by Ben Hogwood photo by Herbert Lambert, public domain work used courtesy of Wikipedia

On this day in 1883, the composer Sir Arnold Bax was born.

It is a good moment to mark one of his most enduring orchestral works, the tone poem November Woods, completed in 1917. In spite of its evocative title Bax said it “may be taken as an impression of the dank and stormy music of nature in the late autumn, but the whole piece and its origins are connected with certain rather troubled experiences I was going through myself at the time….”

You can enjoy it below in a performance with the Ulster Orchestra conducted by Bax specialist, the late Vernon Handley:

Published post no.3,072 – Sunday 8 November 2026