Muriel Herbert facts for kids

Muriel Emily Herbert (born 1897, died 1984) was a British composer from the early 1900s. A composer is someone who writes music. Muriel Herbert mostly wrote music for a single singer and a piano. These songs are often called "art songs." She used poems by famous English and Irish writers like Thomas Hardy and James Joyce for her songs.

Growing Up in Music

Muriel Herbert was born in Sheffield in 1897. She grew up in Liverpool, England. She was the youngest child and the only girl in her family. Music was a big part of her home life. Her mother directed the church choir, and Muriel loved to sing and play music.

Her older brother, Percy, was also a musician. He saw that Muriel had a natural talent for music. He encouraged her to study it more. Muriel started writing her own songs for voice and piano when she was quite young. After her father died in 1909, her family faced tough times financially. A journalist named Hugh Farrie thought she should become a concert pianist. But Muriel was more interested in writing music.

Learning and Publishing Music

In 1917, Muriel Herbert won a scholarship from Liverpool. This allowed her to study at the Royal College of Music in London. There, she learned from a well-known Irish composer, Charles Stanford. After World War I ended, she stayed near London. She taught music at Wycombe Abbey School for girls and gave private lessons. She also performed in concerts and kept improving her musical skills.

In the early 1920s, she met another composer, Roger Quilter. He liked her music very much. He even suggested her songs to a music publisher called Augener. Augener published some of her songs in 1923, including "Beauty" and "Cradle Song." Later, another publisher, Robert Elkin, also published some of her songs. He also published two pieces she wrote for violin and piano.

Life in Paris

In 1925, Muriel married a French academic named Emile Delavenay. They went to Paris for their honeymoon. There, Emile's friend, an Irish poet named Tom McGreevey, introduced Muriel to the famous writer James Joyce. Muriel played and sang her musical versions of Joyce's poems. She set his poems "I hear an army charging" and "Lean out of the window" to music.

Joyce was impressed. He gave her special copies of his poetry books, Chamber Music and Pomes Penyeach. He also gave her permission to publish her songs that used his poems.

Later Years and Rediscovery

Even though Muriel Herbert was recognized for her talent, much of her music was not performed very often. She had even broadcast some of her vocal music on the BBC. However, thanks to a former student, Bill Lloyd, and her daughter, Claire Tomalin, her music is now being performed and recorded more.

In 2008, a group of musicians recorded 36 of her art songs. These recordings helped bring her beautiful music to new listeners. Her songs are also being republished, meaning more people can discover and enjoy them today.

Some of Her Music

Muriel Herbert wrote many songs for voice and piano. She also wrote some pieces for violin and piano. Here are a few examples of her works:

Voice and piano

• "Autumn" (poem by Walter de la Mare)
• "Beauty" (poem by John Masefield)
• "Cradle Song" (poem by A.C. Swinburne)
• "Faintheart in a Railway Train" (poem by Thomas Hardy)
• "I hear an army charging" (poem by James Joyce)
• "Lean out of the window" (poem by James Joyce)
• "Loveliest of Trees" (poem by A.E. Housman)
• "Most Holy Night" (poem by Hilaire Belloc)
• "Renouncement" (poem by Alice Meynell)
• "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" (poem by W.B. Yeats)
• "To Daffodils" (poem by Robert Herrick)

Violin and piano

• "Giboulée"
• "Enchanted April"