Alexander Ewing

EWING, Alexander. b. Old Machar, Aberdeen, 3 January 1830; d. Taunton, Somerset, 11 July 1895. He studied law at Marischal College, Aberdeen, but gave it up to study music at Heidelberg, Germany. He joined the army in 1855, serving in the Crimean war, and became a professional soldier, serving in various stations including China and Australia and rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He retired in 1889, and lived at Taunton, Somerset. Ewing composed part-songs, anthems, and other pieces, most of which remained unknown until his manuscripts were acquired by the National Library of Scotland in 1954. An exception is the hymn tune which has made him famous, EWING, written in 1853 before he...