Ethel Barns 1874-1948

[giles.enders]

Ethel Barns  Born 5.12.1874 Islington, London  -  Died 31.12.1948 Maidenhead, England

Ethel was the youngest of nine children, her father William was a zinc merchant.  She initially studied with Herr Kumner at The Watford School of Music then from 1887 she studied at The Royal Academy under Sauret, Prout and Westlake. She made her debut as a violinist at Crystal Palace in 1896.  In 1899 she married the baritone Charles Phillips* and they subsequently formed the Barns-Phillips Chamber Concert series at Bechstein Hall.
A highly thought of violinist, most of her compositions are for her own instrument.  The violin concerto and second sonata are particularly fine pieces. 

Orchestral

Violin Concerto 1904
Concert piece for violin and orchestra In D minor  Op.19  1907
'L'escarpolette' (Swing Song) for strings  1908

Chamber

Piano trio in F minor  Op.10 1904
Piano trio No.2    pre 1920
Fantasy trio for two violins and piano  Op.26  1911  pub. by Schott & Co.
Idyll for cello and piano  1913   pub. by Joseph Williams & Co.

Pieces for violin and piano

Violin Sonata No.1 in D minor  1900
Violin Sonata No.2 in A major  Op.9 1904   pub. by Schott & Co.
Violin Sonata No.3 in ? 1906
Violin Sonata No.4 in G minor  Op.24 1910   pub. by Schott & Co.
Violin Sonata No.5  1927

Romance 1891   pub. by Stanley Lucas, Weber
Polonaise  1893   pub. by Edwin Ashdown Ltd.
Mazurka in G major 1894   pub. by Robert Cocks & Co.
Valse Caprice 1894   pub. by Robert Cocks & Co.
Tarantella 1895  pub. by Robert Cocks & Co.
Chanson Gracieuse  1904   pub. by Schott & Co.
Chant Elegiaque  1907   pub. by Schott & Co.
Dans Characteristque  1907  pub. by Schott & Co.
Moto Perpetuo  1907   pub. by Schott & Co.
Legende  1907   pub. by Schott & Co.
Hindo Lament  1907   pub. by Schott & Co.
'L'Escarpolette' - Swing Song 1907   pub. by Schott & Co.
Suite Op.21  1908
Toccata  1908
Valse Gracieuse for piano  1908
Concertstuck (arranged from Op.15)   pub. by Schott & Co.
Andante for the 4th string  1909   pub. by Schott & Co.
Adagio Appassonato  1909   pub. by Schott & Co.
Canzonetta in D 1909   pub. by Schott & Co.
Dans Negre (scherzo)  1909  pub. by Schott & Co.
Humoresque  1909   pub by Schott & Co.
Idyll Pastorale  1909   pub. by Schott & Co.
Lullaby  1909   pub. by Schott & Co.
Petite Valse  1909
Serenade  1909  pub. by Schott & Co.
Eight pieces  1910   pub. by Schott & Co.
Aria  1910
Andante Espressivo  1911   pub. by Schott & Co.
Andante Grazioso  1911   pub. by Schott & Co.
Petite Pastorale  1911   pub. by Schott & Co.
Bagatelle in D 1912   pub. by Schott & Co.
Berceuse  1912   pub. by Schott & Co.
Nachtgesang - Notturno 1912   pub. by Schott & Co.
Two Compositions; Coquette, Morceau.  1913   pub. by Boston Music Co.
Twilight (Crepuscule)  1913   pub. by Schott & Co.
Aubade  1917   pub. by Edwin Ashdown Ltd.
Carina  1917   pub. by Elkin & Co.
Pierette  1917   pub. by Edwin Ashdown Ltd.
La Chasse  1928   pub. by Schott & Co.
Poeme  1928   pub. by Schott & Co.
A Vision  1928   pub. by Schott & Co.

Piano

Four Sketches  1899   pub. by J.B. Cramer
Two Dances: Cymbal Dance, Dance of the Gnomes  1907   pub. by Joseph Williams Ltd
Nocturne ?
Prelude  1908   pub. by Elkin & Co.
Valse Gracieuse  1908  pub. by Elkin & Co.
Humoreske  1909   pub. by Schott & Co.
Scenes Villageoises - 1. Les Glancuses, 2. Dans la Foret, 3. Au Soir 1911  pub. by Schott & Co.
An Impression  1912   pub. by Elkin & Co.
Cri de Coeur  1916   pub. by Elkin & Co.
Monkeyland (scherzo)  1916   pub. by Elkin & Co.
Landscapes - four pieces for piano. 1919  pub. by Edwin Ashdown Ltd
Petite Caprice  1919
Valse Slave  1919

Songs

Berceuse  words by J E Woolacott   pub. by Leonard & Co.
'twas ever thus  words by K E Smith  1901   pub. by Leonard & Co.
Dewdrops  words by H Simpson  1912   pub. by Elkin & Co.
A Fancy words by S Lucas 1892
For thee  words by G Hubi-Newcombe  1914   pub. by Chappell & Co.
I long to live  words by F G Bowles 1914   pub. by Chappell & Co.
Out on deep waters  words by E Lockton  1918  pub by. Chappell & Co.
A Ransome  words by words by H Simpson  1907  pub. by Elkin & Co.
Remember or forget words by C Rossetti  1904   pub. by Elkin & Co.
Remembrance  words by N Fielding  1903   pub. by Elkin & Co.
Sleep, weary heart  words by J J Elliot  1911  pub. by Boosey
Soul of mine - with organ accompaniment  words by T Hooley1914  pub. by Chappell & Co.
Susani - 14th Carol arranged by EB   pub. by Elkin & Co.
A Talisman words by P J O'Reilly 1914   pub. by Chappell & Co.
Waiting for thee  words by Mortimer Collins  1892   pub. by Stanley Lucas, Weber

there are 9 other songs

* John Charles Henry Phillips.

[Dundonnell]

I have used your dates in the Index but some sources appear to give her year of birth as 1873 or 1874

[albion]

Ethel Barns  1880-1948  Born London, England  Died Maidenhead, England

A highly thought of violinist, most of her compositions are for her own instrument.  The violin concerto and second sonata are particularly fine pieces. 

Orchestral

Violin Concerto
Concert piece for violin and orchestra In D minor  Op.19  1907
'L'escarpotette' (Swing Song) for strings  1908

The Violin Concerto is dated 1904 on the autograph score (BL MS Add. 63634) which also titles it 'Concerto No.2'. It was premiered in Bournemouth on 10th November 1904 conducted by Dan Godfrey with the composer as soloist.

[albion]

I have used your dates in the Index but some sources appear to give her year of birth as 1873 or 1874

Grove and most other sources seem to agree 1874 (some give the month as December, but an actual date seems elusive).

As she entered the Royal Academy of Music in 1887, 1874 is a more likely birth-year than 1880.

[Dundonnell]

I have used your dates in the Index but some sources appear to give her year of birth as 1873 or 1874

Grove and most other sources seem to agree 1874 (some give the month as December, but an actual date seems elusive).

As she entered the Royal Academy of Music in 1887, 1874 is a more likely birth-year than 1880.

Indeed Amended

[giles.enders]

I will look at her birth record in the Metropolitan archive, London, later in the week and that way we will all be certain

[giles.enders]

In reply to Albion, I was not aware that there was an earlier violin concerto, I wonder where it is? It would be good if there was one as her other two orchestral works with violin are, in my opinion well worth performing.

[minacciosa]

In reply to Albion, I was not aware that there was an earlier violin concerto, I wonder where it is? It would be good if there was one as her other two orchestral works with violin are, in my opinion well worth performing.

Have you heard them, or did you have access to the scores?

[eschiss1]

Some extra info here and there...
The Canzonetta of 1909 and Bagatelle of 1912 are in D, according to the Dutch Royal Library at least. (They have 8 works by Barns in their collection.)
There is a recording of some of her chamber works available- I don't know if anyone's recorded any of her orchestral scores. The British Library (and Carnegie Library Pittsburgh- not to be confused with the Free Library of Philadelphia whose collection is also quite interesting...) have the piano/violin version of the opus 19 Concertstück.
The trio in F minor is given Opus 10 in the British Library listings (or its slow movement only is- I think probably the whole trio...)

BTW the proper French seems to be L'escarpolette, not l'escarpotette. l, not t (no pun intended- if there is one.) Published also in 1909 for violin and piano.

There is a version of the 1913 ldyll for cello and piano published by Williams, at the British Library. Also listed by some library-or-other and still not counting vocal works (though perhaps accidentally counting instrumental transcriptions of vocal works...)

*Valse gracieuse for piano (Elkin, 1908)
*Adagio appassionato (pub. Schott, 1909) for violin and piano.
*Aria for violin and piano (Schott, 1910)
*Coquette for violin and piano (Boston Music, 1913)

[Gareth Vaughan]

MS score + parts for "L'Escarpolette" in Fleisher.

[minacciosa]

MS score + parts for "L'Escarpolette" in Fleisher.

I have materials for many of her violin/piano works. They are surely now in the public domain.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Not in the UK, where copyright is death + 70 years.

[eschiss1]

and works first published after 1922 don't become public domain in the US, if properly renewed and if (there are some other important conditions- date of copyright must be properly on score, etc. ...) - until date of first publication + 95 (depending on date- it's more complicated than that actually) and I think date of composer's death enters in too; however all works first published 1922 or before had their (US, of course) copyrights voided by law some years back here (which does in fact make sense to me for various reasons.)

The UK law is true, to my limited knowledge, for most of the EU.  That's what IMSLP holds by, anyways... (more or less; we try not to oversimplify. Fortunately, I'm not a copyright admin there. Apologies again for digression.)

[giles.enders]

According to records at the Metropolitan Archive, EB was born in 1874.  No date of birth, I would have to pay for a birth certificate to get that.

[eschiss1]

MusicSack has December 1874 (actually, it has 1880 and December 1874 as alternatives but one can dispense with the former. Their source for December 1874 being Warriner & Bennett's 1896 National portrait gallery of British musicians.)