Charles V. Stanford's "The Bard, Op. 50" is a musical composition based on the eponymous poem by Thomas Gray. Set during Edward I's conquest of Wales, the poem is considered to be the first creative work of the Celtic Revival and a precursor to the Romantic movement in Britain. Thomas Gray (1716 - 1771) was an English poet, classical scholar, and Cambridge professor most famous for his "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" (1751). This volume contains the complete sheet music for Stanford's piano piece, set to the words of Gray's famous eponymous poem. Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852 - 1924) was an Irish composer, conductor, and teacher of music. He was educated at the University of Cambridge and continued his studies in Berlin and Leipzig. He was a very influential composer, responsible for making Cambridge University Musical Society an internationally-acclaimed organisation. Stanford was also a profuse composer, producing a large corpus of work in many genres; however, he is perhaps best remembered for his Anglican choral works for church performance. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in a modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on the history of musical notation.