W. Augustus Barratt (3 June 1873 – 12 April 1947) was a Scottish-born, later American, songwriter and musician.
Early life and songs
Walter Augustus Barratt was born 3 June 1873 in
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...
, the son of composer John Barratt; the family later lived in
Paisley.
In 1893 he won a scholarship for composition to the
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...
.
In his early twenties he contributed to ''The Scottish Students' Song Book'', with three of his own song compositions and numerous arrangements.
By the end of 1897 he had published dozens of songs, such as ''Sir Patrick Spens'', ''The Death of Cuthullin'', an album of his own compositions, and arrangements of ten songs by
Samuel Lover
Samuel Lover (24 February 1797 – 6 July 1868), also known as "Ben Trovato" ("well invented"), was an Irish songwriter, composer and novelist, and a portrait painter, chiefly in miniatures. He was the grandfather of Victor Herbert.
Life
Lov ...
.
He then, living in London, turned his attention to staged musical comedy, co-creating, with
Adrian Ross
Arthur Reed Ropes (23 December 1859 – 11 September 1933), better known under the pseudonym Adrian Ross, was a prolific writer of lyrics, contributing songs to more than sixty British musical comedies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...
, ''The Tree Dumas Skiteers'', a skit, based on
Sydney Grundy
Sydney Grundy (23 March 1848 – 4 July 1914) was an English dramatist. Most of his works were adaptations of European plays, and many became successful enough to tour throughout the English-speaking world. He is, however, perhaps best remembe ...
's ''The Musketeers'' that starred
Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and theatre manager.
Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End, winning praise for adventurous progra ...
. He co-composed with
Howard Talbot
Richard Lansdale Munkittrick, better known as Howard Talbot (9 March 1865 – 12 September 1928), was an American-born, English-raised conductor and composer of Irish descent. He was best known for writing the music to several hit Edwardian musi ...
the successful ''Kitty Grey'' (1900).
He continued to write songs and to receive recognition for them. The 1901 and 1902 BBC Promenade Concerts, "
The Proms
The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...
", included four of his compositions, namely ''Come back, sweet Love'', ''The Mermaid'', ''My Peggy'' and ''Private Donald''.
His setting of ''My Ships'', a poem by
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Ella Wheeler Wilcox (November 5, 1850October 30, 1919) was an American author and poet. Her works include the collection '' Poems of Passion'' and the poem "Solitude", which contains the lines "Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you ...
, was performed by
Clara Butt
Dame Clara Ellen Butt, (1 February 1872 – 23 January 1936) was an English contralto and one of the most popular singers from the 1890s through to the 1920s. She had an exceptionally fine contralto voice and an agile singing technique, and imp ...
and republished several times.
It also appeared four times, with different singers, in the 1913 and 1914 Proms.
[
]
America
In September 1904 he went to live in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,[ finding employment with shows on ]Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
, including the following roles:
*on-stage actor (Sir Benjamin Backbite) in ''Lady Teazle'' (1904-1905), a musical version of ''The School for Scandal
''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777.
Plot
Act I
Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling Sna ...
'';
*musical director of ''The Little Michus
''Les p'tites Michu'' (The Little Michus) is an opérette in three acts, with music by André Messager and words by Albert Vanloo and Georges Duval (journalist), Georges Duval. The piece is set in Paris in the years following the French Revolutio ...
'' (1907), also featuring songs by Barratt;
*co-composer of ''Miss Pocahontas'' (1907), a musical comedy;
*musical director of ''The Love Cure'' (1909–1910), a musical romance;
*composer of ''The Girl and the Drummer'' (1910), a musical romance with book by George Broadhurst
George Howells Broadhurst (June 3, 1866 – January 31, 1952) was an Anglo-American theatre owner/manager, director, producer and playwright. His plays were most popular from the late 1890s into the 1920s.
Biography
Broadhurst was born in Wal ...
. Tried out in Chicago and elsewhere, it did not do well and never reached Broadway;
*musical director of ''The Quaker Girl
''The Quaker Girl'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in three acts with a book by James T. Tanner, lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank, and music by Lionel Monckton. In its story, ''The Quaker Girl'' contrasts dour Quaker morality with Paris ...
'' (1911–1912);
*co-composer and musical director of '' My Best Girl'' (1912);
*musical director of ''The Sunshine Girl
''The Sunshine Girl'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts with a book by Paul Rubens (composer), Paul A. Rubens and Cecil Raleigh, lyrics and music by Rubens and additional lyrics by Arthur Wimperis. The story involves a working girl w ...
'' (1913);
*musical director of ''The Girl who Smiles'' (1915), a musical comedy;
*musical director and contributor to music and lyrics of '' Her Soldier Boy'' (1916–1917);
*composer, lyricist and musical director of ''Fancy Free'' (1918), with book by Dorothy Donnelly
Dorothy Agnes Donnelly (January 28, 1876 - January 3, 1928) was an actress, playwright, librettist, producer, and director. After a decade-long acting career that included several notable roles on Broadway, she turned to writing plays, musicals ...
and Edgar Smith;
*contributor of a song to ''The Passing Show of 1918
''The Passing Show of 1918'' is a Broadway musical revue featuring music of Sigmund Romberg and Jean Schwartz (and other songwriters), with book and lyrics by Harold R. Atteridge. The show introduced the hit songs "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" a ...
'';
*composer and musical director of ''Little Simplicity'' (1918), with book and lyrics by Rida Johnson Young
Rida Johnson Young (February 28, 1875 – May 8, 1926) was an American playwright, songwriter and librettist.IBDBRida Johnson Young Retrieved November 21, 2007 In her career, Young wrote over thirty plays and musicals, and over 500 songs. She ...
;
*contributor of lyrics to ''The Melting of Molly'' (1918–1919), a musical comedy;
*musical director of ''What's in a Name?'' (1920), a musical revue
1921 in London
Though domiciled in the US, he made several visits back to England.[ During an extended stay in 1921 he played a major part in the creation of two shows, both produced by ]Charles B. Cochran
Sir Charles Blake Cochran (25 September 1872 31 January 1951), generally known as C. B. Cochran, was an English theatrical manager and impresario. He produced some of the most successful musical revues, musicals and plays of the 1920s and 193 ...
, namely
*''League of Notions'', at the New Oxford Theatre
Oxford Music Hall was a music hall located in Westminster, London at the corner of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road. It was established on the site of a former public house, the Boar and Castle, by Charles Morton, in 1861. In 1917 the music ...
, for which he composed the music and co-wrote, with John Murray Anderson
John Murray Anderson (September 20, 1886 – January 30, 1954) was a Canadian theatre director and producer, songwriter, actor, screenwriter, dancer and lighting designer, who made his career in the United States, primarily in New York City and ...
, the lyrics;["The League of Notions" (review of 1921 production at The New Oxford Theatre)]
Footlight Notes, no. 316, 4 October 2003
*''Fun of the Fayre'', at the London Pavilion
The London Pavilion is a building on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Coventry Street on the north-east side of Piccadilly Circus in London. It is currently a shopping arcade and part of the Trocadero Centre.
Early history
The first buildi ...
, for which similarly he wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics
Back to Broadway
Back in the US he returned to Broadway, working as[
*composer and lyricist of ''Jack and Jill'' (1923), a musical comedy;
*musical director of ''The Silver Swan'' (1929), a musical romance
]
Radio plays
In later years he wrote plays and operettas mostly for radio, such as:
*''Snapshots'': a radioperetta (1929)
*''Sushannah and the Brush Wielders'': a play in 1 act (1929)
*''The Magic Voice'': a radio series (1933)
*''Men of Action'': a series of radio sketches (1933)
*''Say, Uncle'': a radio series (1933)
*''Sealed Orders'': a radio drama (1934)
*''Sergeant Gabriel'' (with Hugh Abercrombie) (1945)
Personal
In 1897 in London he married Lizzie May Stoner. They had one son. In 1904 he emigrated to the US and lived in New York City. His first marriage ended in divorce in 1915 and, in 1918, he married Ethel J Moore, who was American. In 1924, he became a naturalized American citizen. He died on 12 April 1947 in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.[
]
Note on his first name
The book ''British Musical Biography'' by Brown & Stratton (1897) in its entry for John Barratt refers to "his son William Augustus Barratt" with details that make it clear that Walter Augustus Barratt is the same person and that a "William" Augustus Barratt is a mistake. For professional purposes up to about 1900 he appears to have written as "W. Augustus Barratt", and thereafter mostly as simply "Augustus Barratt".
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barratt, Augustus
Scottish songwriters
People from Kilmarnock
People with acquired American citizenship
1873 births
1947 deaths