May Summerbelle

Annie May Constance Summerbelle (1867 – 1947) was an Australian composer of light classical and popular music.^[1][2][3] She was the third daughter of Captain William and Honoriah Summerbelle of Double Bay.^[4] Her sister, Stella Clare, married Francis Joseph Bayldon, a master mariner and nautical instructor.^[5] From the late 1880s she was a student of Alice Charbonnet-Kellermann, with Summerbelle's earliest compositions appearing in the early 1890s.^[6]

May Summerbelle
May Summerbelle in 1924
Background information
Born	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died	(1946-01-01)1 January 1946
Occupation(s)	Composer, journalist
Years active	1890-1930

Among a hundred compositions, she had music selected for the British Empire Exhibition in London.^[7] Her song So Long was played by the Australian Light Horse as the first wave embarked on the Gallipoli campaign.^[8][9] The song was also selected by Australian entertainers despatched to entertain troops.^[10]

She married Herbert Glasson in 1893^[4] and wrote 'Love is a fadeless flower' while heavily pregnant with his child. The same year Herbert was convicted and executed for murder and robbery under arms.^[11] Ms Summerbelle involved herself with repertory theatre groups via the Sydney Press-Women.^[12]

Works

• Thou art mine 1906
• Valkyrie, op. 6 1910-
• Myee waltz /1890 ^[15]
• Beaux yeux : waltz 1908
• Pop-corn : cake walk & two step 1899 ^[16]
• Gavotte in D : swords and roses dance : op. 4 1916
• So-long : march-song / words by John Barr ; music by May Summerbelle 1914 ^[17]
• Wanted for the fighting line : Australian recruiting song / words by Will. M. Fleming ; music by May Summerbelle 1914
• Australia! sighs my heart / words by Ada A. Holman ; music by May Summerbelle
• Ave Maria ^[3]
• an article for the Sunday times newspaper ^[18]

Recordings

Nostalgia - Piano Music by Australian Women by Jeanell Carrigan 2016 Wirrapang Pub.^[19]

References

1. "Summerbelle, May (1867-1914) – People and Organisations". Trove (National Library of Australia). Archived from the original on 13 October 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
2. "May Summerbelle: (author/organisation) - AustLit: Discover Australian Stories". Austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
3. "Summerbelle". Avemariasongs.org. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
4. "Family Notices". Freeman's Journal. Vol. XLIV, no. 2553. New South Wales, Australia. 11 February 1893. p. 11. Retrieved 14 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
5. Phillips, Nan (1979). "Bayldon, Francis Joseph (1872–1948)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
6. "Sydney and Provincial Social Items, &c". Illustrated Sydney News. 9 May 1891. p. 3. Retrieved 26 April 2020 – via Trove. (National Library of Australia).
7. "AUSTRALIAN COMPOSER LEAVING". The Daily Telegraph. No. 13, 818. New South Wales, Australia. 22 March 1924. p. 16. Retrieved 13 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
8. "Mainly About People". Daily News. Vol. XLIII, no. 15, 277. Western Australia. 7 April 1924. p. 7 (THIRD EDITION). Retrieved 14 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
9. Summerbelle, May; Fleming, W. M. (William Montgomerie), 1874-1961 (1914), Wanted for the fighting line [music] : Australian recruiting song / words by Will. M. Fleming ; music by May Summerbelle{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
10. "SINGING FOR THE SOLDIERS". The Sun. No. 649. New South Wales, Australia. 5 September 1915. p. 17 (SUNDAY EDITION). Retrieved 4 November 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
11. "The Carcoar Tragedy". Australian Town and Country Journal. Vol. XLVII, no. 1241. New South Wales, Australia. 28 October 1893. p. 9. Retrieved 13 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
12. "IN THE WINTER GARDEN". Freeman's Journal. Vol. LXIX, no. 4098. New South Wales, Australia. 15 February 1917. p. 28. Retrieved 14 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
13. "NEW MUSIC". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 22, 035. New South Wales, Australia. 31 August 1908. p. 3. Retrieved 14 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
14. Summerbelle, May, Beaux yeux [music] : waltz / composed by May Summerbelle (in no linguistic content), W.H. Paling & Co., Ltd
15. "New Music". The Daily Telegraph. 17 January 1891. p. 9. Retrieved 26 April 2020 – via Trove. (National Library of Australia).
16. "Pop Corn Cake Walk by May Summerbelle from AUSTRALIA, 1899". YouTube. 8 March 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
17. "[Sheet music] So-Long: March-Song".
18. "AUSTRALIAN COMPOSERS". The Sunday Times. No. 1053. New South Wales, Australia. 25 March 1906. p. 1 (The Sunday Times Magazine Section). Retrieved 13 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
19. "Rediscovering Australian women composers of piano music : Feature Article : Australian Music Centre". Australianmusiccentre.com.au. Retrieved 12 October 2018.