Madeleine Dring

Madeleine Winefride Isabelle Dring (7 September 1923 – 26 March 1977) was an English composer and actress.

Life

Madeleine Dring spent the first four years of her life at Raleigh Road, Harringay when the family moved to Streatham. She showed talent at an early age began lessons in the junior department of the Royal College of Music beginning on her tenth birthday. She attended the school with scholarships for violin and piano. As part of their training, all of the students performed in the children's theatre. She formally began composition studies at the RCMJD with Stanley Drummond Wolff in 1937, continued the next year with Leslie Fly, and the next two with Percy Buck. She continued at the Royal College for senior-level studies, where her composition teacher was Herbert Howells. She dropped the study of violin after the death of her instructor, W.H. Reed, at the end of the first year. She also studied mime, drama, and singing. Dring's love of theatre and music co-mingled happily; many of her earliest professional creations were for the stage, radio, and television.

In 1947 she married Roger Lord who served as Principal Oboist with London Symphony Orchestra for thirty years. She composed several works for Roger, including the highly regarded Dances for solo oboe. Soon after her marriage, her first pieces were published with Lengnick and with Oxford (1948). The Lords had one son in 1950.

A book Madeleine Dring: Her Music, Her Life by Ro Hancock-Child, was published in 2000 (2nd edition 2009), with cartoon illustrations from Dring's own notebooks. The effort was funded by a grant from Dring's husband, Roger Lord, in an effort to disseminate information about his former wife.[1] Several articles, compact disc recordings and inclusions of Dring's biographical information in books about composers in the last decade have secured her name a place in the modern lexicon. Dring died in 1977 of a cerebral hemorrhage. Despite some confusion about her final resting place, Dring's grave was recently "uncovered" at Lambeth Cemetery in Streatham. Both Roger and their son Jeremy passed away in 2014. Roger died at age 90 and Jeremy died of ALS.

Music

A student of Ralph Vaughan Williams, on the rare occasion Dring's relationship with RVW has been exaggerated. Madeleine Dring's style is unpretentious. Her music seems to never imitate itself from piece to piece, always finding a fresh approach to harmony and rhythm. Her vocal music has been compared to Roger Quilter (possibly because of similar text choices), and her most serious songs are highly sophisticated. Her songs are at all times lyrical and the words are superbly set. The last ten years of her life were spent writing art songs for her eyes only. They were published posthumously by her husband, Roger. Her cabaret songs and West End Revue material sometimes featured her own lyrics and are full of clever writing, both musically and textually. They have recently been given recordings and published.

Dring avoided large-scale works. Most of her output was in shorter forms; she wrote a good deal of solo piano, songs with piano, and some chamber music, as well as many pedagogical works, including pieces for piano, piano duo, recorder, and clarinet. She completed a one-act opera, Cupboard Love (published in 2017) with her friend D.F. Aitken, and a dance drama entitled The Fair Queen of Wu, which was broadcast on BBC Television in 1951. She was commissioned to write music for "The Real Princess," a ballet and for several stage plays in London given from 1946 to 1971. She often collaborated with Felicity Gray, choreographer and D.F. Aitken, librettist.

Simon William Lord, Dring's grandson, used some of her compositions for tracks on his solo 'Lord Skywave' album.

Works

Dring rarely provided dates for her compositions; many dates come from Alistair Fisher's treatise on her songs. Publication dates have been provided, many of which are posthumously published by her husband, Roger Lord. Some dates have more recently been re-established using dates of first performances and other information as confirmed in Dring's personal papers as well as in archival newspaper reviews. In 2018 3 volumes of songs were engraved and published as well as 4 volumes of cabaret and musical revue numbers. Duets and ensembles were also published.

Instrumental and vocal

  • Italian Dance (1960) Oboe and Piano
  • Fantasy Sonata (1938), piano and clarinet
  • Three Fantastic Variations on Lilliburlero (1948), two pianos
  • Jig (1948), piano
  • Prelude and Toccata (1948), piano
  • Tarantelle (1948), piano duet
  • Festival Scherzo (1951), piano and string orchestra;
  • Sonata for two pianos (1951)
  • March: for the New Year (1954), piano
  • Caribbean Dance (Tempo Tobago) (1959), piano duet or solo
  • Dance Suite (1961), piano
  • Polka (1962), oboe and piano
  • Colour Suite (1963), piano
  • Danza Gaya (1965), two pianos or oboe and piano (original score housed at Royal College of Music, London)
  • Three Dances (1968; Josef Weinberger), piano
  • Trio for Flute, Oboe, and Piano (1968)
  • Valse française (1980), solo or duo piano * (original scores housed at Royal College of Music, London)
  • Three Pieces: WIB Waltz, Sarabande, Tango (1983), flute and piano*
  • Waltz (1983), oboe and piano*
  • Suite (1984), harmonica and piano (later arranged by Peter Lord for oboe)*
  • Trio for oboe, bassoon, and harpsichord (1986)* (original score housed at Royal College of Music, London)
  • Idyll for oboe (viola) and piano (The composer's husband Roger Lord, disappointed that the piece remained unplayed and unpublished for many years, perhaps because of its chromaticism, decided to transcribe the solo part for oboe, his own instrument, to which it is well suited. Idyll was first recorded in 2007 by Thierry Cammaert, oboist of the Quartz Ensemble, a Belgian winds ensemble. The ensemble has also performed the work as a trio for flute, oboe and piano.)
  • Three Shakespeare Songs (original score housed at Royal College of Music, London), (1949) (Published by Legnick 1949, republished with 4 additional Shakespeare songs, Thames 1992, published as Dring Volume 1)* First performance 10 May 1944 with Ifor Evans, Baritone, Madeleine Dring, Accompanist, performed at the RCM
  • Thank you, Lord (1953), vocal, text L. Kyme (not published as composed - Dring did not approve of this edition)
  • An additional four songs with texts by L. Kyme were written in 1953. They have now been published.
  • The Pigtail (1963) vocal duet, text A. von Chamisso
  • Dedications: Five poems by R. Herrick (1967), vocal suite (published 1992 by Thames as Dring Volume 2)* (original score housed at Royal College of Music, London)
  • Love and time: Four Songs (1970s) (published in 1994 by Thames as Dring Volume 5)*
  • Four Night Songs: texts of Michael Armstrong (1976), (published 1985 Cambria (US) 1992 Thames as Dring Volume 3)*
  • Five Betjeman Songs (1976) (published in 1980 by Weinberger)* (original score housed at Royal College of Music, London)
  • Seven Songs for Medium Voice (various compositional dates, compiled and published by Thames in 1993 as Dring Volume 4)*
  • Six Songs for High Voice (various compositional dates, compiled and published by Thames in 1999 as Dring Volume 6)* Includes: My true-love hath my heart, Echoes, The Cherry Blooming, The Parting, The Enchantment, Love is a Sickness
  • Previously Unpublished Vocal Works Volume 1: Art Songs and Arrangements: Lyrics of Shakespeare, Herrick, Rossetti, Ellison, Anon, and Arrangements of Horn, Pinsuti, Kjerulf, and Pattison. Classical Vocal Reprints, Fayetteville, AR. Published 2018 Copyright Simon Lord.
  • Previously Unpublished Vocal Works Volume 2: Cabaret Songs: All Music and Lyrics of Madeleine Dring. Classical Vocal Reprints, Fayetteville, AR. Published 2018 Copyright Simon Lord.
  • Previously Unpublished Vocal Works Volume 3: More Art Songs: Lyrics of Cibber, Marlowe, Goldsmith, Blake, Dring, Longfellow, and Tynan. Classical Vocal Reprints, Fayetteville, AR. Published 2018 Copyright Simon Lord.
  • Previously Unpublished Vocal Works Volume 4: More Cabaret Songs: Lyrics of Madeleine Dring and Charlotte Mitchell. Classical Vocal Reprints, Fayetteville, AR. Published 2018 Copyright Simon Lord.
  • Previously Unpublished Vocal Works Volume 5: Still More Art Songs, Arrangements, and Love Songs: Lyrics of Herrick, Campbell, Lord, Dring, and Kyme. Classical Vocal Reprints, Fayetteville, AR. Published 2018 Copyright Simon Lord.
  • Previously Unpublished Vocal Works Volume 6: Still More Cabaret and Theatre Songs: Lyrics of Dring, Mitchell, Vanbrugh, and Bridie. Classical Vocal Reprints, Fayetteville, AR. Published 2018 Copyright Simon Lord.
  • Previously Unpublished Vocal Works Volume 7: Cabaret Duets: Lyrics of Aitken, Breton, Dring, Howitt, Lear, Mitchell, and Rafferty. Classical Vocal Reprints, Fayetteville, AR. Published 2018 Copyright Simon Lord.
  • Previously Unpublished Vocal Works Volume 8: Cabaret Ensembles of 3 or More Voices: Lyrics of Dring, Mitchell, and Aitken. Classical Vocal Reprints, Fayetteville, AR. Published 2018 Copyright Simon Lord.
  • Previously Unpublished Vocal Works Volume 9: Songs from West End Revues: Lyrics of Dring, Mitchell, and Rafferty. Classical Vocal Reprints, Fayetteville, AR. Published 2018 Copyright Simon Lord.

Theatre, drama, and television

Incidental music

  • The Emperor and the Nightingale (1941) Performed at the RCM 20 December 1941. No score is available at this time.
  • Tobias and the Angel (1946) Incidental music and two songs
  • Somebody’s Murdered Uncle (1947) for BBC radio; Duets: "I should have trusted you darling" and "There's nothing to stop us now" There are also two quartets: "There's no such thing as a perfect crime" and "Bloggins, Birch, and Frome," as well as a solo entitled, "J. Allington Slade."
  • The Buskers (1959), for which she provided Wedding Music
  • Little Laura Cartoons (1960–61), Dring provided and played music for six episodes
  • The Jackpot Question (1961), for Associated TV, repeated in 1962 with another cast
  • The Whisperers (1961), for Associated TV
  • The Provok’d Wife (1963), texts by Vanbrugh: Four pieces typeset by Alistair Fisher
  • The Lady and the Clerk (1964), for Associated TV
  • I Can Walk Where I Like, Can’t I? (1964), for Associated TV
  • When the Wind Blows (1965), for Associated TV
  • Helen and Edward and Henry (1966), for Associated TV
  • Variation on a Theme (1966), for Associated TV

Musical revues

  • Airs on a Shoestring (1953) Songs: "Model Models," Films on the Cheap Side at Cheapside" "Strained Relations," and "Snowman" (all lyrics by Charlotte Mitchell), "Sing High, Sing Low" (Lyrics by Madeleine Dring).
  • Pay the Piper (1954) "Pay the Piper" (Lyrics at BL) Location of score unknown at this time).
  • From Here and There (1955) "Resolutions" and "Life Sentence" (Lyrics Charlotte Mitchell) (Location of scores unknown at this time)
  • Fresh Airs (1955) "Mother knows," Sketch "Witchery," and "Miss Spenser," (Lyricist Madeleine Dring) (Lyrics at BL, but location of score for Miss Spenser unknown at this time)
  • Child’s Play (1958) Overture, "High in the Pines" and "Love Song," "Hearts and Arrows," "Eye Opener," (Location of scores for three other songs unknown at this time)) (Lyricist Sean Rafferty)
  • Four to the Bar (1961) "Diedre" was included in this, also known as "Mother knows" from "Fresh Airs"(Lyricist Madeleine Dring.)

Ballet

  • Waiting for ITMA (1947), for BBC TV
  • The Real Princess (1971), scored for 2 pianos

Opera

  • Cupboard Love (performed posthumously 1986) Published 2017 Classical Vocal Reprints, Fayetteville, AR, American Premiere scheduled for late April 2018.

Other compositions

  • The Wild Swans (1950), children's play, Cygnet Company
  • The Fair Queen of Wu (1951), dance-drama for BBC TV
  • The Marsh Kings’s Daughter (1951), children’s play, Cygnet Company
  • The Scarlet Crab-apple, Cygnet Company

References

  1. ↑ Barnett (2000)

Sources

  • Banfield, Stephen, "Madeleine Dring". Grove Music online. (subscription access)
  • Barnett, Rob, "Madeleine Dring: her life and Music by Ro Hancock-Child" (review of 2000 edition), MusicWeb International, April 2000
  • Brister, Wanda, The Songs of Madeleine Dring: Organizing a Posthumous Legacy, DMA dissertation, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2004. (Biography, overview of works, examination of art songs.)
  • Brister, Wanda, "The Songs of Madeleine Dring," Journal of Singing: The Official Journal of the National Association of Teachers of Singing Vol 64 No 5, pp. 565–578. (Biographical sketch and discussion of all published art songs.)
  • Brister, Wanda, "The Songs of Madeleine Dring," Cambria Music, 2013 liner notes. 40 vocal selections.
  • Brister, Wanda, Courtney Kenny, "The Cabaret Songs of Madeleine Dring," Cambria Music, 2018 liner notes. 17 vocal selections.
  • Brister, Wanda, Courtney Kenney, Nuala Willis, Matt Cooksey, "Madeleine Dring: The Lady Composer: 30 selections from London's West End Revues, Cabaret, Radio and Television," Cambria Music, 2018 liner notes. 30 vocal selections.
  • Brister, Wanda,"Madeleine Dring" (biographical notes), inside each volume of Previously Unpublished Vocal Works, Classical Vocal Reprints, Fayetteville, AR. (c) Wanda Brister.
  • Davis, Richard, "Singer's Notes: Seven Shakespeare Songs of Madeleine Dring". South Central Music Bulletin, Volume III, no.1, Fall 2004.
  • Fisher, Alistair, The Songs of Madeleine Dring and the Evolution of Her Compositional Style", Bachelor's thesis, University of Hull, 2000
  • Hancock-Child, Ro, Madeleine Dring: Her Music, Her Life 2nd edition, Micropress 2009 (biography and full catalogue of works)
  • Kimball, Carol, "Madeleine Dring," article in Song: A Guide to Art Song Style and Literature, Rev ed, Hal Leonard 2006, pp 401–403. (biographical sketch, short look at vocal works, includes bibliography.)
  • Lord, Roger, biographical notes, Thames/Elkins volumes of songs.
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