Скачать или смотреть William Baines (1899-1922) Prelude No.2 – Anna Petrova-Forster, piano

Despite the CD recording of Eric Parkin and the biography by Roger Carpenter, the works of the young English composer William Baines (1899 – 1922) are seldom heard in the concert halls. Baines begins piano lessons at a young age under his father's care. Later on he continued his studies in the Yorkshire Training College of Music in Leeds. In October 1918 Baines was conscripted into the British Army during the last months of the first world war. Within a fortnight of being called up, he was hospitalized with influenza and never recovered. William notes in his diary in 1920: “Alas! One realizes that life is but short… I pray I may be given strength to work.” He composed and gave recitals until a few months before his death. William's only brother Edward Henry, six years younger, died in 1923 - a terrible burden for the parents.

During his short life William Baines composed over 200 works. The majority of his manuscripts is now in the British Library.
His Prelude No.2 was written for Sister Mary Bernard. The heading reads: "....A serene peace reigned in the Convent garden, Only broken by the love-song of a blackbird as he sang to the lilies" (Karl S. Wood).