BIRTWISTLE, Harrison
b Accrington, Lancashire, 15 July 1934

He studied clarinet and won a scholarship to the Royal Manchester College of Music, later going on to the Royal Academy of Music. From 1962 to 1965 he was on the staff of Cranborne Chase School. In 1966 he was awarded a Harkness International Fellowship and became a visiting fellow of Princeton University in the USA. In 1973 he was Cornell visiting professor at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania.
1957 (23)
Refrains and Choruses, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn
1959 (25)
Monody for Corpus Christi, for soprano, flute, horn and violin
Precis, for piano
1960 (26)
The World is Discovered, for instrumental ensemble
1962-3 (28 9)
Chorales for orchestra
1964 (30)
Three Movements with Fanfares for orchestra
Entr'actes and Sappho Fragments, for soprano and instruments
Description of the Passing of a Year, narration for mixed choir a cappella
1965 (31)
Tragoedia, for instrumental ensemble
Ring a Dumb Carillon, for soprano, clarinet and percussion
Carmen Paschale, Motet for mixed choir and organ
1966 (32)
Verses, for clarinet and piano
Punch and Judy, opera (1966-7)
1968 (34)
Nomos, for four amplified wind instruments and orchestra
Linoi, for clarinet and piano
1969 (35)
Down by the Greenwood Side, dramatic pastoral
Verses for Ensembles. for instrumental ensemble
Ut Heremita Solus, arrangement of instrumental motet
Hoquetus David (Double Hoquet), arrangement of instrumental motet
Medusa, for instrumental ensemble (1969-70)
Cantata, for soprano and instrumental ensemble
1970 (36)
Prologue, for tenor and instruments
Nenia on the Death of Orpheus, for soprano and instruments
Four Interludes from a Tragedy, for clarinet and tape
1971 (37)
An Imaginary Landscape, for orchestra
Meridian, for mezzo-soprano, six-part choir and ensemble
The Fields of Sorrow, for two sopranos, eight-part mixed choir and instruments
Chronometer for eight-track electronic tape
1972 (38)
The Triumph of Time, for orchestra
Tombeau - in memoriam Igor Stravinsky, for flute, clarinet, harp and string quartet
Dinah and Nick's Love Song, for three soprano saxophones and harp (or three English horns and harp)
La Plage - Eight Arias of Remembrance, for soprano, three clarinets, piano and marimba
Epilogue - 'Full Fathom Fivé, for baritone and instruments
1973 (39)
Grimethorpe Aria, for brass band
Chanson de geste, for solo sustaining instrument and tape
Five Choral Preludes arranged from Bach, for soprano and instrumental ensemble
1974 (40)
Chorales from a Toyshop, in five parts with variable orchestration
1976 (42)
Melencolia I, for orchestra
1977 (43)
Silbury Air, for orchestra
For O, For O, the Hobby Horse is Forgot, for instrumental ensemble
Bow Down, improvised music-theatre
Frames, Pulse and Interruptions, ballet
1977-8 (43-4)
Carmen Arcadiae Mechanicae Perpetuum, for orchestra
1979 (45)
agm, choral
Some Petals from the Garland, instrumental ensemble
1980 (46)
On the Sheer Threshold of the Night, choral
Clarinet Quintet
1981 (47)
Pulse Sampler, for oboe and claves
1983 (49)
Deowa, for soprano and clarinet
Duets for Storab, for two flutes