Charles Beach Hawley ( Brookfield, Connecticut, February 14, 1858 –

Eatontown, New Jersey Eatontown is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the borough's population was 12,709,"On the Death of C.B. Hawley", ''The Music News'', vol. 8, no. 1, 1916, p. 8. December 29, 1915)Hawley, Emily C., ''Annals of Brookfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut'', 1929, p. 416. was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, voice teacher,

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

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 Defi ...

art songs An art song is a Western world, Western vocal music Musical composition, composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical music, classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is ...

and other vocal works.

Biography

Charles Beach was born to John N. and Clarissa W. Keeler Hawley in Brookfield, Connecticut. Charles and his father were descendants of the pioneer founders of Newtown, which later became part of Brookfield. For many years, his father was the organist at St. Paul's Church in Brookfield. As a young man he attended the Cheshire Military School, where he "took prominent part in all the musical activities of the school".''Annals of Brookfield'', p. 161 In 1875, he moved to

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 ...

, where he studied singing with George J. Webb, P.A. Rivarde, and Gustave Federlein, and composition with

Dudley Buck Dudley Buck (March 10, 1839October 6, 1909) was an American composer, organist, and writer on music. He published several books, most notably the ''Dictionary of Musical Terms'' and ''Influence of the Organ in History'', which was published i ...

. He soon began singing at Calvary Episcopal Church, and later became an assistant organist at St. Thomas Church. He married Hattie B. Crane in 1889. He established himself as a versatile musician in New York. He was bass singer and choir director at the

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for 17 years. He had a private studio as a voice teacher and ran The Metropolitan College of Music for 10 years. He was a Charter Member of the Manuscript Society and was an active member of the

Mendelssohn Glee Club The Mendelssohn Glee Club of New York City, founded in 1866, is the oldest surviving independent musical group in the United States after the New York Philharmonic. Their concerts, given in very high-society settings, featured the new (to America ...

. Later organist and choir director positions were at the Madison Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church and West End Presbyterian Church.

Music

As a composer, C. B. Hawley concentrated on secular and sacred art songs, publishing at least 50 songs. He also composed a Christmas cantata, ''The Christ Child'', esteemed in its day, and several part-songs for the Mendelssohn Glee Club. His musical language is "simple and lyrical" at times,Carmen et al, ''Art Song in the United States, 1759-2011'', p. 209 with more dramatic passages when indicated by the text. Songs such as "Noon and Night" and "The Sweetest Flower That Blows" are especially good for young or beginning singers. Most were published by

G. Schirmer G. Schirmer, Inc. is an American classical music publishing company based in New York City, founded in 1861. The oldest active music publisher in the United States, Schirmer publishes sheet music for sale and rental, and represents some well-know ...

between 1895 and 1915. At least one of his works remained in the repertoire after his death: the song "Because I Love You, Dear" was heard on a WABC radio broadcast on December 10, 1934, with Andre Kostelanetz conducting.

Musical compositions

''All published by

unless noted; texts are by the composer unless noted.''

Larger works

*''The Christ Child'', Christmas cantata for SATB soloists, SATB choir and organ

Secular songs for voice and piano

*Ah! 'Tis a Dream, ©1887 *(The) Arrow and the Song (

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...

Frank Lebby Stanton Frank Lebby Stanton (February 22, 1857 – January 7, 1927), frequently credited as Frank L. Stanton, Frank Stanton or F. L. Stanton, was an American lyricist. He was also the initial columnist for the ''Atlanta Constitution'' and became the ...

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) *I Love You So (Alice Dunbar), John Church publisher *In April *The Joy of Spring (

Kate Chopin Kate Chopin (, also ; born Katherine O'Flaherty; February 8, 1850 – August 22, 1904) was an American author of short stories and novels based in Louisiana. She is considered by scholars to have been a forerunner of American 20th-century feminis ...

), John Church, ©1913 *A June Madrigal *Katherine's Curls *Lady Mine *(The) Land of Nod *My Little Love, ©1890 *(The) Nightingale and the Rose (R. H. Beck), ©1898 *Noon and Night (Herbert Trench), John Church/T. Presser, ©1905 *O Haste Thee, Sweet *Once Again *A Question (Richard Watson Gilder) *Rainbows *The Ring *A Rose Fable *A Song of Seasons *(The) Song that my Heart is Singing *Spring's Awakening *(The) Sweetest Flower That Blows (Frederic Peterson), John Church publisher, ©1898 *Sweetheart *''Three Songs with piano accompaniment'', ©1894 #Good-Night (S. Weir Mitchell) #Unknown #Unknown *Two Eyes of Brown *When Life Hath Sorrow Found ( Charles Swain), William A. Pond, ©1894 *When Love is Gone, ©1894 *Where Love Doth Build His Nest *Woodland Love Song (

Eunice Tietjens Eunice Tietjens (July 29, 1884 – September 6, 1944) was an American poet, novelist, journalist, children's author, lecturer, and editor. Early years and education Eunice Strong Hammond was born in Chicago on July 29, 1884. She was educated in ...

Sacred songs for voice and piano or organ

*Angels Roll the Rock Away (Easter Song) *Breathe Your Soft Prayer to Christ the Child (anonymous text from ''The New York Sun'' newspaper), John Church publisher, ©1910 *Calm on the listening ear of night (Christmas song), John Church publisher, ©1905 *The Christ Child *Come Unto Me, ©1895 High voice version available in IMSLP
/ref> *I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say (D. Bonar), John Church publisher, ©1910 *Oh, for a closer walk with God (W. Cowper), John Church publisher, ©1913 *Redeeming Love

Footnotes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawley, C. B. 1858 births 1915 deaths People from Brookfield, Connecticut Musicians from Connecticut 20th-century American composers