I first met Arthur Butterworth (in September 1960 when I was a very raw, newly qualified teacher and he was a peripatetic brass teacher for the West Riding of Yorkshire. I continued to follow his conducting and other musical activities, and later persuaded him to write a piece for the Huddersfield Singers, formerly the Huddersfield Glee and Madrigal Society, when they celebrated their 125th anniversary in 2000.
As the organisation’s president, I asked Arthur for one of his few choral works. He overcame his initial reluctance and chose a poem by Ann Brontë that reflected Arthur’s own love of the Yorkshire Moors. As far as I am aware, Haworth Moor has not been performed since its premiere by the Singers – they told me it was fiendishly difficult to sing.
