Doreen Carwithen
Encyclopedia
Doreen Mary Carwithen was a British composer
of classical and film music. She was also known as Mary Alwyn.
on 15 November 1922. As a child she had her first music lessons from her mother, a music teacher, starting both piano
and violin
with her at age 4. At age 16 she began composing by setting Wordsworth
's I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (Daffodils)
for voice and piano.
In 1941 she entered the Royal Academy of Music
and played the cello
in a string quartet and with orchestras. She was a member of the harmony class of William Alwyn
, who began to teach her composition
. Her overture ODTAA (One Damn Thing After Another) was premiered at Covent Garden
by Adrian Boult
in 1947. The same year she was selected by the Royal Academy to train as composer of film music.
In 1961 she became William Alwyn's second wife, and took Mary Alwyn as her married name, as she disliked the name Doreen, and Mary was her middle name. She later worked as a Sub Professor of Composition at the RAM. She was devoted to her husband and acted as his secretary and amanuensis
. After he died in 1985, she founded the William Alwyn Archive and William Alwyn Foundation to promote his music and facilitate related research projects.
She then also resumed interest in her own music. In 1999 a stroke
left her paralysed on one side. She died in Forncett St Peter, near Norwich
, on 5 January 2003.
(1950), Mantrap (1952) (released in the U.S. as Man in Hiding), and East Anglian Holiday (1954). She also scored Elizabeth is Queen, the official film of the coronation
of Queen Elizabeth II.
She composed some orchestral music: an overture ODTAA (One Damn Thing After Another) (1945) (after the novel
by John Masefield
); a Concerto for piano and strings (1948); the overture Bishop Rock
(1952) and a Suffolk
Suite
(1964). She wrote two award-winning but little-known string quartet
s.
She also edited for performance the second piano concerto by her husband William Alwyn
.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
of classical and film music. She was also known as Mary Alwyn.
Biography
Doreen Carwithen was born in Haddenham, BuckinghamshireHaddenham, Buckinghamshire
Haddenham is a large village and is also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. Its estimated population in 2011 is 8,385 It is about south-west of Aylesbury and north-east of Thame.-History:...
on 15 November 1922. As a child she had her first music lessons from her mother, a music teacher, starting both piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
with her at age 4. At age 16 she began composing by setting Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
's I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (Daffodils)
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" is a poem by William Wordsworth.It was inspired by an April 15, 1802 event in which Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, came across a "long belt" of daffodils...
for voice and piano.
In 1941 she entered the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
and played the cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
in a string quartet and with orchestras. She was a member of the harmony class of William Alwyn
William Alwyn
William Alwyn, CBE, born William Alwyn Smith was an English composer, conductor, and music teacher.-Life and music:...
, who began to teach her composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
. Her overture ODTAA (One Damn Thing After Another) was premiered at Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
by Adrian Boult
Adrian Boult
Sir Adrian Cedric Boult CH was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London for the Royal Opera House and Sergei Diaghilev's ballet company. His first prominent post was...
in 1947. The same year she was selected by the Royal Academy to train as composer of film music.
In 1961 she became William Alwyn's second wife, and took Mary Alwyn as her married name, as she disliked the name Doreen, and Mary was her middle name. She later worked as a Sub Professor of Composition at the RAM. She was devoted to her husband and acted as his secretary and amanuensis
Amanuensis
Amanuensis is a Latin word adopted in various languages, including English, for certain persons performing a function by hand, either writing down the words of another or performing manual labour...
. After he died in 1985, she founded the William Alwyn Archive and William Alwyn Foundation to promote his music and facilitate related research projects.
She then also resumed interest in her own music. In 1999 a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
left her paralysed on one side. She died in Forncett St Peter, near Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, on 5 January 2003.
Works
Doreen Carwithen wrote scores for over 30 films, including Harvest from the Wilderness (1948), Boys in BrownBoys in Brown
Boys in Brown is a 1949 British drama film directed by Montgomery Tully. Depicting life in a borstal for young offenders, it starred Jack Warner, Richard Attenborough, Dirk Bogarde and Jimmy Hanley.-Cast:* Jack Warner as Governor...
(1950), Mantrap (1952) (released in the U.S. as Man in Hiding), and East Anglian Holiday (1954). She also scored Elizabeth is Queen, the official film of the coronation
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
of Queen Elizabeth II.
She composed some orchestral music: an overture ODTAA (One Damn Thing After Another) (1945) (after the novel
ODTAA
ODTAA by John Masefield . It is an adventure novel first published in February 1926. Its title stands for One Damn Thing After Another...
by John Masefield
John Masefield
John Edward Masefield, OM, was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1930 until his death in 1967...
); a Concerto for piano and strings (1948); the overture Bishop Rock
Bishop Rock
Bishop Rock is a small rock at the westernmost tip of the Isles of Scilly, known for its lighthouse, and listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's smallest island with a building on it....
(1952) and a Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
Suite
Suite
In music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet , or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements .In the...
(1964). She wrote two award-winning but little-known string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
s.
She also edited for performance the second piano concerto by her husband William Alwyn
William Alwyn
William Alwyn, CBE, born William Alwyn Smith was an English composer, conductor, and music teacher.-Life and music:...
.
External links
- Doreen Carwithen biography on Musicweb
- Obituary of Doreen Carwithen by Martin Anderson