Ernest Charles (

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, November 21, 1895 –

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

, April 16, 1984) was an American

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 ...

art songs An art song is a Western vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the collective genre of such song ...

Life and musical career

Charles was born in Minnesota with the surname Grosskopf. He attended

The University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

as a college student and studied singing with Charles Modini Wood. He eventually went to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, changed his surname to Charles, and began his professional life as a singer, performing in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

and Broadway reviews, including ''Earl Carroll's Vanities'' in 1928 and the ''George White Scandals'' in 1929. His songs became widely known after 1932, when

John Charles Thomas John Charles Thomas (September 6, 1891December 13, 1960) was an American opera, operetta and concert baritone. Biography John Charles Thomas was born on September 6, 1891, in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. He was the son of a Methodist minister of ...

performed his song ''Clouds'' in a New York recital. Following that success, he continued to compose songs regularly until about 1950. At that time he lived with his wife, a

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

, in

, and produced the radio program ''Great Moments in Music''. He returned to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in 1953, settling in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

, where he spent the remaining years of his life. He was selected as a National Patron of

Delta Omicron Delta Omicron () is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity whose mission is to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship. History Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity was founded on September 6, 1909 a ...

, an international professional music fraternity. He was a member of

Phi Mu Alpha Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (legally Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America, colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha, PMA, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social Fraternities and sororities, fraternity for men with a special interest ...

, an honorary member of the Apollo Club of

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, and a fellow of the California-based American Institute of Fine Arts. He joined

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

in 1934, and served as an Assistant Executive Secretary of the

American Guild of Musical Artists The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) is the labor union of singers, dancers, and staging staff in opera, ballet and contemporary dance, and concert choral performance in the United States. A national union with a membership of over 6,500 ...

(AGMA) from 1937 until at least 1966.

Musical works

Charles composed around 45 songs for voice and piano in the years between 1930 and 1950. Most were published individually by G. Schirmer, and a few have been reissued in various song anthologies and collections of American art songs from the same publisher. The songs are known for their

rubato ; , , ;) is a musical term referring to expressive and rhythmic freedom by a slight speeding up and then slowing down of the tempo of a piece at the discretion of the soloist or the conductor. Rubato is an expressive shaping of music that is a p ...

, sweeping vocal lines, sumptuous melodies, and ingenuous charm. Two of his songs are popular encores: the Viennese

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 ...

''Let My Song Fill Your Heart'', made famous by

Eileen Farrell Eileen Farrell (February 13, 1920 – March 23, 2002) was an American soprano who had a nearly 60-year-long career performing both classical and popular music in concerts, theatres, on radio and television, and on disc. NPR noted, "She possessed ...

; and ''When I Have Sung My Songs'', recorded by such singers as

Kirsten Flagstad Kirsten Malfrid Flagstad (12 July 1895 – 7 December 1962) was a Norwegian opera singer, who was the outstanding Wagnerian soprano of her era. Her triumphant debut in New York on 2 February 1935 is one of the legends of opera. Giulio Gatti-Casaz ...

Rosa Ponselle Rosa Ponzillo, known as Rosa Ponselle (January 22, 1897 – May 25, 1981) was an American operatic dramatic soprano. She sang mainly at the New York Metropolitan Opera and is generally considered to have been one of the greatest sopranos of the ...

, and

Thomas Hampson Thomas Walter Hampson (born June 28, 1955) is an American lyric baritone, a classical singer who has appeared world-wide in major opera houses and concert halls and made over 170 musical recordings. Hampson's operatic repertoire spans a range ...

,Villamil, pp. 99-100 and featured in the closing credits of the 2016 film ''

Florence Foster Jenkins Florence Foster Jenkins (born Narcissa Florence Foster; July 19, 1868 – November 26, 1944) was an American socialite and amateur coloratura soprano who became known, and mocked, for her flamboyant performance costumes and notably poor sing ...

'', sung by lead actress

Meryl Streep Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...

Published songs

published by G. Schirmer unless otherwise noted *Always You, 1936 *And So, Goodbye (E. Charles), 1938 *Bon Voyage (Velma Hitchcock), 1939 *Carmé ( Neapolitan Song), arr., 1938 *Clouds, 1932 *Crescent Moon, 1939 *Dawn (E. Charles), Boston Music, 1933 *Disenchantment (Mona Bonelli), 1940 *L'Envoi (

Sarojini Naidu Sarojini Naidu (Birth name, née Chattopadhyay) (; 13 February 1879 – 2 March 1949) was an Indian political activist and poet who served as the first Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Governor of United Provinces, after Independence Day (India), Indi ...

), 1935 *The Harp Aline Kilmer, 1936 *The House on the Hill (E. Charles), 1933 *Hymn to the United States Navy (Foster G. Carling), 1943 *If You Only Knew (G. Johnston-Jervis), 1935 *Incline Thine Ear (Isaiah 55: 3, 1), 1948 *Let My Song Fill Your Heart ("Viennese Waltz"), 1936 *Little Green Gate to Heaven (Fred Meadows), Chappell-Harms, 1933 *Lord of the Years (Velma Hitchcock), 1938 *Love (William Bruno), 1941 *Love is of God (John 4:7-8), 1949 *Message (

Sara Teasdale Sara Trevor Teasdale (later Filsinger; August 8, 1884January 29, 1933) was an American lyric poet. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and used the name Filsinger after her 1914 marriage. In 1918, she won a Pulitzer Prize for her 1917 poetry ...

) *My Lady Walks in Loveliness (Mona Modini Wood), 1932 *Night (Sydney King Russell), 1944 *Oh Little River (Earl Benham), 1946 *O Lovely World (Velma Hitchcock), 1947 *Over the Land is April (

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

), Willis Music, 1937 *Over the Wall of My Garden (William Bruno), Chappell & Co., 1929 *Parting (William Bruno), Irving Berlin Standard Music Corporation, 1929 *Psalm XXIII (Psalm 23), Ecco Music, Beverly Hills, California, 1956 *Psalm of Exaltation (Psalm 27), 1951 *Remembrance (Dorothy Tete), 1949 *Romany Honeymoon (R. Atwater), Boston Music Co., 1933 *Save Me, God (Psalm 69), 1947 *Someone (E. Charles), 1937 *Speak Not in Haste (Velma Hitchcock), 1936 *The Spendthrift (

), 1935 *Stampede, 1937 *The Sussex Sailor (

Alfred Noyes Alfred Noyes Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (16 September 188025 June 1958) was an English poet, short-story writer and playwright. Early years Noyes was born in Wolverhampton, England the son of Alfred and Amelia Adams No ...

), 1933 *Sweet Song of Long Ago (E. Charles), 1933 *Take the Knocks, Lad (William Bruno), 1957 *When I Have Sung My Songs, 1934 *The White Swan, 1941 *A Wish (Anita McLean Willison), 1936 *Who Keeps the Years (E. Olmstead), 1940 *You Are! (E. Charles), Boston Music, 1935 *Youth, 1928

Other compositions

published by G. Schirmer unless otherwise noted *Christmas Song (

Robert Herrick Robert Herrick may refer to: * Robert Herrick (novelist) (1868–1938), American novelist * Robert Herrick (poet) Robert Herrick (baptised 24 August 1591 – buried 15 October 1674) was a 17th-century English lyric poet and Anglican cleric. H ...

), SATB solos, SATB chorus, organ, 1951 *Festival Jubilate, mixed voices, R. L. Huntzinger, 1937 *The Greatness of the Lord, SATB chorus, 1957 *Waltz Interlude ("in the Viennese Style"), piano solo, 1788

Footnotes

References

* * *. * *

External links

*http://www.lieder.net/lieder/c/charles.html Texts of some songs by Ernest Charles *http://delta-omicron.org Ernest Charles is listed as a National Patron under the subheading "National: Patrons/Patronesses" *http://www.priscillasings.com/WhenIHaveSungMySongs.html A singer writes about one of Charles's songs *https://web.archive.org/web/20131207192155/http://theaifa.org/home.html The American Institute of Fine Arts {{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, Ernest 1895 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American classical composers 20th-century American male musicians American male classical composers Classical musicians from California Classical musicians from Minnesota Classical musicians from New York (state) Musicians from Beverly Hills, California Musicians from Minneapolis Composers from New York City University of Southern California alumni