Eric Sams

Eric Sams

Eric Sams (May 3, 1926—Sept. 13, 2004) was a British musicologist and Shakespeare scholar.

Born in London, he was raised in Essex; his early brilliance in school earned him a scholarship to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge at the age of sixteen. His life-long passion for puzzles and ciphers stood him in good stead in his wartime service in British Intelligence (1944-47). After the war he read modern languages at Cambridge (French and German), 1947-50; upon graduation he entered the Civil Service. In 1952 he married Enid Tidmarsh (d. 2002), a pianist. Their elder son, Richard, is a Japanese scholar and chess master working in Tokyo; their younger son Jeremy Sams is a composer, lyricist, playwright, and theatre director.

In music, Sams wrote on and studied a range of subjects and genres, though his specialty was German "lieder." He wrote volumes on the songs of Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Hugo Wolf. His theory of Song-Motifs is 20th Century's most important contribution to the research in the field of German Song studies. From 1965 to 1980 he was a regular contributor to "The Musical Times" with Essays and Reviews. Most notably, he wrote on Schumann's and Brahms's ciphers and music codes (the "Clara-Theme", among others), on Elgar's Enigma and on Schubert's and Schumann's pathologies. His "New Grove" articles include Schubert and Schumann work-list, "Wolf" and Wolf work-list, "Mörike", "Hanslick" and "Musical Cryptography" (also in Grove 6). He reviewed opera performance for the "New Statesman," 1976-8 and wrote Record reviews for "Gramophone" 1976-78.

In the field of Shakespeare studies, Sams specialized in the early phases of Shakespeare's career. He argued strongly against the concept of memorial reconstruction, believing that variants from standard Shakespeare texts were more likely the playwright's own early versions. He wrote books defending the attributions of the anonymous plays "Edward III" and "Edmund Ironside" to Shakespeare, and a chronology of the poet's early career, "The Real Shakespeare."

elected works by Eric Sams

*"The Songs of Hugo Wolf," 1961.
*"The Songs of Robert Schumann," 1969.
*"Brahms Songs," 1972
*"Shakespeare's Lost Play, Edmund Ironside," 1986.
*"The Real Shakespeare: Retrieving the Early years, 1564-1594," 1995.
*"Shakespeare's Edward III: An Early Play Restored to the Canon," 1996.
*"The Songs of Johannes Brahms," 2000.
*"Essays and Reviews on Music, on Shakespeare, on Cryptography," 1966-1998, online edition in the web-pages of the Centro Studi "Eric Sams" ( [http://www.ericsams.org] )
*"The Real Shakespeare II: Retrieving the Later Years, 1594-1616," 2008, e-book published by the Centro Studi "Eric Sams" ( [http://www.ericsams.org/shakespeare.htm] )


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Sams — is a surname shared by several notable people:;Born before 1800 * William Sams (1792 ndash;1871), Australian government official and entrepreneur;Born before 1950 * Ferrol Sams (born 1922), American physician and novelist * Eric Sams (1926… …   Wikipedia

  • Eric Wynalda — Infobox Football biography| playername= Eric Wynalda fullname = Eric Wynalda nickname = Waldo dateofbirth = birth date and age|1969|6|9 cityofbirth = Fullerton, CA countryofbirth = United States height = height|ft=6|in=1 currentclub = Bakersfield …   Wikipedia

  • Jeremy Sams — (born January 12, 1957 in London, England) is a British director, writer, translator, orchestrator, musical director, film composer, and lyricist.Sams studied Music, French, and German at Magdalene College, Cambridge and piano at Guildhall School …   Wikipedia

  • Edward III (play) — The Reign of King Edward the Third is an Elizabethan play often attributed to William Shakespeare. It was first printed anonymously in 1596. However, since the eighteenth century, the possibility that all or part of it is the work of Shakespeare… …   Wikipedia

  • Dorabella Cipher — The text of the Dorabella Cipher, in Elgar s handwriting The Dorabella Cipher is an enciphered letter written by Edward Elgar to Miss Dora Penny, which was accompanied by another dated July 14, 1897. Penny was never able to decipher it and its… …   Wikipedia

  • Nieves Mathews — Nieves Hayat de Madariaga Archibald, Mrs. Mathews (1917 2003) was an author of Scottish and Spanish parentage. Family background Her father was the distinguished Spanish diplomat and scholar Salvador de Madariaga. Her mother was the distinguished …   Wikipedia

  • Edmund Ironside (play) — Edmund Ironside, or War Hath Made All Friends is an anonymous Elizabethan play that depicts the life of Edmund II of England, At least two critics have suggested that it is an early work by William Shakespeare.TextThe play was never published in… …   Wikipedia

  • Código Dorabella — El Código Dorabella. El código o cifrado Dorabella es una carta codificada escrita por Edward Elgar a Dora Penny, que fue acompañada por otra fechada el 14 de julio de 1897. Penny no fue nunca capaz de descifrarla y su significado permanece… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Carnaval (Schumann) — Carnaval is a work by Robert Schumann for piano solo, his op. 9, written in 1834 1835. Schumann dedicated the work to the violinist Karol Lipiński. The work is subtitled Scènes mignonnes sur quatre notes (Little Scenes on Four Notes). It consists …   Wikipedia

  • Faschingsschwank aus Wien — ( Carnival Scenes from Vienna or Carnival Jest from Vienna ) is a solo piano work by Robert Schumann, his op. 26. Schumann began composition of the work in 1839 in Vienna. He wrote the first four movements in Vienna, and the last on his return to …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”