Edwin Arthur Jones, (June 28, 1853 – January 9, 1911) was an American
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 ...
. His works include a cantata and a large oratorio in three parts, modeled after
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
's ''
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...
''.
Early life and education
Edwin Arthur Jones was born in
Stoughton,
, on June 28, 1853. After studies at the
New England Conservatory of Music
The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...
in violin, organ and harmony, Jones entered
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...
in 1872.
That same year, Jones was a violinist among the thousands of instrumentalists and singers who played at the
World's Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival
The World's Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival of 1872 took place in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts. Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore directed the festival, which lasted some 18 days. The jubilee honored the ending of the Fr ...
in Boston, organized by bandmaster
Patrick Gilmore
Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore (December 25, 1829 – September 24, 1892) was an Irish-born American composer and bandmaster who lived and worked in the United States after 1848. While serving in the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War, Gilmore ...
. One of the special invited guests was the
Viennese Viennese may refer to:
* Vienna, the capital of Austria
* Viennese people, List of people from Vienna
* Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna
* Music of Vienna, musical styles in the city
* Viennese Waltz, genre of ballroom dance
* V ...
composer,
Johann Strauss Jr.
Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ov ...
, who performed some of his popular
waltz
The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position.
History
There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...
es.
Jones graduated from Dartmouth College in 1876, where he was Class President, Director of the Dartmouth Glee Club, First violinist in the Dartmouth College Orchestra, one of the editors of the college newspaper, and Captain of the
Dartmouth Big Green baseball
The Dartmouth Big Green baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball program of Dartmouth College, located in Hanover, New Hampshire. It has been a member of the NCAA Division I Ivy League baseball conference since its founding at the st ...
team in 1875.
First compositions
After graduation, he went to
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
to help his family run a store. His first major composition was a set of waltzes for solo piano, ''The Farewell Waltzes'', which he had composed while at Dartmouth College. This composition was published in Baltimore in 1874. He also made an arrangement for chamber orchestra.
Six years later, in 1880, his ''First String Quartet'' was performed at the Peabody Concervatory in Baltimore. He then returned to his home town in Massachusetts.
Orchestra leader and composer
After returning to Stoughton, Jones formed his own orchestra of 20 musicians. A photo of his orchestra was taken in 1885.
In 1881, he composed a large cantata for soloists, chorus, organ and orchestra, ''Song of Our Saviour''. This cantata was never performed during his lifetime and received its world premiere over one hundred years later on May 3, 1992.
The other major choral work by Jones was his oratorio, ''Easter Concert'', for soloists, chorus and orchestra. It was published in 1890 in a piano-vocal score by
White-Smith Music Publishing Company
White, Smith & Company was a music publishing firm in Boston, Massachusetts. It issued sheet music and published industry journals, notably the monthly ''Folio''.
History
The business began in 1867 as a partnership between Charles A. White, Will ...
in Boston. This version received its first modern day performance on April 26, 1981.
Besides his two large choral works, Jones also composed other vocal works, including:
Blessing and Glory: Fugue - Tenors and Basses (1874); Praise Ye The Lord - Tenors and Basses (1874); Wake, Maiden Wake - Tenors and Basses (1881); King Christian - Bass solo and SATB Chorus (1886); Old Stoughton - SATB Chorus (1886);
Ode to Music - SATB Chorus (1888); Love Hailed a Little Maid - Soprano solo and piano (1888); Snowflakes - Soprano solo and piano (1888); Hail, Smiling Morn! - Bass solo and chamber ensemble (undated); Lord, Dismiss Is With Thy Blessing - SATB Chorus (undated).
Among his instrumental works are:
Two String Trios - in D Major and G Major (1878); String Quartet No. 1 in F Major (1880); Dedication March - for orchestra (1881); Suite Ancienne - for orchestra (1886); String Quartet No 2 in G minor (1887) - first performed at Mrs. J. L. (Isabella Stewart) Gardener's home in Boston by the Kneissel Quartet in 1889.
Jones was a member of the two choral societies in town: The
Stoughton Musical Society
Organized in 1786 as The Stoughton Musical Society, it is America's oldest performing musical organization. For over two centuries it has had many distinguished accomplishments. In 1908, when incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massa ...
, founded in 1786 and now the oldest choral society in America, and The Musical Society in Stoughton, founded in 1802, disbanded in 1982. He was largely responsible for the Stoughton Musical Society's invitation to perform at the
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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in 1893.
[Hall, Roger L. ''E.A. Jones: His Life and Music'' p. 10]
References
External links
Edwin A. Jones and history of the Stoughton Town Seal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Edwin Arthur
Jones, Edwin Arthur
Jones, Edwin Arthur
Jones, Edwin Arthur
Jones, Edwin Arthur
People from Stoughton, Massachusetts
Dartmouth College alumni
Dartmouth Big Green baseball players
Orchestra leaders