Muriel Herbert

Muriel Emily Herbert (1897 – 1 May 1984) was a British composer of the early 20th century. Much of Herbert's work is for solo voice and piano, with art song settings of texts by English and Irish poets such as James Joyce, Thomas Hardy, Ben Jonson, Robert Herrick and W.B. Yeats.

Muriel Emily Herbert was born in 1897 in Sheffield and grew up in Liverpool, England. She grew up singing and playing music in the home as her mother was the church choir director. She was the youngest child and only daughter. Her older brother Percy, was also a musician and encouraged his younger sister to study music, for which she had a natural ability. She began writing down songs for voice and piano at a young age. In 1909, her father died and the Herbert family struggled with poverty. A journalist for the Liverpool Post, Hugh Farrie, encouraged her to become a concert pianist, but Muriel's interest was in composition.

In 1917, Muriel received the Liverpool scholarship and attended the Royal College of Music in London. She studied with Irish composer, Charles Stanford, and when World War I ended she stayed near London, taught at Wycombe Abbey School for girls, gave private lessons, and performed recitals, and continued developing her musical abilities.

In the early Twenties she met Roger Quilter, who viewed her works favourably and recommended them to the publisher Augener, even signing the contract as a witness. In 1923, Augener published the songs 'Beauty', 'Cradle Song', 'Loveliest of Trees', 'Renouncement' and 'When Death to Either Shall Come'. A further three songs, 'Autumn', 'Most Holy Night' and 'Have you seen but a white lily grow', were published by Augener in 1926. Later, some of Herbert's other art songs and two works for violin and piano ('Giboulée' and 'Enchanted April') were published by Robert Elkin.

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