Born in Heston, Middlesex, England, Dec 31, 1894
Died near Kenmare, Co. Kerry, Ireland, Dec 1, 1950
- Moeran was a prodigy who started to compose as a child, studied at the RCM, and later studied privately with John Ireland.
- Moeran’s study at the RCM was interrupted by service in WWI. He initially served as a motorcycle dispatch rider, and was wounded in France in 1917.
- In 1918 his battalion was sent to Ireland to deal with republican unrest. He collected a lot of Irish folk songs while he was there, and went back to collect more after he left military service.
- Coming from an affluent family, Moeran had the ability to compose whatever music appealed to him, rather than having to worry about earning money from his works. He also had the ability to finance performances of his own music.
- From 1925-1928 he shared a cottage with Philip Heseltine (Peter Warlock). Their home became a notorious partying house. Unfortunately, Moeran developed a debilitating alcohol dependency at this time, which affected his ability to compose.1
Sources
- Ian Maxwell, “Moeran, E(rnest) J(ohn) S(meed),” Grove Music Online (January 20, 2001), accessed November 19, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000048243.