Royal Carol Honors Scotland
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' Carol Celebrates Christmas in Orkney
The Queen's Master of Music, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, has finished his latest Christmas carol. The text and music were inspired by the northern islands of Orkney.
What does Sir Peter Maxwell Davies have in common with Thomas Tallis? Though separated by centuries and style of composition, both English composers wrote music for the Queen. Renaissance composer Thomas Tallis served under Elizabeth I while contemporary composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies serves Elizabeth II.
In today's world of the easily affordable album, musicians no longer have to depend on a few wealthy patrons in order to scrape by a living (unless, of course, the musician is a classical composer, in which case he or she may do well to find a sponsor or 2).
Yet along with its monarchy, England persists in preserving the long-standing tradition of court-sponsored music. Appointed the Queen's Master of Music in March 2004, Davies is required to write a Royal carol every year. And his latest work honors one of the Queen's favorites places: Scotland. In particular, the carol depicts the islands of Orkney, where Davies also happens to reside.
The text of the carol comes from the late poet (and Davies' good friend) Sir George Mackay Brown. According to Davies, Christmas was a special time for Mackay Brown, a poet who was rather prolific in writing poems inspired by the season.
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies: The Path to Court Composer
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies was born September 8, 1934 in Manchester. He attended the Royal Manchester College of Music (1952-1956) as well as Manchester University (1952-1957) before studying in Italy under composer Goffredo Petrassi. He moved to Orkney in 1970. He spent 10 years as the Composer/Conductor of both the BBC Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras prior to his post as the queen's composer.
Selected Discography
With centuries of music history behind him, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies manages to draw upon several different musical styles and mush them all together into his own particular blend. He has composed in a variety of mediums, including opera, ballet, and choral works, with more recent endeavors focused on the chamber music genre. He has a contract with Naxos recordings for a series of 10 string quartets, to be performed by the Maggini Quartet.
Davies helped pioneer the availability of classical music downloads, making his own music available on his old website as early as the mid-90s. For an introduction to Davies' music, please peruse the complete discography, a list which is accompanied by helpful program notes.
For more information on the latest Christmas carol, please see the BBC story.
