Eaton Faning

Joseph Eaton Faning, known professionally as Eaton Faning, was born on 20 May 1850 in Helston (England). He was the son of Roger Faning, a music teacher, and received his earliest musical instruction from his parents, who taught him piano and violin. At the age of five he made his first public appearance as a violinist at a local concert. Following the death of his father when he was nine years old, the family moved to Ipswich, Suffolk. There he sang as an alto in a church choir and continued his studies of violin and organ with local teachers. At the age of twelve he was appointed organist of All Saints’ Church in Holbrook, near Ipswich. He subsequently studied with Lindley Nunn, organist of St Mary-le-Tower, Ipswich, serving as Nunn’s deputy organist and assistant choir trainer for several years.
In April 1870 Faning entered the Royal Academy of Music in London. His principal teachers included William Sterndale Bennett and Arthur Sullivan for composition, while his wider course of study also brought him into contact with Charles Steggall, William Aylward Ciabatta, Frederick Jewson and Pettitt. At the Academy he studied composition, piano, organ, singing and violoncello. During his student years he won numerous distinctions, including the Academy’s Bronze Medal in 1871, the Silver Medal in 1872, election as an Extra Mendelssohn Scholar in 1873, and the Charles Lucas Medal for composition in 1876 for his setting of the Magnificat. He later earned the degree of Bachelor of Music from Cambridge University in 1894 and the degree of Doctor of Music in 1900.
While still a student, Faning simultaneously held church appointments as organist of St Thomas’s Church, Paddington, and later St John’s Church, Lewisham. In 1874 he joined the staff of the Royal Academy of Music as Sub-Professor of Harmony. He became Assistant Professor of Piano in 1877 and was promoted to full Professor in 1878. He was elected an Associate of the Academy in 1877 and a Fellow in 1881. Alongside his Academy duties he taught at the National Training School of Music, remaining on its staff when it was reorganized as the Royal College of Music in 1883, where he taught piano and harmony and conducted the choral class until 1887. From 1882 he also served as Professor of Piano at the Guildhall School of Music. In 1885 he accepted the post of Director of Music at Harrow School, where he supervised an extensive music programme and a staff of assistant music masters. He remained at Harrow until his retirement in 1901.
In addition to his teaching activities, Faning was active as a conductor and choir trainer. He directed two amateur musical societies and led “Mr Eaton Faning’s Select Choir,” a professional vocal ensemble that appeared in London concert series. He also conducted the London Male Voice Club and the Madrigal Society. His interest in large-scale choral performance led him to prepare the Royal Choral Society for concert performances of Wagner’s Parsifal at the Royal Albert Hall. 
Faning’s catalogue encompasses orchestral, choral, vocal, chamber, keyboard and stage works. His early output included a symphony, overtures and string quartets. His stage compositions comprise the comic operettas "The Two Majors" (1877), "Mock Turtles" (1881) and "The Head of the Poll" (1882). His sacred music includes a Magnificat and a Mass in B minor, together with hymns and church music. He composed cantatas, among them "Buttercups and Daisies" for children’s voices, as well as numerous part-songs, male-voice choruses and solo songs. His best-known compositions were the part-song "The Vikings" and the song "I’ve Something Sweet to Tell You". His output also included piano music, orchestral pieces such as "The Holiday overture" and the orchestral intermezzo "Savage Dance", together with a substantial body of secular and sacred choral music.
Eaton Faning died on 28 October 1927 in Brighton (England).

The Queen's Song

In my possession is the autograph full score of the work "The Queen's Song A.D. 1897" for choir and orchestra by Eaton Faning. The work sets words by Edwin Arnold to music and was composed in 1897 to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.