Committee member profile
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Treasurer Paul Corfield Godfrey PAUL CORFIELD GODFREY was born in London and after a period of residence in Ireland now lives in Wales. He studied composition and conducting at various times with Alan Bush and David Wynne. His compositions include four symphonies; various orchestral, chamber and instrumental works; songs and choral works; operas, including The Dialogues of Óisin and Saint Patric and Arcturus, both performed in Cardiff and elsewhere; and a cycle of epic scenes based on JRR Tolkien’s posthumous novel The Silmarillion. This cycle, the largest work written in Wales in the twentieth century, has been recorded and released by Prima Facie Records in association with Volante Opera in a set of ten CDs. In Fanfare, Marc Medwin described Fëanor as “an operatic recording whose singers and the music they perform are completely in tune with the nature of the story and its themes”. Other operas have now been recorded, including The Nightingale and the Rose after the fable by Oscar Wilde, and Blithe Spirit after Noel Coward. His settings of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are now in the process of recording and are due to be released in 2025–26. Many other works have been performed in London and elsewhere throughout the UK, Hungary, America, Australia and New Zealand, and videos of many of these are available on YouTube. His manuscript scores are lodged at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth. He has appeared as a performer both on radio and television, and also reviews live performances and recordings for MusicWeb International.Website: paulcorfieldgodfrey.co.uk |
photograph
of the composer in 1996 |
