Edward Maurice Besly (1888–1945) was an English

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 ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

schoolteacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

, and

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

best known for his popular

ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

, ''The Second Minuet'' and ''Time, You Old Gipsy Man''. More ambitious vocal pieces were the ''Four Poems'' Op 24, ''Charivaria'' (5 songs), and his setting of

Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romanticism, romantic, devotional and children's poems, including "Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well k ...

's ''The shepherds had an angel'' for soprano solo and chorus. Besly was born in Normanby, Yorkshire, and was educated at

Tonbridge School Tonbridge School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for boys aged 13–18) in Tonbridge, Kent, England, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde (sometimes spelt Judd). It is a member of the Eton Group and has clo ...

and

Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges an ...

. After a short stage career he studied music at the Leipzig Conservatorium under Teichmüller,

Schreck Schreck may refer to: People *David Schreck, Canadian politician and political pundit *Gustav Schreck (1849–1918), German composer *Julius Schreck (1898–1936), early Nazi Party member *Johann Schreck (1576–1630), German Jesuit, missionary to ...

, and Krehl. From 1912 to 1914 he was a music-master at

, returning there after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as Assistant Music Master. In 1919 he became director of music and organist of

Queen’s College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...

(1919–1926), and subsequently took over the Oxford Orchestral Society from Sir Hugh Allen. He gave his first concert in London with the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

in 1923, and conducted the

Royal Albert Hall Orchestra The New Symphony Orchestra (NSO) was founded in London in 1905 by the clarinettist Charles Draper and the flautist Eli Hudson. After ten years it became the orchestra of the Royal Albert Hall, and continued under that name until 1928, after which ...

, and the Scottish Orchestra for a portion of the season in 1924. He was sometime Director of the

Performing Rights Society PRS for Music Limited (formerly The MCPS-PRS Alliance Limited) is a British music copyright collective, made up of two collection societies: the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and the Performing Right Society (PRS). It undertakes ...

. In his latter years he worked in legal practice as a solicitor and notary public. Besly's compositions include orchestral works, songs and ballads, short choral works, piano pieces, and works for violin. He also composed the musical plays ''For Ever After'', ''Luana'' and ''Khan Zala'' and edited the ''Queen’s College Hymn Book''. His transcriptions for orchestra include works by

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

, and for piano / organ works by

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...

(''Firebird suite''), Falla (''El amor brujo'') and

Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, '' Carmen'', which has become ...

(''Carmen''). His motet ''O Lord, support us'', a setting of a prayer by St John Henry Newman, is still frequently sung in Anglican Cathedrals. From time to time his name is misspelt as "Besley" rather than "Besly".

References

Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and th ...

(1952 Edition)
Some British conductor-composers by Philip L. Scowcroft. Part 4 - at Music Web International

Vaughan Williams and Oxford
1888 births 1945 deaths People educated at Tonbridge School Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) English classical organists British male organists English composers 20th-century English organists 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century British male musicians 20th-century British musicians British male classical organists {{organist-stub