May Summerbelle
Annie May Constance Summerbelle (1867 – 1947) was an Australian composer of light classical and popular music.[1][2][3] She was the third daughter of Captain William and Honoriah Summerbelle of Double Bay.[4] Her sister, Stella Clare, married Francis Joseph Bayldon, a master mariner and nautical instructor.[5] From the late 1880s she was a student of Alice Charbonnet-Kellermann, with Summerbelle's earliest compositions appearing in the early 1890s.[6]
May Summerbelle | |
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May Summerbelle in 1924 | |
Background information | |
Born | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
Died | 1 January 1946 |
Occupation(s) | Composer, journalist |
Years active | 1890-1930 |
Among a hundred compositions, she had music selected for the British Empire Exhibition in London.[7] Her song So Long was played as the Australian Light Horse embarked on the Gallipoli campaign. [8]
She married Herbert Glasson in 1893[4] and wrote 'Love is a fadeless flower' while heavily pregnant with his child. The same year Herbert was convicted and executed for murder and robbery under arms.[9] Ms Summerbelle involved herself with repertory theatre groups via the Sydney Press-Women. [10]
Works
- Thou art mine 1906
- Valkyrie, op. 6 1910-
- Myee waltz /1890 [11]
- Beaux yeux : waltz 1908
- Pop-corn : cake walk & two step 1899 [12]
- Gavotte in D : swords and roses dance : op. 4 1916
- So-long : march-song / words by John Barr ; music by May Summerbelle 1914
- Wanted for the fighting line : Australian recruiting song / words by Will. M. Fleming ; music by May Summerbelle 1914
- Australia! sighs my heart / words by Ada A. Holman ; music by May Summerbelle
- Ave Maria [3]
- an article for the Sunday times newspaper [13]
Recordings
Nostalgia - Piano Music by Australian Women by Jeanell Carrigan 2016 Wirrapang Pub.[14]
References
- "Summerbelle, May (1867-1914) – People and Organisations". Trove (National Library of Australia). Archived from the original on 13 October 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- "May Summerbelle: (author/organisation) - AustLit: Discover Australian Stories". Austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
- "Summerbelle". Avemariasongs.org. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
- "Family Notices". Freeman's Journal. XLIV (2553). New South Wales, Australia. 11 February 1893. p. 11. Retrieved 14 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- Phillips, Nan. "Bayldon, Francis Joseph (1872–1948)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- "Sydney and Provincial Social Items, &c". Illustrated Sydney News. 9 May 1891. p. 3. Retrieved 26 April 2020 – via Trove. (National Library of Australia).
- "AUSTRALIAN COMPOSER LEAVING". The Daily Telegraph (13, 818). New South Wales, Australia. 22 March 1924. p. 16. Retrieved 13 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- "Mainly About People". Daily News. XLIII (15, 277). Western Australia. 7 April 1924. p. 7 (THIRD EDITION). Retrieved 14 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- "The Carcoar Tragedy". Australian Town and Country Journal. XLVII (1241). New South Wales, Australia. 28 October 1893. p. 9. Retrieved 13 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- "IN THE WINTER GARDEN". Freeman's Journal. LXIX (4098). New South Wales, Australia. 15 February 1917. p. 28. Retrieved 14 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- "New Music". The Daily Telegraph. 17 January 1891. p. 9. Retrieved 26 April 2020 – via Trove. (National Library of Australia).
- "Pop Corn Cake Walk by May Summerbelle from AUSTRALIA, 1899". YouTube. 8 March 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
- "AUSTRALIAN COMPOSERS". The Sunday Times (1053). New South Wales, Australia. 25 March 1906. p. 1 (The Sunday Times Magazine Section). Retrieved 13 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- "Rediscovering Australian women composers of piano music : Feature Article : Australian Music Centre". Australianmusiccentre.com.au. Retrieved 12 October 2018.