This page offers you the chance to hear Moeran talking about his life and music, listen to works in their entirety, and use Real Audio to hear short tasters from across the range or Moeran's musical output. If you need help accessing the files full details are given at the bottom of this page.

Looking for CDs instead? Try these links:
1 - Eight essential Moeran CDs
2 - Moeran CD Buyer's Guide

Moeran Speaks!

Moeran in the mid 1940's

Here are some archive recordings of Moeran speaking on the radio in the 1940's:

1 - On his early childhood (48")
2 - On joining the Royal College of Music (22")
3 - On Ireland (17")
4 - On plans for his second symphony (20")
5 - Introducing Harry Cox singing (2'21")

Visit this page to read about a CD featuring material taken from a programme on East Anglian folk-singing made by Moeran and the BBC in 1947, including audio excerpts:

Good Order!

Full Musical Downloads

The following pieces are available to download as high-quality MP3 files from the site. The first two orchestral pieces are restored archive recordings, and the Sonata is a world first professional studio recording exclusive for this website. Finally, the Symphony is here as a live recording made by the Shrewsbury Symphony Orchestra in concert in November, 2001. Each link takes you to a full page for each recording with downloading and playing details:

1 - Sinfonietta - vintage - Beecham
2 - Violin Concerto - vintage - Sammons & Boult
3 - Sonata for Two Violins - world premiere
4 - Symphony in G Minor - live performance

Short Musical Clips

The selection linked to on the right of this page is designed to give a flavour of the different aspects of Moeran's output. I've chosen the opening of the Symphony in G Minor (1937) in its 1973 EMI recording by The English Sinfonietta Orchestra under Neville Dilkes. From Chandos is the opening of the final movements of the Sinfonietta (1944), recorded by the Bournemouth Sinfonia under Norman Del Mar.

Also in this area is the ending of Lonely Waters (1924?). This is a piece with two alternative endings, one vocal and one instrumental. Sadly the instrumental version is the one most often recorded (I hesitate to say 'played' as Moeran's music gets so little concert hall attention), so I've put the vocal version here, sung by Ann Murray with the English Chamber Orchestra under Jeffrey Tate on the EMI compilation disc "The Banks Of Green Willow".

From Chandos comes an extract from the beautiful middle movement of the Cello Concerto (1945), also with Norman Del Mar conducting the Bournemouth Sinfonietta, with Raphael Wallfisch as soloist, currently the only available recording of this masterpiece of Moeran's last years. I am told that the previously available recording with Moeran's wife Peers Coetmore is interesting but not as well played - it was recorded quite late in her career.

Chandos have an excellent disc which includes both Rhapsody extracts here, with Vernon Handley conducting the Ulster Orchestra, and Margaret Fingerhut soloing on the Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra, the nearest Moeran came to writing a full Piano Concerto.

From the chamber works I've chosen the opening to the Second String Quartet (date unknown) as played by the Maggini String Quartet on Naxos - partly because these opening bars are the very first Moeran I ever heard, partly because of the mystery surrounding the Quartet - was it an early work (in which case why wasn't it either heard or destroyed?) or a later work? The musical fingerprints are confusing - Geoffrey Self, in his excellent book "The Music of E J Moeran", suggests a work possibly spanning both his early and later output, with the opening movement resurrected from the 1920's but the second being more reminiscent of a later, more mature style.

Compare this to the Piano Trio (1920), Moeran's first large scale work and one which illustrates not only the influences of composers such as Brahms, Schumann, Fauré and Ravel, but also Moeran's own exuberant lyricism. In the aforementioned book, Geoffrey Self writes "the work has been ignominiously forgotten - even the publisher retains no copy". I'm glad to say, if for listening pleasure alone, that a full copy must have been found, for the recording illustrated here by the Joachim Piano Trio on ASV is well worth having. It may not rank as being of any great importance, but it's one of my favourite works.

Another early work is the Violin Sonata in E Minor of 1923, described by Geoffrey Self thus: "here is a thrusting passion, expressed in music much aware of contemporary trends". The recording here is from the Chandos recording by Donald Scotts and John Talbot. Scotts is also heard on the same disc with the Melbourne String Quartet playing the First String Quartet in A minor (1921).

Moeran in 1922

Also in this category but composed much later is the Cello Sonata (1947), written for Moeran's wife, Peers Coetmore, and played here by Raphael Wallfisch and John York from the Marco Polo CD of English Cello Sonatas. This is a much more abrasive and challenging work than much of Moeran's output, and reflects his desire to create something truly new for his new wife, rather than falling back on his traditional styles.

From the piano music I've put a small selection played by Eric Parkin on the excellent Complete Piano Works CD. This disc can be hard to find, especially outside the UK, though it is sold online by CD Paradise. Alternatively you can contact J Martin Stafford, who released the disc, directly by mail at 298 Blossomfield Road, Solihull, B91 1TH, England, or by e-mail: ISMERON99@cs.com - he comments: "I will send the Moeran disc to any address in the world (air mail where appropriate) for £12-50 (cheque to me) or a $20-00 bill (not cheque, as my bank would charge me about $10 to convert it to sterling). I am only an e-mail message, a phone call, or a letter away, so no one who wants my products should have too much difficulty in obtaining them."

Listening to the clips

To listen to the music files click on the links on the right of this page. You'll need the Real Audio Player installed - if you don't have this go to www.real.com and download it - the basic version is free.

I've converted the original stereo recordings into mono, as this allows for much higher sound quality for playback over an Internet connection.