Ernest John Austin (31 December 1874 – 24 July 1947) was an English

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, music arranger and editor. Although little-remembered today (he does not even have an entry in the comprehensive ''

New Grove ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and th ...

'' dictionary), Austin's orchestral music enjoyed some success in its own time, including performances at the

Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hundr ...

Promenade Concerts The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

and on BBC Radio during the 1920s. He was a prolific composer of

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

s, covering a wide spectrum of mood, from serious

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

an settings to

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

s of both sentimental and robust natures. He found some success writing piano pieces and unison songs for children. He also made piano transcriptions of the work of other composers, a particularly common practice of the time.

Life and works

He was born Ernest John Austin in

Poplar, London Poplar is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is located five miles (8 km) east of Charing Cross and lies on the western bank of the River Lea. Poplar is identified as a major district centre in the London Plan, with its ...

(now in the borough of

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and includes much of ...

), the son of Elizabeth and William Austin, a shirt tailor. Ernest Austin was the younger brother of

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

and composer

Frederic Austin Frederic William Austin (30 March 187210 April 1952) was an English baritone singer, a musical teacher and composer in the period 1905–30. He is perhaps best remembered for his arrangement of Johann Pepusch's music for a 1920 production of ' ...

(1872–1951). He first worked for the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

and then pursued a career in business. Largely self-taught, by 1902 he had composed a piano sextet (first performed in 1910) and by the age of about 30 he had turned to music as a career. He worked as a copy-editor and reviser for the London music publisher Robert Elkin (Elkin & Co.), where he edited some of

Cyril Scott Cyril Meir Scott (27 September 1879 – 31 December 1970) was an English composer, writer, poet, and occultist. He created around four hundred musical compositions including piano, violin, cello concertos, symphonies, and operas. He also wrot ...

's piano works for publication. According to Austin, Scott's manuscripts were not always legible, and "the published result was occasionally his personal 'best guess' as to the intentions of the composer." He gave a concert of his own works in November 1908 in

Wallington, London Wallington is a town in the London Borough of Sutton, South London, England, south south-west of Charing Cross. Before the Municipal Borough of Beddington and Wallington merged into the London Borough of Sutton in Greater London in 1965, it was ...

, including two Piano Trios (No. 2, Op.15, and No. 4), his brother Frederic Austin singing some songs along with Miss Grainger-Kerr (also a proponent of Cyril Scott's vocal works); a Piano Trio was also performed in November 1909. Austin was described as being "well known as an apostle of modernism"The term was used in the same sense as a description of

Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

's first string quartet (also published in 1909) as "the extreme development of modernism". Source: in a review of his ''Songs From The Highway'', also published in 1909: "In his case the tendency manifests itself in the form of indefinite tonality and rhythm. 'Love's Tragedy', for instance, ..is practically unbarred, and the accentuation is left to the discrimination of the singer, with whom it is to be hoped the accompanist will be in sympathy." He had a passable baritone voice, and performed

Norman O'Neill Norman Houston O'Neill (14 March 1875 – 3 March 1934) was an English composer and conductor of Irish background who specialised largely in works for the theatre. Life O'Neill was born at 16 Young Street in Kensington, London, the youngest son ...

's setting of Keat's ''La Belle Sans Merci'' for baritone and orchestra at the

Queen's Hall The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. Fro ...

on 27 January 1910. Another concert devoted to his own piano works and songs was given at

St. James's Hall St. James's Hall was a concert hall in London that opened on 25 March 1858, designed by architect and artist Owen Jones, who had decorated the interior of the Crystal Palace. It was situated between the Quadrant in Regent Street and Piccadilly, ...

, London in November 1910; the solo pianist was Ernest Lees, the singers were Cecily Gleeson-White, Miss Grainger-Kerr, William Higley (who sang the title role in '' The Flying Dutchman'' at the Proms in 1905) and Frederic Austin, accompanied by Harold Brooke (professional pianist and editor at Novello & Co. who worked with

Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

on the publication of his Piano Quintet). A considerable proportion of his output consisted of short piano pieces and unison songs suitable for children, and in an advertisement for his music in 1916 it was thought that "more than doubtful whether he has a rival among modern British composers who specialise in educational music." The orchestral suite ''Stella-Mary Dances'' was written in memory of his oldest daughter who died in 1917, aged 12. They were played (along with his ''Vicar of Bray'' variations) on BBC Radio on 15 November 1929; the broadcast was followed by a concert of music from ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of sati ...

'' by his brother Frederic, who also conducted. One of his best-known works is ''

The Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is commonly regarded as one of the most significant works of Protestant devotional literature and of wider early moder ...

'', a 12-section

narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller ...

tone poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement (music), movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. T ...

setting for a solo

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

of the work by

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; 1628 – 31 August 1688) was an English writer and preacher. He is best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', which also became an influential literary model. In addition to ''The Pilgrim' ...

; it takes about 2¾ hours to perform. There is a text which explains what is happening at each stage of the music which can be read by a

narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

, and in the 12th movement, there are optional parts for

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

(SSATTB), bells, and a solo

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

. It was revived in November 1988 at St. Michael's,

Cornhill, London Cornhill (formerly also Cornhil) is a ward and street in the City of London, the historic nucleus and financial centre of modern London, England. The street runs between Bank Junction and Leadenhall Street. The hill from which it takes its n ...

, by organist

Kevin Bowyer Kevin John Bowyer (; born 9 January 1961) is an English organist, known for his prolific recording and recital career and his performances of modern and extremely difficult compositions. Biography Bowyer was born on 9 January 1961 in Southend-on ...

, who continues to perform it on occasion. The song ''Farewell'' by

Havergal Brian William Havergal Brian (29 January 187628 November 1972) was an English composer, librettist, and church organist. He is best known for having composed 32 symphonies—an unusually high number amongst his contemporaries—25 of them ...

from his Op. 6 (Three Songs for contralto or baritone) - his first surviving work, from 1902 - was dedicated to Austin, as was ''Battle Song'', from ''6 Characteristic Songs'', Op. 22, by

Joseph Holbrooke Joseph Charles Holbrooke, sometimes given as Josef Holbrooke, (5 July 18785 August 1958) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. Life Early years Joseph Holbrooke was born Joseph Charles Holbrook in Croydon, Surrey. His father, als ...

Thoughts on music for children

From a letter by Austin to ''

The Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' was an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer's Musical Times and Singing Circular'', but in 1844 he sold it to Alfr ...

'' in 1918 about the piano music for the Associated Board exams: :"I close with an appeal to teachers. The future of English music rests with your pupils. These children are being trained for the ultimate purposes of deriving personal delight from the art and giving it to others. If the music they study gives them no pleasure, if they miss intimacy with the composer's idea—then it is so much wasted time. If you demand, as you have a right to demand, the right kind of music for them, you will get it. Publishers are in business to supply what you most need, but your needs must be known to them. Children have a good deal of latent romance and poetic insight, and music can bring this out and develop it with magical swiftness. By feeding every poetic tendency, often very personal and original, you will be building up, in each of them, a love for beauty which will never leave them. That would be great work, for what else is this life-quest in which we are all engaged? Do we get a fraction of the delight in living that we feel we are justly entitled to? Those of us who live on, bearing the inevitable blows of sorrow,His 12 year-old daughter Stella Mary had died the previous year. can turn to music and other forms of Beauty and find in them the secret compensations of the Creator. Our children have the same road to travel, and they also must be prepared."

Family

He was married twice, firstly to Stella Reeve Muskett (b. 1874—d. Wallington, April or May 1925), with whom he had two daughters, Stella Mary (died 30 May 1917, aged 12; his orchestral suite ''Stella-Mary Dances'', Op.58, was composed in her memory): and Margaret (1912-?). He married secondly Nell (maiden name unknown), died 12 April 1934.

Selected works

Orchestra

*''March for a Pageant'' (1910) *''

Variations Variation or Variations may refer to: Science and mathematics * Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon * Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individual ...

on The Vicar of Bray'', Op.35, for

string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first a ...

(FP

the Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

1910, also conducted by Austin at a Prom on 9 October 1913) Also arraranged for solo piano *''Stella-Mary Dances'', Op.58,

orchestral suite A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to f ...

(1918, played at the Proms) *''Sweet Night'', for flute,

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

, and string orchestra *SymphonyAlthough Ernest Austin is mentioned in passing (in various books and internet sites) as having written a symphony, there seem to be few (if any) contemporary reviews or reports of a performance of such a work. There may be some confusion with the Symphony in E Minor by his brother

; or with ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', sometimes described as a symphonic poem for organ; or with an arrangement for piano of another work such as Schubert's 8th Symphony, arr.

Landon Ronald Sir Landon Ronald (born Landon Ronald Russell) (7 June 1873 – 14 August 1938) was an English conductor, composer, pianist, teacher and administrator. In his early career he gained work as an accompanist and ''répétiteur'', but struggle ...

and Ernest Austin.

Chamber

*Sextet for two violins, cello, clarinet, horn and piano (1902) *5

Piano Trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in European classical music, classical chamber music. The term can also ...

s for violin, cello and piano (with optional parts for

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

and

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...

) ** Trio No. 2 ''In Field and Forest'', Op.15, (c1908) ** Trio No. 4, Op.26, (1909) ** Trio No. 5, ''Folk Tune Fantasy'', Op.65 *Music-poem for violin and piano, Op.29 *Lyric

Sonata In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until th ...

, Op.70, for

and

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

(1925)

Organ

*''The Pilgrim's Progress'', Op.41; 12-movement narrative tone poem in 4 parts, with optional choir (SSATTB), bells, solo violin and narrator (1912–1920).

Piano

No.1, Op.1 (privately printed) * Sonata No.2, Op.31 *12 Simple Sonatinas on national themes, 2 Books, Op.38 (c1911) * Folk Tune Studies in variation form (First Book), Op.42 - Primary Grade (English Fingering)There was a movement against the German system of fingering (and all things German) during the First World War. * Suites: 4 ''English Pastorals'', Op.43 (1915); ''To Music'' (7 movements); ''Under Blue Skies''; 6 ''Dream Themes'' (Op. 74); around 25 ''Tone Stanzas'' (1908–1924) *2 books of Preludes, Op.56 *''Indian Pipe Dance'' (1921) *14

Sonatina A sonatina (French: “sonatine”, German: “Sonatine") is a small sonata. As a musical term, ''sonatina'' has no single strict definition; it is rather a title applied by the composer to a piece that is in basic sonata form, but is shorter and ...

s for children, on English

folk-song Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

s *''Through the Eyes of Youth'' *''Diversions'': eight pieces for piano (1928) *''Four Pastorals'', Op. 71 *''Moods and Melodies'': Seven easy pieces, Op.72 *''Dream Themes'', Book 1, Op.74 *''Piano Pieces'', Op.81 *''The Garden of Music'', (editor), a series of grade pieces by various composers *Transcriptions of songs by

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

for solo piano, ''Sevillana'', ''Mot d'Amour'', ''Like to the damask rose'', ''Queen Mary's song'', ''A song of Autumn'' (1926) *Transcription for piano of the ''Minuet'' from Elgar's incidental music to a play about

Beau Brummell George Bryan "Beau" Brummell (7 June 1778 – 30 March 1840) was an important figure in Regency England, and for many years he was the arbiter of British men's fashion. At one time, he was a close friend of the Prince Regent, the future King ...

, by Bertram P. Matthews (1928)

Songs

;Collections and song-cycles *''Songs of Love and Nature'', Op.2. *''A Sheaf of Songs'', Op.6 (1907) (5) (inc. ''Two Songs of Rest'', words by Austin) *''Songs from the Highway'', Op.16 (1909) *''Songs from the Ravel'', Op.30 (1907) (Words for Musical Setting.) A Book of Prose-Lyrics from Life and Nature. * ''Six Silly Songs for Sensible Children'' (1924) ("Words and music by Ernest Austin's friend Ernest Bryson, and by Ernest Bryson's friend Ernest Austin") ;Individual songs ''Aspiration''; ''Fountain Song''; ''I Made Thee Mine''; ''The Infinite Voice''; ''Life''; ''Sigh No More Ladies'' (also arr. violin or cello, and piano); ''April Wears a Smiling Face''; ''Tony the Turtle''; ''Cradle Song''; ''Sea Dogs''; ''Sleep Little Rose''; ''Sweet Night''; ''The Woodland Tailor''; ''A Song of Folly''; ''Thoughts'' (vocal setting of

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

, op.39 no.15)

Choral

*With organ: ''

Communion service Mass is the main Eucharistic liturgy, liturgical service in many forms of Western Christianity. The term ''Mass'' is commonly used in the Catholic Church, Western Rite Orthodoxy, Old Catholic Church, Old Catholicism, and Independent Catholicism. ...

in G'' (1912) *With orchestra: **''Gelert'', Op.11, dramatic legend (1908); **''Hymn of Apollo'' (words by

Percy Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...

) (fp 1917, by the Leeds Choral Union cond. by Dr.

Henry Coward Sir Henry Coward (26 November 184910 June 1944) was a British conductor and composer. Born in Liverpool to parents in the entertainment industry, Coward took an apprenticeship to a cutler in Sheffield. Educating himself, he became a teacher and ...

), repeated the next year Also given by the Glasgow Choral and Orchestral Union in the autumn of 1919 under

, and again in 1922 **''Ode to a Grecian Urn'' (Shelley) *8-part chorus: ''Hymn to the night'' (words by

Henry Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to complet ...

) (performed in Leeds, 12 March 1919) *Female voices: ''The Dream Maker''; ''Shed No Tear'' (SSAA) *Male voices: ''Home on the Range'' (

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

song) *

Unison Unison (stylised as UNISON) is a Great Britain, British trade union. Along with Unite the Union, Unite, Unison is one of the two largest trade unions in the United Kingdom, with over 1.2 million members who work predominantly in public servic ...

songs for children, inc. Op.3 and Op. 69

Books

*''The Story of Music Printing'' (1913) *''The Fairyland of Music'' (1922); subtitled 'A

fairy story A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the Folklore, folklore genre. Such stories typically feature Magic (supernatural), magic, Incantation, e ...

with music'.

References

Notes Sources * Philip L. Scowcroft: ''British Light Music Composers'' (

{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Ernest English Romantic composers 20th-century English classical composers Composers for pipe organ 1874 births 1947 deaths People from Poplar, London English male classical composers 20th-century English male musicians 20th-century English musicians 19th-century English male musicians