Description
Even today, Frank Bridge (1879 – 1941) is still better known for his connections with Benjamin Britten than as a composer in his own right. As a young man his music had been popular: melodic, romantic and approachable. In contrast, the output of his later life was chromatic and radical – perhaps a musical reaction to the horrors of the First World War. This more ‘difficult’ music was distinctly less enthusiastically appreciated during his lifetime.
Rosemary dates back to his earlier, pre-war period and remains one of Bridge’s best known works. It is the second of his Three Sketches, written in 1906 for piano and later orchestrated as one of Two Entr’actes (1936).
It is an utterly charming piece which has been described as superior Edwardian salon music. Reminiscent of Fauré and the Impressionists, it is a tenderly expressive and tranquil miniature full of nostalgia.
