Run Time: Approx. 8 minutes

Philip Arnold Heseltine was an English composer and music critic born in 1894. All of his music publications were released under the pseudonym Peter Warlock, a nod to his interest in occult practices. He attended the prestigious Elton school where he met composer Frederick Delius, who became his mentor and close friend. The Serenade for String Orchestra was written in 1922 as a gift for Delius on the occasion of his 60th birthday.

Musically, Warlock was influenced by an eclectic array of composers. He took a keen interest in the music of Elizabethan England, particularly in the works of lutenist John Dowland. He composed settings of many traditional English folk songs. He loved the French impressionists like Debussy and Fauré, whose influence imparted a lushness of texture into his music. He was also heavily influenced by his English contemporaries like Edward Elgar and Ralph Vaughn Williams, who’s simple folk-like melodies and stark, open harmonies can be clearly heard in Warlock’s compositions. Plaintive, rich, and ethereal, the Serenade for String Orchestra perfectly fits within the canon of 20th-century English music, blending historical traditions with modern sensibilities, impressionist timbres, and the familiar sounds of folk songs.