Harry Farjeon (6 May 1878 – 29 December 1948) was a British composer and an influential teacher of harmony and composition at the Royal Academy of Music for more than 45 years.

Early life and studies

Harry Farjeon was born in

Hohokus Township, New Jersey Mahwah is the northernmost and largest municipality by geographic area () in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population of the township was 25,487, a decline of 403 from the 25,890 counted in t ...

, United States, the eldest son of author Benjamin Farjeon, who was from the East End of

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 ...

, and Margaret, the daughter of American actor Joseph Jefferson. His parents returned to Britain when he was a baby, and he lived in Hampstead in London for the rest of his life. His younger sister,

Eleanor Farjeon Eleanor Farjeon (13 February 1881 – 5 June 1965) was an English author of children's stories and plays, poetry, biography, history and satire. Several of her works had illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. Some of her correspondence has also been ...

(b. 1881), with whom he shared a rich imaginary life, wrote children's books and poetry, including the hymn, '' Morning Has Broken''. His younger brothers were J. Jefferson Farjeon (b. 1883), novelist, and

Herbert Farjeon Herbert (Bertie) Farjeon (5 March 1887 – 3 May 1945) was a major figure in the British theatre from 1910 until his death. He was a presenter of revues in London's West End, a theatre critic, lyricist, librettist, playwright, theatre manager and ...

(b. 1887), writer of theatrical

revues A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own durin ...

. Harry studied music privately with

Landon Ronald Sir Landon Ronald (born Landon Ronald Russell) (7 June 1873 – 14 August 1938) was an English conductor, composer, pianist, teacher and administrator. In his early career he gained work as an accompanist and '' répétiteur'', but struggle ...

and

John Storer John Storer (January 18, 1796 – October 23, 1867) was a merchant and philanthropist from Sanford, Maine, who was the namesake of Storer College in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Life and career Storer was born in 1796 in Wells, Maine, and was ...

, then in 1895 he entered the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied composition with Battison Haynes and Frederick Corder, and piano with Septimus Webbe. There he was a contemporary of

Arnold Bax Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, (8 November 1883 – 3 October 1953) was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral musi ...

York Bowen Edwin York Bowen (22 February 1884 – 23 November 1961) was an English composer and pianist. Bowen's musical career spanned more than fifty years during which time he wrote over 160 works. As well as being a pianist and composer, Bowen was a ...

, Adam Carse,

Eric Coates Eric Francis Harrison Coates (27 August 1886 – 21 December 1957) was an English composer of light music and, early in his career, a leading viola, violist. Coates was born into a musical family, but, despite his wishes and obvious talent, ...

Benjamin Dale Benjamin James Dale (17 July 188530 July 1943) was an English composer and academic who had a long association with the Royal Academy of Music. Dale showed compositional talent from an early age and went on to write a small but notable corpus of ...

and Percy Hilder Miles. An opera, ''Floretta'', to a libretto by his sister, Eleanor, was produced at the Academy in 1899, and two operettas were performed at St George's Hall in 1901 and 1902.

Career in music

Farjeon left the Royal Academy of Music in 1900, but in 1901 he returned to teach composition. Two years later, at the age of 25, he became the Academy's youngest ever professor, having become the family wage-earner after the death of his father. Among his pupils were Mary Chandler, George Lloyd,

Christian Darnton Philip Christian Darnton (30 October 1905 – 14 April 1981), also known as Baron von Schunck, was a British composer and writer. Early life and family He was born in Leeds as Philip Christian von Schunck, the son of Mary Gertrude Illingworth (187 ...

Geraldine Mucha Geraldine Thomson Mucha (5 July 1917 – 12 October 2012) was a Scottish composer. She was born in London and studied at the Royal Academy of Music. She married the Czech writer Jiří Mucha, son of the painter Alphonse Mucha, and in 1945 move ...

Phyllis Tate Phyllis Tate (6 April 1911 – 29 May 1987) was an English composer known for forming unusual instrumental combinations in her output. Much of her work was written for the use of amateur performers and children. Biography Phyllis Margaret Duncan ...

, Daniel Jones and

Steve Race Stephen Russell "Steve" Race OBE (1 April 192122 June 2009) was a British composer, pianist and radio and television presenter. Biography Born in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, the son of a lawyer, Race learned the piano from the age of five.Spencer ...

. He also taught at the

Blackheath Conservatoire The Conservatoire (formally The Blackheath Conservatoire of Music and the Arts) is an educational charity in Blackheath, on the border of the London boroughs of Greenwich and Lewisham. The Conservatoire of Music and the Arts took on its curren ...

. Harry Farjeon composed music throughout most of his life. His compositions are mostly for piano (many grouped into suites and collections, some also published separately) with the illustrative pieces mostly intended to appeal to amateur home pianists. But he also wrote a piano sonata, chamber music (including four string quartets), full scale orchestral works and many separate songs, song cycles and dramatic works, often setting texts by his sister Eleanor. He also wrote about music for the '' Daily Telegraph'', the ''

Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer ...

'' and other periodicals. On 3 September 1903 his Piano Concerto in D minor was performed at the

Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

. His '' Hans Andersen'' suite for small orchestra was played with great success at a Patron's Fund concert of the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...

in 1905, and also played by the

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an English orchestra, founded in 1893 and originally based in Bournemouth. With a remit to serve the South and South West of England, the BSO is administratively based in the adjacent town of Poole, s ...

and elsewhere. The song cycle ''The Lute of Jade'', which sets classical Chinese poetry from the popular translations by Launcelot Cranmer-Byng, was premiered in July 1917 by the Welsh mezzo-soprano and composer Morfydd Owen at the Birkenhead National Eisteddfod. His ''Phantasy Piano Concerto'' and the ''St. Dominic Mass'' were both published as part of the

Carnegie Collection of British Music __NOTOC__ The Carnegie Collection of British Music was founded in 1917 by the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust, Carnegie Trust to encourage the publication of large scale British musical works. Composers were asked to submit their manuscripts to an a ...

in 1925 and 1926 respectively, and both were frequently performed. In 1937 Farjeon's close friend, the pianist

Eileen Joyce Eileen Alannah Joyce CMG (died 25 March 1991) was an Australian pianist whose career spanned more than 30 years. She lived in England in her adult years. Her recordings made her popular in the 1930s and 1940s, particularly during World War I ...

, recorded the ''Tarantella in A minor'' in what became one of her most successful gramophone records. It seems likely that he composed it especially for Joyce and gave her the manuscript, as it wasn't published and doesn't appear in any catalogue entries. The Christmas Masque ''A Room at the Inn'' (written by Herbert and Eleanor Farjeon with music by Harry Farjeon) was broadcast five times between 1932 and 1945. And on 10 July 1942 his symphonic poem ''Pannychis'' (inspired by Eleanor Farjeon's

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

of the same name) was played at The Proms, conducted by

Basil Cameron Basil Cameron, CBE (18 August 1884 – 26 June 1975) was an English conductor. Early career He was born Basil George Cameron HindenbergW.L. Jacob, "Hindenburg v. Cameron" (Letter to the Editor) (1991). ''The Musical Times'', 132 (1782), p. ...

. Farjeon regarded the symphonic poem ''Summer Vision'' as his best work, but the score was sent to Germany shortly before World War I and was lost. His eyesight had been bad since childhood, and it grew worse as he became older. His students wrote their compositions on specially printed brown paper. Steve Race has said that writing on this paper cured him of writing long rambling compositions. Farjeon taught at the Academy for 47 years, despite developing

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

in later life. He was still teaching thirty students a week when, at the end of the July 1948 term, he fell and broke his hip. He died in Hampstead on 29 December 1948.

Selected works

Orchestral * 1903 - ''Characteristic Variations'' for orchestra * 1905 - ''Hans Andersen Suite'' for small orchestra * 1907 - ''Mowgli'', symphonic poem * 1913 - ''Summer Vision'', symphonic poem (score lost) * 1915 - ''The Ballet of the Trees'' for orchestra * 1929 - ''Caldicot Suite'' for orchestra * 1942 - ''Pannychis'', symphonic poem * Symphony in D major * ''Elegy'' for strings * ''Air on a Ground Bass'' for strings * ''Pantomime'', suite for strings Concertante * 1903 - Piano Concerto in D minor * 1924-5 - ''Phantasy'' Piano Concerto (also version for 2 pianos) * 1925? ''Idyll'' for oboe and orchestra (''fp 7 January 1926, Bournemouth, soloist

Leon Goossens Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...

'') Chamber * 1901 - ''Two Romances'' for violin and piano (pub. Boosey) * 1906 - ''Chant d'Ete'' and ''Berceuse'' for violin and piano, Op.14 (pub. Augener) * Suite for violin and piano Op. 20 * 1911 - ''Deaux morceaux'' for viola and piano (pub. Schott) * 1915 - ''Air for violins upon a ground bass'' for violin and piano, Op.38 (pub. Augener) * 1917 - ''Poem'' for violins and violas * 1925 - ''Three tone pictures'' for violin and piano, Op.57 * 1925? - ''The Sleeping Beauty'' Op.60/2 for flute, cello and piano * 1927 - String Quartet No.4 in C major Op.65 (pub. W Paxton) * 1928 - ''Humoresque'' for cello and piano * 1928 ''Two Italian Sketches'' for piano duet (Recorded by Christopher Howell and Ermanno de Stefani) * 1931 ''Vignettes'' Op. 72 for two pianos * Cello Sonata in G minor * Cello Sonata in D * Piano Trio in B minor * Piano Trio in G minor * String Quartet No.1 In G * String Quartet No.2 in B flat * String Quartet No.3 * Violin Sonata No.1 * Violin Sonata No.2 in F sharp minor * Violin Sonata No.3 in E flat Op.69 (publ. Joseph Williams, 1931) Opera and Dramatic * 1899 - ''Floretta'' (text by Eleanor Farjeon) * 1900 - ''The Registry Office'', operetta * 1902 - ''A Gentleman of the Road'', operetta in 1 act, Op. 6 * 1932 - ''A Room at the Inn, Christmas Masque'' (with Herbert Farjeon and Eleanor Farjeon) Choral * 1923 - ''St Dominic Mass'', Op. 51 * 1924 - ''Salvator Mundi'' (anthem) * 1925 - ''Down-adown-Derry'' for women's voices, flute and strings * 1925? - ''The Sleeping Beauty'' Op.60/1, choral ballad for female voices and piano (words

Walter de la Mare Walter John de la Mare (; 25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was an English poet, short story writer, and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for a highly acclaimed selection of ...

) Op.60/1 * ''Lament'' for women's choir Piano * 1905 - ''Night Music'' Op. 11, piano suite, 7 pieces (pub. Augener) * 1905 - ''Swan Song'' (pub. Augener) * 1906 - ''Miniature Sonata'' Op. 12 (pub. Augener) * 1906 - ''Pictures from Greece'' Op. 13, piano suite, 6 pieces (pub. Augener) * ''Two Bohemian Sketches'', Op. 16 * 1906 - ''The Four Winds'' Op. 18, piano suite, 4 pieces (pub. Augener) * 1907 - ''Musical Sketch Book'' 4 pieces (pub. Augener) * ''Tone-Pictures'' Opp. 19, 23, 29 and 31, piano pieces, four volumes (pub. Augener) * ''Three Venetian Idylls'' Op. 20 (pub. Augener). (Recorded by Christopher Howell)
An Englishman in Italy: British Piano Music inspired by Italy
'. Sheva SH056 (2012) * ''A Summer Suite'' Op. 21, six pieces (pub. Augener) * ''3 Moments Musicaux'' Op. 24 (pub. Augener) * ''Aquarelles- Five idylls in Water Colour'' Op. 25 (pub. Ricordi) * 1909? - Prelude ''From The Forest of Andaine'' Op. 27 (pub. Augener) * 1910 - ''Two Idylls'', Op. 28 (pub. Vincent) * ''From the Three-Cornered Kingdom'' Op.30, 6 pieces (pub. Augener) * ''Four Twilight Pieces'' Op. 34 (pub. Augener) * 1914 - ''Variations in A'' Op. 35, theme and 5 variations (pub. Augener) * ''Lyric Pieces'', Op. 40 * 1918 - ''Peter Pan Sketches'' Op. 44, piano suite, 5 pieces (pub. Newman) * 1920 - Piano Sonata Op.43 (pub. Edwin Ashdown) * 1923 - ''The Art of Piano Pedalling'' 2 volumes * 1923 - ''Tunes Without Tales'' Op. 53, piano suite, 10 pieces * ''Two Free Fugues'', Op 54 * 1925 - ''Six Preludes'', Op 56 * 1926 - ''Contrasts'', suite * 1930 - ''Sports'', suite * 1931 - ''The Art of Piano Phrasing'', Op. 66 * 1931 - ''Five Love Poems for Piano'' Op. 67 * 1931 - ''Rhapsody'' for two pianos Op. 70 * 193? - ''Tarantella in A minor'' (recorded by Eileen Joyce, 1937) Song Cycles * 1900 - ''Vagrant Songs'' for baritone and piano, Op. 26 (E.Farjeon) * 1906 - ''Three Toy Songs'', (E.Farjeon) * 1908 - ''Child Songs'', (E.Farjeon) * 1917 - ''The Lute of Jade'' * 1924 - ''A Sussex Alphabet'', (26 songs) * ''Peacock Pie'' (Walter de la Mare)

References

External links

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

Eileen Joyce plays Tarantella in A minor by Harry Farjeon

Daniel Kasparian plays ''A Swan Song'', 3 December, 2009

Royal Academy of Music: Portrait of Harry Farjeon by William Townsend. Pencil drawing, 1946
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farjeon, Harry 1878 births 1948 deaths British classical composers British male classical composers British Jews 20th-century classical composers Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Jewish American classical composers

Harry Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

People from Bergen County, New Jersey People from Hampstead Musicians from London Academics of the Royal Academy of Music American emigrants to England American people of English descent American people of English-Jewish descent American male classical composers American classical composers 20th-century British composers 20th-century American composers Classical musicians from New Jersey 20th-century American male musicians

Early life and studies

Career in music

Selected works

Further reading

References

External links