Mervyn Horder was born in London in 1910 and was son of the first Lord Horder, physician to five successive British monarchs (Edward VII to Elizabeth II). Educated at Winchester College, where (with Martin Cooper, Robert Irving and James Robertson) he had his musical training from George Dyson (later Sir George, Head of the Royal College of Music).
War Service with RAFVR at Fighter Command HQ, Air HQ India, SEAC, and after 1945 in Tokyo. Chairman and Managing Director of Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd., general publishers, 1945-1970. He contributed many literary articles to The Bookseller, Folio Society Quarterly, London Magazine etc. and was the author of The Little Genius: a memoir of the first Lord Horder (1966); On Their Own - shipwrecks and survivals (1988) and Literary Zigzags.
He died after a short illness in 1997.
In the following list, works shown in Italics are not published and the location of the manuscript is unknown
Piano Music
Crimond (Seven Hymn Tunes No. 2)
Old 120th, The (Seven Hymn Tunes No. 4)
Pulchinello† for piano duet
Seven Hymn Tunes for piano solo
St. Clement (Seven Hymn Tunes No. 3)
St. Denio (Seven Hymn Tunes No. 1)
St. Magnus (Seven Hymn Tunes No. 6)
St. Stephen (Seven Hymn Tunes No. 5)
Theme and Variations† for piano duet
Travelogues I & II (1960/2)‡ for piano duet
Three Open-Air Waltzes (1961)‡ for piano duet
Westminster Abbey (Seven Hymn Tunes No. 7)
Instrumental Music
Minuet in D (Handel) arranged for Oboe (Flute or Violin) and piano
Hampshire Days - suite for string orchestra
Norfolk Dances - suite for string orchestra
Choral Music
And is it true? (John Betjeman) SATB with piano accompaniment
Aunt Mary’s tree (R. S. Hawker) SATB a cappella
Ave verum corpus (Anonymous) SATB and organ accompaniment
Beastly! - Seven Songs for unison songs for groups - Unison voices and piano accompaniment (see separate titles)
Bread of the World (1974)†† SATB
Buttercup song, The (Mervyn Horder) [Beastly! Song No. 4] Unison voices and piano accompaniment
Christ who Knows all His Sheep
(1976)†† SATB
Cradled*** (Anonymous) Carol for SATB a cappella
Crossing the bar (Alfred, Lord Tennyson) Unison, SATB and piano accompaniment
Dieu, qu’il la fait bon regarder! (Charles d’Orleans) SATB a cappella
Drop, drop, slow tears (Phineas Fletcher) Soprano solo, SATB and organ accompaniment
Good men and bad (Mervyn Horder) SATB a cappella
I saw a jolly hunter (Charles Causley) [Beastly! Song No. 2]
Jesus affair, The (Mervyn Horder) [Beastly! Song No. 3] Unison voices and piano accompaniment
Jesus, dulcis memoria (Anonymous) SATB a cappella
L’Amour de moi (15th Century French trad. arr. Horder) SATB a cappella
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John*** (Anonymous) anthem for SS and piano/organ
Most holy night (Hillaire Belloc) SSATB and piano accompaniment
Mouse’s waltz, The (Mervyn Horder) [Beastly! Song No. 6] Unison voices and piano accompaniment
Saint Martin§ (Mervyn Horder) Unison voices and organ or SATB a cappella
Shepherds, shepherds (Mervyn Horder) Soprano solo and SATB with piano accompaniment
You silly donkey (Mervyn Horder) [Beastly! Song No. 5] Unison voices and piano accompaniment
Vrai Dieu d’Amours (15th Century French trad. arr. Horder) SATB a cappella
Vulture, The (Hilaire Belloc) [Beastly! Song 1] Unison voices and piano accompaniment
Waterbeetle, The (Hilaire Belloc) Unison voices and piano accompaniment
Way of the Lord, The (Mervyn Horder) SATB or unison voices and piano accompaniment
Whale, The (Lord Alfred Douglas) [Beastly! Song No. 7] Unison voices and piano accompaniment
Miscellaneous Works (scoring unknown)
All the Brown and Bare Horizons§
Author of Life Divine***
Be Known to Us***
Chorus Angelorum (Hymn Tunes)
Come My Way, My Truth, My Life [George Herbert]
Cool of Morning [Apex Music Co.]
Crossing the Bar [Alfred, Lord Tennyson]
Dancing***
First Christmas, The***
Five Time***
For John Piper [Stourton Press]
Glory of God Our King [Margaret Cropper]
God of Lions and Tigers***
God of the World’s Great Cities
[Christopher Martin Idle]§
Golden Age Suite
Heel and Toe***
Hempstead [G. Studdert-Kennedy]§
Interlude from ‘Jeptha’*
I Didn’t Care [Charles Causley]
I Kiss You [William Butler Yeats]
Jerusalem the Golden [J. M. Neale]
Jubilee
Martinmas§
Nocturne
Non Nobis Domine [Rudyard Kipling]
O give Me Springtime [Apex Music Co.]
O Salutaris Hostia***
Praise the Lord, the Ground of Goodness§
Rain on Earth by Heaven’s Blessing§
Royal Lullaby
Sometimes a Light Surprises***
Strong Son of God
Tennyson Trio
Three Waltzes
Time Like a Saucey Trooper [Charles Causley]
Three Ferguson Duets (Cuddesdon; Ladywell; Waldercote)***
Today we feel the earth spin round***
Variations on a Suffolk Folk-Tune‡
We Sing the Praise of Christ, the Great Physician§
Solo Songs (Voice and Piano)
And is it true? (John Betjeman)
Anything that hurts is funny (Mervyn Horder)
As pants the heart (Ogden Nash)
Battersea (Eleanor Farjeon)
Bid me to live (Robert Herrick)
Blow, blow, thou winter wind
(William Shakespeare) - see albums of songs below
Bohemia (Dorothy Parker) [Black Diamonds I No. 2] - see albums of songs below
Boy’s song, The (The Rev. H. C. Beesking)
Bric à brac (Dorothy Parker) [Black Diamonds II No. 2] - see albums of songs below
Bring me sunshine (Mervyn Horder)
British Rail (Mervyn Horder) for tenor and piano
Caprice
(John Betjeman) - see albums of songs below
Carry her over the water (W. H. Auden) - see albums of songs below
Charm me asleep (Robert Herrick)
Child’s grace, A (Robert Herrick)
Church’s restoration, The (John Betjeman) - see albums of songs below
Clear and gentle stream! (Robert Bridges)
Convalescent (Dorothy Parker) [Black Diamonds II No. 3] - see albums of songs below
Darling dog (Anonymous)
Donkey, The (G. K. Chesterton)
Elizabethan sailor’s song (Charles Causley) [Five Sea Songs No. 5] - see albums of songs below
Farmer’s eldest daughter, The
(William Barnes) [Dorset Delight No. 5] - see albums of songs below
Gather ye rosebuds (Robert Herrick)
Give and take (Carol Rumens)
Goldcups (A. E. Houseman) [A Shropshire Lad No. 2] - see albums of songs below
Him I love (Mervyn Horder)
Holly, The (Walter de la Mare) [Four Songs No. 4] - see albums of songs below
How to get on in society (John Betjeman) - see albums of songs below
Hymn to love, A (Robert Herrick)
I am the great sun (Charles Causley) [Five Sea Songs No. 1] - see albums of songs below
I love all beauteous things (Robert Bridges)
Innocent’s songs (Charles Causley) [Four Songs No. 2] - see albums of songs below
In the spring (William Barnes) [Dorset Delight No. 1] - see albums of songs below
In Westminster Abbey (John Betjeman) - see albums of songs below
I saw a jolly hunter (Charles Causley) [Four Songs No. 1] - see albums of songs below
It was a lover and his lass (William Shakespeare) - see albums of songs below
John Anderson, My Jo (Robert Burns) [Five Burns Songs No. 4] - see albums of songs below
Johnny (W. H. Auden) - see albums of songs below
Lent lily, The (A. E. Houseman) [A Shropshire Lad No. 3] - see albums of songs below
Linnet, The (Walter de la Mare) [Four Songs No. 3] - see albums of songs below
London fields (Eleanor Farjeon)
Loveliest of trees (A. E. Houseman) [A Shropshire Lad No. 1] - see albums of songs below
Low fat (Mervyn Horder) [Fadditties No. 1] - see albums of songs below
Lullaby (Lay your sleeping head, my love) (W. H. Auden) - see albums of songs below
Monosodium glutamate (Mervyn Horder) [Fadditties No. 3] - see albums of songs below
My delight and thy delight (Robert Bridges)
My Jean (Robert Burns) [Five Burns Songs No. 3] - see albums of songs below
My own dear love (Dorothy Parker) [Black Diamonds I No. 1] - see albums of songs below
Not to be born (W. H. Auden) - see albums of songs below
Nursery rhyme of innocence and experience
(Charles Causley) [Five Sea Songs No. 4] - see albums of songs below
O mistress mine (William Shakespeare) - see albums of songs below
O whistle and I’ll come to you (Robert Burns) [Five Burns Songs No. 2] - see albums of songs below
On himself (Robert Herrick)
Orchard Street (Eleanor Farjeon)
Parson’s Green (Eleanor Farjeon)
Physical culture (Mervyn Horder) [Fadditties No. 2] - see albums of songs below
Red, red rose, A (Robert Burns) [Five Burns Songs No. 1] - see album of songs below
Sailor's carol (Charles Causley) [Five Sea Songs No. 3] - see albums of songs below
Sign no more, ladies (William Shakespeare) - see albums of songs below
Silver (Walter de la Mare) [Four Songs No. 2] - see albums of songs below
Song of the dying gunner (Charles Causley) [Five Sea Songs No. 2] - see albums of songs below
Stock Exchange, The (Eleanor Farjeon)
Stop all the clocks (W. H. Auden) - see albums of songs below - view score
Strand, The (Eleanor Farjeon)
Subaltern’s love song, A (John Betjeman) - see albums of songs below
Summers pride (William Barnes) [Dorset Delight No. 4] - see albums of songs below
Tell me, Sarah Jane (Charles Causley) [Four Songs No. 4] - see albums of songs below
Tiger, tiger, burning bright (William Blake)
Timothy Winters (Charles Causley) [Four Songs No. 3] - see albums of songs below
To Anthea (Robert Herrick) - see “Bid me to live” above
To Electra (Robert Herrick)
To music (Robert Herrick) - see also “Charm me asleep” above
Tower of London, The (Eleanor Farjeon)
Under the greenwood tree (William Shakespeare) - see albums of songs below
Unfortunate coincidence (Dorothy Parker) [Black Diamonds I No. 3] - see albums of songs below
Vulture, The (Hilaire Belloc)
Wail (Dorothy Parker) [Black Diamonds No. 1] - see albums of songs below
Waterbeetle, The (Hilaire Belloc)
Westgate-on-sea (John Betjeman) - see albums of songs below
When I was one and twenty (A. E. Houseman) [A Shropshire Lad No. 4] - see albums of songs below
When music sounds (Walter de la Mare) [Four Songs No. 1] - see albums of songs below
When that I was and a little tiny boy
(William Shakespeare)
White and blue (William Barnes) [Dorset Delight No. 2] - see albums of songs below
White in the moon (A. E. Houseman) [A Shropshire Lad No. 5] - see albums of songs below
Where the bee sucks (William Shakespeare)
Who is Silvia? (William Shakespeare) - see albums of songs below
Wife a-lost, The (William Barnes) [Dorset Delight No. 3] - see albums of songs below
Wind and the rain, The (William Shakespeare) - see albums of songs below
Winter it is past, The (Robert Burns - words and music arr. Horder) [Five Burns Songs No. 5] - see albums of songs below
Vocal Duets (Voices and Piano)
Bonny lass, if thou were mine (Mervyn Horder) Soprano and Tenor
Colour, The (Thomas Hardy) Soprano and Baritone
Come unto these yellow sands (William Shakespeare) [Four Shakespeare Duets No. 2] Soprano and Baritone
It was a lover and his lass (William Shakespeare) [Four Shakespeare Duets No. 1] Soprano and Baritone
Princess and the gypsies, The (Frances Cornford) Soprano and Soprano or Mezzo Soprano and Mezzo Soprano
Sister, awake! (Anonymous 1604) Soprano and Mezzo Soprano
When that I was and a little tiny boy (William Shakespeare) [Four Shakespeare Duets No. 4] Soprano and Baritone
Where the bee sucks (William Shakespeare) [Four Shakespeare Duets No. 3] Soprano and Baritone
Solo Song Albums
Black Diamonds I - 3 Songs (Dorothy Parker)
Black Diamonds II - 3 Songs (Dorothy Parker)
Book of Love Songs, A (1969) - edition*
Dorset Delight - 5 Songs¶ (William Barnes)
Easter Carol Book, The (1982) - edition**
Fadditties - 3 Songs (Mervyn Horder)
Five Auden Songs (W. H. Auden)
Five Burns Songs (Robert Burns)
Five Sea Songs¶ (Charles Causley)
Four Songs¶ (Charles Causley)
Four Songs (Walter de la Mare)
Orange Carol Book, The (1972) - edition**
Seven Shakespeare Songs*
(William Shakespeare)
A Shropshire Lad - 5 Songs* (A. E. Houseman)
Six Betjeman Songs* (John Betjeman)
Publishers:
†Carl Fischer (USA)
‡Hinrichsen (Peters Edition)
*Alfred Lengnick & Co. Ltd (Complete Music)
***Oecumuse (Barry Brunton Music Publishing)
**Schott & Co. Ltd
§Stainer and Bell Ltd
¶Westerleigh Publications,
Thornhough, Lustleigh, Devon (Tel.: 01647 277270
††Williams
All other works listed are published by Bardic Edition
Bardic Edition would like to give special thanks to Professor Warren Hoffer, Emeritus for his help in locating and supplying manuscript copies of many of the Horder songs. Without his invaluable help the lists above could not have been completed.
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