Armstrong Gibbs

Armstrong Gibbs

If you have performed any English music then the name Armstrong Gibbs is probably one which you may know but cannot quite place. The Armstrong Gibbs Festival which starts on 19 September 2014 is your chance to get to know his music better.

Armstrong Gibbs (1889 - 1960) was an English composer who is perhaps best known nowadays for his songs though he wrote significantly for choirs as well, devoting much of his time to the amateur choral movements. His best known works often feature settings of poems by Walter de la Mare, who was a lifelong friend. He was a contemporary of Howells and Bax, and he studied under RVW and Adrian Boult.

There is an Armstrong Gibbs Society, and they are organising the 2014 Armstrong Gibbs Festival in the Church of St John the Baptist, Danbury, Chelmsford from 19 to 21 September 2014. Music by Armstrong Gibbs in the festival will include works for flute and piano, his String Quartet Op. 99 as well as songs by Gibbs and his contemporaries performed in the context of Afternoon Tea with Mr Gibbs, plus the celebration of the publication of the book Armstrong Gibbs - A countryman born and bred. There will also be the chance to hear a cantata by Cecilia McDowall.