Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912) was a hugely influential composer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into a British household and brought up in Croydon by his mother, Coleridge-Taylor took to music at an early age. He was educated in the Royal College of Music, under Sir Charles Villiers Stanford.

Coleridge-Taylor's links to the Three Choirs Festival began in 1896, when none other than Edward Elgar recommended him to visit and perform. In 1898, his Ballade in A minor was premiered at Gloucester Cathedral during that year's festival.

Coleridge-Taylor also composed a piece called the Solemn Prelude in 1899. However, after its first performance at Worcester Cathedral during the Three Choirs Festival, it was lost to history. Or so it was thought.

Investigations by then Three Choirs Festival Chief Executive Alexis Paterson in 2020, revealed that the original manuscript was housed in the British Library. When she and Worcester Artistic Director, Samuel Hudson, began replanning the postponed festival for 2021, a revival of this forgotten work became an obvious avenue to pursue. The following year, again at the Worcester Three Choirs Festival, the piece was performed for the first time in over 120 years.

Hereford 2025 marks 150 years since Coleridge-Taylor's birth. Celebrating this, a performance of another Three Choirs Festival historical premiere, his composition The Atonement, is due for performance on Thursday 31st July at Hereford Cathedral.

This piece was premiered in 1903, at the Hereford Three Choirs Festival.