The affection that Arthur Sullivan had for his father, Thomas, was very strong. Thomas was an Army Bandmaster. Although he was not eager to have his son follow him as a musician, when he realized that eight-year-old Arthur was quite familiar with every instrument available to him, he allowed his talent to blossom unimpeded.

A week after his father died, following only a few days' illness, Sullivan set to work on this memorial. He had sketched the first theme on the envelope that had contained a condolence letter from George Grove, the Victorian encyclopedist whose name graces musical reference works to this day. Sullivan was comforted by the fact that his father had lived to see the success of the Symphony in E, and he felt that this work would be the finest memorial that his father could ever have.

Yet, rather than a sorrowful, tragic work, we have one that is filled with hope and triumph. The mixture of memory and hope is underscored by the use of a pipe organ in the final section.



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