Book: She Wrote the Songs

She Wrote the Songs - Unsung women of sheet music, by Patricia Hammond, Scarborough: Valley Press 2020

It is a commonplace to lament the absence of women's names from the annals of great artists and musicians. Indeed, until the second half of the twentieth century the history of western music was almost exclusively a record of the biographies and artistic merits of 'great men' and their 'great works'. It is not until the twenty-first century that the compositions of women have featured with some regularity on the radio but outside of the Proms they are seriously under-represented in the concert-hall repertoire.

In She wrote the Songs, Patricia Hammond not only addresses this absence but, in her well researched and beautifully written book, introduces us to women, many using pseudonyms, who were central to the composition of the thousands of ballads and parlour songs written from the late nineteenth century right up to the Second World War. Hammond presents the lives and work of the women who composed Bless this House, When you Come to the End of a The End of Perfect Day and In the Gloaming: Mary Brahe (1884-1956) Carrie Jacobs-Bond (1862-1946) and Annie Fortescue Harrison (1848-1944) respectively. These are names which very rarely feature in the well respected histories of western music or whose music is widely performed in the concert hall.

Hammond's first interest in ballads and parlour songs came from collecting sheet music as a very young child, initially attracted by the delightful designs and illustrations of their covers. Later, when learning the piano, she was drawn by the soulful and tuneful humanity of the words and music. However, an investigation into the biographies and histories surrounding the composers, poets and the performers of these songs was challenging in the extreme. Histories of music of any genre made very rare reference to this vast repertoire which extended into thousands of songs. The sources of significance were to be found in contemporary women's magazines. In such periodicals as Woman's Weekly, Woman's Day, Home and the Ladies' Home Journal. In amongst their regular features of recipes, knitting patterns, and household hints, readers were introduced to these women composers and lyricists. Old newspapers provided further access to reports of public performances, and related ephemera such as advertising leaflets provided other ways into their stories.

She Wrote the Songs is best read in conjunction with the companion CD of the same name. Here Patricia Hammond, mezzo soprano, accompanied by Andrea Kmecova on the piano, perform beautifully the songs referred to in the text. They capture movingly the intimate atmosphere of the ballad and parlour song of this period. The CD has to be purchased separately at patriciahammond.com. It seems unfortunate that there is not a down-loadable version available. Nevertheless, She Wrote the Songs is a compelling read. Patricia Hammond skilfully introduces us to yet another 'forgotten history'.

Marilyn Billingham is currently researching a PhD on Gustav Holst at the University of Bristol. Her paper 'Crafting Music, Crafting Democracy: Gustav Holst's Pedagogic Initiative' has been chosen as winner of the competition of best submitted paper presented at the Royal Musical Association Research Student Conference 2023

LINK

Patricia Hammond: www.patriciahammond.com.