Ernest Edwin Philip Truman (29 December 1869 - 6 October 1948) was an Australian organist and a composer of light romantic era classical music.

Early life

Truman was born was in

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England. Son of Edwin Philip Truman, a fishmonger, and Elizabeth Robinson Crawfurd Smith. His family emigrated to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and then

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, before settling in

Hunters Hill Hunters Hill is a suburb of Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hunters Hill is located north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government in Australia, local ...

, a suburb of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, in 1885.

Musical career

Truman was taught music by his father, then studied under Arthur J. Barth of Dunedin, New Zealand and Julius Buddee of Sydney. From 1888 until 1893, Truman attended

Leipzig Conservatory The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig () is a public university in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatorium der Musik (Conservatory of Music), it is the oldest music ...

along with Australian Alfred Hill.G. D. Rushworth, 'Truman, Ernest Edwin Philip (1869–1948)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/truman-ernest-edwin-philip-8858/text15549, published first in hardcopy 1990, accessed online 30 May 2020. While at Leipzig he composed 26 fugues, as a result of which he was known at the Conservatorium as "The English Bach". Upon his return to Sydney, he became organist at

Christ Church St Laurence Christ Church St Laurence is an Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican church (building), church located at 814 George Street, Sydney, George Street, near Central railway station, Sydney, Central railway station and Haymarket, in City of Sydney, ...

from 1893 until 1896. He also presided at the console of St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney and St Patrick's, Church Hill in Sydney. He was appointed City Organist in 1909 and presided at the

Sydney Town Hall Grand Organ The Sydney Town Hall Grand Organ is the world's largest pipe organ that uses mechanical tracker action, built by English firm William Hill & Son in 1890. It is located in the Centennial Hall of Sydney Town Hall in Sydney, New South Wales, Austral ...

until 1935. He was the most competitive organist in New South Wales when appointed Sydney city organist in which role he held at least 3,000 recitals. He accompanied many famous singers, including

Dame Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic lyric coloratura soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early twentieth century, and was the f ...

Dame Clara Butt Dame Clara Ellen Butt (1 February 1872 – 23 January 1936) was an English dramatic contralto and one of the most popular singers from the 1890s through to the 1920s. She had an exceptionally fine contralto voice and an agile singing technique, ...

Florence Austral Florence Austral (26 April 1892 – 15 May 1968) was an Australian operatic dramatic soprano renowned for her interpretation of the most demanding Wagnerian female roles, although she never gained the opportunity to appear at the Bayreuth Festiv ...

Lawrence Tibbett Lawrence Mervil Tibbett (November 16, 1896 – July 15, 1960) was an American opera singer and recording artist who also performed as a film actor and radio personality. A baritone with large, deep, and dark-timbred voice. His dynamic range (in ...

and

Richard Crooks Richard Alexander Crooks (June 26, 1900 – September 29, 1972) was an American tenor and a leading singer at the New York Metropolitan Opera. Biography Crooks was born the second son of Alexander and Elizabeth Crooks on June 26, 1900, in Tren ...

. His ensemble pieces, still performed at festivals and music schools, are regarded as exemplary. Some of his works, such as ''In The Woods of

Dandenong Dandenong ( ) is a southeastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, about from the Melbourne CBD. It is the council seat of the City of Greater Dandenong local government area, with a recorded population of 30,127 at the . Situated m ...

'' were influential in being early examples of an

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

school of Australian music.

Works

* String Quartet * Matthis: The Polish Jew. An Opera * Mass in D minor * Operetta 'Club Life' * Bushman's Song * 1912 Magnificat: soli, chorus and full orchestra (with orchestral interlude), Op. 46 * The Pied Piper: cantata grotesque, Op. 50 / poem by Robert Browning ; set to music by Ernest Truman

Recordings

*2015 The Tribute – A musical interpretation of the memorable address of the Bishop of Amiens (1919) by Ernest Truman (1869-1948) Performed by Dimity Shepherd, mezzo-soprano and Stefan Cassomenos, piano.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Truman, Ernest 1869 births 1948 deaths Australian conductors (music) 20th-century Australian classical composers Australian opera composers 20th-century Australian male musicians 19th-century Australian male musicians 19th-century classical composers 19th-century Australian musicians Australian male opera composers Academic staff of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music British emigrants to colonial Australia