Charles Albert Edward Harriss (16 or 17 December 1862 – 31 July 1929) was an English then Canadian

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 ...

impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. Hist ...

educator 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. whe ...

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 ...

choirmaster A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

and conductor. Earnscliffe

Early life and education

Harriss was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, around midnight between 16 and 17 December 1862. He was the son of Edwin Harriss, organist and choir conductor. He studied at St. Michael's College, Tenbury, with Sir

Frederick Ouseley Sir Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley, 2nd Baronet (12 August 18256 April 1889) was an English composer, organist, musicologist and priest. Biography Frederick Ouseley was born in London, the son of Sir Gore Ouseley, and manifested an extraordinary ...

. Upon graduation, his first job was that of choir master at St. John's church in Wrexham, Wales.

Career

At the age of 18 Harriss was appointed organist in a church in

Welshpool Welshpool ( cy, Y Trallwng) is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, historically in the county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn; its Welsh language name ''Y Trallwng'' m ...

, Wales. Through his teacher Ouseley's connections in Canada, and after a direct petition from Agnes Macdonald, wife of the Prime Minister of Canada, Sir John Macdonald, Harriss was invited to audition for the job of organist at St. Alban the Martyr in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Canada. After moving there in 1882, he became the organist at Christ Church Cathedral in Montreal (1883–1886). In 1886 Harriss succeeded his own father as organist in St. James the Apostle church, also in Montreal. Harriss composed a number of hymns and other choral works. His most famous composition is his opera ''Torquil'', conceived firstly in 1896 as a piano-vocal score subtitled "a Scandinavian dramatic legend", on a text by Edward Oxenford. Even though structurally operatic, the composer warned in the score that it "may be sung by choral societies but must be given without custome or action". ''Torquil'' was premiered on 22 May 1900 at

Massey Hall Massey Hall is a performing arts theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1894, it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. An intimate theatre, it was originally designed to seat ...

, Toronto, by the Boston Festival Orchestra with Harriss conducting. In 1894 Harriss became the founding director of the McGill Conservatorium of Music (today the

Schulich School of Music The Schulich School of Music (also known as Schulich) is one of the constituent faculties of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 555, rue Sherbrooke Ouest (555, Sherbrooke Street West). The faculty was named after benef ...

), supervising 26 music instructors. He continued to compose religious music, including masses and cantatas. Harris organized a series of music festivals throughout Canada. In 1910 he published several patriotic works. He was also in charge or bringing the shining stars of the day to his newly adopted country, such as English baritone

Charles Santley Sir Charles Santley (28 February 1834 – 22 September 1922) was an English opera and oratorio singer with a ''bravura''From the Italian verb ''bravare'', to show off. A florid, ostentatious style or a passage of music requiring technical skill ...

in 1891 and soprano

Emma Albani Dame Emma Albani, DBE (born Marie-Louise-Emma-Cécile Lajeunesse; 1 November 18473 April 1930) was a Canadian-British operatic soprano of the 19th century and early 20th century, and the first Canadian singer to become an international star. He ...

in 1896.

Personal

In 1897, Harriss married Ella Beatty-Shoenberger, daughter of John Beatty, M.D., Professor of Sciences in Victoria University,

Cobourg Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is ...

, Ontario, and Eleanor Armstrong. She was the widow of the American industrialist George K. Shoenberger, who left her a considerable fortune. In 1900 the couple bought Lady Macdonald's Ottawa house, Earnscliffe. According to Nadia Turbide in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Harriss was a staunch British imperialist who sought to bring British cultural "standards" to the crown's dominions abroad. Charles A. E. Harriss is sometimes confused with his namesake and fellow composer, Charles Lewis Matthew Harris (1863–1925). Besides the similarity between their first and last names, the confusion is sparked by the fact that the latter was also an organist and choir master, also born in England (Staningly, Yorkshire) and who later (as a child) moved to Canada, eventually becoming the founder and first director of Hamilton Conservatory.

Death and legacy

Harriss died in 1929. His papers are on file at the

National Library of Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is t ...

Selected works

* ''Daniel before the King'', dramatic

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

, 1884 * ''Torquil'', lyric

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

, 1894 * ''Festival Mass'', 1901 * ''Coronation Mass for Edward VII'', 1903 * ''Pan'', choric idyll, 1904 * ''The Sands of Dee'',

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

, 1904 * ''The Crowning of the King'',

ode An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...

, 1911 * ''The Admiral'',

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

, 1902 * ''Canadian Fantasie'', 1904

References

External links

Biography
at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harriss, Charles Albert Edward 1862 births 1929 deaths 19th-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers Canadian classical composers Canadian conductors (music) Male conductors (music) English classical composers English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) English male classical composers 20th-century English composers 20th-century Canadian composers English emigrants to Canada 19th-century British composers 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century British male musicians 19th-century British male musicians