# Roger Marsh

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{{short description|British-composer (born 1949)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
__NOTOC__
'''Roger Marsh''' (born 10 December 1949) is a British composer and retired academic.<ref>Nicolas Slonimsky et al. ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-century Classical Musicians'', Schirmer (1997)</ref>

==Career==
Born in [Bournemouth](/source/Bournemouth), he studied in London with composer [Ian Kellam](/source/Ian_Kellam) at the [London College of Music](/source/London_College_of_Music), and then at the [University of York](/source/University_of_York) with [Bernard Rands](/source/Bernard_Rands) and [Wilfrid Mellers](/source/Wilfrid_Mellers).<ref name=hall/> After two years of further study at the [University of California, San Diego](/source/University_of_California%2C_San_Diego), Marsh was appointed lecturer at the [University of Keele](/source/Keele_University) in 1978, becoming head of department in 1985. He returned to York University in 1988, where he became Professor of Music the following year.<ref name=grove>Andrew Burn. '[https://doi-org.lonlib.idm.oclc.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.45626 Marsh, Roger]', in ''Grove Music Online'' (2001)</ref> He was visiting composer at [Harvard](/source/Harvard_University) in 1993. In 1994 Marsh and his wife, the singer Anna Myatt, co-founded and directed the music theatre ensemble Black Hair.<ref>Martin Dreyer. [https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/leisure/music/1455210.review-york-late-music-festival-black-hair-national-centre-for-early-music-york/ 'Review: York Late Music Festival'], ''York Press'', 7 June 2007</ref> Marsh retired from York in 2019, retaining the title emeritus Professor of Music.<ref name=york>[https://www-users.york.ac.uk/~rmm6/welcome.htm Roger Marsh biography, University of York]</ref>

His students include [John Abram](/source/John_Abram),<ref>[http://1443.sydneyplus.com/final/Portal/Composer-Showcase.aspx?component=AAIL&record=6dc57dcd-2628-41a2-8344-31024e6e70f4 John Abrahm biography, Canadian Music Center]</ref> Tom Armstrong,<ref>[https://www.surrey.ac.uk/people/tom-armstrong Tom Armstrong biography, University of Surrey]</ref> [Richard Causton](/source/Richard_Causton_(composer)),<ref>[https://rostrumplus.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Uk-RICHARD-CAUSTON.pdf Richard Causton biography, International Rostrum of Composers]</ref> [Andrew Hugill](/source/Andrew_Hugill),<ref>[https://rostrumplus.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Uk-RICHARD-CAUSTON.pdf Andrew Hugill, composer's statement]</ref> Shu-Yu Lin,<ref>[https://www.cmrcyork.org/people/shu-yu-lin/ Shu-Yu Lin biography, University of York]</ref> Aaron Moorehouse,<ref>[https://www.cmrcyork.org/people/aaron-moorhouse/ Aaron Moorehouse biography, University of York]</ref> Akiko Ogawa,<ref>[https://bassclarinet.ecwid.com/Ogawa-Fanfare-p145764284 Akiko Ogawa biography, Alea Publishing]</ref> Felipe Otondo,<ref>[https://www.acusticauach.cl/?page_id=3924 Felipe Otondo biography, University of Chile]</ref> David Power,<ref>[http://www.voxnovus.com/composer/David_Power.htm David Power biography, Vox Novus]</ref> [Andy Quin](/source/Andy_Quin)<ref>[https://britishmusiccollection.org.uk/composer/andy-quin Andy Quin biography, British Music Collection]</ref> and [Paul Whitty](/source/Paul_Whitty).<ref>[https://divineartrecords.com/metier-announces-avant-garde-album-from-composer-paul-whitty-the-morning/ Paul Whitty biography, Divine Art Recordings]</ref>

==Music==
Marsh is best known for his ensemble and vocal music, often including elements of performance art and music theatre, influenced by [Stravinsky](/source/Igor_Stravinsky) and (through Bernard Rands) by [Berio](/source/Luciano_Berio).<ref name=mt>Andrew Burn. ''[https://www.jstor.org/stable/965102 Roger Marsh's Music]'', in ''The Musical Times'', Vol. 128, No. 1731 (May, 1987), pp. 259-262</ref> He has worked with many contemporary music vocal groups, such as Electric Phoenix (an offshoot of [Swingle 2](/source/The_Swingles)),  Singcircle and Vocem. One of his first pieces to gain wider attention was ''Not a soul but ourselves'' (1977) for amplified vocals, setting a passage from ''[Finnegans Wake](/source/Finnegans_Wake)''. It was recorded by Electric Phoenix in 1982, and more recently by [Paul Hillier](/source/Paul_Hillier)’s Theatre of Voices in 2011. 

''Stepping Out'', for piano and orchestra, was commissioned for the [BBC Proms](/source/BBC_Proms) in 1990, where it was performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and [Martin Roscoe](/source/Martin_Roscoe), piano. As with the later orchestral work ''Espace'' (1993), ''Stepping Out'' explores unconventional spatial possibilities in music.<ref name=grove/>

Between 2002 and 2006 Marsh composed vocal settings of all fifty of the ''[Pierrot lunaire: rondels bergamasques](/source/Pierrot_lunaire_(book))'' cycle of poems by [Albert Giraud](/source/Albert_Giraud). As with his many close readings of texts by [James Joyce](/source/James_Joyce), Marsh is interested in bringing out the meaning of the dense, [symbolist](/source/Symbolism_(movement)) texts.<ref>Stephen Hall. [https://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2007/July07/Marsh_Pierrot_NMCD127.htm 'Marsh. Albert Giraud’s Pierrot Lunaire'], reviewed at ''MusicWeb International'' (2007)</ref> He has expressed dislike for modern settings of texts in which the words are inaudible.<ref>[Andrew Hugill Thompson](/source/Andrew_Hugill). '[https://doi.org/10.25602/GOLD.cj.v0i34.1303 A Tale Told: a brief appreciation of the music of Roger Marsh]', in ''Contact'', No. 34, Autumn 1989</ref>

His music is published by Chester Novello and Peters Edition, London.<ref>[https://britishmusiccollection.org.uk/composer/roger-marsh 'Roger Marsh', British Music Collection]</ref>

==Music theatre==
His music theatre activities began in the 1970s at York, where a group of like-minded composers - Marsh, [Richard Orton](/source/Richard_Orton), Steve Stanton and [Trevor Wishart](/source/Trevor_Wishart) -  were working with music students and staff (rather than trained actors) to stage performance works. Marsh's contributions included the solo piece ''Dum'', performed inside a cage or at a lectern with many metal objects by (among others) Alan Belk of Vocem and the composer himself.<ref name=hall>Michael Hall. [https://boydellandbrewer.com/9781783270125/music-theatre-in-britain-1960-1975/ ''Music Theatre in Britain 1960-1975''] (Boydell Press 2015), pp. 19-20, and Chap. 11 'Musica Poetica', p. 253-274</ref> With his wife Anna Myatt he was associated with Midland Music Theatre in Birmingham as a director and performer.<ref name=grove/> 

Humour and irony are important elements, as shown in a series of works derived from Old Testament stories and themes presented in contemporary terms, such as the dramatic oratorio ''Samson'' (1984 - closer in style to Japanese [Noh](/source/Noh) drama than the European [oratorio](/source/oratorio)), the melodrama ''The Song of Abigail'' (1985) and the extended drama ''The Big Bang'' (1989) - subtitled "Tales of love and intrigue; a kaleidoscope of sex and violence".<ref name=mt/>

==Audiobooks==
For the [Naxos](/source/Naxos_(company)) record label Marsh has produced dramatically narrated audiobooks of Joyce's ''[Ulysses](/source/Ulysses_(novel))'' (1994 abridged, 2004 unabridged), ''[A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man](/source/A_Portrait_of_the_Artist_as_a_Young_Man)'' (1995) and ''Finnegans Wake'' (2021, unabridged), as well as three books of Dante's ''Divine Comedy''.<ref>[https://naxosaudiobooks.com/ulysses-unabridged/ ''Ulysses'', Naxos Audio Books]</ref>

==Selected works==
* ''Molly'' for speaker, six amplified voices, ensemble, derived from ''Ulysses'' (1970)
* ''Cass'', music theatre, female voice, flute, jug and six men, from [Aeschylus](/source/Aeschylus) (1971) 
* ''Dum'', a vocal percussive fantasy for male vocalist (1972)
* ''Three Hale Mairies'', vocalists and ensemble (1976)
* ''Not a soul but ourselves'' (1977)
* ''Bits and Scraps'',  for four amplified voices, tape and lighting director (1979)
* ''Samson: a dramatic oratorio'' (1984), commissioned by Vocem for the Nettlefold Festival (1984)
* ''The Song of Abigail'', melodrama (1985)
* ''Easy Steps'', for piano (1987)
* ''Ferry Music'', for clarinet, cello and piano (1988)
* ''The Big Bang - a dramatic oratorio on Old Testament texts'' (1989)
* ''Stepping Out'' for piano and orchestra (Proms, 1990)
* ''Kagura'' for large ensemble, influenced by Japanese Gagaku music (1991)
* ''A Little Snow'', solo voice, text [Nicanor Parra](/source/Nicanor_Parra) (1994)<ref>Jane Manning. ''[https://academic.oup.com/book/31979/chapter-abstract/267733557?redirectedFrom=fulltext Vocal Repertoire for the Twenty-First Century]'', OUP (2020) Vol. 1, pp. 190-192</ref>
* ''Espace'' for orchestra, Huddersfield Festival (1994)
* ''Waiting for Charlie'', for the ensemble de ereprijs (1994) 
* ''Sukeroku'' for percussion quartet (2000)
* ''Atsumari'' for [Ōtsuzumi](/source/%C5%8Ctsuzumi) and percussion quartet (2004)
* ''Pierrot Lunaire: 50 Rondels Bergamasques'', setting of [Albert Giraud](/source/Albert_Giraud)'s full cycle of poems, Perugia (2007) 
* ''Il Cor Tristo'', settings from Dante's ''[Inferno](/source/Inferno_(Dante))'' for the [Hilliard Ensemble](/source/Hilliard_Ensemble) (2008)<ref>Nicholas Kenyon. [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/dec/01/il-cor-tristo-hilliard-ensemble-review 'Il Cor Tristo review'], in ''The Observer'', 1 Dec 2013</ref>
* ''What Charlie Did Next'' for the ensemble de ereprijs, Arnhem (2009)
* ''Rising'', music theatre (2010)
* ''Faust'', music for BBC radio production (2010)<ref>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/p009znts ''Drama on 3''], BBC radio listing, 19 September 2010</ref>
* ''Lamentations'' for voice, flute and percussion. York (2012)
* ''Poor Yorrick'', settings from ''[Tristram Shandy](/source/The_Life_and_Opinions_of_Tristram_Shandy%2C_Gentleman)'' (2014)
* ''Touch and Go'' (2014), for pianist Catherine Laws
* ''Walking Away'', three songs for soprano and marimba (2015)
* ''But Still'', for soprano, viola and piano (2017)

'''Recordings'''
* ''Electric Phoenix'', Wergo WER 60094 (1982), includes ''Not a soul but ourselves''
* [https://soundcloud.com/roger-marsh-137875687/stepping-out-1990 ''Stepping Out'' for piano and orchestra], BBC Symphony Orchestra, Martin Roscoe (BBC Proms 1990)
* [https://soundcloud.com/roger-marsh-137875687/black-hair-1992 ''Black Hair''] (from [Mary Wiegold](/source/Mary_Wiegold's_Songbook)'s song book), Anna Myatt with the Black Hair Ensemble (1995)
* [https://nmc-recordings.myshopify.com/products/roger-marsh-pierrot-lunaire ''Albert Giraud – Pierrot Lunaire'', NMCD 127] (2007)
* [https://nmc-recordings.myshopify.com/products/various-the-nmc-songbook ''The NMC Songbook'', NMCD 150] (2009), includes ''Lullaby''
* ''20 Odd Years'', FMRCD 316-0711, Jos Zwaanenburg, flutes (2011), includes ''Hoichi''
* [https://nmc-recordings.myshopify.com/products/goldberg-ensemble-crossing-ohashi-bridge ''Crossing Ohashi Bridge'', NMCD 174] (2011), Goldberg Ensemble, Malcolm Layfield, includes ''Canto 1''
* ''Stories - Berio and Friends'', Harmonia Mundi: HMU807527,  Paul Hillier, Theatre of Voices (2011), includes ''Not a soul but ourselves''
* ''Il Cor Tristo'', Hilliard Ensemble, ECM  2346 (2013)
* ''Isang Yun Remembered'', CMRC 002 (2019), includes ''But Still''

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.rogermarshcomposer.co.uk/ Composer's website]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdLGjPZEArA ''Dum'', performed by R.L. Silver], New College of Florida, 2017
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqZe8VXuMwk ''Not a soul but ourselves'', Theatre of Voices]
* [https://vimeo.com/273496616 ''Touch and Go'' performed by Catherine Laws]. A film by Minyung Im.

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marsh, Roger}}
Category:1949 births
Category:Living people
Category:Academics of Keele University
Category:Composers of the University of York
Category:Alumni of the University of York
Category:Musicians from Bournemouth
Category:Harvard University faculty
Category:University of California, San Diego faculty
Category:20th-century British classical composers
Category:21st-century British classical composers

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Roger Marsh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Marsh) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Marsh?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.