Mary Lucas

Mary Lucas née Juler (24 May 1882–14 January 1952) sometimes referred to as Mary Anderson-Lucas, was an English composer and pianist. She studied at the Dresden Conservatory with Carlo Albanesi and at the Royal College of Music with Herbert Howells, R.O. Morris and Maurice Jacobson.[1] She married entrepreneur and inventor Ralph Lucas in 1903,[2] and their son Colin became a noted architect.[3][4] She gave up composition for a few years after she married, but returned to produce a number of successful compositions, including six string quartets.[5] In 1934 and 1935 the Stratton String Quartet championed her music, performing her string quartets at the London Music Club's First Performance Society on 29 November 1934 at 22 Holland Park,[6] and in January 1935 at the Blackheath Concert Halls.[7] Lucas had a special affinity with the clarinet: her Clarinet Sonata was written for Pauline Juler in 1938[8][9] and a recording of her Lament for clarinet played by Rudolph Dunbar, with the composer probably playing the piano, was issued by Octacros Records in the mid-1930s.[10] The Circus Suite was performed at the Proms in the Royal Albert Hall on 4 July 1942.[11] Lucas' papers are partially housed at the British Library,[12] while some manuscripts and other papers are held at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

In 1930, Colin Lucas, a pioneer of reinforced concrete construction, built Noah's Boathouse in Cookham for his parents. Mary Lucas established a music room there.[13][14]

Works

Selected works include:

Orchestral

  • The Circus, suite for orchestra (1939)[15][11]
  • Concertino for flute and orchestra (1940) [16]
  • Five Tunes for Small Orchestra [17]
  • Fugue for strings (1939) [16]
  • Occasional Overture (fp 22 November 1940, Arts Theatre Club) [17]
  • Rhapsody for orchestra (performed in Bournemouth, April 1928)[18]
  • Variations on a Theme by Purcell for string orchestra (1938)[15]

Chamber Music

  • Clarinet Sonata (1938) [17]
  • Complainte et Rapsodie for clarinet and piano [16]
  • Duo for clarinet and viola [16]
  • Fugue for flute, oboe and viola [16]
  • Lament for clarinet and piano [17]
  • Rhapsody for flute, cello and piano (1946) [16]
  • String Quartet No 1 [16]
  • String Quartet No 2 (1933) [16]
  • String Quartet No 3 (1935) [16]
  • Trio for clarinet, viola and piano [16]
  • Violin Sonata (performance 4 November 1930, Blackheath) [17]

Vocal

  • Choeurs isolés, choral [16]
  • The Hour of Magic (text: W H Davies) [17]
  • Sleeping Sea and Lullaby, two choral part songs published by Chester, 1939[19]
  • Songs for two part choir (OUP): Dandelion Down, Duck's Ditty, Evening Song, Thunder at Night, The Wind [20]

Ballet and Dramatic [16]

  • Amour et mort, ballet (1936)
  • Preludes de Ballet (1945)
  • Sciure (piano-flute-string quintet), ballet (1941)
  • The Book of Thel, masque for solo voices, chorus, chamber orchestra, and male and female narrators (1935)
  • Musiques de scène, masque
  • Sawdust, ballet (fp 21 May 1941, Wulfrun Hall Wolverhampton) [17]
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References
  1. British Music Society. British Composer Profiles, 3rd Edition, 2012
  2. Greenwich Industrial History: Ralph Lucas (1876-1955)
  3. Sharp, Dennis; Rendel, Sally (2008). Connell, Ward and Lucas: Modern movement architects in England (Digitized online by GoogleBooks). Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  4. Paul Mellon Centre Archive
  5. "THE DISTAFF SIDE: SOME BRITISH WOMEN COMPOSERS". Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  6. The Times, 26 November 1934, p 10
  7. See The British Library, Music Collections, Programmes and handbills relating to Mary Anderson Lucas, .
  8. The Clarinet: Volume 11. International Clarinet Society, Idaho State University. Dept. of Music. 1983.
  9. The Clarinet Sonata was revived by Peter Cigleris and Martin Cousin in Weymouth on 10 February 2019.
  10. Michael Thomas: Octaras
  11. BBC Proms Archive
  12. The British Library, Music Collections, Programmes and handbills relating to Mary Anderson Lucas
  13. BBC Berkshire: Noah's Boathouse Hits Troubled Waters
  14. BBC Radio 3: Essential Classics, 21 January 2019
  15. British Music Collection
  16. Musicalics Catalogue
  17. Lucas Collection: Concert Programmes
  18. Musical Times, 1 June 1928, p 549
  19. Musical Times, May 1939, p 359
  20. Presto Music
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