Ernest Bryson

Robert Ernest Bryson (30 March 1867 – 16 April 1942) was a Scottish composer and organist who spent most of his life in Birkenhead, England, working as a cotton merchant in Liverpool. He was the founder-chairman and later President of the Rodewald Concert Society in Liverpool.

Early life and education

Robert Ernest Bryson (known as a composer more often as just Ernest Bryson), was born in Milton, Glasgow, Scotland on 30 March 1867[1] and died 16 April 1942 in St Briavels, Gloucestershire.[2] He was the only son of Robert Bryson (1831–1886), a cotton merchant, and Margaret Bryson (née Young, 1839–1936), and was brought to Tranmere, Birkenhead (then part of Cheshire, England) at an early age. He had three sisters. Bryson was educated at Birkenhead School (1877–81).[3]

He purchased Yew Tree Cottage at St Briavels, Gloucestershire, in 1907[4] as a country residence and was registered there as a voter from 1910. He, and his three sisters all died there unmarried, along with their widowed mother.

Career

Bryson joined his father's firm of Bryson, Cooper & Co, cotton brokers, of Liverpool as an apprentice at the age of 17. He became a partner on his father's death.[5]

Bryson studied music with W. H. Hunt, a local music teacher,[6] along with Hunt's nephews, Frederic and Ernest Austin who both became composers. He was organist of Christ Church, Birkenhead and St Saviour Church, Oxton[7] and spent most of his spare time in composition.

His earliest known composition was Allegro Moderato in D minor for organ, which was published by Reeves in 1889. His Symphony No 1 was performed in Liverpool by the Liverpool Orchestral Society under Bantock in 1908 and published by Breitkopf & Härtel.[8][9] There were further performances in Bournemouth under James Lyon (1872–1949)[10] in February 1912.[11] and in Manchester by the Hallé Orchestra[12] His Symphony No 2 appears to be lost, although it was performed in Manchester on 1 January 1928 by the Hallé Orchestra under Sir Hamilton Harty and broadcast.[13] It was also awarded a prize by the Carnegie Music Trust. Both symphonies were reviewed in detail by Leigh Henry.[14]

As part of the Musical League Festival, Bryson's Idylls of a Summer's Day was performed in 1909.[15] His next big success was Voices, a study for orchestra premièred by Sir Henry Wood at the Promenade Concert, London on 15 September 1910.[16] Next came The Stranger for Baritone, chorus & small orchestra, which was premièred by the Liverpool Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra in 1917.[17] His part-song Drum-taps was reviewed as a new publication in 1918.[18] His Fanfare for an Adventure was published in 1921 as a piano version.[19]

Bryson's opera The Leper's Flute with libretto by Ian Colvin premièred in Glasgow on 15 October 1926 by the British National Opera Company[20] and subsequently toured to Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool and London.[21] Also that year Bryson's song cycle The Unfading Garden was introduced by Hugh Campbell at the Grotriau Hall.[22] A song cycle, A Last Harvest was played at the Reid Concert at the University of Edinburgh on 19 November 1927. The Radio Times shows that on 27 August 1937 Bryson's The Field of Boliauns was broadcast; performed by the BBC Orchestra conducted by Clarence Raybould with Parry Jones (tenor).[23] Bryson claimed he had been the confidant of William J. Ridley in the design of the organ at Liverpool Cathedral.[24] Ridley was an amateur organist and an enthusiastic member of the organ committee, who was determined that the organ at Liverpool Cathedral would be the biggest and best organ in the World.[25] Ridley was credited with the inception of the project.[26]

Ridley left a legacy to Bryson which he used to found an organ fund to replace the little antiquated organ at St Briavels, Gloucestershire, where he was organist in his retirement.[27] He is commemorated by a plaque on the organ.[4]

After his retirement to St. Briavels in 1924, Bryson was invited to become the President of the Rodewald Concert Society. He accepted only after Elgar had declined the honour.[28][29]

Compositions

Operas
  • Opera The Leper's Flute (Goodwin & Tab, 1925)

Orchestral
  • Fantasia-Overture (1894)
  • Idylls of a Summer's Day (1909)
  • Voices, a study for orchestra (1910)
  • Symphony No 1 in D (Breitkopf & Härtel,[30] 1909)
  • Symphony No 2 in C (1928)
  • Vaila, fantasy for string orchestra (Breitkopf & Härtel, 1909)

Cantatas and Oratorios
  • The Stranger for Baritone, chorus & small orchestra (Stainer & Bell, 1917)
  • The Field of Boliauns for tenor and orchestra (1937)

Songs
  • A Last Harvest, a song cycle for voice and orchestra
  • Nae sae bad as it micht hae been for one or two baritones (Larway, 1927)
  • So, the Year's done with (Oxford University Press, 1927)
  • A song of long ago (Weekes & Co, 1890)
  • The Unfading Garden (1926)
  • What the People Tell Old Büsen (Stainer & Bell, 1911)

Part Songs
  • Drum-taps, seven part songs for chorus with side-drum (J Curwen & Sons, 1918)
  • Grey, Canzonetta for female voices (Stainer & Bell, 1914)
  • Simple as a Daisy for male voices (Curwen, 1930)
  • Six Silly Songs for sensible children, (with Ernest Austin), (J. H. Larway, 1916)
  • The Angler (J Curwen & Sons, 1925)
  • The Silent Town for female voices (1914)

Church music
  • The Unison Chant Choir-Book, a collection of original chants designed to encourage congregational singing (with Arthur Wormald Pollitt, Henry Frowde 1909)
  • Most Glorious Lord of Life, Anthem (London 1912)

Chamber music
  • String Quartet No 1
  • String Quartet No 2
  • Adagio cantabile, trio for violin, pianoforte and harmonium or American organ (1895?) (Donajowski, 1916)

Organ
  • Allegro Deciso in D (1895)
  • Allegro Grazioso (Schott, 1922)
  • Allegro Moderato in D min (Reeves) 1889)
  • Fantasia-Overture in D (Donajowski, 1894)
  • Introduction & Symphonic Finale (Larway, 1910)
  • Invocation (Mayhew)
  • Pæan (J. Williams}, 1940)
  • Prelude & Fugue in D (Donajowski, 1893)
  • Processional Fantasia in C (Donajowski, 1893)
  • P†n for organ [sic] (1940)
  • Rhapsody (J. Williams}, 1935)
  • Sequence of 7 Miniatures (Schott, 1922)[31]IMSLP[32]
  • Six Church Preludes (Novello, 1892)
  • Six Pieces Op. 26 (Donajowski, 1895)
  • Sonata in C min (Forsyth)
  • Two Miniatures (Schott & Co. 1922)

Piano
  • Through the Little Meadows Dedicated to and first performed by Frederick Brandon[33]
  • Fanfare for an Adventure arr. for piano (1921),[34][35]
  • Remembrance, A melody for pianoforte (J. H. Larway), 1926)

Sources
  1. Bryson, (Robert) Ernest, Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1954 and earlier editions
  2. A Dictionary of Modern Music and Musicians, Ed. Eaglefield-Hull, Dent 1924.
  3. Bryson, Ernest British Library catalogues
  4. Ernest Bryson Scottish Composers
  5. Organ Biography (Requires a subscription for composer details)
  6. Bryson, Ernest IMSLP
  7. Rodewald Concert Society archives

References
  1. Scotland Select Births and Baptisms, 1564–1950
  2. Probate Bristol 12 August 1942 Some sources record his death as 20 April, but this in fact was the date of his burial
  3. Birkenheaad School Archives
  4. The Lydney Observer, 8 May 1942.
  5. The Lydney Observer, 8 May 1942. As there are several errors in this obituary we cannot be sure of this.
  6. Grove Dictionary of Music and Musician, Ed Eric Blom, 1954, Vol 1, p990
  7. "Growing Together in Christ". Oxton St Saviour.
  8. Jürgen Schaarwächter, Two Centuries of British Symphonism from the beginning to 1945, Chapter 5 p 278
  9. Zalkow, Frank. "Dr. Jürgen Schaarwächter". Aktuelles (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  10. James Lyon was one of the founders of the Rodewald Concert Society in Liverpool, not to be confused with the American composer of the same name
  11. The Times 11 November 1811 p 10
  12. The Times 27 September 1926
  13. The Times 12 January 1928
  14. Musical Opinion, April and May 1923
  15. The Times, 27 September 1909 p 11
  16. The Times 15 and 17 September 1910 p 10
  17. Darren Henley & Vincent McKernan 'The Original Liverpool Sound, Liverpool University Press, 2000
  18. The Times 7 December 1918
  19. Fanfare: A musical Causerie, Vol 1, Issue 4, Goodwin & Tab, 15 Nov 1921
  20. The Times 16 October 1926 p 10
  21. The Times 12 Sep and 14 November 1927
  22. The Times 26 November 1926
  23. Radio Times 27 Aug 1937 p 60
  24. Bryson, Ernest, Liverpool Cathedral Organ, Musical Opinion, 1924.
  25. Meybrick-Roberts, R, The Organ of Liverpool Cathedral, Musical Opinion, London 1926.
  26. Goss-Custard, H The Organ of Liverpool Cathedral, Liverpool Cathedral, 1940.
  27. Sheraton, Jean, A Country Church Organ and Robert Ernest Bryson, pp. 22–23, Gloucester Cathedral News, April 2016.
  28. Liverpool Record Office, RCS archives, ref 780 RCS/1/5/3-5.
  29. Kelly, John E., Elgar's Best Friend: Alfred Rodewald of Liverpool, Carnegie Publishing Ltd, Lancaster, 2013, ISBN 978-1-85936-221-1, p 128.
  30. Currently available from mph
  31. Reprinted: Contemporary English Organ Album, London Schott & Co 1932 Plate B.S.S. 33502
  32. IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library: Free Public Domain Sheet Music
  33. First performance 28 October 1912 for the Rodewald Concert Society
  34. Fanfare: A Musical Causerie Vol 1, Issue 4, Goodwin & Tab 15 November 1921
  35. "Fanfare for an Adventure (Bryson, Ernest) – IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library: Free Public Domain Sheet Music". Imslp.org. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
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