Eva Ruth Spalding (December 19, 1883 - March 1969) was a British composer who wrote

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinist ...

s and piano music, and set texts by many poets to music. Spalding was born in Blackheath, Kent, to Henry Spalding and his second wife Ellen. She was the youngest of eight children, with four half-siblings and three full siblings. Henry Spalding was a paper merchant. Spalding studied at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke ...

, where she passed the violin teacher exam in 1904. She also studied with

Leopold Auer Leopold von Auer ( hu, Auer Lipót; June 7, 1845July 15, 1930) was a Hungarian violinist, academic, conductor, composer, and instructor. Many of his students went on to become prominent concert performers and teachers. Early life and career Au ...

at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia. After returning to England, she taught piano and violin privately and at

Bradfield College Bradfield College, formally St Andrew's College, Bradfield, is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils aged 11–18, located in the small village of Bradfield in the English county of Berkshire. It is not ...

. Spalding set texts by the following poets to music: Léon Bazalgette,

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

Phineas Fletcher Phineas Fletcher (8 April 1582 – 13 December 1650) was an English poet, elder son of Dr Giles Fletcher, and brother of Giles the Younger. He was born at Cranbrook, Kent, and was baptized on 8 April 1582. Life He was admitted a scholar of E ...

Paul Fort Jules-Jean-Paul Fort (1 February 1872 – 20 April 1960) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. At the age of 18, reacting against the Naturalistic theatre, Fort founded the Théâtre d'Art (1890–93). He also founded and edit ...

Fernand Gregh Fernand Gregh (14 October 1873, Paris, France, Paris – 5 January 1960, Paris) was a French people, French poet and literary critic. He was accepted in the Académie française in 1953. British composer Eva Ruth Spalding set some of his poems t ...

George Herbert George Herbert (3 April 1593 – 1 March 1633) was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as "one of the foremost British devot ...

, Ioannes Papadiamantopoulos (as

Jean Moréas Jean Moréas (; born Ioannis A. Papadiamantopoulos, Ιωάννης Α. Παπαδιαμαντόπουλος; 15 April 1856 – 31 March 1910), was a Greek poet, essayist, and art critic, who wrote mostly in the French language but also in Greek du ...

), Edmund Spenser,

Charles van Lerberghe Charles van Lerberghe (21 October 1861 – 26 October 1907) was a Belgian author who wrote in French and was particularly identified with the symbolist movement. The growing atheism and anticlerical stance evident in his later work made it popul ...

, Clara Walsh, and

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...

.
List of Songs by Eva Ruth Spalding
Spalding’s music was published by Maurice Senart. In addition to songs, her compositions included:

Piano

*''Etude for the Left Hand'' *''Prelude''

Strings

*''Poeme'' (violin and piano) *''String Quartet No. 1'' *''String Quartet No. 2'' *''String Quartet No. 3'' *''String Quartet No. 4'' *''String Quartet No. 5'' *''Violin Sonata No. 1'' *''Violin Sonata No. 2'' *''Violin Sonata No. 3''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spalding, Eva Ruth British women composers 1883 births 1969 deaths String quartet composers