Ernest Charles (1895-1984) was an American composer, pianist and singer, best remembered for his art songs. Born in Minneapolis, he built a career around vocal music, writing in a direct lyrical style that appealed strongly to singers.

His most famous song is When I Have Sung My Songs, which became a favourite encore for major vocal artists and is represented in the Pristine catalogue through Kirsten Flagstad’s recording. Charles wrote both the words and the music for that piece.

His songs are clear, grateful to the voice and emotionally immediate. They belong less to modernist experiment than to the cultivated recital tradition, where shape, line and textual sincerity matter most.

Charles’s reputation rests on a small group of enduring songs rather than a large public catalogue. Yet in that intimate domain he found a durable place, proving that a well-made song can outlive a shelf-full of thunder.