Prince of Wales explores Hubert Parry’s life and work
HRH The Prince of Wales highlighted the musical achievements of Sir Hubert Parry in a BBC television programme screened recently.
Parry, who read Law and Modern History at Exeter College, was a major influence on Elgar and Vaughan Williams, and it is perhaps for this that he is most recognised in music chronicles. But Prince Charles has set his sights on invigorating appreciation for this somewhat overlooked English composer’s own work.
Recently several of Parry’s pieces of music featured in the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding, including the well-known Jerusalem and I Was Glad. In The Prince and the Composer, a broad range of Parry’s work is showcased, including many songs and symphonies that are not widely known but that contain ‘a kind of domestic grandeur,’ as Prince Charles puts it.
The Prince and the Composer is available to watch on BBC iPlayer until 4 June 2011.