My Musical Life

Hugh Reginald Haweis (1838–1901) was a clergyman, writer and amateur violinist, whose musical criticism was influential in introducing Wagner to English audiences. This 1884 memoir recalls his musical experiences as player and audience, and develops his theories on the moral influence of music.

Hugh Reginald Haweis (1838–1901) was a clergyman and writer. Published in 1884, this memoir deals with one of his great interests: music. He was a proficient violinist, and his musical writings included books on church bell-ringing, violins, and the best-selling Music and Morals (also reissued in this series), which had reached its sixteenth edition by his death. As curate of St James, Westmoreland Street, he used musical events as a way of turning an empty church into a fashionable one. He acted as music critic for Truth and the Pall Mall Gazette, in addition to lecturing and writing on religious subjects. The book recounts a lifetime of making and enjoying music, and conveys Haweis' emotional response to music from an early age. It is a record of nineteenth-century musical performances and changing tastes, which also demonstrates Haweis' belief in the reforming influence of music on morals and society.