Joseph Speaight 1868-1947

[giles.enders]

Joseph William Speaight   born 24 October 1868 Shoreditch, London  - died 20 November 1947 Ware, Hertfordshire

Son of a professional violinist.  He married his wife Laura in 1899.
He Studied at The Guildhall School of Music in London under Pauer and Morgan. He later became a professor there. In 1897 he became a member of The Royal Society of Musicians. From 1919 he taught at The Trinity College of Music, London.  He was a pianist, organist and composer.


Orchestral

Symphony No.1 in D minor 1893
Symphony No.2 in F major 1897
Symphonic Poem  No.1 in 1904
Symphonic Romance
'A Brief Life' - tone poem
'Joy and Sorrow' -  tone poem
Tragic Overture
Three Suites for Orchestra
Suite - Dance Memories, Elegy, Idyll, Once upon a time.
Coronation March
March Polonaise
Piano Concerto  E flat  1891
Nocturne for violin and orchestra
Mazurka for violin and orchestra
Evesong and Spinnerlied for cello and orchestra  pub. by Rogers, Winthrop Ltd.

Military Band

National March Fantasia

Chamber

Piano Quintet in E flat
Piano Quintet in E major
2 other piano quintets
Piano Quartet in G minor
Piano Quartet in C major
3 string quintets
String quartet in G minor  1896
'Ariel' Fantasy string quartet pub. by Hawkes & Son.
'Cobweb, Moth, Mustard Seed and Puck' for string quartet  pub. by Hawkes & Son.
'The Lonely Shepherd' for string quartet  pub. by Hawkes & Son
'Queen Mab sleeps, Titania, Fancies' for string quartet  pub. by Hawkes & Son
Fantasy - 'Bottom, Quince, Flute and Snout' for string quartet
'Poem - She Never Told Her love' for string quartet
'Poem' for string quartet
'Lament and Caprice for flute(or violin), cello and piano. 1916
Albumblat for violin and piano  1892  pub. by Breitkopf & Hartel
Barcarole for violin and piano   1892  pub. by Breitkopf & Hartel
Nocturne for violin and piano
Mazurka for violin and piano
Romance for violin and piano  1891
'Spanish Love Song' for violin and piano  1906  pub. by Rogers, Winthrop.Ltd
'Even Song' for cello and piano 1906  pub. by Rogers, Winthrop Ltd
'Spinnerlied' for cello and piano  1906  pub. by Rogers, Winthrop Ltd


Piano

Three tone pictures for piano -  pub. by Rogers, Winthrop Ltd.
No.1 'The Moon Enchanted Sea'
No.2 'Cynthia Dances'
No.3 'Revellers on the Village Green'
Four tone pictures for piano -
No.1 'On the Moonlight Lake'
No.2 'In the Woods'
No.3 'A Snowy Night in the Forrest'
No.4 'In the Glen at Twilight'
'A Country Dance'  1917  pub. by Anglo-French Music Co.
'Legends' 1911 pub. by Rogers, Winthrop Ltd
Miniatures  1910  pub. by Rogers, Winthrop Ltd
Nymph Dance  1919  pub. by Ascherberg
Passepied  1906
Three pieces for piano - 'Evening Song', 'Old Dance', 'Papsy'.  pub. by Stainer & Bell
Woodland Sketches  1914  pub. by Stainer & Bell

Songs

'The Child and the Star' - 2 part song  words by M L Elliott 1925 pub. by Rogers, Winthrop Ltd
'Wood-Nymph Dance' - 2 part song  Trad.
'Going to St'Ives' - 2 part song  words by W Rogers, Winthrop Ltd  1927
'Humpty Dumpty' - 2 part song    words  Trad. pub. by Rogers, Winthrop Ltd
'The North Wind Doth Blow' -  2 part song  1924
'When Snow is on the Ground' - 2 part song  1924
Two songs 'Far Away', 'The Great Sea Flow'  pub. by Rogers, Winthrop Ltd
'I Love Thee'  words by T Hood 1910  pub. by Rogers, Winthrop Ltd
'John Cook and his Mare'  unison song words by W Rogers 1927
'That's the Way'  unison song  words by J Hogg  1922
'What are Little Boys Made of'  unison song  1922
'Simple Simon' - 2 voices  1922  pub. by Rogers, Winthrop Ltd
'The Knife Grinder's Song' - unison song  words by M Nightingale
'Far Away', words by B Cornwall  1912
'The Great Seaflow'  words by H Heine  1912
'Tis Sweet to Love'  words by H K White  1911
National Nursery Rhymes book 1. pub. by Rogers, Winthrop Ltd.

Voice and Orchestra

Cantata for soloist, chorus and orchestra
'The Return' for soprano and orchestra
Two songs for soprano and orchestra - 'Lubin is Away', 'Sister, Awake'.  1912
'Ariel'  for female voices, string quartet, piano, organ and celesta.
Two songs for baritone and orchestra - 'Night', The Blind Viking'


His daughter Freda died as recently as 1977.  Her married name was Freda Evelyn Pryke.  She in turn had four children so there should be a good chance of finding some papers or MS. Her husband died as recently as 1990.

[eschiss1]

I think two of the string quartet groups were published under the collective title Some Shakespeare Fairy Characters around 1916 by Hawkes & Son, scores & parts can be found at Sibley and at IMSLP.

[albion]

An intriguing figure, now completely unknown. He was born in Shoreditch, London and died at Ware in Hertfordshire. The records of the Royal Society of Musicians (to which he was admitted a member on 7th November 1897) give his birth date as 24th October 1868 and his date of death as 20th November 1947. He taught at both the Streatham and the Guildhall Schools of Music.

According to Holbrooke, Speaight's catalogue (c.1925) comprised

Orchestra:

Symphony in D minor
Symphony in F major
A Brief Life, tone poem
Rustic Scenes
Coronation March
Tragic Overture
Suite
March Polonaise
Reverie
A Fairy Fantasy
Three Pieces for Strings
Ballad
Suite - Dance Memories; Elegy; Idyll; Once Upon a Time
Symphonic Romance
Joy and Sorrow, tone poem
Queen Mab Sleeps
Puck
The Lonely Shepherd

Piano and orchestra:

Concerto

Violin and orchestra:

Nocturne
Mazurka

Cello and orchestra:

Evensong
Spinnerlied

Voice and orchestra:

Cantata, for soli, chorus and orchestra
The Return, for soprano and orchestra
Two Songs, for soprano and orchestra - Lubin is Away; Sister, Awake
Two Songs, for baritone and orchestra - Night; The Blind Viking
Ariel, for female voices, string quartet, piano, organ and celesta

Military band:

National March Fantasia

Chamber music:

Piano Quintet in E flat
Piano Quintet in E major
Piano Quartet in G minor
Piano Quartet in C major
String Quartet in G minor
Poem and Fantasy, for strings
Some Fairy Shakespeare Characters (2 sets), for string quartet
Lament and Caprice, for flute (or violin), cello and piano
Ariel Fantasy, for string quartet
Fancies, for piano and string quartet

Voice and piano:

Two Songs - Far Away; The Great Sea Flow
I Love Thee
National Nursery Rhymes (Book 1)
'Tis Sweet to Love

Piano:

Legends
Miniatures
Three Woodland Sketches
A Country Dance
Nymph Dance
Tone Pictures

Violin and piano:

Albumblatt
Barcarole
A Spanish Love Song

Part-songs:

The Child and the Star
Simple Simon
Humpty Dumpty


I understand that Gareth has been instrumental in tracking down a number of the manuscript orchestral pieces, but that so far the symphonies and the piano concerto are proving elusive.

[eschiss1]

MusicSack claims he died in New York City (may be true, but then also gives alternate possible places of birth for him as London or Chicago Illinois. The compiler does give a source, I think, for the latter, but ...)

[albion]

MusicSack is not always reliable, more of a starting point. Genealogical research suggests Shoreditch and Ware - http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/w/h/a/Edward-D-Wharnsby/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0702.html

[eschiss1]

Wasn't claiming it was. I wonder even as I use genealogy sites to help put together bio information if I shouldn't be leery of them too since I don't know how the bread pudding is made, unlike some other sites where I have some idea.

[eschiss1]

Would be interested to know if e.g. his string quartet in G minor (premiered December 8, 1896 in London, see The Year's Music) was ever published? Worldcat only mentions the Shakespeare sets (which we have over at IMSLP) among his works for string quartet.

Worldcat lists a Romance, for violin and piano not in the above list published ca.1891.

From Who's Who in Music (1915) we can give tentative dates (one presumes composer-provided?) of
1893-4 to symphony 1,
1897 to symphony 2,
1891 to the piano concerto,
1904 to a tonepoem,
1908 to a Fairy Fantasy,
1911 to 2 symphonic poems,
1913 to 2 orchestral suites
(and "sundry" chamber works.)
Studied under Pauer and also Li Calsi.
(Which Morgan did he study under, I wonder- not the one we were talking about recently, as he was probably not at the Guildhall School I gather, but there were a few Morgans- related, a family- who were, if I understand...)