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Faber Music Publishes the Music of William Alwyn and Doreen Carwithen

Oct. 24, 2024

Faber Music Publishes the Music of William Alwyn and Doreen Carwithen

Faber Music has entered a new publishing agreement with the William Alwyn Foundation (WAF), to represent almost 150 compositions by both William Alwyn (1905-85) and Doreen Carwithen (1922-2003).

William Alwyn was a significant figure of the British music scene in the mid-20th century, writing for most genres, including opera, ballet, orchestral, chamber, instrumental, and song. He was also one of the most important British film composers of that period, penning over 200 film scores, including 70 for feature films, with titles such as The Crimson Pirate, Odd Man Out, The Winslow Boy, Desert Victory, The Fallen Idol, Carve Her Name With Pride, and The History of Mr Polly.

Listen to William Alwyn's Seven Irish Tunes (1936):

William Alwyn/Seven Irish Tunes/Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/David Lloyd-Jones, conductor

In her later years, Doreen Carwithen’s rich catalogue of works gained wider recognition. For many years, Carwithen was known to many as Mary Alwyn, wife and former pupil of Alwyn, having put aside her own compositional career to champion her husband’s music as secretary and amanuensis. Her output includes a Piano Concerto (premiered at the 1952 BBC Proms, and shortly to receive its 3rd commercial recording), short orchestral works (including the overture ODTAA – written when she was aged only 23 and premiered by Sir Adrian Boult and the London Philharmonic Orchestra), some 30 film scores, two string quartets, other chamber/instrumental music and several songs (setting poets including Walter de la Mare, Katharine Tynan, Sir Philip Sidney and Michael Drayton). Her story is told in Leah Broad’s acclaimed recent study “Quartet”, published by Faber & Faber, alongside those of Ethel Smyth, Dorothy Howell and Rebecca Clarke.

Listen to Doreen Carwithen's Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra: I. Allegro (1948):

Doreen Carwithen/Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra: I. Allegro/London Symphony Orchestra/
Howard Shelley, piano/Richard Hickox, conductor

The WAF catalogue includes virtually all of Carwithen’s works, while from Alwyn’s output it includes three operas (including the Strindberg-inspired Miss Julie – recorded by the BBC Symphony Orchestra on Chandos), the William Blake oratorio The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, two piano concerti, a violin concerto, several shorter orchestral works, film suites, a number of string quartets, music for solo piano, and works for solo instrument and piano. 

The publishing agreement also encompasses an exclusive worldwide distribution deal for William Alwyn Foundation printed publications with Faber Music Distribution. Thirteen pre-existing publications featuring both composers (piano, chamber and vocal repertoire) are now available to purchase online and from local retailers. A number of works are also available from the Faber Music Hire Library, both on hire, and for special order.

Carwithen’s Men of Sherwood Forest Overture was featured at this year’s BBC Proms by Anna-Maria Helsing and the BBC Concert Orchestra, and there are several forthcoming performances coming up (and a new recording – its third) of Carwithen’s Piano Concerto (including Alexandra Dariescu at the Barbican with BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo); the concerto has previously been taken up by Richard Hickox and the London Symphony Orchestra with Howard Shelley as soloist, who recorded it alongside ODTAA. The latter gets its Icelandic premiere in 2025 from Andrew Manze and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, and the second Carwithen Music Festival takes place in Buckinghamshire in July next year. In the 2025-26 season, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra will record a fifth volume of Alwyn’s film music for Chandos Records.

To learn more about William Alwyn and Doreen Carwithen, visit fabermusic.com. 
For inquires regarding this new publishing agreement, please contact promotion@fabermusic.com.

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