Ernest Newlandsmith

George Ernest Newlandsmith (born Newland Smith; 1875–1958),[1] was a British musicologist with strong Christian belief who formed the Laresol Society to promote artistic vocation of a religious nature.

[2][3] Ernest Newlandsmith founded the society in 1906 "to promote the higher realisation of the artistic vocation, looking at the matter from the standpoint of the religious life, and the definitely directed love and service of God and humanity".

By 1911 however Newlandsmith had moved on to Felpham near Bognor Regis, putting on concerts, a mystery play and lectures, with the stress of work leading to ill health in 1912.

In 1917 he was working in conjunction with the Anglican National Mission in the Portsmouth area where he formed a ladies' Angelus Choir.

[7] They soon decided to work exclusively with the blind cantor Mualim Mikhail Girgis El Batanouny,[8] and through nine winters until 1936 they compiled sixteen volumes of music which are now in the United States Library of Congress.