Ida Hampden (1867-1912)

Ida was born in 1867 in the city of  Bath, into an old and respected family. Her father was Mr Renn Hampden, of Bath, and her mother was Ida Cumberland whose  great grandfather was Rear Admiral “Fearless” Cumberland. The child was christened Ida Beatrice Hampden.

From an early age she received instruction in playing the violin and the piano and became an accomplished player of both instruments. As a young woman she joined a small orchestra which toured theatres, music halls and other venues around the country. During one such event she met the pianist Ezra Read and they were married soon afterwards, in  1886, while they were in Portsmouth.

They lived in an era when many households owned a regularly played piano  and they saw  this as an opportunity to provide a more secure living as well as to increase their standing in society. They made a joint decision to try their hands as composers of piano music and to that end they took a course in harmony and musical composition. Ezra’s first piece was published only a year after their marriage and his wife, who composed under her maiden name of Ida Hampden, had her first piece, a barn dance called ‘Stolen Moments’ , published the following year, 1888. Over the next 25 years their compositions were published widely, by many leading music publishers in London, Australia, and America. Several journals and provincial newspapers also printed their works.

The couple continued to play together in popular concerts. Perhaps their most exciting event being when they were invited to perform at The Royal Military Ball held in honour of The Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward V11. Ida played the piano and violin while Ezra played the organ, a musical combination which they often used.

They travelled widely through the British Isles, advertising for  pupils wherever they stayed. Eventually, they settled in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, where, after a few years of relative peace, Ida contracted an illness and was taken to a Derby City Hospital where she died aged 45 years. Her grave is in the Nottingham Road Cemetery, Derby. Her grave stone is inscribed with her married name, Ida Beatrice Read, but there  is no indication of her one time fame.  

The editorial of the Musical Home Journal records that "Miss Hampden's love for music amounts almost to a passion, and she spends a great deal of her time in composing. She is an accomplished pianist and her piano pieces are noted as being both easy and effective" . *

*Thanks to Kim Evans for the quotation. Kim's website at www.musicalhome journal.wordpress.com  publishes many piano works from Musical Home Journal in downloadable format.