Albert Bokhare Saunders (1880–1946) was a successful and prolific composer of romantic and light

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

. He worked as an arranger for Sydney music publisher W.H. Palings. He worked under various pseudonyms including Albert Earl and Albert Trelba but is most widely known as Clement Scott. Saunders was born in

Brewarrina Brewarrina (pronounced 'bree-warren-ah'; locally known as "Bre") is a town in north-west New South Wales, Australia on the banks of the Barwon River in Brewarrina Shire. The name Brewarrina is derived from 'burru waranha', a Weilwan name for a s ...

, rural

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. He has been credited as composer of "Swiss Cradle Song", possibly collected from the

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

folk song "Po Ata Rau" and given English language lyrics as " Now is the Hour", sung by departing troops in

The Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and recalled by patriotic New Zealanders. During his life, he successfully sued a Sydney entertainment producer for breach of copyright, but his widow was unsuccessful making the same claim on Palings for the famous cradle song. The song was an international hit. On at least one occasion, Saunders acted as bandmaster for a group playing brass. Several solo piano editions of Saunder's popular "Comet March" are preserved in Australian libraries. The original 1910 edition for trio of piano, cornet and violin seems to have been lost, yet the piece was still being orchestrated by amateurs twenty years later.

Works

Orchestrated Works

Saunders composed about three hundred pieces during his lifetime, of which over two hundred are preserved in Australian libraries. His later works show a capacity for originality and counterpoint. These pieces of ensemble music are orchestrated for trio of violin, cornet and piano and sometimes for quartette including double bass. * 1913 Swiss Cradle Song * 1919 Cuddles * 1919 Wirra Warra Schottische * Devotion Waltz * Alpine Violets * Loves Melody * 1920 Love's Melody * Swiss Scenes * Australian Cradle Song (trio for piano, cornet, violin)

Others Works

* Serbian Cradle Song * Irish Cradle Song * Prince of Diggers * "Go ahead!" march for piano * Love's melody : a romance for the piano * Devotion waltz * 1919 Cuddles * 1910 Wandering thoughts : tone poem for piano * 1910 Wirra warra

schottische The schottische is a partnered country dance that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina ("chotis"Span ...

* St. Michaels : fox-trot * Happy Moments : eight easy pieces for little fingers * Comet March * Waratah : pianoforte solo * Boronia * Flannel Flowers * Poppies

Gavotte The gavotte (also gavot, gavote, or gavotta) is a French dance, taking its name from a folk dance of the Gavot, the people of the Pays de Gap region of Dauphiné in the southeast of France, where the dance originated, according to one source. Ac ...

: easy piano solo without octaves * Joyful Nights Waltz * Kitchener March * Scarf Dance * Wattle Blossoms * (disputed) 1913 Swiss Cradle Song * (attributed) Tiny Tunes For Wee Australians

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Albert Bokhare 1880 births 1946 deaths 20th-century Australian musicians 20th-century classical composers Australian male classical composers People from New South Wales Australian songwriters 20th-century Australian male musicians