Four Centuries Suite – Eric Coates

Four Centuries Suite by Eric Coates

Coates began work on this suite at some point in 1942, but would not complete it until 1943. Coates was living in his Baker Street flat with his wife Phyllis when he began work on ‘Four Centuries’, and the devastation of the Blitz would influence this work and many others by the composer even after the conclusion of the war.

Coates wanted to write a piece that would, in orchestral form, depict popular dances across the previous four centuries. Additionally, he wanted to compose a work that would comfortably fit on a gramophone (in terms of length) and would also be scored for the more popular orchestral/jazz ensemble.

This suite is comprised of four movements:
I. The Seventeenth Century – Prelude and Hornpipe 00:00
II. The Eighteenth Century – Pavane and Tambourin 06:37
III. The Nineteenth Century – Valse 13:06
IV. The Twentieth Century – Rhythm 18:14