Caroline Hart, grand-daughter of William Henry Speer has kindly provided some backround on the early life of her grandfather.
Too delicate to go to school for long, young William retreated into the study of music, and his wealthy father, Alfred Miles Speer, had an organ installed in the Priory, the family home in Malvern. William began to play it at the age of seven and gave organ recitals at the Priory which were ‘much admired’. It would seem unlikely that William was untouched by the musical trends of the time. The Three Choirs Festival in the cathedrals of Gloucester, Hereford and Worcester would have sharpened his awareness of the great choral traditions that were being upheld there. He also could not have been unaware of the growing influence of Elgar who was living in and around Malvern and pedalling precariously around the Worcestershire lanes on his new bicycle.
William went to the Royal College of Organists in London, where he eventually gained a Doctorate, and also joined the long list of aspiring musicians who were taught by Charles Villiers Stanford, who had so much influence at Trinity College Cambridge, which William also attended.
As a composer Speer wrote in most genres, especially vocal music but there is a small corpus of orchestral music. A symphony was written but is now presumed lost. A Rhapsody for orchestra (unpublished) a Festival Overture (1898) and an orchestral suite entitled 'Cinderella' all survive.
Nocturne for strings (1913)
This short work is marked Larghetto and is in an ABA form. The opening theme is melancholic.
The central section is quicker and contrasted with a syncopated melody over a stacatto accompaniment.
The third part brings back the opening theme but this time embellished in the manner of a variation. The texture is increasingly complex.
SAMPLE: Nocturne