Alexander Ewing (composer)
| Alexander Ewing | |
|---|---|
| Born |
3 January 1830 Aberdeen, Scotland |
| Died | 11 July 1895 (aged 65) Taunton, England |
| Occupation | British Army officer |
| Notable work | "Jerusalem the Golden" |
| Spouse(s) | Juliana Horatia Ewing |
Alexander Ewing (3 January 1830 – 11 July 1895) was a Scottish musician, composer and translator. He was a career officer in the British Army's Commissariat Department and subsequently the Army Pay Corps. He composed the music for the popular hymn "Jerusalem the Golden".
Ewing was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. His father, a medical doctor, was a cousin of the clergyman Alexander Ewing, who served as Bishop of Argyll and The Isles from 1847 until 1873. Ewing studied Music and German at Heidelberg University and Law in Aberdeen, but did not qualify as a lawyer. A member of the Aberdeen Harmonic Choir and the Haydn Society of Aberdeen, he was regarded as "the most talented young musician in the city".
Ewing composed a tune for John Mason Neale's hymn "For Thee, O Dear, Dear Country" which was first performed by the Aberdeen Harmonic Choir. It was published as a leaflet in 1853 and later included in a Manual of Psalm and Hymn Tunes published in 1857. While he was serving overseas with the army, his relative the Bishop of Argyle and the Isles submitted the music to the editor of Hymns Ancient and Modern, where it appeared in 1861 as the tune for "Jerusalem the Golden". The hymn became very popular, but because the Bishop's name was also Alexander Ewing, he was generally believed to have written the tune.
In 1855 Ewing joined the British Army's Commissariat Department and served in Constantinople during the Crimean War. From 1860 to 1866 he served in China, returning to England in 1866, and was with the army in Ireland during the 1867 Fenian Rising. He married the popular children's author Juliana Gatty on 1 June 1867 and the following week they left England for Fredericton, New Brunswick.
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