Ezra Jenkinson (1872–1947) was an English composer and

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist. His best known work, the ''Elves' Dance'', makes extensive use of

spiccato Spiccato is a bowing technique for string instruments in which the bow appears to bounce lightly upon the string. The term comes from the past participle of the Italian verb ''spiccare'', meaning "to separate". The terms '' martelé'', '' saltan ...

and is a show piece for intermediate beginners of the violin.

Life

Jenkinson was born in

Todmorden Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Hal ...

. According to the English author and artist William Holt, Jenkinson was given a grant by a local patron to study music in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, in his youth. After seven years, he returned to his home town to live alone and avoided the public after selling the rights to his compositions he was amassing.West Yorkshire Archive Services, Calderdale GB 203, HO:128-133
/ref> He died in his home town of Todmorden.

Selected compositions

;Chamber music * ''Sechs lyrische Stücke (1.–3. Lage)'' (6 Lyric Pieces in First to Third Position) for violin and piano (1894) *# ''An der Wiege'' (Lullaby; Berceuse) *# ''Elfentanz'' (Elves' Dance; Danse des Sylphes) *# Melodie *# Mazurka *# Barcarolle *# Scherzo * ''Kleine Suite'' (Little Suite; Petite Suite) for violin and piano (1900) *# ''La Fontaine'' *# Air *# Berceuse *# ''Gavotte et Musette'' *# Humoreske *# Serenade ;Piano * ''Frühlingslied'' (Spring Song) (1892)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkinson, Ezraa 1872 births 1947 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century classical violinists 19th-century British male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century classical violinists 20th-century British male musicians Composers for violin English classical composers English classical violinists English male classical composers English Romantic composers Male classical violinists