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Mary Howe (née Carlisle) (April 4, 1882 – September 14, 1964) was an American composer and pianist.
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Mary Carlisle was born on April 4, 1882, in Richmond, Virginia, at the home of her maternal grandparents. Her father, Calderon Carlisle, was a well-known and successful lawyer.[1] Carlisle was raised in the Washington, D.C. area.[2] Her early lessons were with the noted pianist Herminie Seron.[3]
Carlisle was performing publicly by the time she was 18, when she was accepted into Baltimore's Peabody Institute.[4] During her term there, she began studying with Richard Burmeister, reaching a high level of accomplishment on the piano.[5] She also studied composition with Gustav Strube, Ernest Hutcheson, and Harold Randolph. In 1933, she went to Paris to study with the famous French pianist Nadia Boulanger.[3]
As early as 1911, Carlisle started performing with her friend Anne Hull, with one of their most notable performances being of Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos;[6] however, she much preferred composition. Her early compositions were almost exclusively for piano.[7] She notably emulated Neo-romanticism, with an unusually open mind for modernism.
She began to develop an interest in themes in nature and American themes, paving the way for some of her most famous orchestral works (which include Sand, Stars, Rock, Three Pieces after Emily Dickinson and "Chain Gang Song" for orchestra and chorus). Her "Chain Gang Song" was especially praised for its lack of femininity; after its first performance, once the chorus and orchestra called her up to bow, a man from the audience praised the conductor for the piece and asked why a woman was bowing with the ensemble.
Howe later developed a passion for composing for the voice, writing many art songs. In support of her country during World War II, she composed vigorous pieces in support of the troops which incorporated the texts of William Blake, also written for voice.
Howe died in 1964 at the age of 82, ten years after the death of her husband, Walter Bruce Howe. They were survived by their three children, Bruce, Calderon, and Molly.
All pieces published unless otherwise noted.
Choral works
- Catalina (1924)
- Chain Gang Song (1925)
- Cavaliers (1927, unpublished)
- Laud for Christmas (1936)
- Robin Hood's Heart (1936, unpublished)
- Spring Pastoral (1936)
- Christmas Song (1939)
- Song of Palms (1939)
- Song of Ruth (1939)
- Williamsburg Sunday (1940)
- Prophecy (1943)
- A Devotion (1944)
- Great Land of Mine (1953)
- Poem in Praise (1955, unpublished)
- The Pavilion of the Lord (1957, unpublished)
- Benedictus es Domine (1960, unpublished)
- We Praise thee O God (1962, unpublished)
Songs
- Old English Lullaby (1913)
- Somewhere in France (1918)
- Cossack Cradle Song (1922)
- Berceuse (1925)
- Chanson Souvenir (1925)
- O Mistress Mine (1925)
- The Prinkin' Leddie (1925)
- Reach (1925)
- Red Fields of France (1925)
- Ma douleur (1929)
- Ripe Apples (1929)
- There has Fallen a Splendid Tear (1930)
- Der Einsame (1931)
- Liebeslied (1931)
- Mailied (1931)
- Schlafied (1931)
- Abendlied (1932, unpublished)
- Avalon (1932)
- The Little Rose (1932)
- The Rag Picker (1932)
- The Lake Isle of Innisfree (1933)
- Fair Annet's Song (1934)
- Herbsttag (1934)
- Little Elegy (1934)
- Fragment (1935)
- Now goes the light (1935)
- Velvet Shoes (1935)
- Go down Death (1936)
- A Strange Story (1936)
- Départ (1938, unpublished)
- Soit (1938)
- Viennese Waltz (1938)
- Irish Lullaby (1939, unpublished)
- You (1939)
- Am Flusse (1940)
- Die Götter (1940)
- Heute geh' ich (1940)
- Die Jahre (1940)
- Ich denke dein (1940)
- Trocknet nicht (1940, unpublished)
- Zweiful (1940)
- The Bird's Nest (1941)
- General Store (1941)
- Horses of Magic (1941)
- Song at Dusk (1941)
- Traveling (1941, unpublished)
- Were I to Die (1941, unpublished)
- L'amant des roses (1942)
- Mein Herz (1942)
- Men (1942)
- Nicht mit Engeln (1942)
- Hymne (1943)
- In Tauris (1944)
- Look on this horizon (1944, unpublished)
- To the Unknown Soldier (1944)
- Lullaby for a Forester's Child (1945)
- Rêve (1945)
- O Proserpina (1946)
- Spring Come not too Soon (1947)
- The Christmas Story (1948)
- The Bailey and the Bell (1950)
- Einfaches Lied (1955, unpublished)
- My Lady Comes (1957)
- Three Hokku (1958)
Orchestral works
- Poema (1922)
- Stars (1927; New York, 1963)
- Sand (1928; New York, 1963)
- Castellana, 2 pianos, orchestra (1930)
- Dirge (1931)
- Axiom (1932)
- American Piece (1933)
- Coulennes (1936)
- Potomac River (1940)
- Paean (1941)
- Agreeable Overture (1948)
- Rock (1954; New York, 1963)
- The Holy Baby of the Madonna (1958)
Chamber music
- Fugue, string quartet (1922)
- Violin Sonata, D (1922; New York, 1962)
- Ballade Fantasque (1927)
- 3 Restaurant Pieces (1927)
- Little Suite, string quartet (1928)
- Piano Quartet (1928)
- Suite mélancholique (1931)
- Patria (1932)
- Quatuor, string quartet (1939)
- 3 Pieces After Emily Dickinson, string quartet (1941)
- Interlude between 2 Pieces, flute, piano (1942)
- Wind Quintet (1957)
Piano music
- Andante douloureux (1910)
- Nocturne (1913; New York, 1925)
- Prelude (1920)
- Valse dansante, 2 pianos (1922, unpublished)
- Berceuse (1924; New York, 1925)
- Estudia brillante (1925, unpublished)
- 3 Spanish Folk Tunes, 2 pianos (1925; New York, 1926)
- Whimsy (1931)
- Stars (1934)
- Trifle (1933, unpublished)
- Cards, ballet for 2 pianos (1936, unpublished)
- Le jongleur de Notre Dame, ballet for 2 pianos (1959, unpublished)
Organ music
- Elegy (1939)
- For a Wedding (1940, unpublished)
Also transcriptions of works by J. S. Bach for 1 and 2 pianos.[3]
- Music by Mary Howe (1998) – performed by John Martin, Mary Howe, William Strickland, and Catholic University of America Chamber Arts Society, Performed by Tokyo Imperial Philharmonic Orchestra and Vienna Philharmonic
- Love's Seasons: Songs of Mary Howe and Robert Ward (2004) by Sandra McClain and Margo Garrett
- Stars (1927) – Hans Kindler and the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, D.C., on 29 January 1941 for RCA Victor (78rpm: 11-8608) and reissued on CD in 1999 (Biddulph WHL 063).
- Songs and Duets (2021) – Courtney Maina (soprano), Christopher Leach (tenor), Mary Dibbern (piano), Toccata Classics TOCC0634
- Between Us: Music for Two by Mary Howe (2022) – includes the Violin Sonata (1922), and Ballade Fantastique, Three Restaurant Pieces, Partita, Merles de Coulenne, Interlude between Two Pieces, various performers, Navona NV6432
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