Desmond Ratcliffe’s first music teacher was his father William Ratcliffe who was a composer and organist at St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge, London. The young boy used to go to the church with his father to hear him practise and sometimes Queen Mary would wander into the back of the church to listen. He learnt the piano and organ and after the early death of his father became a young chorister at St Paul’s Cathedral, London, where he started to compose. He went on to be educated at Kingston Grammar School and was organist at a local church in Twickenham. He gained entrance to the Royal Academy of Music to study composition. He went to work at Novello & Co Ltd in the Reader’s Room under the eye of Walter Emery the leading Bach scholar of his time. He was trained by Emery to become an excellent proof reader and music editor while he continued to compose choral and organ music and make many arrangements. When Faure came out of copyright it was at his publisher’s suggestion that he made a new edition of the Faure Requiem and found hundreds of mistakes in the full score. It was also at Novello’s suggestion that he made a female voice version of the Requiem which has proved very popular. On leaving Novello he went to live in North Norfolk with his wife while continuing to work as a freelance music reader for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, Novello and Oxford University Press. At the time of his death on 11 April 2001 he was working on the Walton Viola Concerto for OUP.
Klassik
for: Choir (1 voice), organ
Choir score
Item no.: 885706
Klassik
for: Choir (2 voices), piano
Book
Item no.: 867796
Klassik
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 902338
Klassik
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 882796
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 797908
Klassik
for: Choir (1 voice), organ
Choir score
Item no.: 878903
Klassik
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 321834
Klassik
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 910338
Klassik
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 903020
Klassik
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 870137
Geistliche Musik
for: Unison Choir
Choir score
Item no.: 898753
Klassik
for: Women's choir (SSA), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 896472
Geistliche Musik
for: Choir (1 voice), organ
Choir score
Item no.: 910013
Klassik
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 862563
Hymnen und Choräle
for: Soprano Baritone Voice Piano Accompaniment 2-Part Choir
Choir score
Item no.: 881327
Geistliche Musik
for: Choir (1 voice), organ
Choir score
Item no.: 910628
Geistliche Musik
for: Choir (1 voice), organ
Choir score
Item no.: 898772
Klassik
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 895219
Geistliche Musik
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano [organ]
Choir score
Item no.: 295510
Klassik
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 875174
for: Voice
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1110712
Feierliche Musik
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Book
Item no.: 872441
for: Voice
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1111791
Klassik
for: Voice
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 909619
Geistliche Musik
for: 2 soloists (SBar), mixed choir (SATB), orchestra, organ
Piano reduction
Item no.: 1672319
Geistliche Musik
for: Narration SATB Organ Accompaniment
Book
Item no.: 903555
Geistliche Musik
for: Voice
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 879418
arrangiert für Frauenchor (SSA), Trompete in C, Oboe, Streicher und Orgel
for: Women's choir (SSA), orchestra, organ
Piano reduction
Item no.: 321259
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Book
Item no.: 896683
Geistliche Musik
for: 2 soloists (SBar), mixed choir (SATB), orchestra, organ
Piano reduction
Item no.: 156590
Klassik
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 880441
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1110100
Klassik
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Book
Item no.: 896117
Klassik
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 903822
Geistliche Musik
for: SSA, Piano Accompaniment, Organ Accompaniment
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 198644
for: Women's choir (SSA), piano
Score
Item no.: 321277
for: Voice
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1111264
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1110108
for mixed choir (SATB)
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Vocal score, Choir score
Item no.: 325908
Klassik
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1110124
Klassik
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 895113
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1111142
Klassik
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 911045
Klassik
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 896523
for: Women's choir (SSA), organ
Score
Item no.: 273807
Klassik
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 871154
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 206541
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 321313