Notes From a Small Island Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cuckoo

Delius was born in Bradford in 1862, his father having moved to the area from Westphalia (now part of Germany) due to his involvement in the wool trade. Julius Delius took British citizenship in 1850 before marrying and fathering fourteen children. Frederick Delius was originally named Fritz, before changing to something less Germanic, and was expected to follow his father into commerce. Having spent time in the UK, Germany, France and Florida where he spent more time on music than business, Delius was able to obtain his father's agreement to his pursuance of a career in music. 'On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring' received its first performance in Leipzig in 1913. Among his other works are 'A Village Romeo and Juliet', which is an opera composed in 1907, and 'A Song of Summer' from 1930.

Answer: Thomas Arne

The poem was written by James Thompson and exhort the country to become dominant. The words from the poem are 'Rule, Britannia! rule the waves; Britons never will be slaves'. The words are a call to do the best, not a boast that has already been achieved.

The first performance of the musical version was in 1740 as part of a masque named 'Alfred', about King Alfred the Great, performed for the Prince of Wales, heir to the throne. The song is now an almost permanent fixture in the programme for the annual 'Last Night of the Proms'.

Answer: Hebrides Overture

Although German born, Mendelssohn made several visits to Britain and met Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert who were admirers of his work. While in Scotland, working on his 'Symphony No. 3', known as the 'Scottish Symphony' he visited the Hebridean Islands and was inspired to write a work, which premiered in 1832, about his visit. Fingal's Cave is on an uninhabited island named Staffa, in the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. Mendelssohn's work popularised the area leading to visits by poets such as Wordsworth and Tennyson, the author Jules Verne and the artist J.M.W. Turner, who painted it in 1832.

Answer: The Graduation March

There are six marches in all, but the first is probably the best known. It was written by Elgar in 1901 and premiered in Liverpool. Marches one and two were played at a Promenade Concert on 21 October 1901 to immediate acclaim. The singing of 'Land of Hope and Glory' has become another fixture at the 'Last Night of the Proms'.

It made its way across the Atlantic in 1905 when Elgar was invited to accept an honorary Doctorate at Yale University. The 'Pomp and Circumstance March' was played as the graduates and dignitaries left, but it is more often used as a processional at the beginning of the ceremony of graduation.

Answer: Handel

Grainger was born in Australia in 1882 before moving to Germany at the age of thirteen to study music. He moved to London in 1901 before leaving for the USA in 1914, where he spent the remainder of this life and becoming a US citizen. During his London years he performed as piano performer and took an interest in traditional English folk tunes. 'Handel in the Strand' was originally intended to be titled 'Clog Dance', reflecting Grainger's interests of the time. Handel wrote 'Water Music' and 'Music for the Royal Fireworks', so I hope the heavy handed hint helped you.

Answer: King Lear

Berlioz was a French composer, Hamlet was a Dane and Othello was a Moor (Arab) so only Macbeth and Lear fit the theme of the quiz. According to the Hector Berlioz website, Berlioz had discovered Shakespeare's writings only in 1827 and had only recently read 'King Lear' when he was inspired to write the overture in 1831.

He was staying in Nice at the time and the first performance of the work took place at the Paris Conservatorie two years later.

Answer: Henry Purcell

Of the options provided only Purcell belongs to the Baroque period, which is usually dated from the late 16th to the early 18th century. 'Dido and Aeneas' appears to have been first performed in London with the date being described as 'no later than 1688'.

The story was taken from 'The Aeneid', written by Virgil, and covers the doomed love affair between Dido, Queen of Carthage, and Aeneas, who deserts her and leaves her heartbroken. Britten, Arnold and Walton were all English composers of the 20th century.

Answer: Haydn

The work known as the 'London Symphony' was the twelfth in a series known collectively as the 'London Symphonies'. Some of the others have their own nicknames, with the second being the 'Surprise', the ninth being the 'Clock' and the eleventh known as the 'Drumroll'. Haydn was invited to London by a German impresario called Johann Peter Saloman, and was such a success that his financial future was secured. Haydn met the young Beethoven while travelling to England and became his teacher.

Answer: I Vow to Thee my Country

Holst was born in 1874 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. 'The Planet's' is his best known work and was written between 1914 and 1916. It covers seven planets, excluding Earth and Pluto, which was not discovered until 1930 and is no longer considered a planet. Jupiter is described as the 'Bringer of Jollity' and the middle section of the movement was adapted by Holst himself to become the hymn tune known as 'Thaxted'.

The words of 'I Vow to Thee my Country' come from a poem written by Sir Cecil Spring-Rice. 'Jerusalem' comes from a poem by William Blake and set to music by Hubert Parry, and 'An English Country Garden' is a traditional folk song arranged by Percy Grainger.

The 'Knightsbridge March' is part of the 'London Suite' writtenby Eric Coates.

Answer: Walt Whitman

Vaughan Williams was another Gloucestershire born composer and was a friend and fellow student of Holst. 'A Sea Symphony' was his first symphony and was performed for the first time in 1910 at the Leeds Festival. A choir is used as part of the symphony, which makes use of poems from Whitman's 'Leaves of Grass'.

These include 'On the Beach at Night Alone' and 'Passage to India'. Among other well known works by Vaughan Williams are 'The Lark Ascending' and the opera 'The Pilgrim's Progress', based on the work of John Bunyan.