Evelyn Sharpe: Hindhead (Evening on the Moors)

Описание: #1 from 'County Album Series: 2—Surrey' (1921)
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Phillip Sear plays a piece by the British composer Evelyn Sharpe (1884–1969).
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I don't have much information about Evelyn Sharpe's life, but she wrote a great deal of vocal music — hundreds of songs and carols. Many were aimed at children; among her best‑known drawing‑room ballads are "When the Great Red Dawn is Shining", "Fionaphort Ferry", "Hambledon Lock", "When the World Was a Garden of Love", "The Bubble Song", "Water Meadows", "Hushed Husho", "Where the Milestone End" and "Go Down to Kew in Lilac Time". She also composed church music, piano pieces for children (for example, "Apple Harvest" and "Tales From Toyland") and three orchestral works of a topographical nature — "Devon", "Essex" and "Hampshire" (the orchestration was by other hands). (Source: MusicWeb International: https://tinyurl.com/y4obvlva.) Sharpe wrote five 'County Albums', published between 1920 and 1923; they were: Cornwall, Surrey, Essex, Devon, and Hampshire. I imagine that the orchestral pieces mentioned above were based on these albums.

She was a teenage friend of one of my great aunts and later married Lewis Saville, who worked for the music publisher Curwen.

When writing this piece, Sharpe was probably thinking of the Devil's Punch Bowl. This striking natural hollow on Hindhead Common contains open heath, steep slopes, streams, and woodland — the sort of moorland scenery that inspired many composers. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest with varied wildlife, including birds such as the lesser spotted woodpecker, and has been owned by the National Trust since 1906. The area offers lovely walks and wide, panoramic views.

Thumbnail image generated by Gemini (within Google Slides).
#britishmusic #moorland
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Played by Phillip Sear
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