Scrapblog: a Writer from the South-West: Devon

If you have occasionally looked up this blog and are wondering why it appears to have disappeared into the virtual mire, you might be interested to follow its own follow-up. Although I may sometimes still posts add to this Scrapblog, my new blog at Women Writing on the Devon Land; the Lost Story of Devon's Women Writers and its explanatory home page, will explain why I have not even occasionally written posts for this one, during 2016/7.

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I stumbled over your blog when googling Lady Rachel Fane, as I do from time to time, having been interested in this amazing woman for the past 25 years when, like you, I found her in Tawstock Church. Sporadically I have gathered information about her, including visits to both Kent and Northampton archives, always intending one day to write her story, but as is the way of these things, never getting around to it. But anyway - as a fellow Devonian woman writer, I just wanted to say hello and to say how much I am enjoying your blog - and when your book is published I will be in the queue to buy a copy.

Jo Field

Research subjects

Maude Valerie White

Maude Valerie White was during her lifetime one of the country's foremost female composers - and was especially renowned for her many songs (Groves called her song (words by Shelley) 'My Soul is an Enchanted Boat' "one of the best in the language"). White is more or less forgotten now except for one or two recent performances: Felicity Lott has for instance performed several of her songs, including So We'll go No More a Roving on this CD. White was born in France but apparently lived in Torquay at some time during her life and began her musical training there. She evidently had a remarkable life and career and gave an account of it in her book Memories and Friends; see this review of memories of a cheerful musician in a contemporary New York Times gives an account of her book.

Caroline Orger-Reinagle

Caroline Orger-Reinagle died in Tiverton in 1892. As yet I have found no more information about her time in Devon except that she probably lived at 15 Twyford Place (and was a member of the Shelley Society in 1887/8). Born in London in 1817 the pianist-composer spent much of her life in Oxford with her husband, the organist and teacher Alexander Reinagle. Works written under her married name appear not to have survived: these included a cello sonata and 2 piano quartets. However some music composed under her maiden name, Caroline Orger, was published: a piano sonata in A, opus 6 (1850?); some songs - including 3 settings of Adelaide Procter and 4 of Robert Browning; her Tarentella for piano appears to have been her most popular work. You can find here bits of info re some of these works and her treatise on piano playing.

Harriet Abrams

Harriet Abrams (1758-1821), singer and composer. From 1781 for ten years, she was a leading London soloist and appeared amongst others, in the Concerts of Ancient Music. Several of her sisters also sang; one of them, Theodosia, sang with Harriet and they became well-known as a duo (see a print of them performing here) I don't know when she moved to Devon but she died at her home The Braddons, in South Hill, Torquay, in November 1849 and was buried at St Saviour, Tormoham, Devon on 8 November. that year. As yet I haven't found out about her compositions.
The writer Theodosia Garrow, the daughter of Theodosia Abrams also lived at The Braddons, with her parents.
Info. on Abrams is from the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

Thelma Reiss

The cellist Thelma Reiss was born in Plymouth, in 1906. She made her debut with the pianist Joan Black at the Wigmore Hall in 1930. and was then invited to play Elgar Cello concerto at a Promenade Concert. She followed an international career and was at the time acclaimed as one of the foremost women cellists, performing with Myra Hess and broadcasting with the BBC. During the war she played at factories and hospitals. Playing a repertoire from Back to Debussy she was apparently known for her stylish and brilliant playing; but this was enhanced by her projection of a wonderful warm rapport and this endeared her to her audiences. She was forced to retire in 1955 because of a debilitating illness.

(information from Oxford Music Online)

Helen Glatz

Helen Glatz (1908-64) wrote an account of her life and career which was published in The Contemporary Music Review, in 1994. Having been a "penniless refugee" in Hungary during the second world war, she escaped to England with her husband just after the end of the war. Ending up in Devon at Dartington the composer, understandably, found she was now in "absolute heaven on earth". Whilst living and teaching at Dartington Glatz had commissions for many compositions of all kinds. One of these was The Dartington Cycle a work which she set to poetry about Dartington's history, written by Anne Born.

Scrapblog: a Writer from the South-West

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