Edward German: A Biographical Sketch

from The Musical Times Vol. 45, No. 731 (January 1, 1904), pp. 20-24

Cross-country travellers journeying from Chester or Crewe to Shrewsbury and beyond pass through Whitchurch, an old market-town situated in the northernmost part of Shropshire. It is the chief among the thirteen (or more) places named Whitchurch in Great Britain. Eyton, in his 'Antiquities of Shropshire' (I857-60), states that the town was originally named Weston, and he gives the following extract from Domesday concerning it:--

Willelm de Warene holds Westune of Earl Roger. The Earl Herald held it [in Saxon times]. Here are 74 hides, geldable. In demesne are IIII ox-teams and two Serfs; and [there are] VI Neatherds, XXIII Villains, IX Boors, and one Radman, with VIII teams, and yet XIIII more teams might be [employed] here. The Wood will fatten 400 swine, and therein are III Hayes.

Furthermore, according to Eyton, the district in olden times was very thinly provided with churches. Shortly after Domesday, a church was built of white stone at Weston, whereupon its name was changed to Whitchurch. This ancient white church, by-the-way, fell down on the last day of July, 1711. An attractive feature of Whitchurch consists of the beautiful meres which lie in close proximity to the town--meres rich in perch and roach. 'This is a mere detail,' some reader may be disposed to observe; not, however, if he be a devotee of Izaak Walton, like unto the subject of this Biographical Sketch.

Edward German (whose baptismal name is German Edward Jones) was born at Whitchurch, on February 17, 1862. He began his musical life in the capacity, it may be said, of an organ blower! The organ he blew was that in the Congregational Church, Whitchurch, played by his father, who there held the post of voluntary organist for a period of thirty years. The boy, who received much encouragement in music from his mother, taught himself the violin, and he began to harmonize tunes in his own way. At the age of six he had started a boys' band,--of a kind---of which he was bandmaster. The rehearsals took place in a warehouse on the banks of the canal. This band only wanted a trumpet, a drum, and a pair of cymbals to make it complete; but, alas! the surreptitious acquirement of the needed brass and percussion caused this juvenile organization to collapse. At the age of twelve young German joined the local choral society as an alto. Music, however, was not then regarded as his vocation in life. He had a great fancy for engineering; he would run a mile to see a wheel go round, and his parents decided that he should become an engineer. His mother took him to Laird's ship-building yard at Birkenhead with a view of his entering that establishment as an apprentice, but only to find that he was just too old, much to the delight of the music-loving boy, and--may it be said?--of his mother also.

He was still in his teens when he formed and conducted a second band. This instrumental organization consisted of himself and a curate (1st violins), a photographer (2nd violin), a watch-maker--doubtless an excellent timeist--(flautist), and a bricklayer (cornet player), while the juvenile conductor's sister supplied the bass and filled in the harmony upon the pianoforte. These orchestral practices took place at home, the music performed--principally quadrilles--being arranged for his quintet of players by the youthful conductor at a time when he was supposed to be studying engineering. Yet other interests claimed the attention of the young gentleman. He acted in character, and sang songs at public entertainments. In the quietude of an attic he constructed, unaided, a marionette show, with elaborate scenery painted by himself, and dolls obtained direct from London. He composed some shivering music--fiddled by the gardener--in order to increase the effect of the 'storm scene' in this home-made show. His early predilection for the stage, though evidenced in a mild sort of way, foreshadowed his subsequent and intimate connection with dramatic and operatic enterprises. These diversions were, however, interrupted when Edward German became a boarder at Bridge House School, Chester, where he entertained and astonished the masters and his schoolfellows with spirit seances and exhibitions of conjuring skill.

After he had left school it was necessary to decide upon a career. Music had more and more asserted itself in his life, and at the age of eighteen Edward German again left home, to study the art as a profession. In January, 1880, he entered the house of Mr. Walter Cecil Hay, the well-known (and now venerable) professor residing at Shrewsbury. 'The nine months that I passed under Mr. Hay's roof were perhaps the happiest time in my life,' recalls Mr. German at this interval of twenty- three years. 'Mr. Hay was an enthusiast in music. He conducted an excellent orchestra, conducted concerts, taught me harmony and instrumentation, and I made music the whole day long, beginning at six o'clock in the morning. Mr. Hay had a splendid library of music, especially full scores. We played no end of trios and violin duets (Pleyel and Viotti). I also practised the organ a good deal, and was able to play the D major fugue of Bach. I look upon that three-quarters of a year at Shrewsbury, under Mr. Hay's instruction, as a most important formulative period of my life.' Mr. Hay, in response to our request, has kindly supplied the following reminiscences of his gifted young pupil :--

In 1879 I was conducting the Whitchurch Choral Society, and German (who resided in the town) used to come and help us--to our great delight--with his violin, his playing of which was correct and very sympathetic, so that the most difficult choruses were learnt easily by the soprani, to whom the violin gave a capital lead. About the beginning of 1880 it was decided that German should adopt music as a profession, and I was asked to prepare him in violin, piano and theory by taking him in my house for a term or two. This I did, and during the time he was with me he worked capitally, early and late, and after a busy day he would get me to play Mozart's Violin Sonatas with him for an hour before retiring to roost. I was then Diocesan Inspector of Choirs for the Rural Deanery of Shrewsbury, and when inspecting a country choir I used to take German with me. On those occasions his organ accompaniments were always good, and much appreciated by the rural singers who were busy preparing for the annual Choral Festival in Lichfield Cathedral. I used to tell my daughter that he would make a second Sullivan, and he once gave her a song of his composition which began in this characteristic style:--

In September, 1880, Edward German became a student at the Royal Academy of Music. He took two 'principal studies '--the organ, under Dr. Steggall, and the violin, first under the late Henry Weist Hill, and then as a pupil of Mr. Alfred Burnett, 'who,' he says, 'is unsurpassed as an orchestral leader.' His theory professor was the late Mr. Banister; but for seven years he studied composition and orchestration under Professor Prout with the greatest possible advantage. The Principal, Sir George Macfarren, gave him every encouragement to compose. German soon began to make his mark at Tenterden Street, first as a violinist. He joined the ensemble class, then under genial Prosper Sainton, and played viola in the Posthumous Quartets of Beethoven, his colleagues being Winifred Robinson, H. C. Tonking, and J. E. Hambleton. Although not a pupil of his, Sainton lent him his Guarnerius violin (worth £800) to play the De Beriot and Mendelssohn concertos upon at an Academy concert and annual examination respectively.

Within the first year of his pupilage at the Academy, German won the Tubbs prize bow. THE MUSICAL TIMES of the years 1881 to 1887 (inclusive) records various appearances and achievements of the young man from Whitchurch. As a composer we find his name in public performances, against a Pizzicato movement (1883) and a Bolero for violin and orchestra (1884). He tried very hard for the Potter Exhibition, but failed. To qualify for this in regard to organ playing he used to walk at six o'clock in the morning from his lodgings in Hampstead Road to Westminster Chapel in order to practise the organ, the long walk to and from and the practice creating a keen appetite for breakfast. The year 1885 brought him much to the front, when he gained the Lucas silver medal for the composition of a Te Deum (in F) for voices and organ. In 1886 he produced his operetta (performed by the Operatic Class of the Academy) entitled 'The Two Poets,' afterwards called 'The Rival Poets,' libretto by W. Herbert Scott. In the following year his first Symphony (in E minor) was performed at an orchestral concert given under the late Sir Joseph Barnby's direction by the Academy students at St. James's Hall, on July 16, 1887. Concerning this youthful achievement THE MUSICAL TIMES said:--

The Symphony is undoubtedly a work of great promise, though it is somewhat unequal. The first movement is in themes and workmanship thoroughly admirable, and the piquant Scherzo is even better. But in the slow movement Mr. German indulges in the modern vice of straining after effects by over- orchestration, and the result is unsatisfactory. However, this defect may be due merely to inexperience, and we have every confidence that Mr. German will develop into a composer worthy to rank with those who are already at work in the formation of a genuine English School. (THE MUSICAL TIMES, August, 1887.)

This criticism, while just, was distinctly prophetic. At the same concert THE MUSICAL TIMES critic selected 'for special praise Mr. H. J. Wood, who played the first movement of Prout's fine Organ Concerto in E minor'--the said Mr. Wood having since been heard of in another capacity. It may be of interest to give the names of some of Mr. German's fellow-students at the Royal Academy of Music-G. J. Bennett, Ben Davies, Edwin H. Lemare, John E. West, and Henry J. Wood, all of whom, including the subject of this sketch, have made their mark in the art of music.

In 1887 he left the Academy after seven years of pleasant and profitable study within its walls. He had been made a sub-professor of the violin, had taken some half-a-dozen medals, including the Lucas already mentioned, and was elected an Associate on leaving the Institution. His election to a Fellowship, the highest honour the Academy can bestow upon its former students, took place in 1895. In the year that he left Tenterden Street he, with four fellow-students, made a tour in Germany, concluding with a visit to Bayreuth, where he heard and saw 'Parsifal' and 'Tristan.' 'What a sensation that was!' he says.

During his studentship at the Academy, Edward German had to earn his daily bread. 'Hard work, hard work,' he remarks with emphasis, 'nothing can be attained without it.' He played second violin at two guineas a week, with seven shillings extra for matinees, in the Sullivan operas,--'The Pirates,' 'Iolanthe,' and 'Princess Ida'--and he is not ashamed to say that he has fiddled in a Drury Lane Pantomime! Among his teaching engagements was that of professor of the violin in succession to Dr. McNaught at Wimbledon School. Mr. Barry Pain was then a classical master at that seat of learning. The two masters collaborated in preparing a performance of the Antigone of Sophocles, with original music by German, which was completed; but owing to an outbreak of illness in the school the event did not come off. In this Wimbledon connection we may quote from the biographical sketch of Dr. McNaught (which appeared in THE MUSICAL TIMES of March last), in which he says :--

Among those with whom my work has associated me I gladly reckon Mr. Edward German. When I abandoned teaching the violin I was fortunate in being able to induce so excellent a violinist to take up some suburban pupils. This led to his playing first violin in a private orchestral band which I conducted for many years. I well remember how the otherwise tedious journeys home were enlivened by various discussions. One topic was whether there was a career for him as a composer. In view of what has happened since, I feel that I showed a sad lack of foresight in cold-watering the idea. Other discussions revealed a vein of awesome transcendentalism in his beliefs and experiences that may some day find vent in his music, now so far from being morbid or introspective

'Can you conduct?' This question was addressed, with startling suddenness, by Mr. Randegger to the subject of this sketch when they met on the steps of the Academy one afternoon late in the year 1888. 'Mr. Mansfield has taken the Globe Theatre, and he wants a conductor. Will you go?' German went. It was a turning point in his life, and for this he never forgets to acknowledge his indebtedness to Mr. Randegger. Mr. Mansfield provided a first-rate band of twenty-eight players, including such artists as Griffith, Dubrucq, and Hutchings of 'the wind.' In recalling the incidents of those days, Mr. German observes: 'Orchestral players generally are not nearly so much appreciated as they ought to be.' The music given or performed at the Globe was of the highest class, and his excellent players entered con amore into the artistic nature of this unusual theatrical music. The chance for the conductor came when Mr. Mansfield produced Shakespeare's 'King Richard III.,' on March 16, 1889. For this, Mr. German composed an overture, entr'actes and all the incidental music, which, in the words of the late Sir George Grove, 'was highly praised in the newspapers at the time, for appropriateness, grace and vigour.'

At the termination (June, 1889) of the Globe engagement, which lasted seven months, Mr. Mansfield gave a supper at the Langham Hotel, Mr. Beerbohm Tree, Mr. John Hare, Mr. Joseph Hatton, Mr. J. L. Toole, and Mr. Joseph Bennett being among the guests. Mr. Mansfield proposed the toast 'Joseph Bennett.' The distinguished critic in his reply glided into the subject of 'music wedded to the drama,' and said that Mr. Mansfield must be complimented upon having secured the services of a gentleman who was so sound a musician, one whose music was so characteristic and that never lacked interest, adding that the 'Richard III.' music was perhaps the best example he had known of the art of wedding music to the drama. These words were received with great enthusiasm. So completely was the composer taken aback at this spontaneous tribute to his gifts that he could only say: 'I cannot make a speech, but I thank you all very much for your kind appreciation of my music to "Richard III."' Mr. German regards this event as a red-letter day in his life, as he then and there resolved to still further improve music when allied with the drama.

The overture to 'Richard III.' was performed at the Crystal Palace, February 22, 1890, under the direction of that staunch friend of British composers, Sir August Manns, who in a recent letter to the composer assured him 'of my esteem of your musical gifts and culture, and my good-will towards you as a brother artist.' On December 13, 1890--the name of Edward German again appeared in a Crystal Palace Saturday programme, when he conducted the first performance of his Symphony (No. 1) in E minor, a work founded on the earlier symphonic composition of the pupilage days to which we have already referred. Sir August Manns took no end of pains in preparing the Symphony for performance, even to blue- pencilling the band parts with phrasing marks, &c., with his own hand. We venture to quote the first paragraph of the analysis of the Symphony; it is from the pen of the late Sir George Grove:--

In introducing Mr. German's picturesque overture to Richard the Third to the audience of the Saturday concerts in February last, we spoke of a possibility that the whole of the music incidental to that drama might be thrown into the shape of a Suite for grand orchestra. We venture to congratulate the young composer on the fact that he has resisted the temptation, has allowed his theatrical music to remain as it was composed, and has given us to-day, instead of a mere réchauffé, a Grand Symphony in the complete and authentic shape settled by the great masters. The writer heartily wishes him every success in his laudable musician-like undertaking.

Speaking of Sir August Manns, Mr. German says: 'He never turned a deaf ear to me, and I find it impossible to look back on the old Crystal Palace days without feelings of emotion.'

With the bare mention of a Funeral March in D minor, performed at one of Mr. Henschel's concerts at St. James's Hall, in January, 1891, we must pass on to the 'Henry VIII.' music which has made known so widely the name of Edward German. In an interview he had with Sir Henry Irving at the Lyceum Theatre, the eminent actor said to him: 'I heard your music to "Richard III." at the Globe--therefore I ask you to write music to "Henry VIII."' These words caused Edward German to tread the Strand pavement with a light step, and he began to compose as he walked along. The music consisted of an overture, five entr'actes, much 'incidental,' and a setting of 'Orpheus with his lute.' The last-named originated thus: Sir Henry Irving suggested that the words should be set as a trio, and be sung by three maids of Queen Katherine. 'They must be very artistic singers,' said Sir Henry; 'tall and graceful,' added Miss Ellen Terry; 'and not wanting an exorbitant fee,' interposed Mr. Loveday, the stage manager. Bound by this triple condition, and having in his mind an accompaniment of muted strings and harp as a happy, or, as Mr. Toole has said, 'harpy' thought, German hied him off to the Royal Academy of Music to seek out the three artistic, tall and graceful, and non-exorbitant damsels to sing his music. It is not necessary to enlarge upon the success which attended the 'Henry VIII.' music, especially the 'Three Dances,' which are known the world over. Suffice it to say that thenceforth Mr. German decided to give up all his teaching engagements and to devote himself entirely to composition.

The remaining creative events in his life may be briefly epitomized as they are so well known. Early in 1892 (the 'Henry VIII.' year) his Gipsy Suite was produced at the Crystal Palace. The output of 1893 included incidental music to Mr. H. A. Jones's play of 'The Tempter' (Haymarket Theatre), and the second Symphony in A minor, composed for the Norwich Festival. The latter work was soon afterwards played at the Crystal Palace, when, at the request of Sir August Manns, the composer conducted the entire concert. Another Lyceum commission brought forth the 'Romeo and Juliet' music, followed by the Orchestral Suite in D minor, composed for the Leeds Festival, both in the year 1895. Concerning the latter work, Sir Charles Stanford, after hearing it under Sir A. C. Mackenzie at the Philharmonic, wrote to the composer: 'Your Suite is delightful; my College children would play it beautifully'--and they did, Sir Hubert Parry conducting it in the absence through illness of Sir Charles Stanford. Moreover, the incident was a graceful act on the part of the Royal College of Music towards a former student of the older Institution in Tenterden Street. Omitting operas for the present, the succeeding works during the next few years--and to the present time, in fact--consist of incidental music to 'As you like it,' (St. James's Theatre, 1896); English Fantasia, Philharmonic Society, and Symphonic Poem 'Hamlet,' Birmingham Festival, both in 1897; 'Much Ado about Nothing' (St. James's Theatre, 1898); 'The Seasons,' Symphonic Suite, commissioned for the Norwich Festival of 1899;  'Nell Gwyn' music (Prince of Wales's Theatre, 1900); and 'A Rhapsody on March Themes,' played at the Norwich Festival of 1902. 

Concerning the Savoy operas, the first to be mentioned is 'The Emerald Isle,' most of it planned and sketched by Sir Arthur Sullivan, but completed by Mr. German. It is interesting to examine the original score, very much in the nature of a skeleton, of this posthumous and unfinished work by Sullivan. Only the first two numbers were completed by him; for the rest he left nothing but melodies without basses--not to mention thirteen numbers absolutely untouched. Therefore Mr. German had the slenderest of material to go upon in completing the work. How reverently he discharged the duties laid upon him is a matter of common knowledge. In the same year that 'The Emerald Isle' was produced (Savoy Theatre, 1901), 'The Rival Poets'--a re-arranged and enlarged edition of 'The Two Poets' of the Academy days--was performed at St. George's Hall, under Mr. Randegger's enthusiastic direction.

'Merrie England'--libretto by Captain Basil Hood, produced at the Savoy Theatre, April 2, 1902--is an opera for which Mr. German has a peculiar affection. In this connection he shows, with natural satisfaction, a letter from his friend Mr. Hamish MacCunn, written from Edinburgh, where, under his conductorship, the Savoy company had performed the work to crowded audiences. In the language of the vernacular, Mr. MacCunn said, 'Whether it be haggis or harmony, "mountain dew" or melody, the land-o'-cakes kens fine when it meets with a good thing. Hoch aye!' After Scotland has thus spoken of 'Merrie England' need anything more be said? 'A Princess of Kensington' (the libretto also by Captain Basil Hood), produced at the Savoy Theatre in January last, completes Mr. German's present contributions to the operatic stage.

Mr. Edward German, it need scarcely be said, takes his art seriously, though the character of some of his music might convey a different impression. The success of his orchestration is not a little due to the practical knowledge he acquired during many years' experience as a violinist in various orchestras. The vein of melody that he has struck seems to be in no danger of being exhausted, and the rhythmic nature of his music reflects his vigorous personality. He is now at work on a new light opera and an orchestral work, the latter for this year's Cardiff Festival. His hobbies are fishing and photography; applying these diversions  to his music, we may say that he has adopted a line of his own, with results that are by no means of a negative nature.

It may be convenient for reference if we give a list of Mr. Edward German's published compositions under their respective heads:

COMPOSITIONS.

Symphonies :--No. I, in E minor, Crystal Palace, 1890; founded on an earlier work performed at a Royal Academy Concert in 1887; No. 2, in A minor, Norwich Musical Festival, 1893.

Orchestral Suites, &c. :--Gipsy Suite (Four Characteristic Dances), Crystal Palace, 1892; Suite in D minor, Leeds Musical Festival, 1895; English Fantasia 'Commemoration,' Philharmonic Society, 1897 ; Symphonic Poem, 'Hamlet,' Birmingham Musical Festival, 1897; 'The Seasons,' Norwich Musical Festival, 1899; Rhapsody on March Themes, Norwich Musical Festival, 1902.

Incidental Music to Plays, &c. :--'Richard III.,' Globe Theatre, 1889; 'Henry VIII.,' Lyceum Theatre, 1892; 'The Tempter,' Haymarket Theatre, 1893; 'Romeo and Juliet,' Lyceum Theatre, 1895; 'As you like it,' St. James's Theatre, 1896; 'Much Ado about Nothing,' St. James's Theatre, 1898; 'Nell Gwyn,' Prince of Wales's Theatre, 1900.

Various Orchestral Pieces :--Funeral March in D minor, London Symphony Concerts (conductor, Mr. Henschel), St. James's Hall, 1891; Serenade for voice, pianoforte, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn; Pizzicato movement 'The Guitar'; Bolero for violin and orchestra.

Operas :--'The Emerald Isle' (with Sir Arthur Sullivan) 1901; 'Merrie England,' 1902; 'A Princess of Kensington,' 1903, all produced at the Savoy Theatre. 'The Rival Poets' (operetta), 1901, an enlarged and revised version of 'The Two Poets' produced by the Operatic Class of the Royal Academy of Music in 1886.

Instrumental Solos and Duets :--Many pianoforte solos (including a Suite, six numbers) and duets; violin solos, and a 'Scotch Sketch' for pianoforte and two violins; three Sketches for violoncello and pianoforte; Suite for flute and pianoforte and other solos for the flute; Pastorale and Bourrée for oboe and pianoforte; pieces for clarinet and pianoforte; three pieces for American organ.

Vocal Music :--Many songs, including Three Albums of Lyrics (with Harold Boulton); the 'Just So Song Book,' with Rudyard Kipling; 'Orpheus with his lute' (trio S.S.A.); Te Deum in F, &c.