CHARLES VILLIERS STANFORD

The Music of Charles Villiers Stanford

This ongoing project examines various aspects of the musical life of Irish born composer Charles Villiers Stanford. Developing from an initial focus on the piano music, which includes the development of critical editions and analysis leading to a PhD and publications, the project has broadened to examine gaps in the current scholarship of Stanford’s music and related musical trends and contexts including the reception of Stanford’s music in America, his operas and his use of Irish folk music in compositional practice. The researcher is a prominent member of the Stanford society, contributing to various public events in Ireland and abroad related to the composer, including festivals and performances of his work.

To date, publications include:

Commins, A. (2019) 'An Irish Opera on an American Stage’: Charles Villiers Stanford and his Music in America', How Popular Culture Travels: Cultural Exchanges between Ireland and the United States. Eds. Sylvie Mikowski and Yann Philippe. Reims: EPURE 2019
Commins, A. (2019) 'Challenging History's Memory: C.V. Stanford and the Feis Ceoil', Éire-Ireland: A Journal of the Irish American Cultural Institutes, Eds. Verena Commins and Méabh Ní Fhuartháin, Vol.LIV 1-2, Spring/Summer 2019, 137-159.
Commins, A. (2012) ‘Charles Villiers Stanford’ in Vallely, F. ed. Companion to Irish Music.
Commins, A (2012) ‘In Stanford’s Hand: The Manuscript Collection of Charles Villiers Stanford at the Robinson Library, Newcastle University’, in: Hogg, K. ed. Brio. pp. 77–91.
Commins, A. (2012) ‘An Irishman in an English Musical Garden: Perceptions of Stanford's Piano Music’, in: Escot, P. ed. Sonus, Volume 33 no.1, pp. 51–67.
Commins, A. (2009) ‘Charles Villiers Stanford’s Experiences with and Contributions to the Solo Piano Repertoire’, in: Carty, B., O’Connell, P. and Strahan, B. eds. Maynooth Musicology, Volume 2, Maynooth, NUI Maynooth, pp.139–171.
Commins, A. (2008) ‘From Child Prodigy to Conservative Professor? Reception Issues of Charles Villiers Stanford’, in: Dignam B., Higgins P. and Parker L. eds. Maynooth Musicology, Volume 1, Maynooth, NUI Maynooth, pp. 28–58.
Commins, A. (2005) ‘Stanford, Rachmaninov, and a Tale of Two Concertos’, in: Murphy M. and Clarke O. eds. NUI Maynooth Postgraduate Research: Proceedings of the Colloquium 2005, Maynooth, NUI Maynooth, pp. 44–56.
Commins, A. (2004) ‘Parry and Stanford: Colleagues in Conflict’, in: Murphy M. and McHugh L. eds. NUI Maynooth Postgraduate Research: Proceedings of the Colloquium 2004, Maynooth, NUI Maynooth, pp. 44–54.
Commins, A. (2004) “’Too Thorough an Irishman [and] Lacks the Oceanic Depth of German Sentiment”: Stanford’s Assimilation of Contemporary European Trends in Piano Music’, in: Boydell, Barra ed. Proceedings of the 1st Annual Conference of the Society for Musicology in Ireland, Maynooth, SMI & NUI Maynooth, pp. 104–117.

In preparation:

Commins, A. (in preparation), ‘Edition of Stanford’s Preludes for Solo Piano op.163 and op.179.
Commins, A. (in preparation), ‘Edition of Stanford’s Six Waltzes for Piano Duet op.9’.