Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Alasdair Mitchell
This score video is provided for educational (non-commercial) use only, using the edition produced as part of Mitchell's 2002 doctoral thesis at the University of Edinburgh (era.ed.ac.uk/items/2c0225b8-226a-4764-ae87-5e5e89a0cc4b).
John Blackwood McEwen (1868-1948) was a Scottish composer and educator, most notable for his decades-long tenure teaching composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London. For more information about McEwen, see my score video of his fourth string quartet: youtu.be/Dvk6pWg_VAc
"Where the Wild Thyme Blows", begun in 1936 on a holiday in Cannes, France, was the last orchestral piece McEwen attempted to write; he never completed the original orchestral version, although he later adapted (and completed) it as the first movement of a piano trio. As part of his doctoral work, Mitchell not only produced a new edition from the original manuscript but used the piano trio version to fill in what was missing from McEwen's orchestral manuscript, providing both the original and his completion along with the score of the trio version at the bottom. There are still a few differences between the score and the recording, conducted by Mitchell himself (such as the bass clarinet and bassoon playing on the page after 10:53 and the timpani roll around 13:14); in such cases, I have tried to include the piano trio parts to show the source of possible further additions by Mitchell.
Even from the limited material McEwen left behind for this piece, there is no mistaking his signature style: magical Impressionist-tinged atmospheres rivalling Ravel himself with touches of heavier Austro-German-style orchestration. If you enjoy this piece, you will certainly appreciate the slow sections of McEwen's "Solway" symphony, arguably his best-known work, which you can find on the Bartje Bartmans channel as a score video: youtube.com/watch?v=C3Z0ZW6uKZc
London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Alasdair Mitchell
This score video is provided for educational (non-commercial) use only, using the edition produced as part of Mitchell's 2002 doctoral thesis at the University of Edinburgh (era.ed.ac.uk/items/2c0225b8-226a-4764-ae87-5e5e89a0cc4b).
John Blackwood McEwen (1868-1948) was a Scottish composer and educator, most notable for his decades-long tenure teaching composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London. For more information about McEwen, see my score video of his fourth string quartet: youtu.be/Dvk6pWg_VAc
"Where the Wild Thyme Blows", begun in 1936 on a holiday in Cannes, France, was the last orchestral piece McEwen attempted to write; he never completed the original orchestral version, although he later adapted (and completed) it as the first movement of a piano trio. As part of his doctoral work, Mitchell not only produced a new edition from the original manuscript but used the piano trio version to fill in what was missing from McEwen's orchestral manuscript, providing both the original and his completion along with the score of the trio version at the bottom. There are still a few differences between the score and the recording, conducted by Mitchell himself (such as the bass clarinet and bassoon playing on the page after 10:53 and the timpani roll around 13:14); in such cases, I have tried to include the piano trio parts to show the source of possible further additions by Mitchell.
Even from the limited material McEwen left behind for this piece, there is no mistaking his signature style: magical Impressionist-tinged atmospheres rivalling Ravel himself with touches of heavier Austro-German-style orchestration. If you enjoy this piece, you will certainly appreciate the slow sections of McEwen's "Solway" symphony, arguably his best-known work, which you can find on the Bartje Bartmans channel as a score video: youtube.com/watch?v=C3Z0ZW6uKZc
