William Denis Browne

William Charles Denis Browne (3 November 1888 – 4 June 1915), primarily known as Billy to family and as Denis to his friends, was a British composer, pianist, organist and music critic of the early 20th century. He and his close friend, poet Rupert Brooke, were commissioned into the Royal Naval Division together shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. Denis Browne was killed in action during the Gallipoli Campaign.

Early life Denis Browne was born in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, on 3 November 1888; his parents were of Anglo-Irish descent. His father, William Denis Browne (1836–1916), had been a land agent and had served as a juror in the Phoenix Park Murders trial. His paternal grandfather, Denis Browne, had been Dean of Emly Cathedral (the cathedral was demolished in 1877), and a great-grandfather, Denis Browne (1763–1828), was Member of Parliament for Mayo and younger brother of the 1st Marquess of Sligo.

University In 1907 Denis Browne proceeded to Clare College, Cambridge, having again obtained a scholarship, and following Brooke who had gone up to King's the previous year.

Denis Browne had stayed in touch with Brooke, and through him met Edward Marsh. Denis Browne became part of Marsh's Georgian circle, establishing himself as a particular favourite during Brooke's overseas travels in 1913 and 1914, although Denis Browne and Marsh had differing views of the musical merits of Igor Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring. They were assigned to the newly formed Royal Naval Division, joining the Anson Battalion of the 2nd Naval Brigade. They sailed in the Grantully Castle, Denis Browne passed his time playing duets with F. S. Kelly and directing the band of the Hood Battalion. Brooke died during the journey, contracting septicaemia after an insect bite. Denis Browne chose the site of his grave on Skyros, writing:

In an earlier letter to Dent, Denis Browne had asked him to destroy any compositions that did not represent him at his best.

In 1918, Marion Scott pressed Dent to allow performance of the remaining works (having first established that Denis Browne's mother wished to see them performed). After some initial resistance, a concert was arranged at Wigmore Hall on 24 April 1918. and on 21 May 2009 the same station broadcast Maltman's recording of "To Gratiana dancing and singing", following Andrew Motion reading his own poem "The Grave of Rupert Brooke". His Two Dances for Small Orchestra were recorded for BBC Radio 3 in June 2014. This was later performed by the BBC Philharmonic for Composer of the Week in August 2016.

Denis Browne is mostly remembered for his friendship with poet Rupert Brooke, from their years together at Rugby School and the University of Cambridge. He set several of Brooke's poems to music, although these settings did not survive Dent's purging of the works. Fellow soldier and poet Wilfrid Wilson Gibson dedicated a poem to Browne in his 1916 volume of poems entitled Battle, and other Poems.

Songs: Move Eastward, Happy Earth & The Snowdrop (Alfred, Lord Tennyson), 1908 The isle of lost dreams (William Sharp)?1909 Dream-Tryst (Francis Thompson), 1909 Had I the Heavens' embroidered cloths & The Fiddler of Dooney (W. B. Yeats) 1909 Parting, 1910 Diaphenia (Henry Chettle), 1912 Epitaph on Salathiel Pavy (Ben Jonson), 1912 To Gratiana dancing and singing (Richard Lovelace), 1913 Arabia (Walter de la Mare), 1914 Choral: The Kraken, from The Kraken (Tennyson), 1909 Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in A, SATB with organ, 1911 God is our Strength and Song (J. Montgomery), SSATB, 1912 (Anthem) Instrumental Two Dances for Small Orchestra (1912) The Comic Spirit a "ballet-pantomime" in one act (1914) for orchestra or piano duet. Score partially lost, an authorised completion was created in 2014 Miniature Suite for Full Orchestra (incomplete reorchestration of first Orchestral Dance) Intermezzo (arrangements of second Orchestral Dance for string quartet or piano)