# Douglas Mews (composer)

Douglas Kelson Mews (22 September 1918 – 1993) was a Canadian-born composer, organist and church musician who worked in England and New Zealand. He taught composing at the University of Auckland from 1969 to 1983.

## Early life and education

Mews was born on 22 September 1918 in St John's, Newfoundland, Canada. He studied music in London from 1936 to 1939 gaining an FRCO in 1938 and a BMus in 1939 and winning first prize in organ performance in 1938. He served in the British Army in Europe and North Africa in World War II from 1939 to 1946.

## Career

After the war Mews became a professor and examiner for Trinity College from 1946 to 1963. He graduated with a DMus in 1961. From 1963 to 1968 he lectured at the Colchester Technical College (later the Colchester Institute) before emigrating to New Zealand in 1969 where he lectured in composition at the University of Auckland. He was appointed an Associate Professor in 1974.
Apart from his university teaching Mews held church music positions as organist of St George's Cathedral in Southwark, London and the Director of Music at St Patrick's Cathedral in Auckland from 1970 to 1982. In 1990 he received a Papal Knighthood from the Catholic Church. He also did radio broadcasting in the Netherlands and New Zealand.
Mews composed a variety of works: choral works, opera, piano and instrumental pieces and accordion works. He set two poems by British poet James Kirkup to music: Japan Physical for soprano and piano and Ghosts, Fire, Water for unaccompanied choir and alto solo. Ghosts, Fire, Water was written for the University of Auckland Festival Choir which performed it at the International Universities' Choral Festival in New York and at other concerts on its world tour in 1972. Kirkup's poem from his anthology No more Hiroshimas: poems and translations was based on three of the Hiroshima Panels. Audiences were affected by the poignancy and emotional power of the work and it has continued to be part of the choral repertoire. He composed two pieces for Auckland's Dorian Choir to perform on their overseas tours in the 1970s: The Love Song of Rangipouri and The May Magnificat. He wrote three biblical operas: The Kiss, The Waiting Father and Lazarus.
Commissioned by the New Zealand Accordion Association Mews composed the solo accordion piece Suite Aotea as a test piece for the 1980 Coupe Mondiale World Championships which were held in New Zealand. The Accordion Teachers Guild USA then commissioned him to write a piece for the 1981 Coupe Mondiale; he composed Table Talk for accordion ensemble and choir. Other solo pieces were Neat Fingers, Putorino Dance, Harbour Lights and Pupuke-Moana. In 1974 he became an examiner and board member of the Accordion Examination Board of New Zealand (AEBNZ). He received the AEBNZ Certificate of Merit in 1992 for developing a formal syllabus and examination standards for accordion.

## Legacy

In 1983 to mark his retirement Mews established the Douglas Mews Composition Prize at the University of Auckland. The prize is awarded to a student who writes the best composition of a setting for an unaccompanied choir.

## Personal life

Mews met his wife Nancy Radius just after the war while he was stationed in the Netherlands. They married in 1947 and had three children. One son Douglas is a musician and organist and another Constant is an academic. In his spare time Mews enjoyed meccano and model railways.

## Publications

* Mews. D. (1982) Harmony: a young musician's introduction. Auckland, N.Z.: Lone Kauri Press.
* Mews, D. (1989) 'In retrospect : my nineteen years as a mewsician {musician} in New Zealand' Canzona, Sum 1989; v.11 n.31, 4–6.

## Selected works

* Ghosts, Fire, Water (1972) - for unaccompanied choir and alto solo
* Joshua (1973) - concerto for trombone and orchestra
* Double string trio (1974)
* The Love Song of Rangipouri (1975) - for unaccompanied choir
* Japan Physical (1976) - for soprano and piano
* Dinosaurs, decapods, donkeys (1976) - for two pianos
* The May Magnificat (1977) - for unaccompanied choir
* Five Melodies of Passion and Dispassion (1979) - for solo cello
* Threnody (1979) - for organ. Written for Westminster Abbey ANZAC Service
* Suite Aotea (1980) - for free bass accordion
* Table Talk (1981) - for choir and accordion quintet
* The Circle of a Girl's Arms (1982) - for choir, harp and wind ensemble
* The Kiss (1985) - opera for Passover
* The Waiting Father (1988) - biblical opera
* Lazarus (1988) - biblical opera
* Concerto for two pianos (1988)
* Gigue de Pan (1988) - for organ and small drums
* The Cloud on the Mountain (1990) - oratorio for tenor, baritone, choir and orchestra