DESCRIPTION:
Martin Edward Fallas Shaw OBE FRCM (9 March 1875 – 24 October 1958) was an English composer, conductor and (in his early life) theatre producer. His over 300 published works include songs, hymns, carols, oratorios, several instrumental works, a congregational mass setting (the Anglican Folk Mass) and four operas including a ballad opera.

Shaw was born in London, the son of the Bohemian and eccentric James Shaw, composer of church music and organist of Hampstead Parish Church. He was the elder brother of the composer and influential educator Geoffrey Shaw and the actor Julius Shaw. He studied under Stanford at the Royal College of Music, together with a generation of composers that included Holst, Vaughan Williams and John Ireland. He then embarked upon a career as a theatrical producer, composer and conductor, the early years of which he described as "a long period of starving along". However, he began his career as an organist, serving at Emmanuel Church, West Hampstead, from 1895 to 1903.

With Gordon Craig, he founded the Purcell Operatic Society in 1899, dedicated to reviving the music of Henry Purcell and other English composers of the period, many of whose works had fallen into long neglect.

Shaw then toured Europe as a conductor. During this period he gave music lessons and took posts as Organist and Director of Music, first at St Mary's, Primrose Hill, where his vicar was Percy Dearmer, and later at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London. He was also Master of Music at the Guildhouse, London. Working with Percy Dearmer, Martin was music editor of The English Carol Book (1913, 1919) and, with Ralph Vaughan Williams, of Songs of Praise (1925, 1931) and The Oxford Book of Carols (1928).

In 1932 Shaw received the Lambeth degree of Doctor of Music. He was appointed an OBE in 1955 and was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Music (FRCM) in 1958.

His nephew was the actor Sebastian Shaw, who (SPOILER ALERT!) played the unmasked Darth Vader and the ghost of Anakin Skywalker in Return of the Jedi (1983).

This tune, "Little Cornard" (66 66 88) is sung to "Hills Of The North Rejoice", which has been a favourite of mine ever since learning it as a small child at school in weekly hymn practice. One full verse is played as introduction. I play it pretty straight throughout. I hope you enjoy this performance of it.