Margaret Sutherland
Encyclopedia
Margaret Sutherland was an Australia
n composer
, probably the best-known female composer her country has produced.
A student of Sir Arnold Bax
in London during the 1920s, she wrote pieces in almost all forms, but particularly concentrated on the genre of chamber music. Her major works include a symphony, The Four Temperaments (orchestrated by Robert W. Hughes
in 1964), concertos for various instruments (including violin), a symphonic poem entitled Haunted Hills (1953), and the chamber opera
The Young Kabbarli
(1964; libretto by Maie Casey).
One of Sutherland's most recognised pieces is ‘In the Dim Counties’ (1936) for voice and piano accompaniment from Five Songs. Sutherland sets her music to the poetry of John Shaw Neilson, considered a ‘“pastoral” lyric poet’ from Australia whose verse has ‘simplicity of form and restraint of utterance’. Sutherland captures this through simplistic rhythms, light instrumentation and ‘even musical balance’. Five Songs has been recorded by numerous Australian female artists such as Helen Noonan.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n composer
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...
, probably the best-known female composer her country has produced.
A student of Sir Arnold Bax
Arnold Bax
Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, KCVO was an English composer and poet. His musical style blended elements of romanticism and impressionism, often with influences from Irish literature and landscape. His orchestral scores are noted for their complexity and colourful instrumentation...
in London during the 1920s, she wrote pieces in almost all forms, but particularly concentrated on the genre of chamber music. Her major works include a symphony, The Four Temperaments (orchestrated by Robert W. Hughes
Robert Hughes (composer)
Robert Watson Hughes AO MBE was a Scottish-born Australian composer. His music was characterised as muscular, assertive, pugnacious, with a dark, troubled, even driven quality; but it was also deeply sensitive, lyrical and tender. His capacity to view a complex landscape of diverse musical...
in 1964), concertos for various instruments (including violin), a symphonic poem entitled Haunted Hills (1953), and the chamber opera
Chamber opera
Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra.The term and form were invented by Benjamin Britten in the 1940s, when the English Opera Group needed works that could easily be taken on tour and performed in a variety of small...
The Young Kabbarli
The Young Kabbarli
The Young Kabbarli is a one-act chamber opera written in 1964 by the Australian composer Margaret Sutherland; it is her only work in the operatic genre. The libretto was by Maie Casey, based on poetry by Judith Wright and Shaw Neilson....
(1964; libretto by Maie Casey).
One of Sutherland's most recognised pieces is ‘In the Dim Counties’ (1936) for voice and piano accompaniment from Five Songs. Sutherland sets her music to the poetry of John Shaw Neilson, considered a ‘“pastoral” lyric poet’ from Australia whose verse has ‘simplicity of form and restraint of utterance’. Sutherland captures this through simplistic rhythms, light instrumentation and ‘even musical balance’. Five Songs has been recorded by numerous Australian female artists such as Helen Noonan.