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Maria Dowding Billington Hawes (1816 – 1886) was an English contralto singer and composer who performed in two Mendelssohn debuts.
She was baptised at St-Martin-in-the-Fields, London, on 21 June 1816, the third daughter of the composer William Hawes, who taught her to sing. Her godmother was opera singer
She was baptised at St-Martin-in-the-Fields, London, on 21 June 1816, the third daughter of the composer William Hawes, who taught her to sing. Her godmother was opera singer Elizabeth Billington
Elizabeth Billington (27 December 1765, in London25 August 1818, in Venice) was a British opera singer.
Life
She was born on 27 December 1765 in Litchfield Street, Soho, London. She was the daughter of Carl Weichsel, a native of Freiberg, in ...
. She made her debut at her father's annual concert in 1832.
She was in contact with Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...
, whom she visited in Germany. She performed at the premier of his '' Lobgesang'' (23 September 1840) and was the principle contralto at the premier of his '' Elijah'' at the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival of 1846. The aria "O Rest in the Lord" in ''Elijah'' was written for her.
She composed 27 songs and hymns including "There be none of beauty's daughters" (1856) and "Oh Lord, thy mercies we proclaim" (1872).
On 18 July 1847 she became the second wife of James Drege Merest, a magistrate of Bury St Edmunds. She died at Ryde, Isle of Wight, on 24 April 1886.
References