Battison Haynes

Walter Battison Haynes was an English pianist, organist and composer.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article on Battison Haynes.

From the period sources

Walter Battison Haynes, born in Kempsey, near Worcester, England, in 1859, was a pupil of the Leipzig Conservatorium, where his professors included Dr. Carl Reinecke and Dr. S. Jadassohn (Grove’s Dictionary, 1906). His studies there were notably successful, earning him the Mozart Scholarship as one of the “most excellent pupils in the Conservatorium” (Grove’s Dictionary, 1906). During this period, he composed a symphony in B flat, a concert-overture, a pianoforte trio, a sonata for pianoforte and violin, a published prelude and fugue for two pianofortes, and a published organ sonata in D minor (Grove’s Dictionary, 1906).

After his time in Leipzig, Haynes settled in London, becoming organist of St. Philip’s Church, Sydenham, in 1884, a post he exchanged in 1891 for the Chapel Royal, Savoy, succeeding H. F. Frost (A Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 1900; Grove’s Dictionary, 1906). He also served as director of music at the Borough Polytechnic for a time and was appointed a professor of harmony and composition at the Royal Academy of Music in 1890 (Grove’s Dictionary, 1906). His compositions, which also included additional accompaniments to Handel’s Chandos Anthem, two cantatas for female voices—“The Fairies’ Isle” and “A Sea Dream”—an Idyll for violin and orchestra, twelve sketches for violin with pianoforte accompaniment, other church music, duets, songs, and organ pieces, were noted for their “absolute refinement in the exercise of a melodic gift and skilful musicianship” (Grove’s Dictionary, 1906). His career was cut short by his early death in London in 1900, at the age of forty-one (Grove’s Dictionary, 1906).