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For over seven decades, a powerful piece of British musical heritage has sat in the shadows. But this July, the all-female vocal ensemble Corra Sound is set to change that. In a landmark project, the choir will perform and produce the world-first professional recording of Ruth Gipps’ dramatic cantata, Goblin Market.

The concert will take place on Friday, 3rd July at Holy Trinity Church, Guildford. A pre-concert conversation with Gipps’s daughter-in-law Dr Victoria Rowe and prominent writer and critic Jessica Duchen, offering a rare glimpse into the life of a composer who was once a “formidable force” in a male-dominated industry. The musical programme will also feature settings of Christina Rossetti’s poetry by other notable 20th-century composers, celebrating a threefold celebration of female creativity.

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The landmark recording, partnering with the Great Little Orchestra and Convivium Records, will take place on Saturday 11th July with a release date scheduled for early 2027. Corra Sound has launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the production costs of the performance and recording, inviting the public to contribute to the project, helping to bring this important work to a global audience.

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This venture marks the historic and long-awaited world premiere recording of this powerful masterpiece, rich in themes of temptation, sisterhood, and female solidarity, and will be only the second UK performance of the work in 70 years. The project stands as a threefold celebration of female creativity bringing together the iconic poetry of Christina Rossetti, the masterful and long-overlooked choral writing of Ruth Gipps, and the voices of Corra Sound – an upper voice ensemble dedicated to bringing the works of female composers out of the shadows.

Ruth Gipps was a child prodigy and a prolific composer of five symphonies and numerous concertos, yet she faced significant institutional resistance throughout her career.

“Ruth Gipps was a formidable force – a composer, conductor, and advocate who carved out space for women in a profession that frequently excluded them,” says Dr Amy Bebbington, Corra Sound Founder and Director. “By performing and recording this work, we are highlighting a lineage of female creativity that has been side-lined for too long. Goblin Market is brimming with colour and emotional intensity and demands to be heard.”

“Corra Sound is an outstanding ensemble, brilliantly led,” says Neil Ferris, Director of the BBC Symphony Chorus. “This project forms an important part of their pioneering mission to uncover new repertoire and celebrate the works of often little-known female composers. The work they do is both ground-breaking and utterly essential to our choral music landscape.”

Dr Leah Broad, award-winning British musicologist says: “Gipps was prodigiously gifted and fearlessly determined and yet her impact on British music as both conductor and composer is still yet to be fully realised. This vital project by Corra Sound is a much-needed step towards redressing some of this historical imbalance, and bringing to light an important work in our musical heritage.”

Ruth Gipps’ Daughter-in-law, Dr Victoria Rowe, says “We are so grateful to Corra Sound for their vital role in preserving and championing Gipps’ musical legacy, bringing her work to a wider audience and ensuring that she finally gets the recognition she deserves.”

This ambitious undertaking is a grassroots effort to preserve a musical legacy. Corra Sound has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help cover the production costs of this historic recording.

About Goblin Market
Composed in 1953, Goblin Market is a cantata for two soprano soloists, three-part female chorus, and string orchestra. Based on Christina Rossetti’s 1862 sensuous poem, the work is noted for its lush, late-Romantic harmonies and dramatic storytelling. Despite its exceptional quality, following its premiere in the mid-20th century, Goblin Market fell into obscurity. This is the first time Goblin Market has been performed in the UK for 70 years.

About Ruth Gipps (1921–1999)
A child prodigy who performed at the Wigmore Hall at the age of eight, Ruth Gipps was one of the most prolific British composers of the 20th century. She composed five symphonies, numerous concertos, and choral works and even founded her own orchestra so that her works could be performed. Despite her brilliance, she faced significant gender discrimination throughout her career, particularly as a female conductor and composer in a male-dominated classical music world. While a recognized prodigy, her career was marked by missed opportunities, institutional resistance, and critical marginalization.

    Ruth Gipps composing at her Steinway piano
    Goblin Market score
    Ruth Gipps
    Corra Sound
    Amy Bebbington

    (source: press release)

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    “one of the most brilliant performers of his era anywhere in the world”

    Professor Colin Lawson CBE, Director Emeritus, Royal College of Music

    Gervase de Peyer as I Knew Him is an intimate portrait of renowned classical clarinettist Gervase de Peyer by his wife and partner of forty years, published to mark the centenary of his birth. A musician’s musician, Gervase was admired by his peers for extending the range of the clarinet as a solo instrument, inspiring many acclaimed classical composers to write with his tone in mind, and for the musical brilliance and flair that spurred his international career, including as principal clarinet of the London Symphony Orchestra and a founding member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

    Praise for Gervase de Peyer:

    “It’s a real delight to have within these pages so many fascinating insights into the life of one of the most distinguished alumni of the Royal College of Music. Gervase de Peyer was an inspiration to many generations of clarinettists and his influence extended well beyond his own instrument as one of the most brilliant performers of his era anywhere in the world.”

    Professor Colin Lawson CBE, Director Emeritus, Royal College of Music

    “We’ve lost the man who gave us this utterly sublime clarinet tone….” Classic FM

    “Clarinettist who had Aaron Copland, Paul Hindemith and Francis Poulenc queuing up to have their works performed by him.” The Times

    “…an outstanding soloist and chamber musician…[who] inspired several composers to write new works….” The Guardian

    “Acclaimed as the most recorded clarinet soloist in the world….” The Independent

    Review copies (PDF and physical book) available on request

    For further press information, please contact Frances Wilson frances_wilson66@live.com

    GERVASE DE PEYER As I Knew Him is published in the UK by Kahn & Averill. Find out more

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    A new national amateur choral competition, UK Choir of the Year, has been announced, with applications set to open in June 2026.

    The competition aims to celebrate excellence, diversity, and community in UK choral singing, welcoming choirs of all styles and sizes from across the country. The inaugural final will take place on 10 April 2027 at Milton Court, part of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

    The judging panel for the first competition includes:

    • Karen Gibson, conductor of The Kingdom Choir, who performed at the 2018 Royal Wedding
    • Alice Fearn, known for roles in Wicked and Come From Away
    • Will Todd, composer of Mass in Blue
    • Dan Ludford-Thomas

    Founded by Lucy Mitchell, the competition is a not-for-profit initiative designed to give amateur choirs greater national recognition.

    Lucy says, “So many choirs are doing extraordinary work but rarely get the chance to be heard nationally. This competition exists to celebrate the standard,diversity, and community behind choral singing across the UK.”

    To launch the competition, a fundraising concert will be held at Cadogan Hall on 18 May 2026. Performers include The Adam Street Singers, Citi London Choir, and Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Choir, with guest appearances from Dr Ranj Singh and Choir with No Name.

    Proceeds from the concert will support competition development, access bursaries, and the work of Choir with No Name, which runs choirs for people affected by homelessness.

    Sponsors

    • Headline Sponsor: Printed Music Licensing Ltd
    • Gold Sponsor: Choir & Organ magazine
    • Silver Sponsors: ABRSM, Dorico, and EarMaster

    Key Dates

    • Fundraising concert: 18 May 2026 — Cadogan Hall, London
    • Applications open: End of June 2026
    • Competition final: 10 April 2027 — Milton Court, Guildhall School of Music & Drama

    Full details here https://www.ukchoiroftheyear.org/

    [source: press release]

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    This quote is from an episode of Masterchef: The Professionals, a TV series to which I am addicted. It’s from a professional chef, a finalist in one season of the competition, and it struck a chord with me the moment he said it.

    Why? Because the phrase “You can’t taste technique”, while in the example above refers to culinary arts, also captures a profound truth about musical performance: while technical mastery is essential, it is never the ultimate goal. In piano playing, technique provides the means through which expressive intent is realised, but it is not the substance of the art itself. Just as a beautifully prepared meal is valued for its flavour rather than the precision of the chef’s knife work, a piano performance moves us through sound, emotion, and imagination – not through the display of dexterity alone.

    Technique, in its most basic sense, is the pianist’s physical control over the instrument: accuracy, finger strength, coordination, and tone production. It is the foundation on which artistry is built. Yet, audiences do not attend concerts to witness exercises in coordination; they come to be transported by an expression of sound that stirs the emotions and speaks to the human condition. When a pianist performs Chopin’s Nocturnes or Rachmaninov’s Preludes, the beauty lies not in the number of hours spent mastering scales or octaves, but in the capacity to shape phrases, create colour, and evoke feeling. A listener may admire flawless execution, but it is emotional resonance that lingers long after the final chord has sounded.

    The quote also invites pause for thought on the dangers of confusing facility with artistry. In today’s musical culture – where recordings and competitions often prioritise perfection – there is a temptation to equate precision and speed with excellence. Yet this approach risks producing performances that are technically impeccable but emotionally sterile. A pianist who focuses solely on accuracy may play “correctly” but fail to communicate the spirit of the music. The notes, though polished, may lack narrative or character. Great artists, by contrast, use technique in service of expression: their virtuosity disappears behind the music’s emotional message. We do not “taste” the technique; we experience the artistry.

    Moreover, the quote is a useful reminder that musical communication is sensory and emotional, not mechanical. The listener’s experience is shaped by sound, colour, timing and silence – the expressive choices that bring a score to life. Technical perfection alone is not a substitute for imagination or sincerity. As Alfred Brendel is widely quoted as saying, “Technique is only meaningful when it enables interpretation.” Thus, the pianist’s insight, experience, curiosity and emotional engagement breathe meaning into what might otherwise be mere sound.

    Finally, “You can’t taste technique” implies that the truest performances are those where technique is invisible. When the pianist’s control is so complete that it no longer draws attention to itself, the listener can fully engage with the musical story. Technique thus becomes a silent partner in expression.

    In essence, this quote is a reminder that music is a living art, not an athletic feat. The pianist’s challenge is not merely to master technique, but to transcend it – to turn skill into sound, and sound into meaning. The artistry that moves the heart, not the mechanism of the fingers, is what endures.

    Chef photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

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