Martin Shaw (composer)
Encyclopedia
Martin Edward Fallas Shaw OBE, FRCM
, DMus
(9 March 1875–24 October 1958) was an English
composer, conductor and (in his early life) theatre producer. His over 300 published works include songs, hymns, carols, oratorios, several instrumental works, a congregational mass setting (the Anglican Folk Mass) and four operas including a ballad opera.
, a title he could claim under Samuel Rowlands
's definition of one born within the sound of the Bow Bells. He was the son of the Bohemian and eccentric James Shaw, composer of church music and organist of Hampstead Parish Church. He was the elder brother of the composer and influential educator Geoffrey Shaw and the actor Julius Shaw, whose career was cut short by the First World War
- he was killed in March 1918. He studied under Stanford
at the Royal College of Music
, together with a generation of composers that included Holst
, Vaughan Williams
and John Ireland
. He then embarked upon a career as a theatrical producer, composer and conductor, the early years of which he described as "a long period of starving along".
With Gordon Craig
, he founded the Purcell Operatic Society
in 1899, dedicated to reviving the music of Henry Purcell
and other English composers of the period, many of whose works had fallen into long neglect. Their first production in 1901 was Purcell's Dido and Aeneas
, at the Hampstead Conservatoire
. This was well received and transferred to the Coronet Theatre
, where it played alongside Ellen Terry
's production of Nance Oldfield. It was also Craig's first outing as stage director. The POS's other productions were The Masque of Love from Purcell's semi-opera
, Dioclesian
(1901) and Handel
's Acis and Galatea (1902). In 1903, Martin joined Ellen Terry
's company at the Imperial Theatre, where he composed and conducted the music for productions of The Vikings
and Much Ado About Nothing
, also directed by Craig
, Ellen Terry
's son.
He proposed to Edith Craig
, Craig's sister, in 1903 and was accepted. Edy was a successful, prolific but now largely forgotten theatre director, producer, costume designer and early pioneer of the women's suffrage movement in England. The marriage was prevented by Ellen Terry, out of jealousy for her daughter's affection, and by Christabel Marshall
(Christopher St John), with whom she lived from 1899, according to Michael Holroyd
in his book A Strange Eventful History (2008). A thinly fictionalised account of this episode appears in St John's autobiographical novel Hungerheart: The Story of a Soul (1915).
Shaw then toured Europe as conductor to Isadora Duncan
, extensively described in his 1929 autobiography Up to Now
published by Oxford University Press
. During this period he gave music lessons and took posts as organist and director of music, first at St Mary's, Primrose Hill 1902 - 1920, later at St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, London 1920 - 1924. He was also master of music at the Guildhouse, London.
After his marriage to Joan Cobbold, he settled down to family life. The couple had three children: John Fallas Cobbold Shaw (1917–1973), Richard Brinkley Shaw (1920–1989), and Mary Elizabeth Shaw (1923–1977). Under the influence of his wife, and faced with the need to support his family, church music gradually became the focus of his life and work. In 1918 he co-founded the League of Arts, the Royal School of Church Music
and was an early organiser of hymn festivals. He did much editorial and executive work in connection with popularising music, the encouragement of community singing and raising standards of choral singing in small parish churches.
In 1932 Shaw received the Lambeth degree
of Doctor of Music
. He was appointed an OBE
in 1955 and was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Music
(FRCM) in 1958.
His nephew was the actor Sebastian Shaw
, who played the unmasked Darth Vader
and the ghost of Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
(1983).
's Sursum Corda, Eleanor Farjeon
's The Ithacans, John Masefield
's The Seaport and her Sailors; a ballad opera by Clifford Bax
, Mr Pepys, and Water Folk, written for the Worcester Music Festival held in September 1932. He composed the music for T.S. Eliot's pageant play, The Rock, (performed at the Sadler's Wells Theatre
in May 1934), making him the only composer Eliot ever allowed to set his words to music. He later became the first editor of National Anthems of the World, published after his death.
His oratorio
The Redeemer, for SATB soloists, chorus and full orchestra, was first broadcast by the BBC in March 1945. His cantata God's Grandeur, to words by Gerard Manley Hopkins
, was composed for the first Aldeburgh Festival
, receiving its first performance in the same concert as the premier of Britten's St Nicolas.
Working with Percy Dearmer
, Martin was music editor of The English Carol Book (1913, 1919) and, with Ralph Vaughan Williams
, of Songs of Praise
(1925, 1931) and The Oxford Book of Carols
(1928). His tune Little Cornard
is sung to Hills of the North Rejoice, and Marching is sung to Through the Night of Doubt and Sorrow. While doing research for the English Hymnal
(1906) in the British Library, he came upon the traditional Gaelic hymn-tune Bunessan
in L. McBean's Songs and Hymns of the Gael, published in 1900. However, the tune was not included in the English Hymnal. It was used instead in the second edition of Songs of Praise (1931), set to the poem Morning Has Broken
, which Martin Shaw commissioned specially from his old friend Eleanor Farjeon
. This tune and words became a No. 1 hit for Cat Stevens
in 1972. Martin Shaw also noted down the Czech carol Rocking and included it in The Oxford Book of Carols.
in February 2011. It includes his music scores and correspondence between him and his wife Joan. As well as letters from his friends Gustav Holst
and John Ireland
, letters from the world of literature and the arts are very widely represented, including Albert Schweitzer
, Nancy Astor, Paul Nash
, W.B. Yeats and his nephew Sebastian Shaw
. The archive also contains major correspondence from Ralph Vaughan Williams
and the Christian feminist and campaigner Maude Royden, with whom Martin established The Guildhouse Fellowship at Ecclestone Square.
are listed after the name of the production or piece in brackets. Publishers or performance venue
s are listed where known. A fuller list of works including Editorial work, Instrumental pieces, and Sacred Music can be read at Musicweb International
, created by Shaw with Edward Gordon Craig
Productions at the Imperial Theatre
with Mabel Dearmer and the Morality Play Society
with George Calderon and William Caine
1926 – 1939
Children's Plays and Pageants 1916 – 1939
1913–1920
1921–1930
1931 – 1940
1941 – 1954
Posthumous Publications
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
, DMus
Doctor of Music
The Doctor of Music degree , like other doctorates, is an academic degree of the highest level. The D.Mus. is intended for musicians and composers who wish to combine the highest attainments in their area of specialization with doctoral-level academic study in music...
(9 March 1875–24 October 1958) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
composer, conductor and (in his early life) theatre producer. His over 300 published works include songs, hymns, carols, oratorios, several instrumental works, a congregational mass setting (the Anglican Folk Mass) and four operas including a ballad opera.
Biography
Shaw delighted in describing himself as a cockneyCockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
, a title he could claim under Samuel Rowlands
Samuel Rowlands
Samuel Rowlands , English author of pamphlets in prose and verse, which reflect the follies and humours of the lower middle-class life of his time, seems to have had no contemporary literary reputation; but his work throws considerable light on the development of popular literature and social life...
's definition of one born within the sound of the Bow Bells. He was the son of the Bohemian and eccentric James Shaw, composer of church music and organist of Hampstead Parish Church. He was the elder brother of the composer and influential educator Geoffrey Shaw and the actor Julius Shaw, whose career was cut short by the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
- he was killed in March 1918. He studied under Stanford
Charles Villiers Stanford
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford was an Irish composer who was particularly notable for his choral music. He was professor at the Royal College of Music and University of Cambridge.- Life :...
at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
, together with a generation of composers that included Holst
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....
, Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
and John Ireland
John Ireland (composer)
John Nicholson Ireland was an English composer.- Life :John Ireland was born in Bowdon, near Altrincham, Manchester, into a family of Scottish descent and some cultural distinction. His father, Alexander Ireland, a publisher and newspaper proprietor, was aged 70 at John's birth...
. He then embarked upon a career as a theatrical producer, composer and conductor, the early years of which he described as "a long period of starving along".
With Gordon Craig
Edward Gordon Craig
Edward Henry Gordon Craig , sometimes known as Gordon Craig, was an English modernist theatre practitioner; he worked as an actor, director and scenic designer, as well as developing an influential body of theoretical writings...
, he founded the Purcell Operatic Society
Purcell Operatic Society
The Purcell Operatic Society was a short-lived but influential London opera company devoted to the production of stage works by Henry Purcell and his contemporaries. It was founded in 1899 by the composer Martin Shaw and folded in 1902...
in 1899, dedicated to reviving the music of Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
and other English composers of the period, many of whose works had fallen into long neglect. Their first production in 1901 was Purcell's Dido and Aeneas
Dido and Aeneas
Dido and Aeneas is an opera in a prologue and three acts by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell to a libretto by Nahum Tate. The first known performance was at Josias Priest's girls' school in London no later than the summer of 1688. The story is based on Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid...
, at the Hampstead Conservatoire
Hampstead Conservatoire
The Hampstead Conservatoire was a private college for music and the arts at 64, Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage, London.The building, previously the Eton Avenue Hall, was reconstructed in 1890...
. This was well received and transferred to the Coronet Theatre
Notting Hill Coronet
The Notting Hill Coronet is a cinema, originally built as a theatre, in Notting Hill Gate in London, England.The Coronet was designed as a theatre by leading architect W. G. R. Sprague at a cost of £25,000 and opened in 1898. It was described in The Era as a "theatre of which the whole country may...
, where it played alongside Ellen Terry
Ellen Terry
Dame Ellen Terry, GBE was an English stage actress who became the leading Shakespearean actress in Britain. Among the members of her famous family is her great nephew, John Gielgud....
's production of Nance Oldfield. It was also Craig's first outing as stage director. The POS's other productions were The Masque of Love from Purcell's semi-opera
Semi-opera
The terms Semi-opera, dramatic[k] opera and English opera were all applied to Restoration entertainments that combined spoken plays with masque-like episodes employing singing and dancing characters. They usually included machines in the manner of the restoration spectacular...
, Dioclesian
Dioclesian
Dioclesian is a tragicomic semi-opera in five acts by Henry Purcell to a libretto by Thomas Betterton based on the play The Prophetess, by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger, which in turn was based very loosely on the life of the Emperor Diocletian. It was premiered in late May 1690 at the...
(1901) and Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
's Acis and Galatea (1902). In 1903, Martin joined Ellen Terry
Ellen Terry
Dame Ellen Terry, GBE was an English stage actress who became the leading Shakespearean actress in Britain. Among the members of her famous family is her great nephew, John Gielgud....
's company at the Imperial Theatre, where he composed and conducted the music for productions of The Vikings
The Vikings at Helgeland
The Vikings at Helgeland is Henrik Ibsen's seventh play.The Vikings at Helgeland was written during 1857 and first performed at Christiania Norske Theater in Oslo on 24 November 1858. The scenes take place during the time of Erik Blood-axe in the north of Norway in historic Helgeland...
and Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
, also directed by Craig
Edward Gordon Craig
Edward Henry Gordon Craig , sometimes known as Gordon Craig, was an English modernist theatre practitioner; he worked as an actor, director and scenic designer, as well as developing an influential body of theoretical writings...
, Ellen Terry
Ellen Terry
Dame Ellen Terry, GBE was an English stage actress who became the leading Shakespearean actress in Britain. Among the members of her famous family is her great nephew, John Gielgud....
's son.
He proposed to Edith Craig
Edith Craig
Edith Ailsa Geraldine Craig was a prolific theatre director, producer, costume designer and early pioneer of the women's suffrage movement in England...
, Craig's sister, in 1903 and was accepted. Edy was a successful, prolific but now largely forgotten theatre director, producer, costume designer and early pioneer of the women's suffrage movement in England. The marriage was prevented by Ellen Terry, out of jealousy for her daughter's affection, and by Christabel Marshall
Christabel Marshall
Christabel Gertrude Marshall was a British campaigner for women's suffrage, a playwright and author...
(Christopher St John), with whom she lived from 1899, according to Michael Holroyd
Michael Holroyd
Sir Michael De Courcy Fraser Holroyd, FRHS, FRSL is an English biographer.-Life:Holroyd was born in London and educated at Eton College, though he has often claimed Maidenhead Public Library as his alma mater....
in his book A Strange Eventful History (2008). A thinly fictionalised account of this episode appears in St John's autobiographical novel Hungerheart: The Story of a Soul (1915).
Shaw then toured Europe as conductor to Isadora Duncan
Isadora Duncan
Isadora Duncan was a dancer, considered by many to be the creator of modern dance. Born in the United States, she lived in Western Europe and the Soviet Union from the age of 22 until her death at age 50. In the United States she was popular only in New York, and only later in her life...
, extensively described in his 1929 autobiography Up to Now
Up to Now (Shaw autobiography)
Up to Now is the autobiography of the British composer, conductor and theatre producer Martin Shaw . It was published by Oxford University Press in 1929, when Shaw was 53...
published by Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
. During this period he gave music lessons and took posts as organist and director of music, first at St Mary's, Primrose Hill 1902 - 1920, later at St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, London 1920 - 1924. He was also master of music at the Guildhouse, London.
After his marriage to Joan Cobbold, he settled down to family life. The couple had three children: John Fallas Cobbold Shaw (1917–1973), Richard Brinkley Shaw (1920–1989), and Mary Elizabeth Shaw (1923–1977). Under the influence of his wife, and faced with the need to support his family, church music gradually became the focus of his life and work. In 1918 he co-founded the League of Arts, the Royal School of Church Music
Royal School of Church Music
The largest church music organisation in Britain, the Royal School of Church Music was founded in 1927 by Sir Sydney Nicholson and has 11,000 members worldwide; it was originally named the School of English Church Music. It seeks to enable church music in the present and invest in its future,...
and was an early organiser of hymn festivals. He did much editorial and executive work in connection with popularising music, the encouragement of community singing and raising standards of choral singing in small parish churches.
In 1932 Shaw received the Lambeth degree
Lambeth degree
A Lambeth degree is an academic degree conferred by the Archbishop of Canterbury under the authority of the Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533 as successor of the papal legate in England...
of Doctor of Music
Doctor of Music
The Doctor of Music degree , like other doctorates, is an academic degree of the highest level. The D.Mus. is intended for musicians and composers who wish to combine the highest attainments in their area of specialization with doctoral-level academic study in music...
. He was appointed an OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1955 and was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
(FRCM) in 1958.
His nephew was the actor Sebastian Shaw
Sebastian Shaw (actor)
Sebastian Lewis Shaw was an English actor, director, novelist, playwright and poet. During his 65-year career, Shaw appeared in dozens of stage performances and more than 40 film and television productions....
, who played the unmasked Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
and the ghost of Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
(1983).
Works
His published works include over 100 songs (some of them for children), settings for soli, chorus and orchestra of Laurence BinyonLaurence Binyon
Robert Laurence Binyon was an English poet, dramatist and art scholar. His most famous work, For the Fallen, is well known for being used in Remembrance Sunday services....
's Sursum Corda, Eleanor Farjeon
Eleanor Farjeon
Eleanor Farjeon was an English author of children's stories and plays, poetry, biography, history and satire. Many of her works had charming illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. Some of her correspondence has also been published...
's The Ithacans, John Masefield
John Masefield
John Edward Masefield, OM, was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1930 until his death in 1967...
's The Seaport and her Sailors; a ballad opera by Clifford Bax
Clifford Bax
Clifford Bax was a versatile English writer, known particularly as a playwright, a journalist, critic and editor, and a poet, lyricist and hymn writer. He also was a translator, for example of Goldoni...
, Mr Pepys, and Water Folk, written for the Worcester Music Festival held in September 1932. He composed the music for T.S. Eliot's pageant play, The Rock, (performed at the Sadler's Wells Theatre
Sadler's Wells Theatre
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue located in Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington. The present day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500 seat main auditorium and the Lilian Baylis Studio, with extensive...
in May 1934), making him the only composer Eliot ever allowed to set his words to music. He later became the first editor of National Anthems of the World, published after his death.
His oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
The Redeemer, for SATB soloists, chorus and full orchestra, was first broadcast by the BBC in March 1945. His cantata God's Grandeur, to words by Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous 20th-century fame established him among the leading Victorian poets...
, was composed for the first Aldeburgh Festival
Aldeburgh Festival
The Aldeburgh Festival is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on the main concert hall at Snape Maltings...
, receiving its first performance in the same concert as the premier of Britten's St Nicolas.
Working with Percy Dearmer
Percy Dearmer
Percy Dearmer, was an English priest and liturgist best known as the author of The Parson's Handbook, a liturgical manual for Anglican clergy. A lifelong socialist, he was an early advocate of the public ministry of women and concerned with social justice...
, Martin was music editor of The English Carol Book (1913, 1919) and, with Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
, of Songs of Praise
Songs of Praise (hymnal)
Songs of Praise is a 1925 hymnal compiled by Percy Dearmer, Martin Shaw and Ralph Vaughan Williams. The popular English Hymnal of 1906 was considered too 'High church' by many people, and a new book, on broader lines was indicated. It was initially to be called 'Songs of the Spirit' but in the...
(1925, 1931) and The Oxford Book of Carols
Oxford Book of Carols
The Oxford Book of Carols was published in 1928 by Oxford University Press. Its influence derives from its anthologists Percy Dearmer, Martin Shaw and Ralph Vaughan Williams and their choice of carol tunes, provision of new words for old tunes and the continuing reinvigoration of English church...
(1928). His tune Little Cornard
Little Cornard
Little Cornard is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Located around from its larger sibling, Great Cornard, on the B1057 road between Sudbury and Colchester, it is part of Babergh district, and has a population of 305. The parish also includes the hamlet of Workhouse Green.The...
is sung to Hills of the North Rejoice, and Marching is sung to Through the Night of Doubt and Sorrow. While doing research for the English Hymnal
English Hymnal
The English Hymnal was published in 1906 for the Church of England under the editorship of Percy Dearmer and Ralph Vaughan Williams. The preface to the hymnal began with the statement, "A collection of the best hymns in the English language." Much of the contents was used for the first time at St...
(1906) in the British Library, he came upon the traditional Gaelic hymn-tune Bunessan
Bunessan
Bunessan is a small village on the Ross of Mull in the south of the island of Mull, on the west coast of Scotland...
in L. McBean's Songs and Hymns of the Gael, published in 1900. However, the tune was not included in the English Hymnal. It was used instead in the second edition of Songs of Praise (1931), set to the poem Morning Has Broken
Morning Has Broken
"Morning Has Broken" is a popular and well-known Christian hymn first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and is set to a traditional Gaelic tune known as "Bunessan" . It is often sung in children's services...
, which Martin Shaw commissioned specially from his old friend Eleanor Farjeon
Eleanor Farjeon
Eleanor Farjeon was an English author of children's stories and plays, poetry, biography, history and satire. Many of her works had charming illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. Some of her correspondence has also been published...
. This tune and words became a No. 1 hit for Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
in 1972. Martin Shaw also noted down the Czech carol Rocking and included it in The Oxford Book of Carols.
Archive
The Martin Shaw Archive was acquired by the British LibraryBritish Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
in February 2011. It includes his music scores and correspondence between him and his wife Joan. As well as letters from his friends Gustav Holst
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....
and John Ireland
John Ireland (composer)
John Nicholson Ireland was an English composer.- Life :John Ireland was born in Bowdon, near Altrincham, Manchester, into a family of Scottish descent and some cultural distinction. His father, Alexander Ireland, a publisher and newspaper proprietor, was aged 70 at John's birth...
, letters from the world of literature and the arts are very widely represented, including Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer OM was a German theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire...
, Nancy Astor, Paul Nash
Paul Nash (artist)
Paul Nash was a British landscape painter, surrealist and war artist, as well as a book-illustrator, writer and designer of applied art. He was the older brother of the artist John Nash.-Early life:...
, W.B. Yeats and his nephew Sebastian Shaw
Sebastian Shaw (actor)
Sebastian Lewis Shaw was an English actor, director, novelist, playwright and poet. During his 65-year career, Shaw appeared in dozens of stage performances and more than 40 film and television productions....
. The archive also contains major correspondence from Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
and the Christian feminist and campaigner Maude Royden, with whom Martin established The Guildhouse Fellowship at Ecclestone Square.
List of works
The following is a list of Shaw's theatrical productions, music for plays, cantatas and songs. Authors or collaboratorsCollaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
are listed after the name of the production or piece in brackets. Publishers or performance venue
Music venue
A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Typically, different types of venues host different genres of music...
s are listed where known. A fuller list of works including Editorial work, Instrumental pieces, and Sacred Music can be read at Musicweb International
Theatrical Productions
As producer of the Purcell Operatic SocietyPurcell Operatic Society
The Purcell Operatic Society was a short-lived but influential London opera company devoted to the production of stage works by Henry Purcell and his contemporaries. It was founded in 1899 by the composer Martin Shaw and folded in 1902...
, created by Shaw with Edward Gordon Craig
Edward Gordon Craig
Edward Henry Gordon Craig , sometimes known as Gordon Craig, was an English modernist theatre practitioner; he worked as an actor, director and scenic designer, as well as developing an influential body of theoretical writings...
- 1900: conductor and producer: Dido and AeneasDido and AeneasDido and Aeneas is an opera in a prologue and three acts by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell to a libretto by Nahum Tate. The first known performance was at Josias Priest's girls' school in London no later than the summer of 1688. The story is based on Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid...
(PurcellPurcellHenry Purcell was an English composer.Purcell may also refer to:*Purcell, Indiana, an unincorporated community in Johnson Township, Knox County, Indiana*Purcell, Missouri, a city in Jasper County, Missouri, United States...
) – Hampstead ConservatoireHampstead ConservatoireThe Hampstead Conservatoire was a private college for music and the arts at 64, Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage, London.The building, previously the Eton Avenue Hall, was reconstructed in 1890... - 1901: conductor and producer: The Masque of LoveDioclesianDioclesian is a tragicomic semi-opera in five acts by Henry Purcell to a libretto by Thomas Betterton based on the play The Prophetess, by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger, which in turn was based very loosely on the life of the Emperor Diocletian. It was premiered in late May 1690 at the...
(Purcell) – Coronet Theatre, Notting HillNotting Hill CoronetThe Notting Hill Coronet is a cinema, originally built as a theatre, in Notting Hill Gate in London, England.The Coronet was designed as a theatre by leading architect W. G. R. Sprague at a cost of £25,000 and opened in 1898. It was described in The Era as a "theatre of which the whole country may... - 1902: conductor and producer: Acis and Galatea (HandelHANDELHANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
, libretto by John GayJohn GayJohn Gay was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera , set to music by Johann Christoph Pepusch...
) – Great Queen Street TheatreNovelty TheatreThe Novelty Theatre was a London theatre. It was located on Great Queen Street, accessed off Little Queen Street until 1905, and from the new Kingsway road from 1905 onwards...
Productions at the Imperial Theatre
- 1902: Music Director and conductor: Bethlehem, a Morality Play (Laurence HousmanLaurence HousmanLaurence Housman was an English playwright, writer and illustrator.-Early life:Laurence Housman was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, one of seven children who included the poet A. E. Housman and writer Clemence Housman. In 1871 his mother died, and his father remarried, to a cousin...
, music by Joseph Moorat) – at the Imperial Institute - 1903: composer and conductor: The VikingsThe Vikings at HelgelandThe Vikings at Helgeland is Henrik Ibsen's seventh play.The Vikings at Helgeland was written during 1857 and first performed at Christiania Norske Theater in Oslo on 24 November 1858. The scenes take place during the time of Erik Blood-axe in the north of Norway in historic Helgeland...
(Ibsen) – Imperial TheatreImperial TheatreThe Imperial Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 249 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan. The theatre seats up to 1417 people.... - 1903: composer and conductor: Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
(Shakespeare) – Imperial Theatre
Dramatic Music for Plays, Operas and Operetta
1911 – 1915with Mabel Dearmer and the Morality Play Society
- 1911 The Soul of the World (premiere at Imperial Institute Dec. 1st) – Joseph Williams
- 1912 The Dreamer - The Biblical story of Joseph -
- 1913 The Cockyolly Bird (premiere at the Court TheatreRoyal Court TheatreThe Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
, Thursday, Jan 1st 1914 ) – Curwen (published 1930) - 1914 Brer Rabbit and Mr Fox, a musical frolic (premiere at the Little TheatreHaymarket TheatreThe Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use...
) – Joseph Williams
with George Calderon and William Caine
William Caine
Captain William Caine was the Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong from 1854 to 1859. He was the acting Governor of Hong Kong between May and September 1859.-Biography:...
- 1912 The Brave Little Tailor
1926 – 1939
- 1926 Mr Pepys, a Ballad OperaBallad operaThe term ballad opera is used to refer to a genre of English stage entertainment originating in the 18th century and continuing to develop in the following century and later. There are many types of ballad opera...
on the life of Samuel PepysSamuel PepysSamuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
(Clifford BaxClifford BaxClifford Bax was a versatile English writer, known particularly as a playwright, a journalist, critic and editor, and a poet, lyricist and hymn writer. He also was a translator, for example of Goldoni...
) - Cramer - Waterloo Leave, a Ballad Opera (Clifford Bax) – Maddermarket, IpswichIpswichIpswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
- 1926 Granite (Clemence Dane) premiered at Ambassadors Theatre, with Sybil ThorndikeSybil ThorndikeDame Agnes Sybil Thorndike CH DBE was a British actress.-Early life:She was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire to Arthur Thorndike and Agnes Macdonald. Her father was a Canon of Rochester Cathedral...
- 1929 The Silver Tassie (Sean O'CaseySeán O'CaseySeán O'Casey was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes.- Early life:...
); PlainsongPlainsongPlainsong is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Catholic Church. Though the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Catholic Church did not split until long after the origin of plainchant, Byzantine chants are generally not classified as plainsong.Plainsong is monophonic, consisting of a...
and songs for Act II – Apollo TheatreApollo TheatreThe Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. Designed by architect Lewin Sharp for owner Henry Lowenfield, and the fourth legitimate theatre to be constructed on the street, its doors opened on 21 February 1901 with the American... - 1929 Easter (John MasefieldJohn MasefieldJohn Edward Masefield, OM, was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1930 until his death in 1967...
) - 1931 The Thorn of Avalon, an Opera for Toc HToc HToc H is an international Christian movement. The name is an abbreviation for Talbot House, 'Toc' signifying the letter T in the signals spelling alphabet used by the British Army in World War I. A soldiers' rest and recreation centre named Talbot House was founded in December 1915 at Poperinghe,...
(Barclay Baron) – Crystal PalaceThe Crystal PalaceThe Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in... - 1932 Philomel (Jefferson Farjeon, lyrics by Clifford Bax) premiered at Ambassadors Theatre, starring Phyllis Neilson-TerryPhyllis Neilson-TerryPhyllis Neilson-Terry was an English actress. She was born in London, daughter of Julia Neilson and Fred Terry; her younger brother was actor Dennis Neilson-Terry. She made her first stage appearance in Henry of Navarre , and played Viola in Twelfth Night at the Haymarket in 1910...
and Arthur Wontner - 193? At the Sign of the Star an Opera for Toc H – Royal Albert HallRoyal Albert HallThe Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
- 1934 The Rock, a Choral Pageant (T.S. Eliot) – Sadlers Wells
- Judgement at Chelmsford (Charles Williams) – ScalaScala TheatreThe Scala Theatre was a theatre in London, sited on Charlotte Street, off Tottenham Court Road, in the London Borough of Camden. The first theatre on the site opened in 1772, and the theatre was demolished in 1969, after being destroyed by fire...
- 1936 Master Valiant (Barclay Baron for Toc H 21st Birthday) at Crystal Palace – OUP
- 1937 The Six Men of Dorset (Miles MallesonMiles MallesonWilliam Miles Malleson was an English actor and dramatist, particularly known for his appearances in British comedy films of the 1930s to 1960s. Towards the end of his career he also appeared in cameo roles in several Hammer horror films, with a fairly large role in The Brides of Dracula as the...
) - 1939 Thursday's Child (Christopher FryChristopher FryChristopher Fry was an English playwright. He is best known for his verse dramas, notably The Lady's Not for Burning, which made him a major force in theatre in the 1940s and 1950s.-Early life:...
) – Royal Albert Hall
Children's Plays and Pageants 1916 – 1939
- 1916 The Pedlar (from Shakespeare) 6 songs, 2 dances – Evans Bros.
- 1918 Fools and Fairies (from A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
) – Evans - 1925 Children's Play: The Magic Fishbone (Joan Cobbold) – Curwen
- 1925 A Christmas Pageant (words selected by Joan Cobbold) – Curwen
- 1928 Pageant: The Months (Christina RossettiChristina RossettiChristina Georgina Rossetti was an English poet who wrote a variety of romantic, devotional, and children's poems...
, dramatised by Joan Cobbold) – Cramer - 1929 Christmas mime: At the Sign of the Star (Barclay Baron) – OUP
- 1929 Musical Play: The Whispering Wood (Rodney Bennett) –
- 1931 The Green Sky: a children's play (Joan Cobbold) – OUP
- 1936 The Travelling Musicians (arr. Joan Cobbold, from the Brothers GrimmBrothers GrimmThe Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
) – Novello - 1939 Thursday's Child (Christopher FryChristopher FryChristopher Fry was an English playwright. He is best known for his verse dramas, notably The Lady's Not for Burning, which made him a major force in theatre in the 1940s and 1950s.-Early life:...
) – Cramer
Cantatas and Song Sequences
- 1910 Song Sequence: Fantastic Trio for voice, sung by the Albion Trio at the (Aeolian HallAeolian Hall (London)Aeolian Hall located at 135-137 New Bond Street, began life as the Grosvenor Gallery, being built by Sir Coutts Lindsay in 1876, an accomplished amateur artist, with a predeliction for the aesthetic movement, for which he was held up to some ridicule. In 1883, he decided to light his gallery with...
) - 1931 Cantata: The Seaport and her Sailors (John MasefieldJohn MasefieldJohn Edward Masefield, OM, was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1930 until his death in 1967...
) – Cramer - 1931 Song Sequence: The Ungentle Guest (HerrickHerrick-People:*Christopher Herrick, noted organist*D. Cady Herrick , New York judge and politician*Guilford Herrick*Jack Herrick, founder of wikiHow*James Bryan Herrick, doctor who discovered sickle-cell disease and the mechanism of myocardial infarction...
, DraytonDrayton- In the United Kingdom :* Drayton, Hampshire* Drayton, Leicestershire* Drayton, Lincolnshire* Drayton, Norfolk* Drayton, Northamptonshire** Drayton Reservoir, Northamptonshire* Drayton, Cherwell, Oxfordshire* Drayton, Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire...
& Clifford BaxClifford BaxClifford Bax was a versatile English writer, known particularly as a playwright, a journalist, critic and editor, and a poet, lyricist and hymn writer. He also was a translator, for example of Goldoni...
) – for Baritone, Harp and String Quartette – Cramer - 1932 Song Sequence: Water Folk (HeineHeineHeine is a German family name. The name comes from "Heinrich" or the Hebrew "Chayyim" . When mentioned without a first name it usually refers ti the poet Heinrich Heine...
) for voice, strings, quartette and pianoforte – Cramer - 1933 Cantata: The Ithacans (Eleanor FarjeonEleanor FarjeonEleanor Farjeon was an English author of children's stories and plays, poetry, biography, history and satire. Many of her works had charming illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. Some of her correspondence has also been published...
) [tenor, chorus and orchestra] – Cramer - 1933 Cantata: Sursum Corda (Laurence BinyonLaurence BinyonRobert Laurence Binyon was an English poet, dramatist and art scholar. His most famous work, For the Fallen, is well known for being used in Remembrance Sunday services....
) [chorus and orchestra] – Novello - 1935 Cantata: This England (Shakespeare) – OUP
- 1945 Cantata length Oratorio: The Redeemer (ed. Joan Cobbold) [soli, chorus and orchestra] – Joseph Williams
- 1950 Cantata: The Changing Year (ed. Joan Cobbold) – Joseph Williams
- 1953 Cantata: The Changing Year [arr.for flute and strings D. Shaw] - J Williams
Songs
1898–1904- 1898 Berceuse (Diana Gardiner) – The Dome.
- 1899 The Song of the Palanquin Bearers (Sarojini NaiduSarojini NaiduSarojini Naidu , also known by the sobriquet The Nightingale of India, was a child prodigy, Indian independence activist and poet...
) – The Page
- 1902 The Land of Heart's Desire (WB Yeats) – Curwen
- 1903 E'en as a lovely Flower (HeineHeineHeine is a German family name. The name comes from "Heinrich" or the Hebrew "Chayyim" . When mentioned without a first name it usually refers ti the poet Heinrich Heine...
) – The Page
- 1904 Hymn To Diana [2 part song] (Ben JonsonBen JonsonBenjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
) – NovelloNovello TheatreThe Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster.-History:The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of the Waldorf Hotel, both being designed by W. G. R. Sprague. The theatre opened as the Waldorf Theatre on 22 May 1905, and was... - 1904 Over the Mountains (traditional) [2 part song] – Novello
- 1904 The Jolly Shepherd (John Wootton) [S.A., p.f.] – Joseph Williams
- 1904 The Fairies Escape [SS song for female voices, p.f. acc.] – Joseph Williams
- 1904 Weep you no More Sad Fountains [S.A. with p.f. acc.] – Joseph Williams
1913–1920
- 1913 England, My England (W.E. Henley) [chorus for TTBB] – Boosey
- 1914 6 Songs of War published by Humphrey Milford at Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
(OUP) 1: Battle song of the Fleet at Sea (Stella Callaghan) 2: Called Up (Dudley Clark) 3: England for Flanders (C.W. Brodribb) 4: Erin United (C.W. Brodribb) 5: Carillons (tr. From the French by D. Bonnard) 6: Venizel (W.A.Short) - 1914 The Cavalier's Escape (W Thornbury) – Stainer and Bell
- 1914 Song of the Callicles (Matthew ArnoldMatthew ArnoldMatthew Arnold was a British poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the famed headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, literary professor, and William Delafield Arnold, novelist and colonial administrator...
) 3 part song for female voices [SSA] – Joseph Williams - 1914 Conrad Suck-a-Thumb – in Geoffrey Shaw's Struwelpeter – Curwen
- 1915 God Save the King with Faux Bourdon – Curwen
- 1915 Cuckoo (traditional, 2nd verse by MS) – Curwen
- 1915 Song: Clare's Brigade (Stephen Gwynn) – Humprey Milford at OUP
- 1915 Four Pastoral Songs for Soprano and Contralto – Curwen 1: County Guy 2: Lubin 3: Sylvia Sleeps 4: Sylvia Wakes
- 1916 A Christmas Song (Eugene Field) – Evans
- 1916 Ships of Yule [unison song] – Evans
- 1917 Lullaby (Christina RossettiChristina RossettiChristina Georgina Rossetti was an English poet who wrote a variety of romantic, devotional, and children's poems...
) – Curwen - 1917 Under the Greenwood Tree – Curwen
- 1917 Sigh No More Ladies (Shakespeare) – Curwen
- 1917 Trip and Go (traditional) – Curwen
- 1917 Orange and Green (arr. Of AP Graves words to Lillibulero) – Curwen
- 1917 Six Songs published by Curwen: 1: Bird or Beast (Christina RossettiChristina RossettiChristina Georgina Rossetti was an English poet who wrote a variety of romantic, devotional, and children's poems...
) 2: Easter Carol (Christina Rossetti) 3: The Land of Heart's Desire (YeatsYeatsW. B. Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright.Yeats may also refer to:* Yeats ,* Yeats , an impact crater on Mercury* Yeats , an Irish thoroughbred racehorse-See also:...
) 4: Over the Sea (Christina Rossetti) 5: not currently known 6: Summer (Christina Rossetti) - 1917 Song of the Palanquin Bearers republished - Curwen
- 1917 Lied der Sånftentrager [German translation of Palanquin Bearers] – Universal Edition
- 1918 Serenade (Diana Gardner) – Curwen
- 1918 Two Songs from Alice in Wonderland (Lewis CarrollLewis CarrollCharles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
) – (Evans: 3rd Bk of the School Concert) 1:You are Old Father William 2: Will You Walk a Little Faster - 1918 The Bird of God (Kingsley) [2 part song] – Arnold
- 1918 The Frogge and the Mouse (Deuteromelia) [2 part song] – Curwen
- 1919 Bab-lock-Hythe (Laurence BinyonLaurence BinyonRobert Laurence Binyon was an English poet, dramatist and art scholar. His most famous work, For the Fallen, is well known for being used in Remembrance Sunday services....
) – Curwen - 1919 Brookland Road (Rudyard KiplingRudyard KiplingJoseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
) – Curwen - 1919 Child of the Flowing Tide (Geoffrey DearmerGeoffrey DearmerGeoffrey Dearmer LVO was a British poet. He was the son of Anglican liturgist and hymnologist Percy Dearmer.During World War I, Dearmer was commissioned and served with the London Regiment at Gallipoli and on the Western Front. Many of his poems dealt with the overall brutality of war and...
) – Chappell - 1919 Down by the Salley Gardens (W.B. Yeats) – Curwen
- 1919 Heffle Cuckoo Fair (Rudyard KiplingRudyard KiplingJoseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
) – Curwen - 1919 Love Pagan (Arthur Shirley Cripps) - Curwen
- 1919 Old Mother Laidinwool (Rudyard KiplingRudyard KiplingJoseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
) – Curwen - 1919 Pity Poor Fighting Men (Rudyard Kipling) – Curwen
- 1919 Refrain (Arthur Shirley Cripps) – Rogers
- 1919 Stave of Roving Tim (George MeredithGeorge MeredithGeorge Meredith, OM was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era.- Life :Meredith was born in Portsmouth, England, a son and grandson of naval outfitters. His mother died when he was five. At the age of 14 he was sent to a Moravian School in Neuwied, Germany, where he remained for two...
) - Curwen - 1919 The Egg Shell (Rudyard Kipling) – Curwen
- 1919 The Bubble Song (Mabel Dearmer) – Chappell
- 1920 The Knights Song (Lyon) – Enoch
- 1920 Love me, I love you (Christina RossettiChristina RossettiChristina Georgina Rossetti was an English poet who wrote a variety of romantic, devotional, and children's poems...
) – Curwen - 1920 Charity (Christina Rossetti) – Curwen
- 1920 Lullaby (Christina Rossetti) – Curwen
- 1920 The Ferryman (Christina Rossetti) – Curwen
- 1920 Up the Airy Mountains (William AllinghamWilliam AllinghamWilliam Allingham was an Irish man of letters and a poet.-Biography:He was born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland and was the son of the manager of a local bank who was of English descent...
) [2pt song] – Augener; Edward Arnold - 1920 Invictus (W.E. Henley) – Curwen
- 1920 O Falmouth is a Fine Town (W.E. Henley) – Curwen
1921–1930
- 1921 Annabel Lee (Edgar Alan Poe) – Cramer
- 1921 When Daisies Pied (Shakespeare) – Curwen
- 1922 At Columbine's Grave (Bliss Carmen) – Cramer
- 1922 Blow, Blow thou Winter Wind (Shakespeare) [unison] – Edward Arnold
- 1922 Butterflies (Mabel Dearmer) [unison song] – Curwen
- 1922 Crockle and Quackle (Darnley) [2pt. Song] –
- 1922 Full Fathom Five (Shakespeare) – Cramer
- 1922 I know a Bank (Shakespeare) [unison] – Cramer
- 1922 Old Clothes and Fine Clothes (John Pride) – Cramer
- 1922 The Cockyolly Song (Mabel Dearmer) [unison song] – Curwen
- 1922 The Merry Wanderer (Shakespeare) - Cramer
- 1922 Two songs of Spring – Boosey: 1:Through Softly Falling Rain (Sybil M.Ruegg) 2: The Herald (Geoffrey DearmerGeoffrey DearmerGeoffrey Dearmer LVO was a British poet. He was the son of Anglican liturgist and hymnologist Percy Dearmer.During World War I, Dearmer was commissioned and served with the London Regiment at Gallipoli and on the Western Front. Many of his poems dealt with the overall brutality of war and...
)
- 1923 I Cannot eat but little Meat (arr. For TTBB) – Curwen
- 1923 I Know a Bank (Shakespeare) [SS] – Cramer
- 1923 London Town (John MasefieldJohn MasefieldJohn Edward Masefield, OM, was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1930 until his death in 1967...
) – Cramer - 1923 Over Hill Over Dale (Shakespeare) – Cramer
- 1923 Peaceful Slumb'ring (Cobbe) [arr. Tenor Solo & TTBB] – Curwen
- 1923 Ships of Yule (Eugene Field) [unison] – Curwen
- 1923 The Grand Panjandrum – Novello
- 1923 The Little Vagabond (William BlakeWilliam BlakeWilliam Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
, cover illustration by Paul NashPaul Nash (artist)Paul Nash was a British landscape painter, surrealist and war artist, as well as a book-illustrator, writer and designer of applied art. He was the older brother of the artist John Nash.-Early life:...
) – Cramer - 1923 Tides (John Pride) – Cramer
- 1923 Two Nursery Rhymes - Evans Bros
- 1924 The Dip (Judge Parry) - Cramer
- 1924 Wood Magic (John Buchan) – Cramer
- 1924 Glad Hearts Adventuring (Macdonald), the Girl Guide AnthemAnthemThe term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...
– Cramer - 1924 Cargoes (John Masefield) unison 1st published in 'Music and Youth', (2/- song) – Cramer
- 1924 Two Water Songs – Cramer 1: The Little Waves of Breffney (Eva Gore-Booth) 2: The Rivulet (L. Larcom)
- 1924 I know a Bank (Shakespeare) [Duet] – Cramer
- 1925 Old Clothes and Fine Clothes (John Pride) – Braille
- 1925 The Conjuration (from the Chinese poem of Hung-So-Fan) 2 keys – Cramer
- 1925 The Caravan (W.B. Rands) – Cramer
- 1925 The Pioneers (Walt WhitmanWalt WhitmanWalter "Walt" Whitman 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 the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
) unison song – Cramer
- 1926 Bridgwater Charter Song (Bruce Dilks) – Cramer
- 1926 March (L. Larcom) [unison] – OUP
- 1926 May Merry Time (DarleyGeorge DarleyGeorge Darley was an Irish poet, novelist, and critic.He was born in Dublin, and educated at Trinity College. Having decided to follow a literary career, in 1820 he went to London, where he published his first poem, Errors of Ecstasie . He also wrote for the London Magazine, under the pseudonym of...
) 2pt song – OUP - 1926 Song & Mime: The Mummers (Eleanor FarjeonEleanor FarjeonEleanor Farjeon was an English author of children's stories and plays, poetry, biography, history and satire. Many of her works had charming illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. Some of her correspondence has also been published...
) unison – Evans Bros. - 1926 Trees (E. NesbitE. NesbitEdith Nesbit was an English author and poet whose children's works were published under the name of E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television...
) – Cramer
- 1927 Avona (DB Knox) – Cramer
- 1927 Budmouth Dears (Thomas HardyThomas HardyThomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
) [SSCCTTBB] – Curwen - 1927 Gather up your Litter (Eleanor FarjeonEleanor FarjeonEleanor Farjeon was an English author of children's stories and plays, poetry, biography, history and satire. Many of her works had charming illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. Some of her correspondence has also been published...
) – Cramer - 1927 Ladybird (Mrs Montgomery) [unison] – Cramer
- 1927 Lament: Johnny Braidislee from Ionica – Cramer
- 1927 Little Trotty Wagtail (John ClareJohn ClareJohn Clare was an English poet, born the son of a farm labourer who came to be known for his celebratory representations of the English countryside and his lamentation of its disruption. His poetry underwent a major re-evaluation in the late 20th century and he is often now considered to be among...
) [Unison] – Cramer - 1927 Over the Sea with a Soldier (Harold Boulton) – Cramer
- 1927 St George's Day (arr. D.J. Clarke, words Geoffrey DearmerGeoffrey DearmerGeoffrey Dearmer LVO was a British poet. He was the son of Anglican liturgist and hymnologist Percy Dearmer.During World War I, Dearmer was commissioned and served with the London Regiment at Gallipoli and on the Western Front. Many of his poems dealt with the overall brutality of war and...
) [Unison] – Cramer - 1927 The Accursed Wood (Harold Boulton) [Unison] – Cramer
- 1927 Up Tails All (Kenneth GrahameKenneth GrahameKenneth Grahame was a Scottish writer, most famous for The Wind in the Willows , one of the classics of children's literature. He also wrote The Reluctant Dragon; both books were later adapted into Disney films....
) [Unison] – Cramer - 1927 The Mountain and the Squirrel (Emerson) [Unison] – Cramer
- 1928 Service (words selected by Rudyard KiplingRudyard KiplingJoseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
) [Unison] – Cramer
- 1929 Song of the Music Makers (Rodney Bennett) Music and Youth (Jan) – Cramer
- 1929 Two Shakespeare Songs: - Cramer 1: Come Away Death 2: When that I was
- 1929 Sea Roads (Harold Boulton) [Unison] – Boosey and Hawkes [Winthrop Rogers]
- 1930 Songs: New Singing Games (Cobbold) – Cramer 1: White Owl 2: Flower Game 3: Naughty Children 4: Walking Down the Lane
- 1930 O Land of Britain (Stuart Wilson) [Unison] – Cramer
- 1930 To Sea (BeddoesBeddoesBeddoes is a surname of Welsh origin , and may refer to:* Emma Beddoes, English squash player* Mick Beddoes, Fijian politician* Ronald Alfred Beddoes, Anglican priest* Thomas Beddoes, English physician...
) – Cramer - 1930 The World's Delight – Cramer
- 1930 Working Together (Percy DearmerPercy DearmerPercy Dearmer, was an English priest and liturgist best known as the author of The Parson's Handbook, a liturgical manual for Anglican clergy. A lifelong socialist, he was an early advocate of the public ministry of women and concerned with social justice...
) [Unison] – Cramer
1931 – 1940
- 1931 In Liverpool Where I was Bred (John MasefieldJohn MasefieldJohn Edward Masefield, OM, was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1930 until his death in 1967...
) from the CantataCantataA cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
- Cramer - 1931 No (Thomas HoodThomas HoodThomas Hood was a British humorist and poet. His son, Tom Hood, became a well known playwright and editor.-Early life:...
) – Cramer - 1931 Three Calendar Songs for Children – Novello 1: 30 Days Hath September
- 1931 Wood Fires [unison song] – Cramer
- 1932 6 Songs (Eleanor FarjeonEleanor FarjeonEleanor Farjeon was an English author of children's stories and plays, poetry, biography, history and satire. Many of her works had charming illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. Some of her correspondence has also been published...
) – Cramer 1: Argus [Unison song] 2: Caesar [Unison song] 3: Hannibal [Unison Song] 4: Leonidas [two part canonCanon (music)In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration . The initial melody is called the leader , while the imitative melody, which is played in a different voice, is called the follower...
] 5: Romulus and Remus [two part canon] 6 : Queen Dido [ two part canon] - 1932 Perilious Ways (Mordaunt Currie) – Cramer
- 1933 Marketing Day (Derek McCulloch) [unison] – Novello
- 1933 The Melodies You Sing (Clifford BaxClifford BaxClifford Bax was a versatile English writer, known particularly as a playwright, a journalist, critic and editor, and a poet, lyricist and hymn writer. He also was a translator, for example of Goldoni...
) – Cramer - 1933 The Wind and the Sea (Clifford Bax) – Cramer
- 1935 Garden Flowers (Mary Howitt) [Unison] – Child Education; Evans Bros
- 1936 A Chant for England (Helen Gray Cone) [Unison] – Cramer
- 1936 Two Cherry Songs [Unison] – Cramer
- 1936 The Day's End [Unison] – Cramer
- 1936 Would it were So (Elizabeth WordsworthElizabeth WordsworthDame Elizabeth Wordsworth was the great-niece of the poet William Wordsworth. She was the daughter of Christopher Wordsworth, Bishop of Lincoln, and the sister of John Wordsworth, Bishop of Salisbury and Christopher Wordsworth, a liturgical scholar.Educated at home, she learned several modern...
) [Unison] – Novello
- 1937 Song: An Airman's Te Deum (F. McN. Foster) – Curwen
- 1938 Come away, Death (Shakespeare) [SATB] – Novello
- 1939 Choir Songs: Thursday's Child (Christopher Fry) [Unison Songs] – Cramer 1: A Song of Life 2: Leaving School 3: What is a House 4: Cooking 5: Housework 6: Rub-a-dub-dub 7: Ploughing 8: Sowing 9: Harvest
- 1939 Two songs for Juniors (a) The Rain, (b) The Stream – Cramer
- 1939 The Mountain and the Squirrel - Cramer
- 1939 The Caravan - Cramer
- 1940 Song: Say not the Struggle Nought Availeth (A.H. Clough) [Unison] - Musical Times; Novello
1941 – 1954
- 1941 Drake's Drum (Sir Henry Newbolt) [Unison] – Cramer
- 1941 The Airmen (Margaret Armour, from The Times, May 28th 1940) – Cramer
- 1942 Song: Jack Overdue (J. Pudney) – Cramer
- 1944 The Path of Duty (TennysonTennysonAlfred, Lord Tennyson, the first Baron Tennyson, was an English poet.Tennyson may also refer to:-People:* Baron Tennyson, the barony itself** Alfred, Lord Tennyson , poet...
) [unison] – Novello
- 1948 Kitty of Coleraine (anon) [arr. TTBB ] – Boosey and Hawkes
- 1948 My Bonny Cuckoo [arr. SSA] – Cramer
- 1948 Oft in the Stilly Night (T.Moore) [arr. Tenor solo & TTBB] – Boosey and Hawkes
- 1948 The Elves (arr. SSA) – Cramer
- 1952 Coronation Song (E. Montgomery Campbell) [Unison] – Cramer
- 1952 Sing Three [10 Songs for S.A.B] - Cramer
- 1953 Over the Hills (George MeredithGeorge MeredithGeorge Meredith, OM was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era.- Life :Meredith was born in Portsmouth, England, a son and grandson of naval outfitters. His mother died when he was five. At the age of 14 he was sent to a Moravian School in Neuwied, Germany, where he remained for two...
) [Unison] – Cramer
- 1954 Farm-yard Families (M Nightingale) [Unison] – Cramer
- 1954 The Sea Shore (Geoffrey DearmerGeoffrey DearmerGeoffrey Dearmer LVO was a British poet. He was the son of Anglican liturgist and hymnologist Percy Dearmer.During World War I, Dearmer was commissioned and served with the London Regiment at Gallipoli and on the Western Front. Many of his poems dealt with the overall brutality of war and...
) [Unison] -Cramer - 1954 The Sweet of the Year (George Meredith) [2 part song] – OUP
Posthumous Publications
- 1987 Martin Shaw, Seven Songs for Voice and Piano - Stainer and Bell 1:Annabel Lee 2: Cargoes 3: No. 4: When Daisies Pied 5: The Cuckoo 6: Song of the Palanquin Bearers 7: Down by the Salley Gardens
External links
- Detailed biography
- Martin Shaw, National Anthems Org
- Shaw Brothers, Smith Creek Music