New Millennium Strings

Peter Warlock

Capriol Suite

The English composer Peter Warlock was born in London on October 30, 1894, and died there on December 17, 1930. He is known chiefly as a solo song writer. Not only was he a talented composer and arranger, but he excelled as a writer, journalist, editor, and music critic. Some sources speculate that because Warlock was a music critic, he wanted to use another name as a composer. His real name was Philip Heseltine.

It is interesting to note that several reviewers who wrote biographic information about Warlock describe his as a conflicted personality who demonstrated extreme moods. It was thought that he may have had a dual personality. He committed suicide at age 36. His personal life has been popularized in a recent movie Voices from a Locked Room (1999), directed by Malcolm Clarke.

At a concert in 1911, Warlock's uncle introduced him to Frederick Delius. The boy was inspired by Delius's music and corresponded with the composer his entire life. Warlock arranged many of Delius's orchestral compositions for piano. In 1923, he wrote a book about Delius, the first book of length about the composer. He also organized many concerts dedicated solely to Delius's music. And in 1922, Warlock dedicated Serenade, his work for string orchestra, to Delius on the occasion of his 60th birthday.

Warlock was educated at Eton and Oxford; however, he did not follow the musical mainstream. He was basically self-taught in music, while he sustained a vital interest in journalism. In his intellectual circle, he met Bernard van Dieren (1884-1936), a composer who schooled him in the use of counterpoint. As a result Warlock gained a facile and expert use of counterpoint. Among his literary contacts was D.H. Lawrence. It is thought that his association with the novelist incited Warlock's interest in English literature. From 1919 to 1921, Warlcok spent time with journalism. In 1920, he was an editor of the musical periodical The Sackbut, which provided his friends with an opportunity to share their ideas about music. Subjects for the periodical often focused on the obscure music and poetry of Purcell, van Dieren, Sorabji, and Roy Campbell. Warlock was considered an authority on Elizabethan and Jacobean music by the mid-1920s. During his life he edited over 300 renaissance lute songs for voice and keyboard or for choir. He wrote a book on Gesualdo (1926) and wrote The English Ayre (1926).

In 1926 Warlock composed the Capriol Suite for string orchestra. There were at least three versions of this piece. The adaptation for strings is the version that is the most familiar today. The thematic material for the suite is based almost completely on dance tunes taken from a book published in 1588 by Thoinot Arbeau (his real name was Jahan Tabourot). The book is entitled Orchesographie. As was the fashion of the day, the material in the book was presented as a dialogue between the author Arbeau and Capriol, his lawyer. This could explain how Warlock named the suite. In 1925, and English translation was published. In it the musical illustrations were transcribed by Warlock and he also provided a preface written about the dance tunes of the period.

The Capriol Suite is based on the dance tunes found in the translation of Arbeau's book. Another composer of the 20th century, Ottorino Respighi, used Warlock's cataloged lute music in his compositions. The Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No. 1 (1917) is an example of how melodic material cataloged by Warlock was adapted to a more modern setting.

-- program notes by Laurien Jones

August, 2000