Cringlemire Garden

How did a remote garden in the Lake District inspire a wonderful piece of music which you can hear in the next Firebird concert at Kings Place on 28 January?

British composer Ruth Gipps (1921-1999) belonged to that generation of post WW2 English composers following on from the post-romantic tradition of the likes of Vaughan Williams, Bax, Ireland and Holst.

‘She was an all-rounder in the best sense of the term, and her contribution to British musical life over five decades is both immeasurable and enduring.’

Bret Johnson The Guardian

Ruth Gipps produced more than 70 works, including five symphonies. Many of her compositions were inspired by the landscape of the South-East of England. 

But the gorgeous Cringlemire Garden is inspired by the rural landscape in the north-east near Troutbeck, in the Lake District.

Cringlemire was designed by architect Dan Gibson in the 1890s for Henry Martin as an  arboricultural museum. Described as an ‘Impression for string orchestra’, this six minute tone poem premiered in 1952 and describes the feelings of being in this garden surrounded by the dramatic landscape of the Lake District. 

The Firebird Orchestra will be conducted by George Jackson. With pianist Harris Tsz-Chun Leung and soprano Sian Dicker, this concert will also feature music by two of the greatest names from the classical era, Haydn and Mozart.

Garden of Fire

Sunday 28 January 2024, 6.30pm
Kings Place, London

Ruth Gipps Cringlemire Garden: Impression for string orchestra, Op. 39
Mozart Piano Concerto No.9 in E flat, K. 271 ‘Jeunehomme’
Mozart Voi avete un cor fedele, K. 217
Haydn Symphony No. 59 in A, Hob. I:59 ‘Fire’

Lake District photograph by James Armes on Unsplash