Britain’s First Black Musical Superstar

The Lydia and Manfred Gorvy Lecture Theatre
V&A
 
Watch musicians and historians bring to life a recently rediscovered work by one of Victorian Britain’s most celebrated musical figures.
 
In 2022, the Royal College of Music uncovered an extraordinary treasure: a previously unknown composition by Samuel Coleridge Taylor, one of the College’s earliest students and a groundbreaking Black composer of the late Victorian and Edwardian era.
Forgotten since the 1930s, Nourmahal’s Song was identified by Assistant Librarian Jonathan Frank, whose meticulous research returned this forgotten music to the public eye.
 
In this special session, audiences will hear a recording of the rediscovered work—alongside new recordings of other works by Coleridge Taylor—performed by two of today’s leading musicians.
These performances will be accompanied by reflections from the musicians on how Coleridge Taylor’s legacy continues to inspire their own artistry. Frank will also tell the story of his remarkable discovery, offering a rare glimpse into the detective-like process of unearthing hidden musical histories.