Over multiple decades, Thea has composed music for many different forces, embracing many imaginative touchstones, united by drama, colour, and daring originality. You will find the complete catalogue of Thea’s available works on the dedicated page on the website of her publisher Novello & Co and Chester Music, part of Wise Music Group. The team at Wise Music will be so pleased to hear from you if you are interested in programming Thea’s works. They can provide any further information you may need about the logistics of doing this.

This year, we have invited Thea to share a list of works, as follows, that she would be particularly pleased to see programmed in the run-up to – and during – her centenary year in 2028.

In most cases, the title of each piece is a link to its respective page on her publisher’s website where you can find out more information, including precise scoring. Many of the works listed have been recorded, so you can likely hear them wherever you listen to music online.

ORCHESTRA

All Thea’s works are inherently dramatic, so it stands to reason that her orchestral works are particularly striking. Each are immediate in their impact and captivating in their constant pursuit of fresh orchestral colour. Thea relishes the palette an orchestra offers, and even in her largest works, laden with textures, it’s remarkable how clearly even the tiniest instrumental features cut through. These are adventure playgrounds for players and audiences alike.  

Concerto for Orchestra (1967) 23 mins

Loch Ness – A Postcard from Scotland (2012) 8 mins

Turbulent Landscapes (2003) 26 mins
 

SOLOIST(S) AND ORCHESTRA

Throughout her career, Thea has found particularly vivid inspiration in the prospect of a sole musician in opposition and in league with a vast army of them. In the trailblazing Clarinet Concerto – commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society – Thea set out to explore the visual as well as sonic drama of the form, with the soloist physically venturing around the stage, confronting, questioning, and finding kinship amongst different facets of the orchestra. This enquiry recurs throughout her catalogue, right up to last year’s hypnotic In Memoriam, commissioned by BBC Radio 3 for its '25 for 25’ series, and paying tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II.  

The ink is still drying on Thea’s latest work: a new concerto for bassoon and orchestra. If you are interested in mounting a high-profile UK premiere of the work, we will be pleased to address the possibility with you, and grant you priority access to its score.

Bassoon Concerto (2025) duration tbc

Clarinet Concerto (1968) 24 mins

Concerto for Horn (1971) 22 mins

Helios (1994) for oboe and orchestra (with full and reduced orchestrations) 17 mins

In Memoriam (2024) for oboe, violin, and orchestra 6 mins

Journey through a Japanese Landscape (1994) for marimba and wind orchestra 23 mins

Songs for a Winter's Evening (1995) for soprano and orchestra 21 mins

Trumpet Concerto (2019) 20 mins

Two's Company (2005) for oboe, percussion, and orchestra 21 mins

Viola Concerto (1973) 23 mins

STAGE WORKS

After the huge sell-out success of Mary, Queen of Scots at the English National Opera, a new generation is discovering that Thea is one of the UK’s truly great opera composers. Each of her stage works abound in character and intrigue: from the ever-timely stories of real-life revolutionaries Harriet Tubman and Simón Bolívar, to adaptations of two beloved tales in which the protagonist existentially reckons with fantastical alternate futures: Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, and the American classic An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.

Joining these is an exciting new prospect: Thea’s brand new chamber opera based on Virginia Woolf’s time-travelling shape-shifting Orlando. In this radical re-telling, which the author herself is a character, playing a central, spoken part. Thea and Wise Music are now welcoming conversations about a high-profile UK premiere for Orlando, for which additional funds beyond our RPS grants may be made available. Please be in touch with us about this prospect to discuss it further.

Orlando – An Escapade (2024) chamber opera 2 hours

A Christmas Carol (1979) opera 1 hr 50 mins

Harriet, The Woman Called Moses (1984) opera 2 hrs 10 mins

Mary, Queen of Scots(1977) opera 2 hrs 12 mins

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (1981) chamber opera 30 mins

Simón Bolívar (1992) opera 2 hrs 20 mins

CHORAL

Take a moment to delve into the range of choral works listed below and you’ll swiftly get a sense of how much, across her career, Thea has cherished exploring the infinite possibilities of vocal forces. In turn, choirs are sure to relish the substance and resonance of Thea’s writing, full of intrigues and rewards.

For the Time Being: Advent (1986) for narrator and unaccompanied choir (SATB) 23 mins

On the Underground Set No. 1 – On Gratitude, Love and Madness (1994) for unaccompanied choir (SATB) 10 mins

On the Underground Set No. 2 – The Strange and the Exotic (1994) for unaccompanied choir (SATB) 5 mins

On the Underground Set No. 3 – A Medieval Summer (1995) for unaccompanied choir (SATB) 10 mins

Rorate coeli (1973) for unaccompanied choir (SATB) 11 mins

The Voices of Our Ancestors (2014) for narrator, choir (SATB) and brass 30 mins

Voices of Power and Protest (2006) unaccompanied choir (SATB) 20 mins
quintet/organ 30 mins

Wild Winter I: Lamentations (1993) for soloist (soprano, 2 tenors, bass) and viol consort 19 mins

Wild Winter II (1996) for choir (SATB) and strings 19 mins

CHAMBER MUSIC

Recipients of our first year of RPS Thea Musgrave Performance Grants have eagerly set upon her great array of chamber works, but there are plenty more, particularly those listed here, worth discovering. Spanning all sorts of formations, despite their scale, these match the orchestral works in energy and theatricality.

Chamber Concerto No. 2 (1966) for five players 14 mins

Elegy (1970) for viola and cello 8 mins

Excursions(1965) for piano (four hands) 7 mins

From One to Another I (1970) for viola and tape 10 mins

Music for Horn and Piano (1967) for horn and piano 9 mins

Sir Patrick Spens(1961) for tenor and guitar 7 mins

Space Play (1974) for chamber ensemble 19 mins

Voices from the Ancient World (1998) for 3 flutes and percussion 15 mins