Third Study upon a Cipher

Arthur Murray Goodhart (christened 25 July 1866 – 1941) was a British composer and organist. He was born in Wimbledon, Surrey, England in 1866, and was educated at Eton College and then King's College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the Pitt Club. He was a pupil of Sir Joseph Barnby, Dr George M. Garrett, Dr Charles W. Pearce, C. Forsyth, and Frank Bridge. He Taught classics at Eton School, and was a housemaster there.

As a composer, he wrote orchestral, organ, and piano pieces, songs, carols, military band music.

"Third Study upon a Cipher" was published by Augener Limited in 1912. It is, as the title implies, based upon a "stuck" note, which is "held down" in this performance by a pencil. :-)

This is no dry study, but a delightful, scherzo-like movement in the key of A major. The middle section is slightly slower, and shifts into A minor. The melody is more lyrical, and there is some "thumbing down" as well. The mood of the first section returns with the key returning to the major.

Goodhart is specific about the pitches that he wants used, and you really must follow these directions to create the intended effect.

He must have been a very clever fellow, because he seems to use little "devices" throughout his pieces that serve as "themes" or "ideas" that are simple in themselves, but are developed with ingenuity and style.

Goodhart wrote quite a bit of solo organ music, but it seems that all of it has virtually just disappeared. Another "organ composer" just vanished away into distant history.

Thanks to the kindness of Dr. John Henderson, I'll be sharing some of these pieces in the coming days.

The score is attached below, as well as a photo of Arthur Goodhart (perhaps the ONLY surviving photo of him), and one of the chapel of King's College, Cambridge. In this one the view is famous, but the picture is a little older than we are used to seeing.