Evelyn Hope Squire Merrick (1878–1936) was a British composer, pianist, and political activist who supported

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

, Esperanto, and new music. She opposed England’s participation in World War I. She published and performed under the names Hope Squire and Hope Merrick.

Biography

Squire was born in

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

to engineer and poet John Barret Squire and his wife. She married composer Frank Merrick in 1911. Squire studied piano with Henry Gadsby, Tobias Matthay, and Ernst von Dohnanyi. She taught piano and presented recitals at London’s

Steinway Hall Steinway Hall (German: ) is the name of buildings housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway & Sons pianos. The first Steinway Hall was opened in 1866 in New York City. Today, Steinway Halls and are located in cities suc ...

and other venues. Together, she and Merrick gave recitals for two pianos. They would sometimes play new compositions without telling the audience the composer’s name. At one of these recitals in 1915, they performed a duet version of

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

’s ''La Me''r. Merrick was an active member of the Manchester Men's League for Women's Suffrage. Squire sewed a banner for the group in 1914. Merrick was imprisoned from May 1917 to April 1919 for opposing England’s involvement in World War I and becoming a conscientious objector. While he was in prison, Squire taught his pupils at the

Royal Manchester College of Music The Royal Manchester College of Music (RMCM) was a tertiary level conservatoire in Manchester, north-west England. It was founded in 1893 by the German-born conductor Sir Charles Hallé in 1893. In 1972, the Royal Manchester College of Mu ...

, in addition to her own private pupils. Squire was active in several organizations: the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

(ILP), the No Conscription Fellowship (NCF), the United Suffragists, the Women’s Freedom League (WFL), and the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). She socialized and worked with Margaret Ashton, Annie Brickhill, Lila and

Fenner Brockway Archibald Fenner Brockway, Baron Brockway (1 November 1888 – 28 April 1988) was a British socialist politician, humanist campaigner and anti-war activist. Early life and career Brockway was born to Rev. William George Brockway and Frances Eliz ...

, Dame Clara Butt, Lillian Forester, Amy Herford, Emmeline Pethick Lawrence, Crewe Lewis, Annot Robinson, Oscar and Thekla Rothschild, Phillis and J. Allen Skinner, Annie Somers, and May Unwin. Hope Squire and Frank Merrick’s papers are archived at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

Archives. Squire’s music was published by Boosey & Co., Elkin & Co., Marriott, and Stainer & Bell.

Works

Her compositions include:

Piano

*''Tom Bowling (for two pianos)'' *''Variations on Black Eyed Susan''

Vocal

* Four Songs of

Hiawatha Hiawatha ( , also : ), also known as Ayenwatha or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American leader and cofounder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some accounts, he ...

’s Childhood (text by

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

) * “Imogen” (text by

Henry Newbolt Sir Henry John Newbolt, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (6 June 1862 – 19 April 1938) was an English poet, novelist and historian. He also had a role as a government adviser with regard to the study of English in England. He is perhaps ...

) * “Merry Merry Lark” (text by

Charles Kingsley Charles Kingsley (12 June 1819 – 23 January 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the workin ...

) * “Messmates” (text by

) * “My Valentine” (text by L. Barret) * “Skylark” (text by L. Barret) * “The Boy and the Rosebud” (text by

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

) * “Two Red Indian Love Songs” (text by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) * Two Songs from Hiawatha (text by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) * “When I am Dead, My Dearest” (text by

Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romanticism, romantic, devotional and children's poems, including "Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well k ...

) * “Widow Bird Sate Mourning” (text by

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Squire, Hope 1878 births 1936 deaths British anti–World War I activists English classical pianists English suffragists English women classical composers Vegetarianism in the United Kingdom People from Southport English women pianists Pupils of Ernő Dohnányi

Biography

Works

Piano

Vocal

See also

References