Edward Norman Hay
Encyclopedia
Edward Norman Hay was a composer and musicologist.
He was born at 26 Newton Road, Faversham
, Kent
on 19 April 1889, the second son of Joseph Hay, an Inland Revenue
Official, son of Edward Hay of Coleraine (d.1890), coachmaker and Margaret Taylor; and Janet Robb (1864–1891), the only daughter of Andrew Robb (1825–1900), a mill manager from Alloa
, Scotland and his wife Mary Bennie Swanson. His parents had married in Edinburgh in 1884, and their first son Francis Edward Cecil Hay died in Peebles in 1885. Joseph and Janet moved to Faversham shortly afterwards. His mother Janet died aged only 26 in January 1891 and was buried in North Merchiston Cemetery, Edinburgh. Edward moved across to Coleraine
in Ireland shortly afterwards to be cared for by aunts, although he is recorded as being in the Cottage Hospital in Faversham in the 1891 census. When young he contracted polio, which left him with a permanent limp, and apparently unable to walk until the age of 12. According to his own account he first studied the violin
at the age of eight, but around the age of ten 'I was suddenly filled with a longing to play a keyboard instrument
...and I took a vow one evening not to sleep until I had learnt the notes of the bass staff'. He went on to take piano
lessons and 'during my five years with her (the teacher) I proceeded from Clementi
and Dussek
to the easier Beethoven
, with not one trashy piece in between. And I think the finest thing she ever did was to leave Bach
alone'.
Hay studied in Belfast and took a BMus at Oxford, and later a Doctorate in Music at Bailliol College, Oxford for composition (1919). He was also a fellow of the Royal College of Organists.
In 1922-3 he served as Head of Music at Campbell College
, Belfast
, and from 1923-4 was the external examiner (degrees) at Trinity College, Dublin
, and shortly before his death was lecturer in music at Queen's University
, Belfast. From 1926 he served as the music critic for the Belfast Telegraph
using the pseudonym Rathcol. He also was the general editor and arranger of 'Ulster Airs' for the BBC. He was also organist at Belfast Cathedral
and Belmont Presbyterian Church, Belfast.
He married a Coleraine girl Hessie Haughey at the Fitzroy Avenue Presbyterian Church, Belfast on 7 April 1920. They had two sons Michael (1927–2004) and Joseph Norman Haughey Hay (1924–2007).
He died on September 10, 1943 in Portstewart. His obituary in The Times (London) (13/9/1943) records that he 'won the Carnegie Award for a String Quartet in 1918, and from 1923 to 1924 was external examiner for degrees in music at Dublin University. After working for the BBC for a time he was appointed in 1941 Lecturer on Music, Queen's University, Belfast'. It continued ' Dr Hay's chief work was 'Paean', performed in 1932 at Worcester at the Three Choir's Festival. Notable orchestral works by him are the symphonic poem 'Dunluce' and an 'Irish Rhapsody.
Dunluce, mentioned above, was performed at the London Proms in 1925 (as was Paean in 1934). His work 'To Wonder' was commissioned for the Belfast Philarmonic Societies Jubilee in 1924, and was performed on the opening of the Belfast Station of the BBC.
Barry Burgess describes Hay's music as having expert orchestration and tonal harmony, described in Hay's own words as 'largely diatonic with chromatic decoration in a free modern manner'. Burgess also detects the influence of Irish folksongs in his melodic style.
His work was recently performed at Ulster Hall
in 2002, and his wife was there to hear it.
The above were mainly published by Stainer and Bell, but also J.Curwen and Sons, Novello and Co. and Weekes and Co.
Entry on Hay written by Barry Burgess
He was born at 26 Newton Road, Faversham
Faversham
Faversham is a market town and civil parish in the Swale borough of Kent, England. The parish of Faversham grew up around an ancient sea port on Faversham Creek and was the birthplace of the explosives industry in England.-History:...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
on 19 April 1889, the second son of Joseph Hay, an Inland Revenue
Inland Revenue
The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, petroleum revenue tax and stamp duty...
Official, son of Edward Hay of Coleraine (d.1890), coachmaker and Margaret Taylor; and Janet Robb (1864–1891), the only daughter of Andrew Robb (1825–1900), a mill manager from Alloa
Alloa
Alloa is a town and former burgh in Clackmannanshire, set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on on the north bank of the Firth of Forth close to the foot of the Ochil Hills, east of Stirling and north of Falkirk....
, Scotland and his wife Mary Bennie Swanson. His parents had married in Edinburgh in 1884, and their first son Francis Edward Cecil Hay died in Peebles in 1885. Joseph and Janet moved to Faversham shortly afterwards. His mother Janet died aged only 26 in January 1891 and was buried in North Merchiston Cemetery, Edinburgh. Edward moved across to Coleraine
Coleraine
Coleraine is a large town near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is northwest of Belfast and east of Derry, both of which are linked by major roads and railway connections...
in Ireland shortly afterwards to be cared for by aunts, although he is recorded as being in the Cottage Hospital in Faversham in the 1891 census. When young he contracted polio, which left him with a permanent limp, and apparently unable to walk until the age of 12. According to his own account he first studied the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
at the age of eight, but around the age of ten 'I was suddenly filled with a longing to play a keyboard instrument
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
...and I took a vow one evening not to sleep until I had learnt the notes of the bass staff'. He went on to take piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
lessons and 'during my five years with her (the teacher) I proceeded from Clementi
Muzio Clementi
Muzio Clementi was a celebrated composer, pianist, pedagogue, conductor, music publisher, editor, and piano manufacturer. Born in Italy, he spent most of his life in England. He is best known for his piano sonatas, and his collection of piano studies, Gradus ad Parnassum...
and Dussek
Jan Ladislav Dussek
Jan Ladislav Dussek was a Czech composer and pianist. He was an important representative of Czech music abroad in the second half of 18th century and the beginning of 19th century...
to the easier Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
, with not one trashy piece in between. And I think the finest thing she ever did was to leave Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
alone'.
Hay studied in Belfast and took a BMus at Oxford, and later a Doctorate in Music at Bailliol College, Oxford for composition (1919). He was also a fellow of the Royal College of Organists.
In 1922-3 he served as Head of Music at Campbell College
Campbell College
Campbell College is a Voluntary Grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The College educates boys from ages 11–18. It is one of the eight Northern Irish schools represented on the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and is a member of the Independent Schools Council.The school occupies...
, Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, and from 1923-4 was the external examiner (degrees) at Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, and shortly before his death was lecturer in music at Queen's University
Queen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
, Belfast. From 1926 he served as the music critic for the Belfast Telegraph
The Belfast Telegraph
The Belfast Telegraph is a daily evening newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland by Independent News & Media.It was first published as the Belfast Evening Telegraph on 1 September 1870 by brothers William and George Baird...
using the pseudonym Rathcol. He also was the general editor and arranger of 'Ulster Airs' for the BBC. He was also organist at Belfast Cathedral
St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast
St Anne's Cathedral, also known as Belfast Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Donegall Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland...
and Belmont Presbyterian Church, Belfast.
He married a Coleraine girl Hessie Haughey at the Fitzroy Avenue Presbyterian Church, Belfast on 7 April 1920. They had two sons Michael (1927–2004) and Joseph Norman Haughey Hay (1924–2007).
He died on September 10, 1943 in Portstewart. His obituary in The Times (London) (13/9/1943) records that he 'won the Carnegie Award for a String Quartet in 1918, and from 1923 to 1924 was external examiner for degrees in music at Dublin University. After working for the BBC for a time he was appointed in 1941 Lecturer on Music, Queen's University, Belfast'. It continued ' Dr Hay's chief work was 'Paean', performed in 1932 at Worcester at the Three Choir's Festival. Notable orchestral works by him are the symphonic poem 'Dunluce' and an 'Irish Rhapsody.
Dunluce, mentioned above, was performed at the London Proms in 1925 (as was Paean in 1934). His work 'To Wonder' was commissioned for the Belfast Philarmonic Societies Jubilee in 1924, and was performed on the opening of the Belfast Station of the BBC.
Barry Burgess describes Hay's music as having expert orchestration and tonal harmony, described in Hay's own words as 'largely diatonic with chromatic decoration in a free modern manner'. Burgess also detects the influence of Irish folksongs in his melodic style.
His work was recently performed at Ulster Hall
Ulster Hall
The Ulster Hall is a concert hall and grade B1 listed building in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated on Bedford Street in Belfast city centre, the hall hosts concerts, classical recitals, craft fairs and political party conferences...
in 2002, and his wife was there to hear it.
Compositions
He composed several compositions including:- The Silent Land, song for Contralto with cello accompaniment(1905)
- Vesper Hymn. Words translated from the German of Herbert (1912)
- Fantasy on Irish Folk Tunes (1917)
- Sonata on Irish Folk Tunes (1917)
- The Gilly of Christ (1917)
- String Quartet (1918). Winner of Carnegie Trust Award)
- A birthday, part song for ladies chorus, words by DG.Rossetti (1918)
- String Quartet in A Major for two violins, viola and cello (1920)
- The wind among the reeds -based on a poem by Yeats (Cantana 1921)
- Dunluce, tone poem (1921)
- Shed no tear, Part song for four voices, words by Keats(1923)
- Behold, what manner of love (1923)
- Fantasy on Irish Folk Tunes (orch) (1924)
- To wonder, tone poem for solo voices (1924)
- Thou O God hast taught me (1927)
- Four Irish sketches (1929–32)
- Paean, words G.Herbert. For mezzo soprano or contralto,solo,chorus and orchestra (1930)
- An Irish Rhapsody, tone poem (1932)
- Churnin' day -song - words by E.Shane (1936)
- An intercessional hymn. Words by Rev.R.Hall (1939)
- The Buttermilk Boy - Ulster Folk song - melody and words. (1939)
- Tryste Noel, sacred song, words by L.I. Guiney (1940)
The above were mainly published by Stainer and Bell, but also J.Curwen and Sons, Novello and Co. and Weekes and Co.
Further reading
- Entry in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians Ed. by Stanley Sadie
Entry on Hay written by Barry Burgess
- The Folk Music of Ireland - Its past present and future, by A.W.Patterson (1920)