Ruth Gipps

Ruth Dorothy Louisa( "Wid")GippsMBE(20 February 1921 – 23 February 1999) was an English composer,oboist,pianist, conductor and educator. She composed music in a wide range of genres, including fivesymphonies,seven concertos and manychamberandchoralworks.She founded both theLondon Repertoire Orchestraand the Chanticleer Orchestra and served as conductor and music director for theCity of Birmingham Choir.Later in her life she served as chairwoman of theComposers' Guild of Great Britain.

She was appointed aMember of the Order of the British Empire(MBE) in the1981 Birthday Honoursfor services to music.

Life and career

Early life and education

Gipps was born at 14 Parkhurst Road,Bexhill-on-Sea,England in 1921 to (Gerard Cardew) Bryan Gipps (1877–1956), a businessman, English teacher in Germany, and later an official at theBoard of Tradewho was a trained violinist from a military family, and Hélène Bettina (née Johner), a piano teacher fromBasel, Switzerland.They married in 1907, having met at theHoch Conservatoryin Frankfurt, where Hélène had trained and went on to teach, and where Bryan had gone against his family's wishes to study the violin.

Ruth Gipps had two elder siblings, Ernest Bryan(1910–2001), a violinist, and Laura (1908–1962), also a musician. The Gipps family hadKentroots, descending from the eighteenth-centuryapothecary,hop merchant, banker, and politicianGeorge Gipps;SirGeorge Gipps,Governor ofNew South Walesfrom 1838 to 1846, was a relative.At his marriage, Bryan Gipps had started a small business to allow his wife to focus on her music; after a few years, the business failed, and they moved to Germany, where he taught English. When they relocated toBexhill-on-Seaat the outbreak of theFirst World Warin 1914, the family was in the then unusual position of a middle-class household's mother being the main provider, which along with Hélène's idiosyncrasies attracted some attention. The family home was theBexhill School of Music,of which Hélène was principal.Eventually becoming an official at the Board of Trade, her father was also the senior heir, via his mother, Louisa Goulburn Thomas, to theCarmarthenshireand Kent property of Richard Thomas, ofHollingbourne,nearMaidstone,Kent, and of Cystanog,High Sheriff of Carmarthenshirein 1788.

Ruth was achild prodigy,winning performance competitions in which she was considerably younger than the rest of the field. After she performed her first composition at the age of 8 in one of the many music festivals she entered, the work was bought by a publishing house for aguineaand a half. Winning a concerto competition with theHastingsMunicipal Orchestra began her performance career in earnest.

In 1937, she entered theRoyal College of Music,where she studied oboe withLéon Goossens,piano withArthur Alexanderand composition withGordon Jacob,and later withRalph Vaughan Williams.Several of her works were first performed there. Continuing her studies atDurham Universityled her to meet her future husband, clarinettist Robert Baker.At age 26, for her workThe Catshe became the youngest British woman to receive a doctorate in music.

Professional career

Ruth Gipps was an accomplished all-round musician, as a soloist on both oboe and piano as well as a prolific composer. Her repertoire included works such asArthur Bliss'Piano ConcertoandConstant Lambert'sThe Rio Grande.When she was 33 a shoulder injury ended her performance career, and she decided to focus her energies on conducting and composition.Gipps claimed to know from a young age that her main interest lay in composing, stating,

I had of course known all along that playing the piano was my job; the first concert merely confirmed it. But I also knew without a shadow of a doubt, although I had not yet written anything, that I was a composer. Not that Iwantedto be a composer – that Iwasone.

An early success came when SirHenry Woodconducted her tone poemKnight in Armourat theLast Night of the Promsin 1942.Gipps' music is marked by a skilful use of instrumental colour and often shows the influence of Vaughan Williams, rejecting the trends inavant-gardemodern music such asserialismandtwelve-tone music.She considered her orchestral works, her five symphonies in particular, as her greatest works. She also produced two substantial piano concertos. After the war Gipps turned her attention to chamber music, and in 1956 she won theCobbett Prizeof theSociety of Women Musiciansfor her Clarinet Sonata, Op. 45.In March 1945, she performedAlexander Glazunov's Piano Concerto No. 1 with theCity of Birmingham Orchestraas a piano soloist while also, in the same program, performing in her own Symphony No. 1 oncor anglaisunder the baton ofGeorge Weldon.

Supposed Discrimination

Gipps' early career was supposedly affected bydiscrimination.Because of this supposed opposition, she is thought to have developed a tough personality that many found off-putting, and a fierce determination to prove herself through her work.

Conducting and orchestral work

She founded theLondon Repertoire Orchestrain 1955as an opportunity for young professional musicians to become exposed to a wide range of music. In 1957, she conducted thePro Arte Orchestra.She later founded theChanticleer Orchestrain 1961,a professional ensemble which included a work by a living composer in each of its programs, often a premiere performance. Among these was the first London performance in September 1972 of the Cello Concerto bySir Arthur Blissin which the cellistJulian Lloyd Webbermade his professional debut at theQueen Elizabeth Hall.

Teaching positions

Later she would take faculty posts atTrinity College London(1959 to 1966), theRoyal College of Music(1967 to 1977), and thenKingston PolytechnicatGypsy Hill.In 1967 she was appointed chairwoman of theComposers' Guild of Great Britain.

Retirement and death

In London, her address was 20 Heathcote Road,St Margaret's,Twickenham.On her retirement, Gipps returned toSussex,living atTickerage CastlenearFramfielduntil her death in 1999, aged 78, after suffering the effects of cancer and a stroke. Her son, Lance Baker, was a professionalhorn playerand orchestrator and brass teacher.

Music

Stylistically, Gipps was aRomanticboth in the musical sense and in her choice of extra-musical inspiration (for example the tone poemKnight in Armour).Although her music is not typically pastoral from a programmatic perspective, Gipps was heavily indebted to the English pastoralist school of the early 20th century, particularly her erstwhile teacher Vaughan Williams, but other figures, includingArthur Bliss(to whom she dedicated the Fourth Symphony),her contemporaryMalcolm Arnold,andGeorge Weldonwere also influential. Her conservative, tonal style placed her at odds with contemporary trends in music such asserialism,of which she was highly critical.After her early success withKnight in Armourin 1942, her music was not featured again in thePromsnor broadcast onBBC Radio 3in her lifetime.

Works

Orchestra

• Symphonies
  • Symphony No. 1 in F minor, Op. 22 (1942)
  • Symphony No. 2 (in One Movement), Op. 30 (1945)
  • Symphony No. 3, Op. 57 (1965)
  • Symphony No. 4, Op. 61 (1972)
  • Symphony No. 5, Op. 64 (1982)
• Variations on Byrd's "Non nobis", for small orchestra, Op. 7 (1942)
• Knight in Armour,tone poem, Op. 8 (1942)
• Sea Nymph,ballet for small orchestra (or for two pianos), Op. 14 (1941?)
• Death on a Pale Horse,tone poem, Op. 25 (1943)
• ChanticleerOverture, Op. 28 (1944)
• The Chinese CabinetSuite for orchestra, Op. 29 (1945)
• Mahomet and the Cat,Op. 32 (1947)
• Song for Orchestra,Op. 33 (1948)
• Cringlemire Garden,Impression for String Orchestra, Op. 39 (1952)
• Coronation Processionfor orchestra, Op. 41 (1953)
• Pageant OvertureThe Rainbow,Op. 44 (1954)
• Ambarvaliafor small orchestra, Op. 70 (1988)

Concertante

• Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 34 (1948)
• Violin Concerto in B-flat major, Op. 24 (1943)
• Jane Grey,Fantasy for Viola and String Orchestra (or piano), Op. 15 (1940)
• Introduction and Carol: The Ox and the Assfor Double Bass and Chamber Orchestra, Op. 71 (1996)
• Oboe Concerto in D minor, Op. 20 (1941)
• Threnodyfor English Horn, Strings and Harp (1990)
• Clarinet Concerto, Op. 9 (1940)
• Leviathanfor Contra-Bassoon and Chamber Orchestra, Op. 59 (1969)
• Horn Concerto, Op. 58 (1968)
• Double Concerto for Violin, Viola and Small Orchestra, Op. 49 (1957)

Chamber music

• Chamoisfor 2 Violins and Piano, Op. 3c (1939)
• Trio for Oboe, Clarinet and Piano, Op. 10 (1940)
• Suite for 2 Violins, Op. 12d (1940)
• Elephant Godfor Clarinet and Percussion, Op. 12e (1940)
• Sabrina,String Quartet in one movement, Op. 13 (1940)
• Quintet for Oboe, Clarinet, Violin, Viola and Cello, Op. 16 (1941)
• Piano QuartetBrocade,Op. 17 (1941)
• Rhapsodyin E♭for Clarinet Quintet, Op. 23 (1942)
• Scherzo: The Three Billy Goats Grufffor Oboe, Horn, and Bassoon, Op. 27b
• String Quartet, Op. 47 (1956)
• Seascapefor 10 Winds, Op. 53 (1958)
• A Tarradiddlefor 2 Horns, Op. 54 (1959)
• Wind Octet for 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons and 2 Horns, Op. 65 (1983)
• Sinfoniettafor 10 Winds and Percussion, Op. 73 (1989)
• The Pony Cartfor Flute, Horn and Piano, Op. 75 (1990)
• A Wealden Suite,Quartet for E♭,B♭,A and Bass Clarinets, Op. 76 (1991)
• Pan and Apollofor 2 Oboes, English Horn and Harp, Op. 78 (1992)

Instrumental

• Strings
  • Rhapsodyfor Violin and Piano, Op. 27a (1943)
  • Violin Sonata, Op. 42 (1954)
  • Evocationfor Violin and Piano, Op. 48 (1956)
  • Lyric Fantasyfor Viola and Piano, Op. 46 (1955)
  • Scherzo and Adagiofor Cello Solo, Op. 68 (1987)
  • Cello Sonata, Op. 63 (1978)
  • Double-Bass Sonata, Op. 81 (1986)

• Woodwinds
  • Pixie Caravanfor Flute and Piano (1939)
  • Rowanfor Flute and Piano (1940)
  • The Saint Francis Windowfor Alto Flute and Piano, Op. 67 (1986)
  • Cool Running Waterfor Bass Flute and Piano, Op. 77 (1991)
  • Kensington Garden Suitefor Oboe and Piano, Op. 2 (1938)
  • Sea-Shore Suitefor Oboe and Piano, Op. 3b (1939)
  • Oboe Sonata No. 1 in G minor, Op. 5 (1939)
  • The Piper of Dreamsfor Oboe Solo, Op. 12b (1940)
  • Oboe Sonata No. 2, Op. 66 (1985)
  • Sea-Weed Songfor English Horn and Piano, Op. 12c (1940)
  • Threnodyfor English Horn and Piano (or Organ), Op. 74 (1990)
  • The Kelpie Of Corrievreckanfor Clarinet and Piano, Op. 5b (1939)
  • Clarinet Sonata, Op. 45 (1955)
  • Preludefor Bass Clarinet Solo (or B♭Clarinet), Op. 51 (1958)
  • Honey-Coloured Cowfor bassoon and piano, Op. 3d (1938)

• Brass
  • The Riders of Rohanfor Trombone and Piano (1987)
  • Horn Sonatina, Op. 56 (1960)
  • Tritonfor Horn and Piano, Op. 60 (1970)
  • Trombone (or Horn) Sonata, Op. 80 (1995)

Piano

• The Fairy Shoemaker(1929)
• Sea Nymph,ballet for small orchestra (or for two pianos), Op. 14 (1941?)
• Conversationfor 2 Pianos, Op. 36 (1950)
• Theme and Variations,Op. 57a (1965) (transcription of Symphony No. 3, third movement)
• Opalescence,Op. 72 (1989)

Choral

• Mazeppa's Ridefor Female Chorus and Orchestra, Op. 1
• The Cat,Cantata for Alto, Baritone, Double Mixed Chorus and Orchestra, Op. 32 (1947)
• Goblin Marketfor 2 Sopranos, Female Chorus and String Orchestra (or Piano), Op. 40 (1953)
• An Easter Carolfor Soprano, Mixed Chorus and Piano or Organ, Op. 52 (1958)
• Magnificat and Nunc dimittisfor Mixed Chorus and Organ, Op. 55 (1959)
• Gloria in excelsisfor Unison Chorus and Organ, Op. 62 (1977)
• A Service for Holy Communionfor Mixed Chorus and Organ, Op. 62a (1974)

Vocal

• Four Baritone Songsfor Baritone and Piano, Op. 4b (1939)
• Heavenfor High Voice and Piano (1939)
• Four Songs of Youthfor Tenor and Piano (1940)
• Two Songsfor Soprano and Piano, Op. 11 (1940)
• Rhapsodyfor Wordless Soprano and Small Orchestra, Op. 18
• Ducksfor Soprano, Flute, Cello and Piano, Op. 19 (1941)
• The Song of the Narcissusfor Soprano and Piano, Op. 37 (1951)
• Three Incantationsfor Soprano and Harp, Op. 50 (1957)
• The Lady of the Lambsfor Soprano and Wind Quintet, Op. 79 (1992)

Discography

Recordings of the music of Ruth Gipps include:

• Cello Sonata, Theme & Variations for piano,Opalescence,Double Bass Sonata. Joseph Spooner (cello), David Heyes (double bass), Duncan Honeybourne (piano). Prima Facie (2021)
• Clarinet Sonata, Quintet for Oboe, Clarinet and String Trio, Op. 16. Peter Cigleris (clarinet), Gareth Hulse (oboe), Duncan Honeybourne (piano), Tippett Quartet. SOMM (2021)
• Clarinet Concerto, Op. 9. Robert Plane, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, cond. Martyn Brabbins, 2020
• Cringlemire Garden, Op. 39. Southwest German Chamber Orchestra, Douglas Bostock, CPO Records 2021 (with collection of other British string works)
• Horn Concerto, Op. 58. David Pyatt (horn), London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Braithwaite, Lyrita, 2007
• Oboe Sonatas nos. 1 and 2. Juliana Koch (oboe), Michael McHale (piano). OnPiper of Dreams,Chandos 20290 (2024)
• Octet for Wind, Op. 65 (2nd movement),Pan and Apollo,Op. 78. Members of BBC National Orchestra of Wales,broadcast 12/3/2021
• Piano Concerto, Op. 34, Theme and Variations for piano, Op. 57a,Opalescence,Op. 72. Angela Brownridge (piano), Malta Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Michael Laus, Cameo Classics, 2014
• Piano Concerto, Op. 34,Ambarvalia,Op. 70. Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Charles Peebles, soloistMurray McLachlan(2019).
• Seascape,Op. 53,Sinfonietta,Op. 73. Erie County Chamber Winds conducted by Rick Fleming. Mark Records, 2013
• Symphony No 2, Op. 30. Munich Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Douglas Bostock, ClassicO, 1999
• Symphony No 2, Op. 30, Symphony No 4. Op. 61,Knight in Armour,Op. 8,Song for Orchestra,Op. 33. BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted byRumon Gamba,Chandos, 2018
• Symphony No 3, Oboe Concerto,Chanticleer,Death on the Pale Horse.BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Rumon Gamba, Chandos, 2022
• Symphony No 3, Op. 57. BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ruth Gipps, broadcast 29 October 1969
• Symphony No 3, Op. 57. BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Rumon Gamba, broadcast 9 October 2020
• Symphony No 5, Op. 64. London Repertoire Orchestra, conducted by Ruth Gipps, recording of a performance given in 1983.
• Violin Sonata, Op. 42,Rhapsodyfor violin and piano, Op.27a (1943),Evocation,Op.48 (1956). Patrick Wastnage (violin), Elizabeth Dunn (piano).Guild GMCD7827 (2022)

Further reading

• Campbell, M. "Ruth Gipps: a woman of substance",Signature,1/3 (1996), 15–20, 32–34
• Halstead, Jill, Lewis Foreman, and J. N. F. Laurie-Beckett (2001). "Gipps, Ruth (Dorothy Louisa) [Wid(dy) Gipps]".The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians,2nd edition, edited byStanley SadieandJohn Tyrrell.London: Macmillan.
• Halstead, Jill (2006).Ruth Gipps: Anti-Modernism, Nationalism And Difference in English Music.Aldershot: Ashgate.ISBN978-0-7546-0178-4.
• Holden, Raymond (2004). "Gipps, Ruth Dorothy Louisa (1921–1999), conductor and composer".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

External links

• Classical Music on the Web: Obituary of Ruth Gipps
• Seattle Philharmonic: U.S. premiere of the Symphony No 2
• Christina Rossetti in Music: Ruth Gipp's Goblin Market (1954)
• BBCComposer of the Week,8–12 March 2021