Overture: Midsummer Ale, Op. 73

Composer: GARDNER, John
  • Gardner composed his orchestral overture Midsummer Ale in 1965. It was commissioned for the 75th anniversary of Morley College.
  • Gardner said he “spent longer searching for the title of this piece than in writing down its notes on a five-line stave.” He eventually landed on “Midsummer Ale” because the piece was to premiere in June, and because he found the archaic expression “midsummer ale” in Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.
    • In this expression, an “ale” means a celebration at which a great deal of ale is drunk.1

Sources

  1. John Gardner, program notes to “Overture: Midsummer Ale, Op. 73,” Selected Works Catalogue, JohnLintonGardner.co.uk, accessed October 8, 2019, http://www.johnlintongardner.co.uk/Selected%20Works%20Catalogue.pdf.

Cut IDs

49185