Arthur Hervey (1855-1922)

 

Hervey was born in Paris to Irish parents who were rich landowners in Ireland. Their wealth  facilitated their travels across Europe and they enjoyed cultural pursuits such as music and literature. This privileged background shaped Hervey's formative years before the family relocated to England.

He spent fairly equal time as both a composer and writer, prinipally biographical studies of composers, most of which were devoted to French contemporaries like Saint-Saëns and Bruneau. He was widely regarded as an expert on French music. As music critic for Vanity Fair from 1889 to 1892 and subsequently for The Morning Post from 1892 to 1908, Hervey penned weekly columns and concert reviews that promoted emerging European talent to British audiences.

Since 1959, the Royal Academy of Music awards an annual Arthur Hervey Prize in the form of a scholarship for an outstanding young composer, and a relief portrait of Hervey in carved marble is preserved in the museum of the RAM

As a composer he wrote quite extensively for orchestra, mainly in the genre of tone poems.

The Two Tone Pictures date from 1902 and are entitled "On the Heights" and "On the March".

On the Heights (1902)

This was first performed at the Cardiff Festival. Lasting just over 5 minutes this expressive movemnt is based around a theme heard after a short introduction.

The rise and fall in this movement are perfectly balanced and show that Hervey was certainly an accomplished composer as well as a writer on music.

SAMPLE: On the Heights (all)