A LONG-lost 'gem' of a drinking song has been rediscovered in the depths of Oxford's Bodleian Libraries more than a century after its composer's death in the First World War.
The three-score called 'Crown Winter with Green', believed to be the only surviving copy of English composer George Butterworth's work, was found among a group of uncatalogued music manuscripts in the Weston Library, Broad Street.
The festive find is particularly special due to the small amount of surviving work by Butterworth, who was one of the most promising composers of his generation.
His life was cut short at the age of 31 when he was killed in action during the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
Chris Fletcher, keeper of special collections at the Bodleian Libraries, said: "With more than 12 million printed items, including more than half a million musical scores, the Bodleian Libraries’ collections are full of treasures - but it’s not often we discover a gem like this.
"This rare musical score adds another work to Butterworth’s small but distinguished musical legacy and we are delighted to be putting in on display for all to see."
The newly-discovered song has three verses and the lyrics speak of Christmas cheer.
Butterworth’s later music is understood to have drawn inspiration from English folk music and traditions. He wrote the musical setting for this poem in the style of a drinking song, for voice and piano.
A few surviving works, which include his song based on AE Housman’s poems from A Shropshire Lad and an orchestral idyll The Banks of Green Willow, are considered masterpieces.
Martin Holmes, the Alfred Brendel curator of music, rediscovered the manuscript at the Bodleian.
He said the song's 'musical and technical shortcomings' meant it was probably on of Butterworth's earlier pieces, dating from his school or student days in the early 20th century.
He added: "As a song, Crown Winter with Green may not be a masterpiece, in the way that Butterworth’s later Housman songs undoubtedly are, but it can perhaps be seen as a small step on the path towards his musical maturity."
It is unknown how the manuscript came to be in the Bodleian Libraries, but possibility is that Butterworth’s father, Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth, may have passed it on to Sir Hugh Allen, who was a friend of the composer from his days as an undergraduate at Oxford University.
Butterworth’s score for 'Crown Winter with Green' has been lost for close to a century but the song is known to have existed. It is a musical setting of a short festive poem by Robert Bridges
The manuscript score of Butterworth’s work will be on public display in the Bodleian’s Weston Library until Sunday December 18 each day between 10am and 5pm and 11am to 5pm on Sunday.
The display will be accompanied by a listening post where visitors can hear a recording of the song. For more information, visit: www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk.
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