Edward Joseph Dent (16 July 1876 – 22 August 1957), generally known as Edward J. Dent, was an English musicologist, teacher, translator and

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or gover ...

. A leading figure of musicology and music criticism, Dent was Professor of Music at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

between 1926 and 1941.

Life

Dent was born in Ribston,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, the son of the landowner and politician John Dent. He was educated at Bilston Grange, and Eton where he was a music student of

Charles Harford Lloyd Charles Harford Lloyd (Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, Thornbury, 16 October 1849 – Eton, Berkshire, Eton, 16 October 1919) He matriculated at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

in 1895, graduating B.A. in 1898 in the Classical Tripos, Mus.B. 1899 having studied under Charles Wood and Charles Villiers Stanford, and M.A. 1902. He was elected a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of his college in March 1902 having distinguished himself in music both as researcher and a composer. Dent was Professor of Music at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

from 1926 to 1941, where his students included Arthur Bliss,

Arnold Cooke Arnold Atkinson Cooke (4 November 1906 – 13 August 2005) was a British composer.Biography by Eric Wetherell, British Music Society/ref> Education Cooke was born at Gomersal, West Yorkshire, into a family of carpet manufacturers. As a child, ...

and

Cecil Armstrong Gibbs Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (10 August 1889 – 12 May 1960) was a prolific and versatile English composer. Though best known for his choral music and, in particular, songs, Gibbs also devoted much of his career to the amateur choral and festival mov ...

. He was President of the I.S.C.M. from its foundation in 1922 until 1938 and was President of the International Music Society between 1931 and 1949. He was a governor of Sadler's Wells Opera, and translated many libretti for it. He wrote influential books on

Alessandro Scarlatti Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti (2 May 1660 – 22 October 1725) was an Italian Baroque composer, known especially for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the most important representative of the Neapolitan school of opera. ...

Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...

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 ...

, English operas and the operas of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

Legacy

He died in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, aged 81. The music writer and critic

Arthur Jacobs Arthur David Jacobs (14 June 1922 – 13 December 1996) was an English musicologist, music critic, teacher, librettist and translator. Among his many books, two of the best known are his ''Penguin Dictionary of Music'', which was reprinted in sev ...

commended Dent's opera translations, which "at their best, whether in colloquial or lofty style (''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an '' opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was ba ...

'', '' The Trojans''), reduce me to despair at nearly all later translators' efforts, including my own". Dent "saw opera as a people's possession. Totally pro-opera-in-English, totally pro-theatrical, anti-snob and indifferent to stars, he wrote: 'The more I frequent opera, the more keenly I am interested in the work itself and its presentation as a whole, and the more indifferent I am to its individual parts'." The character Philip Herriton in E. M. Forster's novel ''

Where Angels Fear to Tread ''Where Angels Fear to Tread'' (1905) is a novel by E. M. Forster. The title comes from a line in Alexander Pope's ''An Essay on Criticism'': "For fools rush in where angels fear to tread". The BBC adapted the novel for television in 1966 as ...

'' (1905) was based on Dent.Amos, William.
The Originals: Who's Really Who in Fiction
' (1990) The tenor Clive Carey was another friend, and the two exchanged over 400 letters over many years. The "informal biography" ''Duet for Two Voices'' by Hugh Carey was published in 1979, based on the letters. A new biography by Karen Arrandale is due to be published in January 2023.Arrandale, Karen. ''Edward J. Dent: A Life of Words and Music'' (2023)
/ref>

Selected publications

''Alessandro Scarlatti, his life and works''
1905.
''Mozart's operas''
1913. *''Foundations of English opera'' *''Ferruccio Busoni'' *''A life of Handel'' *''Opera''. Penguin, 1940.

References

Sources

* Arrundale, Karen. 'The Scholar as Critic: Edward J Dent' in Dibble, J. (ed.) ''British Musical Criticism and Intellectual Thought, 1850-1950'', Boydell Press (2018) * *

External links

* * * *
texts of Busoni songs
the last of which is an epistle to "Caro Dent" {{DEFAULTSORT:Dent, Edward Joseph 1876 births 1957 deaths English musicologists Opera scholarship Alumni of King's College, Cambridge International Musicological Society presidents Opera managers Mozart scholars Fellows of King's College, Cambridge People educated at Eton College English music critics British music critics Classical music critics Handel scholars People educated at Bilton Grange Professors of Music (Cambridge)