On the centenary of her birth, is Doreen Carwithen finally ready for her close-up?
Carwithen has been lauded as the first female film composer. She was certainly the first to study in the Royal Academy of Music’s film program, instituted by J. Arthur Rank in 1946. Could she have been the first woman in the world to have made film music a career? In all, she composed scores for some 30 films, many of them shorts and documentaries, but six of them were features.
Alas, her concert works, while well-received, were not embraced with particular enthusiasm by either programmers or publishers.
Carwithen entered the Royal Academy as a cellist, who could also play violin and piano, in 1941. There, she enrolled in William Alwyn’s harmony class. Before long, he was also teaching her composition. Their mutual attraction was instantaneous, sparking a 30-year romance that culminated in their marriage in 1975.
Unfortunately, at the time of their meeting, Alwyn happened already to be married. The affair proved deleterious to everyone – Carwithen, Alwyn, and Alwyn’s wife – with stress, depression, and physical health issues all around.
When they finally did marry (after Alwyn’s doctor gave him a talking to, pointing out that he was killing everyone by not living honestly), Carwithen preferred to be recognized by her middle name. She had always disliked Doreen. Thereafter, she went by Mary.
In 1961, as her career never really seemed to get off the ground, Carwithen began acting as Alwyn’s secretary and amanuensis. Increasingly, she shifted her focus to supporting and promoting his music at the expense of her own. After all, he was by that time a symphonist of stature, while she wasn’t gaining any traction.
Following Alwyn’s death in 1985, she devoted herself purely to the preservation of his legacy. When she herself died in 2003, she left sketches for a string quartet (which would have been her third), a symphony, and a cello concerto. One can only imagine that, as a creative artist, Carwithen withered on the vine.
Now it seems her time has come. Her overture, “Bishop Rock,” was performed at this year’s BBC Proms (alongside Grace Williams’ “Sea Sketches” and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “A Sea Symphony”). On a separate concert, her Second String Quartet was also played. Another scheduled overture, “ODTAA (One Damn Thing After Another)” was not heard, as the Last Night of the Proms was cancelled because of the Queen’s death.
I expect, with the increased interest in music by composers marginalized because of race or gender, that we’ll be seeing more recordings and concerts featuring Carwithen’s works.
Here’s an interesting write-up that contains a lot of information about the composer, beyond that usually drawn from her Wikipedia page:
I’ve also been looking for an excuse to post this video of her Piano Sonatina for the last few weeks.
“ODTAA (One Damn Thing After Another),” introduced by Sir Adrian Boult and the London Philharmonic in 1947
Concerto for Piano and Strings, first performed at the Proms in 1952
“Bishop Rock”
String Quartet No. 1
“Suffolk Suite” (1964)
Carwithen wrote the score for the documentary “Elizabeth is Queen” (1953) at white heat. The film was released in theaters three days after Elizabeth’s coronation. The music under the opening credits is arranged from Walton’s “Crown Imperial.” Keep in mind, this is only reel one!
https://www.britishpathe.com/video/elizabeth-is-queen-reel-1-1
Carwithen and Alwyn were the focus of my film music show, “Picture Perfect,” this past Saturday on WWFM – The Classical Network. You can listen to the webcast by following the link below.
Happy birthday, Doreen Carwithen.
Leave a Reply to robusto formatCancel reply