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Haldane Campbell Stewart (1868-1942)
Welcome to the website dedicated to the life and achievements of Haldane Campbell Stewart/H C Stewart/HCS.
First of all it is necessary to mention that HCS should not be confused, as he is so often, with his contemporary, Charles Hylton Stewart (1884-1932), organist of Rochester and Chester Cathedrals and of St George's Chapel, Windsor.
HCS, as he tended to be known, is notable for his all-round versatility that enabled him to excel in more than than just music. These gifts were evidently matched by a great modesty and elegance in both his character and deportment. A colleague at Tonbridge remarked: 'I think H.C. lights a cigarette better than any man I know...' !
His legacy of composition is not very large (though greater perhaps than is generally realised), but is of uniformly high quality. He was a contemporary of such figures as Bairstow, Bainton, Balfour Gardiner and E W Naylor, and the musical language shows similarities.
The Evening Canticles in C♯ minor are quite well-known, but Stewart is best remembered for his carol, 'On this day, earth shall ring' which was included in Volume 4 of 'Anthems for Choirs' (OUP), a piece which exhibits one of his most typical traits: a fondness for unusual and fluctuating time signatures which are governed by the rhythm and metre of the text. His harmonic language is varied – often highly chromatic, with occasional use of whole tone and jazz harmony.
H C Stewart married a cellist, Elinor Dorothy Hunt, and his daughter Jean was a noted viola player - so it is not surprising that he also composed chamber music that featured these two instruments. Most of this exists in manuscript, and has yet to be published.
Simon Lawford
April 2013
Welcome to the website dedicated to the life and achievements of Haldane Campbell Stewart/H C Stewart/HCS.
First of all it is necessary to mention that HCS should not be confused, as he is so often, with his contemporary, Charles Hylton Stewart (1884-1932), organist of Rochester and Chester Cathedrals and of St George's Chapel, Windsor.
HCS, as he tended to be known, is notable for his all-round versatility that enabled him to excel in more than than just music. These gifts were evidently matched by a great modesty and elegance in both his character and deportment. A colleague at Tonbridge remarked: 'I think H.C. lights a cigarette better than any man I know...' !
His legacy of composition is not very large (though greater perhaps than is generally realised), but is of uniformly high quality. He was a contemporary of such figures as Bairstow, Bainton, Balfour Gardiner and E W Naylor, and the musical language shows similarities.
The Evening Canticles in C♯ minor are quite well-known, but Stewart is best remembered for his carol, 'On this day, earth shall ring' which was included in Volume 4 of 'Anthems for Choirs' (OUP), a piece which exhibits one of his most typical traits: a fondness for unusual and fluctuating time signatures which are governed by the rhythm and metre of the text. His harmonic language is varied – often highly chromatic, with occasional use of whole tone and jazz harmony.
H C Stewart married a cellist, Elinor Dorothy Hunt, and his daughter Jean was a noted viola player - so it is not surprising that he also composed chamber music that featured these two instruments. Most of this exists in manuscript, and has yet to be published.
Simon Lawford
April 2013
