Samuel Coleridge-Taylor - Hiawatha's Wedding Feast (Malcolm Sargent)

Information

Composer: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

• The Song of Hiawatha, Op. 30: No. 1, Hiawatha's Wedding Feast

Richard Lewis, tenor

Royal Choral Society

Philharmonia Orchestra

Malcolm Sargent, conductor

Date: 2025

Label: Warner Classics

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Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast, once among the most popular choral works in the UK before WWII, marked the young composer’s sensational debut at age 23. Premiered in a conservative British musical climate, the cantata—based on Native American legends from Longfellow’s poem, which also inspired Dvořák’s New World Symphony—captivated audiences with its vivid storytelling and lyrical power. The first part became especially renowned, first recorded in 1930 by Sir Malcolm Sargent, who later produced a definitive version with the Philharmonia Orchestra around 30 years later. This celebrated interpretation has now been reissued for the composer’s 150th anniversary.

Malcolm Sargent (1895–1967) was a prominent English conductor celebrated as Britain’s “ambassador of music,” touring extensively worldwide. A prodigious talent, he earned his Royal College of Organists diploma at 16 and became England’s youngest doctor of music in his early 20s. His conducting debut in 1921 with Henry Wood’s Queen’s Hall Orchestra launched a distinguished career. He held key posts with the Hallé, Liverpool Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, and led London’s Promenade Concerts from 1948 until his death. Renowned for choral work with the Royal Choral and Huddersfield Choral Societies, he also premiered notable English operas. Knighted in 1947, Sargent left a lasting musical legacy.