Samuel Coleridge-Taylor 1875–1912

The rich though tragically short life of a successful composer who has largely been forgotten

When we think of musical celebrities, we tend to think of singers and musicians. But composers’ stories are often just as interesting. One example is Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, who was born in London to a British mother and a father who hailed from Freetown in Sierra Leone.

Coleridge-Taylor grew up in Croydon, where he was taught violin by his grandfather. After studying at the Royal College of Music, the young composer soon became a musical celebrity thanks to his trilogy of cantatas, known collectively as The Song of Hiawatha and written between 1898 and 1900. Based on Longfellow’s 1855 epic poem of the same name, they relate the adventures of a Native American warrior. Hiawatha became one of the most-performed choral pieces in Britain.

Coleridge-Taylor was acutely aware of his unusual status as a prominent black composer. He was actively involved in several political groups that campaigned for equal rights for black citizens, and he worked with many prominent civil rights activists. African-American audiences were particularly devoted to the composer, as they saw him as a beacon of hope during a period in which they were experiencing one of the nation’s worst periods of political and economic repression since the Civil War. Coleridge-Taylor’s sudden death at the age of 37 inspired a national outpouring of grief. Although his legacy has been much overlooked, things are starting to change as a new generation of musicians discover his thrilling compositions. His archive survives at the Royal College of Music.