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Dorothy Ann Collins (6 March 1933 – 22 September 1995), was an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology * Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or ...
musician, arranger and composer. She was the older sister of
Shirley Collins Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE (born 5 July 1935) is an English folk singer who was a significant contributor to the English Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s. She often performed and recorded with her sister Dolly, whose accompaniment on pi ...
. Born in
Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, ...
,
Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...
(now
East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in Ea ...
), she grew up in an artistic, socialist, folk singing family. She learned the
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...
at school, and then studied with composer Alan Bush while taking odd jobs in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, including working as a
bus conductor Bus conductors (also referred to as conductors, or clippies) were a common feature of many bus services across Europe until the late 1970s and early 1980s. The main reason two-person crews were needed was that most towns and cities used doubl ...
. In the mid-1960s she began working with her sister Shirley, who was establishing a reputation as a leading folk singer. She arranged some of Shirley's songs and, on the album ''Sweet Primeroses'', accompanied her on
portative organ A portative organ (from the Latin verb , "to carry"), also known during Italian Trecento as the , is a small pipe organ that consists of one rank of flue pipes, sometimes arranged in two rows, to be played while strapped to the performer at a ri ...
. Further work with Shirley followed: Shirley said ''"You could launch yourself off on a Dolly arrangement."'' In 1968 they produced the album ''
Anthems in Eden ''Anthems in Eden'' is a 1969 album by Shirley and Dolly Collins, with the Early Music Consort of London, directed by David Munrow. The album originally consisted of a 28-minute set of folk songs plus seven other individual pieces performed by t ...
'', commissioned by BBC Radio and written for a six-piece early music consort directed by
David Munrow David John Munrow (12 August 194215 May 1976) was a British musician and early music historian. Early life and education Munrow was born in Birmingham where both his parents taught at the University of Birmingham. His mother, Hilda Ivy (n� ...
, and regularly toured together. Dolly also worked as a musician and arranger with other singers and bands, including
The Incredible String Band The Incredible String Band (sometimes abbreviated as ISB) were a Scottish psychedelic folk band formed by Clive Palmer, Robin Williamson and Mike Heron in Edinburgh in 1966. The band built a considerable following, especially in the British ...
on ''
The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter ''The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter'' is the third album by the Scottish psychedelic folk group, The Incredible String Band (ISB), and was released in March 1968 on Elektra Records (''see'' 1968 in music). It saw the band continuing its developme ...
'' (1967), Matthews' Southern Comfort on their debut album (1969), and
Peter Bellamy Peter Franklyn Bellamy (8 September 1944 – 24 September 1991) was an English folk singer. He was a founding member of The Young Tradition and also had a long solo career, recording numerous albums and touring folk clubs and concert halls. He ...
on the ballad opera ''
The Transports ''The Transports'' is a folk ballad opera written by Peter Bellamy released by Free Reed Records in 1977. It is often cited as Bellamy's greatest achievement. It featured many artists from the 1970s English folk revival, including The Watersons ...
'' (1977). By the late 1970s she retreated from touring and live concerts, and earned a living from gardening. Her last recordings were with Shirley on the album ''For As Many as Will'' (1978). She continued to compose, however, and just before her death she completed a cycle of First World War poems and a new mass written with the poet
Maureen Duffy Maureen Patricia Duffy (born 21 October 1933) is an English poet, playwright, novelist and non-fiction author. Long an activist covering such issues as gay rights and animal rights, she campaigns especially on behalf of authors. She has received ...
, the 'Missa Humana', which will finally receive its premiere on 25 February 2023 at Conway Hall, London (directed by John Andrews; produced by Lawrence Warner). She died at home in
Balcombe, West Sussex Balcombe is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. It lies south of London, north of Brighton, and east north east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby towns include Crawley to the north west and H ...
.


See also

*
Music of Sussex The historic county of Sussex in southern England has a rich musical heritage that encompasses the genres of folk, classical and rock and popular music amongst others. With the unbroken survival of its indigenous music, Sussex was at the forefront ...


References


External links


Obituary article from The Scotland Herald
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Dolly 1933 births 1995 deaths People from Hastings English folk musicians British folk rock musicians Harvest Records artists 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century English composers The Albion Band members People from Balcombe, West Sussex