Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was born in London, England, on August 15, 1875, and died in Croydon, England, on September 1, 1912. The first performance of the Ballade in A minor took place at Shire Hall in Gloucester, England, on September 12, 1898, with the composer conducting the Three Choirs Festival Orchestra. The Ballade in A minor is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, and strings. Approximate performance time is thirteen minutes.

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was born in London on August 15, 1875, the son of a physician from Sierra Leone and a woman from England. In his early years, Coleridge-Taylor studied the violin and singing. Later, he pursued studies in composition under the tutelage of British composer Charles Villiers Stanford at London’s Royal College of Music.

Shortly after graduation, Coleridge-Taylor received a commission to compose a new orchestral work for the Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester. The Festival had requested Edward Elgar to write the piece. Elgar was busy with other obligations and suggested that Coleridge-Taylor take on the assignment. The result was Coleridge-Taylor’s orchestral composition, the Ballade.

The Ballade premiered under the composer’s direction at the Three Choirs Festival on September 12, 1898. The concert was a tremendous success, with the Ballade inspiring a standing ovation. But it was the premiere that same year of Coleridge-Taylor’s cantata, Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast (based upon poetry by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow), that catapulted the composer to national and international acclaim.

During his lifetime, Coleridge-Taylor was celebrated both as a conductor and a composer who succeeded in a wide variety of genres. Coleridge-Taylor made several visits to the United States and took a great interest in African American music. In many of his works, Coleridge-Taylor offered a compelling synthesis of African American folk melodies and classical elements. His tragic death from pneumonia at the age of 37 cut short a brilliant and promising career. Coleridge-Taylor’s tombstone reads:

The Ballade opens with the first of two principal sections, a vibrant and dramatic sequence in 6/8 time (Allegro energico, ma non troppo presto). The mood calms, leading to a far more relaxed episode, introduced by muted strings (moderato, ma con passione). The two episodes alternate, with the first returning a final time to bring the Ballade to a fiery (Più Presto. Con fuoco) conclusion.

Program notes by Ken Meltzer