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Henry Holmes (7 November 1839 9 December 1905) was a British
Henry Holmes (7 November 1839 9 December 1905) was a British 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 ...
ist, 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 ...
, and music educator
Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...
. His compositional output includes a violin concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...
, several works for solo violin, five symphonies, a concert overture, two sacred cantata
A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...
s for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra, and other chamber and choral works.Alberto Bachmann, ''An Encyclopedia of the Violin'' by p. 365.
Biography
Born in London, Holmes was the younger brother of violinist and composer Alfred Holmes. Both men studied the violin initially with their father and then at the Spohr's Violin School. The brothers made their professional debut together when Henry was just eight years old, performing in concert as duettists at theHaymarket Theatre
The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in ...
on 13 July 1847. They then toured throughout Europe to much acclaim and violinist/composer Louis Spohr
Louis Spohr (, 5 April 178422 October 1859), baptized Ludewig Spohr, later often in the modern German form of the name Ludwig was a German composer, violinist and conductor.
Highly regarded during his lifetime, Spohr composed ten symphonies, ...
dedicated his three violin duos to them. The brothers parted ways in 1864, with Alfred settling in Paris and Henry remaining in London.
In London, Holmes was active as a recitalist, chamber musician, and concert soloist. He taught the violin privately and at the Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...
spent much of his time composing. Some of his notable pupils include Arnold Dolmetsch
Eugène Arnold Dolmetsch (24 February 185828 February 1940), was a French-born musician and instrument maker who spent much of his working life in England and established an instrument-making workshop in Haslemere, Surrey. He was a leading figu ...
, Arthur Elwell Fisher, Jessie Grimson and Kathleen Parlow
Kathleen Parlow (September 20, 1890 – August 19, 1963) was a violinist known for her outstanding technique, which earned her the nickname "The lady of the golden bow". Although she left Canada at the age of four and did not permanently return ...
. In 1890 and again in 1893 a scandal relating to some female students emerged, and Holmes eventually left for San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, California, where he taught the violin. He died there in 1905 at the age of 66. Some of his manuscripts were thought to have been destroyed in the 1906 earthquake.
Composition
His works include two sacred cantatas – ''Praise Ye the Lord'' and ''Christmas Day'' (Gloucester, 1880), as well as ''O may I join the choir invisible'' for baritone solo, chorus and strings. Of the symphonies only the last two have survived. The first (in A, op. 32) was given at the Crystal Palace on 24 February 1872. Symphony No 4, ''Fraternity'' op. 48, dates from 1877 and No 5, ''Cumberland'' op. 57, from 1887. His Violin Concerto in F, op. 39, was first performed at Crystal Palace on 11 December 1875. Other works include two string quartets, a piano quintet op. 49, an octet for stings and two horns (1889), and songs.Critical reception
A critic inGloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...
was not impressed and made the following criticism in 1880:
The event at Gloucester was the daily appearances of Mr Henry Holmes – aesthetic, violinist, and the composer of a very mediocre cantata. The hair of this genius was crimped and his manners had been put in curl-papers. One day he was accompanied by Mrs Holmes, dressed in a tablecloth and a nimbus,
See also
* Son-in-law, English novelistEdgar Jepson
Edgar Alfred Jepson (28 November 1863 – 12 April 1938) was an English author. He largely wrote mainstream adventure and detective fiction, but also supernatural and fantasy stories. He sometimes used the pseudonym R. Edison Page.
Early life
E ...
References
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Henry 1839 births 1905 deaths 19th-century English musicians Academics of the Royal College of Music British music educators English Romantic composers English violinists British male violinists 19th-century British male musicians