Who are the greatest English Composers of classical music to have ever lived?

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   cuttlerposted 11 years ago

   Who are the greatest English Composers of classical music to have ever lived?
   
   I just love classical music. However it's a pity how little I know about some of the composers. Apart from Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, I know very little bout the rest. So I turn to you.
   
   

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2. 59

   MickSposted 11 years ago

   Ah, you asked for English, not British.
   Try - William Cornysh, Henry Stoninges, John Playford, Thomas Simpson, Thomas Weelkes, and probably one of the greatest English composers, Henry Purcell.

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      cuttlerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks Mick...don't really know how to to distinguish the English from the Brittish. Am looking up your suggestions. Oh, By the way, if u don't mind me asking, were Mozart and Handel English/British?

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      MickSposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Ah, I'm just listening to Playford, Nottingham Castle,  British/English, it's complicated, but after the union of the British Isles, there was, I think, some Act passed naming the place Great Briain. M and H, H considered British, M, Austrian?

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      ilscherzoposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      cuttler: Mozart was German. Handel was born in Germany, but was British.

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   4. 59

      MickSposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Ah, Mozart's birthplacem Salzberg, Austria, Bavaria, independent state? Now, I beleve it may be part of Germany, It ain't important, it's the Ausrian/Germany  part of the world.

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      ilscherzoposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Heh, I say Mozart was German because he self-identified as German. It was not Austria then, but the Holy Roman Empire. Many Austrians before World War II identified as German. He referenced Germany as his beloved fatherland (geliebtem Vaterland).

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      cuttlerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks guys for the information..I greatly appreciate it

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   e-fiveposted 11 years ago

   Edward Elgar, Benjamin Britten, and Gustav Holst are my favorite English composers.

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      cuttlerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hi e-five...is Gustav really an English composer? Name sounds kinda Russian. Thanks for sharing. Looking them up now

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   LastRoseofSummer2posted 11 years ago

   Personally, I don't like Henry Purcell that much. But he is historically important to Classical music. Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams are tops in my book. I never get tired of listening to the latter's "Fantasia on Greensleeves"

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      cuttlerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks...am looking them up right now. Never heard of these composers and I can't wait to listen to their work.  Thanks for answering

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   John Sarkisposted 11 years ago

   Great question!  The English are great in literature, philosophy and poetry, but have always fallen short to the Germans in music.  ...all said, my personal favorite English composer of all times is Edward Elgar.  Henry Purcell is typically considered to be one of the greatest, but he lived a long time ago...

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      cuttlerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks mate. I agree with you about the Germans..they were just in a class of their own at the time.

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   Music-and-Art-45posted 11 years ago

   By English I'm guessing your looking for classical composers from Great Britain.  In Britain they had a number of great composers stemming from the Medieval and Baroque eras of classical music, but then there was (arguably) a drought of great British classical composers until the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Here are some of the most famous British composers.
   
   Baroque/Medieval composers:
   John Dowland
   William Byrd
   Henry Purcell
   George Frederic Handel (was actually a German, but resided in England for a large portion of his career)
   
   More Modern Composers:
   Gustav Holst
   Ralph Vaughan Williams
   Benjamin Britten

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      cuttlerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for your contribution  Music and Art. Am getting quite a rich list here which is just priceless.

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   ilscherzoposted 11 years ago

   Henry Purcell, Edward Elgar, or perhaps William Byrd.

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      cuttlerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks...seems these three carry the day. I got some Henry Purcell today  and am loving his work

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   vocalcoachposted 11 years ago

   To answer your question about Mozart and Handel.  Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria and Handel was a german-born British baroque composer.  His most famous work being " Messiah."

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      cuttlerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks...I just love the Handel Messiah...it is a great way to end and start the day.

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   visionandfocusposted 11 years ago

   For the piano, my favourite composer is Chopin. For the violin, it's Sarasate. But you specified English...so it'll have to be Holst and Elgar.

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