 1905 – 2 September 1986) was an English academic, musicologist and composer, born in Godalming, Surrey.

Early life

He was educated at Charterhouse and read Classics at King's College, Cambridge, gaining a scholarship and a First in Part I of the degree, but then only a Third in Part II, causing him to switch his attention to music,[1] studying under Edward Dent and Henry Moule.[2] He was a gifted pianist.

Career

Philip Radcliffe had his first sight of Cambridge in December 1923 when he sat for a scholarship examination. "I attended evensong in the Chapel of my future College and can still recall the impact made upon me by the quiet, other-world sound of the choir singing Remember, O thou man."[3] His dissertation continued the work of Richard Terry and Edmund Fellowes on sixteenth and seventeenth century music.[4] Radcliffe became a music fellow at King's College, Cambridge in 1931, and a lecturer between 1947 and 1972. His pupils included Philip Brett, Winton Dean, Jeremy Dibble,[5] Peter Dickinson, Sebastian Forbes and Richard Lloyd. He lived in King's for the rest of his life, never leaving it for more than a few weeks.[6]

His academic writings included the books Mendelssohn (1954), Beethoven's String Quartets (1965), Schubert Piano Sonatas (BBC Music Guide, 1967), a biography of John Ireland (1954), and sections of Grove's Dictionary, Denis Stevens's symposium The History of Song, and the New Oxford History of Music. In 1933, at the request of T S Eliot, Radcliffe took over the Music Chronicle section of The Criterion from J B Trend.[7]

His compositions include short choral pieces (such as the eight part setting of God be In My Head,[8] Mary walked through a wood of thorn,[9] and The Oxen)[10] liturgical music (The Preces and Responses[11] and Versicles and Responses),[12] songs, and a small number of instrumental works (including the String Quartet in D major, 1939).[13] His incidental music for classical Greek plays included Clouds[14] (Aristophanes, 1962) Oedipus Tyrannus[15] (1965), Medea[16] (Euripides, 1974), and Electra[17] (Sophocles, 1977). Radcliffe was an active member of the Ten Club playreading society whose other members included EM Forster, Donald Beves and Noel Annan.

He died in a car accident while travelling with his sister in France at the age of 81, while still an active Fellow of the College.[6]

References
  1. S. S. (1986). "Philip Radcliffe". The Musical Times. 127 (1726): 635. JSTOR 964288. Retrieved 9 August 2020 – via JSTOR.
  2. "Encore Publications - Welcome to Encore Publications". Encorepublications.com. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  3. "God be in my head - Hyperion Records - CDs, MP3 and Lossless downloads". Hyperion-records.co.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  5. "Jeremy Dibble". The Conversation. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  6. "The late Philip Radcliffe of Kings College Cambridge". Churchill-society-london.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  7. Eliot, T. S. (9 August 2011). The Letters of T.S. Eliot: Volume 6: 1932-1933. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300211801. Retrieved 9 August 2020 – via Google Books.
  8. "Choir of Jesus College, Cambridge, Signum Classics". YouTube. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  9. "Guildford Cathedral Choir, cond. Barry Rose". YouTube. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  10. "Philip Radcliffe (1905-1986) on Hyperion Records". Hyperion-records.co.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  11. "The Preces and Responses (Radcliffe) - from CDA67770 - Hyperion Records - MP3 and Lossless downloads". Hyperion-records.co.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  12. "Choral Evensong 2081162 [BW]: Classical CD Reviews - November 2008 MusicWeb-International". Musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  13. "Sample Programmes". Fitzwilliam String Quartet. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  14. "Clouds | The Cambridge Greek Play". Cambridgegreekplay.com. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  15. "Oedipus Tyrannus | The Cambridge Greek Play". Cambridgegreekplay.com. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  16. "Medea | The Cambridge Greek Play". Cambridgegreekplay.com. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  17. "Sophocles' Electra | The Cambridge Greek Play". Cambridgegreekplay.com. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
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