Paul Corfield Godfrey
Composer
VARIATIONS AND EPISODES for solo piano by PAUL CORFIELD GODFREY - 14/03/2025
This disc collects the complete piano music composed by Paul Corfield Godfrey over the past fifty years. Three of the pieces derive from the composer’s cycles of works based on the mythology of J. R. R. Tolkien, and form appendices to his epic scenes from The Silmarillion and his musical chapters from The Lord of the Rings (to be released in a complete recording by Prima Facie later in 2025). Piano Rondo: “Akallabêth” depicts the story of the Second Age Kingdom of Men and its downfall; the Wedding March from “The Fall of Gondolin” is an arrangement for piano of a section of that work; and Piano Episode: “The Passing of Arwen” forms an epilogue to The Lord of the Rings, drawing on material from the cycle and telling of the tragic conclusion of the tale of Aragorn and Arwen.
The disc also includes a set of Variations on a Bardic Melody which depicts diverse aspects of the Welsh valleys, and eight miniature Studies written at various times examining different aspects of technical and compositional techniques. All the works have been recorded especially for this release by Duncan Honeybourne, who is also giving here the first performance of the newly composed Piano Episode: “The Passing of Arwen”.
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Duncan Honeybourne enjoys a diverse profile as a pianist and in music education. Following his concerto debuts at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall and Town Hall, and at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, he made recital debuts in London, Paris, and at international festivals in Belgium and Switzerland. Commended for his "gripping performances" (The Times), "glittering performances" (International Piano) and "great technical facility and unfailing imagination" (Musical Opinion), Duncan has toured extensively as soloist and chamber musician, broadcasting frequently on BBC Radio 3 and radio networks worldwide. His many recordings reflect his long association with 20th and 21st century British piano music and he has premiered more than 70 new piano works written for him by composers including John Joubert, John Casken and Cecilia McDowall. He has also revived many forgotten scores by composers of earlier generations and was invited by the BBC to give the world premiere of two rediscovered piano preludes by English romantic Susan Spain-Dunk in a recital broadcast live from Cardiff on Radio 3 in 2021. Duncan teaches at the Royal Academy of Music Junior Academy, the University of Southampton and Sherborne School, and is Founder/Artistic Director of the Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts near his home in Dorset. www.duncanhoneybourne.com
Recorded at St. Elizabeth’s Church, Ashley, Cheshire, 19-20/12/24
Engineer: Steve Plews
Producers: Steve Plews, Paul Corfield Godfrey and Simon Crosby Buttle
Editing and mastering: Simon Crosby Buttle
Cover Artwork: David Charles Brook ©2024
Booklet Notes: Paul Corfield Godfrey
Cover and Booklet Design: Simon Crosby Buttle
COMPLETE DEMO RECORDING
For many years the Tolkien Estate has refused to allow any musical treatment of the works of the author which employed his own words. Now they have agreed to make a concession in respect of the music of Paul Corfield Godfrey, whose cycle of “epic scenes from The Silmarillion” was finally completed in 2023 with the issue of a ten-CD series of recordings from Volante Opera and Prima Facie Records.
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Ever since the 1960s the composer has been working on sketches, fragments and episodes of what was envisaged as a cycle of musical works based upon The Lord of the Rings. Following on from the success of the recordings of The Silmarillion Paul was persuaded to go back to these beginnings and fully explore, expand and complete the work which has now evolved as “musical chapters from The Lord of the Rings”. This fully operatic setting has now become a companion work on the same scale as The Silmarillion. This adaptation takes place over thirty “chapters” designed to be performed over six evenings – over fifteen hours of music.
This work is currently in the process of recording by Volante Opera and it is anticipated that Prima Facie will release a demo recording of the complete cycle, in the same manner as their Silmarillion recordings, in 2025.
The professional singers, some thirty in number, come mainly from Welsh National Opera. Returning artists from The Silmarillion include: Simon Crosby Buttle as Frodo, Julian Boyce as Sam, Philip Lloyd-Evans as Gandalf, Stephen Wells as Aragorn, Michael Clifton-Thompson as Gollum, Helen Jarmany as Éowyn, Huw Llywelyn as Bilbo, Emma Mary Llewellyn as Arwen, Laurence Cole as Boromir/Denethor, Martin Lloyd as Treebeard/Herb Master, Helen Greenaway as Lobelia/Ioreth, Rosie Hay as Gwaihir, Sophie Yelland as the Barrow-Wight, Louise Ratcliffe as Lindir with George Newton-Fitzgerald and Jasey Hall taking on a plethora of roles. Angharad Morgan will also be reprising her role as Galadriel from The Silmarillion. Our new cast members and their characters will be introduced as the recording process continues.
Those who have enjoyed the composer’s large-scale setting of The Silmarillion will be pleased to discover that the music inhabits the same musical world as before, with many ideas and themes continued and expanded into The Lord of the Rings. The “musical chapters” also incorporate other works by the composer such as his earlier Tolkien songs (already available on CD) which now assume greater significance in the course of the whole structure.
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Although the text is inevitably abridged, it adheres without any but the most minor alterations to the author’s original words, and the original plot development remains unchanged – including such elements as Tom Bombadil, the Barrow-wight and the ‘scouring of the Shire’. And some other passages, such as the coronation and wedding of Aragorn, are given expanded musical treatment.
Also coming early 2025, a complete recording of Paul Corfield Godfrey’s solo piano works played by renowned British concert pianist Duncan Honeybourne. This will include, amongst other works, the epic piano rondo Akallabêth, a solo piano version of the Wedding March from The Fall of Gondolin and a new work composed specifically for Duncan and this album – The Passing of Arwen.
For more information about the recording by Volante Opera Productions please visit: www.volanteopera.wales
Updates about the recording process will be posted to our social media feeds:
DISCORD: https://discord.gg/J6bQFHygr7
FACEBOOK: Volante Opera Productions, The Music of Paul Corfield Godfrey
INSTAGRAM/THREADS: @volanteopera
TWITTER/X: @OperaVolante, @TheCorfield
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COMPLETE DEMO RECORDINGS
Volante Opera Productions recently released a collected edition of Paul's "Epic Scenes from The Silmarillion after the mythology of J. R. R. Tolkien". This contains all five parts of the cycle and a 128 page booklet containing the complete texts and a guide to the work.
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BLITHE SPIRIT
Volante Opera Productions has released a complete commercial demo recording of Paul's adaptation of Noël Coward's improbable farce "Blithe Spirit".
06/02/2025 - TOLKIEN BASED WORKS - We've had a bit of a rebrand across all Tolkien based works to bring everything in line for the new Lord of the Rings release. Mostly cosmetic changes, more information will follow soon.
06/01/2025 - RECORDINGS - Today we are also proud to announce a new recording of music by Paul: Variations and Episodes for solo piano. This album will be released on 14/03/2025 and pre-orders are available for both this and the score on Volante's Webstore (just click "Shop" above).
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06/01/2025 - BIO - We're extremely proud to announce that we have three new "Officers of the Trust" who work with us on the preservation and promotion of Paul's music. We welcome on board:
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Klara Claesson
Larissa Martins Costa
Phillip Walch
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08/10/2024 - COMPOSITIONS - Updates to include new compositions and opus numbers along with more information added to Lord of the Rings detailing the Appenidces.
07/08/2024 - RECORDINGS - Volante Opera Productions have created three new videos of Paul's works in the last month - Lisa Lan, All my Trials and Searching for Lambs.
16/06/2024 - SHOP - The scores for Mysteries of Time (Op. 44), The Deserted Village (Op. 23), Sundials (Op. 57), Two Pagan Choruses (Op. 30) and Hymnus Mysticus (Op. 37) have now been published by Zarathustra and are available to purchase from Volante's Website.
14/05/2024 - SHOP - The score Three Romances for Violin and Harp (Op. 40) has now been published by Zarathustra and is available to purchase from Volante's Website
07/05/2024 - THE LORD OF THE RINGS - After discussion with members of our Discord group Paul was inspired to create an additional appendix for The Lord of the Rings out of a song that had been previously cut for pacing - The Lay of Durin. This has been completed, orchestrated, will be recorded and added to the release next year.
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08/04/2024 - TOLKIEN CYCLE - we are extremely excited to announce that the rights to Paul's adaptations of Musical Chapters from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit have been cleared and Volante Opera Productions are working away at Complete Demo Recordings of both works.
15/02/2024 - PURCHASE - Volante Opera Productions now has an online shop (www.volanteopera.wales) where all of the available CDs and scores can be purchased with ease, we have therefore removed the PURCHASE page from this site.
09/10/2023 - RECORDINGS - Volante Opera Productions' Demo Recording of Blithe Spirit has been sent off for manufacture and will be released on 24/11/2023
08/10/2023 - RECORDINGS - A new music video of Crade Song has been added to Op. 76.
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01/07/2023 - PURCHASE - All scores and CDs of The War of Wrath and The Complete Silmarillion now available for purchase.
7/06/2023 - PURCHASE - We are now able to take pre-orders for the 23rd June releases (The War of Wrath & The Complete Silmarillion).
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07/06/2023 - RECORDINGS/VOCAL WORKS - A video of Dithyramb from Op.30 Two Pagan Choruses has been added.
21/04/2023 - VOCAL WORKS - Two new compositions have been completed and entries added to the site. Op. 76 has another song added, Lisa Lân, and Op. 78 has been added. This is De Profundis, a chamber piece for four solo voices, string quartet and harp after the letter by Oscar Wilde.
08/04/2023 - VARIOUS - A new music video has been added (Passacaglia: "On the Seashore of Endless Worlds") along with trailers for The Silmarillion and The Nightingale and the Rose. Paul's review pages have been opened up but content is still being added - this will be a long process, there's a lot of them to upload!
21/02/2023 - STAGE WORKS - Composition has been completed on Saint Joan and entries has been added to the relevant pages with information.
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21/02/2023 - VOCAL WORKS - A new setting of Cradle Song has been completed and added to Op. 76.
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03/01/2023 - PURCHASE - Vocal and Full Scores for The Nightingale and the Rose are now available. Also the collected edition score of Akallabeth is now available.
03/01/2023 - VOCAL WORKS - Searching for Lambs, a newly completed arrangement by Paul has been added to Op. 76.
10/12/2022 - HOME - Blithe Spirit has been added to the Upcoming Recordings box.
05/12/2022 - PURCHASE - The Nightingale and the Rose, The Sphinx & Hymnus Mysticus CD is now available direct from us. Online retailers and digitl download release will follow in the coming weeks.
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Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/J6bQFHygr7