Description
As Heard on BBC’s Woman’s Hour! (11mins 20secs in)
‘Superb, well-researched … Hammond makes a strong case for this “domestic” music, having sifted through the archives – including her own impressive collection of parlour sheet music – to tell the stories of this overlooked genre and its talented composers.’
– Claire Jackson, BBC Music Magazine
To go with the book “She Wrote the Songs” on Valley Press, celebrating the surprising stories of some of the most successful women songwriters of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Some world-premiere recordings here! Featuring pianist Andrea Kmecova and a guest appearance by Rupert Gillett on the cello. Can be enjoyed without the book of course, but I do recommend it…available here of course: https://patriciahammond.com/product/she-wrote-the-songs-the-book/
Songs with piano for the parlour was the one musical sphere Victorian women had unrestricted access to; this is where masterpieces are to be found. But first, one must resurrect the genre. Dipping into my sheet music collection, started when I was 9 years old, I examine and research the fascinating stories behind the songs. A whopping 34 tracks! You can buy it right here. You’re in the right place. There is also MERCH and much YOUTUBE content. Only £5 to encourage people to keep it beside the book, in an internet-proof form!
Comes in a compact, plastic-free 4 panel cardboard wallet.
HEAR A SAMPLE:
1 The House and the Road
– Music by Dorothy Parke (1904-1990)
– Words by Josephine Preston Peabody (1874-1922)
2 Bless This House
– Music by May Brahe (1884-1956)
– Words by Helen Taylor (1873-1943)
3 The Wide Brown Land
– Music by May Brahe (1884-1956)
– Words by Dorothea MacKellar (1885-1968)
4 Come Back to Erin
– Music and Words by Charlotte Alington Barnard “Claribel” (1830-1869)
5 Take Back the Heart
– Music by Charlotte Alington Barnard (1830-1869)
– Words by Mary Ann Danet Gifford (?-1871)
6 Out on the Rocks
– Music by Charlotte Sainton Dolby (1821-1885)
– Words by Charlotte Alington Barnard (1830-1869)
7 Duna
– Music by Josephine McGill (1877-1919)
– Words by Marjorie Pickthall (1883-1922)
8 Chop Waltz
– Music by Euphemia Allan (1861-1948)
9 In the Gloaming
– Music by Annie Fortescue Harrison (1848-1944)
– Words by Meta Orred (1845-1925)
10 A Perfect Day
– Music and Words by Carrie Jacobs-Bond (1862-1946)
11 – 22 Half Minute Songs
– Music and Words by Carrie Jacobs-Bond (1862-1946)
23 When the Coloured Lady Saunters Down the Street*
– Music and Words by Amanda Ira Aldridge (1866-1956)
24 Can Sorrow Find Me
– Music by Avril Coleridge-Taylor (1903-1998)
– Words by Minnie Aumonier (1865-1952)
25 Juanita
– Music and Words by Caroline Sheridan Norton (1808-1877)
26 Forget Me Not
– Music and Words by Caroline Sheridan Norton (1808-1877)
Four Indian Love Lyrics
– Music by Amy Woodforde-Finden (1860-1919)
– Words by Adela Florence Nicolson “Laurence Hope” (1865-1904)
27 The Temple Bells
28 Less Than the Dust
29 Kashmiri Song
30 Till I Wake
31 Melisande in the Wood
– Music by Alma Goetz (1868-?)
– Words by Ethel Clifford (1876-1959)
32 Alabaster (from The Golden Threshold)
– Music by Liza Lehmann (1862-1918)
– Words by Sarojini Naidu (1879-1949)
33 If No-One Ever Marries Me
– Music by Liza Lehmann (1862- 1918)
– Words by Laurence Alma-Tadema (1865-1940)
34 Evensong
– Music by Liza Lehmann (1862-1918)
– Words by Constance Morgan (?-?)
* For those without a copy of the book: In 1907 Britain, the term “Coloured” was the most respectful term for a person of colour. Amanda Aldridge was particularly sensitive to this fact, as she herself was half African-American, and extremely proud of that side of her heritage.
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