Mary Hannah (May) Brahe (née Dickson) (6 November 188414 August 1956) was an Australian composer, best known for her songs and ballads. Her most famous song by far is " Bless This House", recorded by John McCormack,

Beniamino Gigli Beniamino Gigli ( , ; 20 March 1890 – 30 November 1957) was an Italian opera singer ( lyric tenor). He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tenors of his generation. Early life Gigli was born in Recanati, in the Marche, the son of a sho ...

,Naxos
/ref>

Lesley Garrett Lesley Garrett, CBE (born 10 April 1955) is an English soprano singer, musician, broadcaster and media personality who is noted for being at home in opera and "crossover music". Early life Garrett was born in the town of Thorne, near Doncas ...

and

Bryn Terfel Bryn Terfel Jones (; born 9 November 1965), is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially primarily associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly '' Figaro'', '' Leporello'' and ''Don Giovanni,'' but he has subsequ ...

.ArkivMusik
/ref> According to Move.com.au: "She was the only

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

woman composer to win local an international recognition before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

," having "290 of her 500 songs published. Of these, 248 were written under her own name,Music Australia
/ref> the remainder under aliases.

Biography

Mary Hannah Dickson was born in

East Melbourne East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ce ...

in 1884. She was known as May from an early age. Her father was native born and her mother Scottish. She studied piano with her mother, then at Stratherne Girls' School, Hawthorn, and later with Mona McBurney and the singer Alice Rebotarro. In 1903 she married Frederick Brahe, the couple had two sons and a daughter. By 1910 she was playing in a trio with George W. L. Marshall-Hall, and accompanying singers. In 1912 she left for

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to establish herself as a composer, leaving her children behind in the care of family. Her first success was the 1915 song "Down Here," beginning "It's Quiet Down Here" with lyrics by P.J. O'Reilly. In 1914 she returned to Australia, but only for long enough to bring her family back to England. Brahe published under her married name and nine

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

s. This allowed more frequent publication, as publishers were reluctant to publish more than four of her songs in a year. The names she composed under included: Mervyn Banks, Mary Hannah Brahe, Donald Crichton, Stanley Dickson, Alison Dodd, Stanton Douglas, Eric Faulkner, Wilbur B. Fox, Henry Lovell, Mary Hanna Morgan, and George Pointer. In 1919 her husband was killed in a motor accident. In 1922, in London, she married George Albert Morgan, an Australian-born actor. When her publisher was taken over by

Boosey & Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British Music publisher (sheet music), music publisher, purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass instrument, brass, string instru ...

in 1925, she became one of their few composers on an annual retainer. In the next 18 years she published 400 compositions, mainly ballads. Dame

Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic lyric coloratura soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early twentieth century, and was the f ...

, Peter Dawson,

John Charles Thomas John Charles Thomas (September 6, 1891December 13, 1960) was an American opera, operetta and concert baritone. Biography John Charles Thomas was born on September 6, 1891, in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. He was the son of a Methodist minister of ...

and other singers recorded her songs, many of which were chosen as items for school concerts in the United Kingdom, Australia and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. She made settings of poems by

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentar ...

, Robert Herrick,

Walter de la Mare Walter John de la Mare (; 25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was an English poet, short story writer and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for his psychological horror short fi ...

Dorothea Mackellar Isobel Marion Dorothea Mackellar (1 July 1885 – 14 January 1968) was an Australian poet and fiction writer. Her poem " My Country" is widely known in Australia, especially its second stanza, which begins: "I love a sunburnt country / ...

and living lyricists such as Helen Taylor, Madge Dickson (her sister), and P. J. O'Reilly. Helen Taylor was her most frequent collaborator, including " Bless This House" (1927). This simple song became world-famous in recordings by singers such as John McCormack, Peter Dawson,

Jan Peerce Jan Peerce (born Yehoshua Pinkhes Perelmuth; June 3, 1904 December 15, 1984) was an American operatic tenor. Peerce was an accomplished performer on the operatic and Broadway concert stages, in solo recitals, and as a recording artist. He is ...

and Josef Locke, through to

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 1917 – 18 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is Honorific nicknames in popular music, honorifically known ...

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

and

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...

, and continues its popularity in the present day, with recordings by

Benjamin Luxon Benjamin Matthew Luxon (24 March 1937 – 26 July 2024) was a British baritone. Biography Luxon was born in Redruth, Cornwall on 24 March 1937, the son of Ernest Maxwell Luxon, an amateur singer, and his wife Lucille Pearl, née Grigg. He stud ...

Leontyne Price Leontyne Price ( born Mary Violet Leontine Price February 10, 1927) is an American spinto soprano who was the first African-American soprano to receive international acclaim. From 1961 she began a long association with the Metropolitan Opera. ...

and

. She wrote musical comedies, including ''Castles in Spain'', with a libretto by

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and

Muriel Box Violette Muriel Box, Baroness Gardiner, (22 September 1905 – 18 May 1991) was an English screenwriter and director, Britain's most prolific female director, having directed 12 feature films and one featurette. Her screenplay for '' The Sevent ...

. She returned to Australia in 1939 and lived in semi-retirement. She lived comfortably from song royalties. She died at

Bellevue Hill, New South Wales Bellevue Hill is a harbourside suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, located five kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the Municipality of Woollahra. The suburb is located w ...

in 1956; she was survived by two sons and a daughter of her first marriage and a son of her second. In 2018, it was revealed that her daughter Marita, under her married surname Perigoe, had spent the Second World War in London believing that she was a Nazi spy. Perigoe had in fact been duped by an agent of MI5 in what was known as the

Fifth Column A fifth column is a group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. The activities of a fifth column can be overt or clandestine. Forces gathered in secret can mobilize ...

operation.

Musical compositions using the name May H. Brahe (incomplete)

Songs

* ''As I Went a'Roaming'' (Helen Taylor), Enoch & Sons publisher * ''Beaux and Belles'' (Helen Taylor) ** ''The Country Dance'' * '' Bless This House'' (Helen Taylor) * ''By Road and River'', 5 songs (Helen Taylor) ** ''O Western Wind!'' ** ''Red Roofs'' * ''The Call of the Maytime'' (Helen Taylor) * ''Children of All Nations'' (Lucie Smith) * ''Close Thine Eyes'' (adapted from lyrics by

King Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after h ...

) * ''Coming Home Along'' (Nancie B. Marsland) * ''Country Folk'' (Helen Taylor) * ''Cradle Me Low'' (Helen Taylor) * ''Cuckoo Calls'' (Helen Taylor) * ''The Days of Old'' (Porter Emerson Brown) * ''Down Here'' (P. J. O'Reilly), Enoch & Sons publisher * ''Evening Shadows'' (Jean Crichton) * ''The Everlasting Love'' (Helen Taylor) * Four Songs from "Peacock Pie" (

) ** ''The Old Stone House'' * ''From Far and Near'' (Alban Gordon) * ''Galloping Dreary Dun'' (adapted by P. J. O'Reilly) * ''Give Me Your Hand'' (George Cooper) * ''Good-bye, and God be with You'' (P. J. O'Reilly) * ''Guess You Know'' (Helen Taylor) * ''The Haunting Little Tune'' (Harold George) * ''I Passed by your Window'' (Helen Taylor), Enoch & Sons publisher * ''I Thought I'd Forgotten (But Still I Remember)'' (Helen Taylor) * ''I Walked in My Garden'' (Harold George) * ''In a Month of Sundays'' (Dorothy Dickinson) * ''A Japanese Love Song'' (Madge Dickson), Enoch & Sons publisher, 1910 * ''Jennifer'' ( Royden Barrie) * ''Keep Thou My Heart'' ( Edward Lockton) * ''Last Night'' (Shirley Darbyshire) * ''A Leafy Wood'' (Jean Lucas) * ''Life's Balcony'' (Helen Taylor) * ''Listen, Mary'' (Constance Wilford) * ''Little Bird'' (Dorothy Harrison) * ''A Little Green Lane'' (Desmond Carter) * ''Little Lamb'' (

) * ''Look Up to the Sunrise'' (Edward Lockton) * ''Love and Life'', 5 little songs * ''Love Me Little, Love Me Long'' (Anonymous) * ''Marjorie'' (Walter Learned) * ''Matthew, Mark, Luke and John'' (adapted by Walter de la Mare) * ''Messengers'' (Helen Taylor) * ''My Dear Old Town'' (Arthur L. Salmon) * ''A Northern Lament'' (Helen Taylor) * ''Nothing to Say'' (Fred E. Weatherly) * ''The Nutmeg Tree'' (adapted by Margaret Lucas) * ''A Parting Prayer'' (John Marvell) * ''My Prayer for You'' (Margaret Dickson) * ''Off to the Greenwood'' (Helen Taylor) * ''Oh, Pray for Peace'' (Helen Taylor) * ''A Pageant of Summer'', song cycle for 4 voices (Helen Taylor): ** ''Meadowsweet'' ** ''None-so-pretty'' ** ''Traveller's Joy'' * ''The Piper from Over the Way'' (Helen Taylor) * ''A Prayer in Absence'' (Helen Taylor) * ''The Queen'' (Alex C. Welsh) * ''Real Australian Children Songs'' (Madge Dickson) * ''Ring-Time'' (Helen Taylor) * ''She is All So Slight'' (Richard Aldington) * ''Shy Mignonette'' (Helen Taylor) * ''Sitting at Home by the Fire'' (Helen Taylor) * ''Sleep, Pretty Babe'' * ''Song of a Cretan Warrior'' (Thomas Campbell) * ''A Song of Exile'' (P. J. O'Reilly) * ''Song Pictures'', 5 songs (Helen Taylor) ** ''I Passed By Your Window'' ** ''To a Miniature'' * ''Spindrift'', 5 songs (Ethel Tindal Atkinson/Madge Dickson) * ''Spring Blossoms'', 4 little songs (Morris Hazlitt/Madge Dickson/ Robert Herrick) * ''Spring is on the Way'' (Jean Crichton) * ''Sweet and Low'' * ''That's All'' (Helen Taylor) * ''There's a Whisper in the Air'' (Nancie B. Marsland) * ''Through the April Meadows'' (Helen Taylor) * ''Two Little Words'' (Helen Taylor) * Two Songs (

)The Lied and Art Song Text Page
/ref> ** ''Oh, to be in England'' ** ''The Year's at the Spring'' * ''When I Hear a Song-Lark'' (Morris Hazlitt) * ''The Wide Brown Land'' (

) * ''Years Ago'' (Helen Taylor) * ''You'll Come Home Again'' (Harold George) * ''Yours Alone'' (Helen Taylor)

Cantatas

* ''Dame Durden's School'', juvenile cantata * ''The Magic Wood'', juvenile cantata

Musical comedy

* ''Castles in Spain'', a South-American musical romance (libretto:

Sydney Box Frank Sydney Box (29 April 1907 – 25 May 1983) was a British film producer and screenwriter, and brother of British film producer Betty Box. In 1940, he founded the documentary film company Verity Films with Jay Lewis. He produced and co- ...

, Montgomery Tully; lyrics: Harold V. Purcell,

)

Piano solo

* ''Gay Pastorale'' * ''Marita'' * ''Minuet for Ninon'' * ''Toy Town Patrol''

Musical compositions using the name Stanley Dickson

* ''Crying for the Moon'' (Dorothy M. Tweedale) * ''Dancing Days'' (Helen Taylor) * ''God Bless You'' (Kathleen Stuart) * ''Little Brown Cottage'' (Greatrex Newman) * ''Thanks Be to God'' (P. J. O'Reilly)

Musical compositions using the name Alison Dodd

* ''Invitation'' (Rose Fyleman)

References

External links

* * Australian Music Centre
May Brahe
* ''Australian Dictionary of Biography''
Mary Hannah (May) Brahe (1884–1956)
by Mimi Colligan.
Mary Hannah Brahe (1884-1956)
in National Library of Australia. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brahe, May 1884 births 1956 deaths Australian women classical composers Australian women songwriters Musicians from Melbourne Australian classical composers 20th-century Australian women musicians