Portrait photograph of Rosalind Frances Ellicott

Rosalind Frances Ellicott (November 14, 1857 – April 5, 1924) was an English composer, considered one of the leading female composers of her generation.

Life

Ellicott was born in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, the daughter of Constantia Annie Ellicott (née Becher) and

Charles Ellicott Charles John Ellicott (1819–1905) was a distinguished English Christian theologian, academic and churchman. He briefly served as Dean of Exeter, then Bishop of the united see of Gloucester and Bristol. Early life and family Ellicott was bo ...

, the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

and

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. Her father had no interest in music and it was predominantly her mother, an amateur singer who had been involved with the founding both of London's Handel Society (1882–1939) and of the Gloucester Philharmonic Society, who encouraged young Rosalind's talent. At the age of six "she exhibited an extraordinary facility in music, singing, and harmonising correctly by ear". She took lessons from

Samuel Sebastian Wesley Samuel Sebastian Wesley (14 August 1810 – 19 April 1876) was an English organist and composer. Wesley married Mary Anne Merewether and had 6 children. He is often referred to as S.S. Wesley to avoid confusion with his father Samuel Wesley. Bio ...

, the cathedral organist, from age 12, tried writing songs at 13 and then a sonata at 16. From 1874 to 1876 she studied piano with Frederick Westlake at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

. While at the Academy she discovered her voice and took soprano solo parts in oratorios and cantatas and was a frequent soloist at the

Three Choirs Festival 200px, Worcester cathedral 200px, Gloucester cathedral The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held annually at the end of July, rotating among the cathedrals of the Three Counties (Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester) and originally featu ...

. She also studied composition for seven years from 1885 under

Thomas Wingham Thomas Wingham (5 January 1846 – 24 March 1893) was an English composer, known as a teacher and for his time at Brompton Oratory. Life Thomas Wingham was born in London on 5 January 1846 and became organist of St Michael's Mission Church, Sou ...

of the Brompton Oratory. She was a member of the International Society of Musicians and the National Society of Professional Musicians, as well as an ARAM. Subscription required But despite her relative success in the last two decades of the century as a composer and performer, by the early 1900s she began disappearing from the public eye. She moved to the south coast after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and died in

Seasalter Seasalter is a village (and district council ward) in the Canterbury District of Kent, England. Seasalter is on the north coast of Kent, between the towns of Whitstable and Faversham, facing the Isle of Sheppey across the estuary of the River Swa ...

in 1924.Sources differ on this; some state that she died in London, not in Seasalter, although the year given is the same. She is buried near her parents in the churchyard of

Birchington-on-Sea Birchington-on-Sea is a village#United Kingdom, village in the Thanet District, Thanet district in Kent, England, with a population of 9,961. The village forms part of the civil parish of Birchington. It lies on the coast facing the North Sea ...

, in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Music

In 1886 Ellicott found success at the Gloucester Festival with the orchestral ''Dramatic Overture'' and then in 1889 with ''Elysium'', a lyrical cantata. Of her ''Elysium'': "the orchestration is full and vigorous, the brass specially bold and refreshing, and there is not a dull bar .... It is a charming and spirited work nd receivedrepeated calls". Both of these early works were performed subsequently at concerts in Bristol, Cheltenham, Oxford, London, Dresden and Chicago. It has been suggested that her father's position as a bishop enabled her to have some of her works performed at the

(held in rotation in Gloucester, Hereford and Worcester.) However, the majority of new composers used patronage from established musicians or other influential people in order to obtain festival premieres. Her ambitious works for chorus and orchestra were cast in a traditional, broadly Romantic vein. But towards the end of the century she began to turn her attention to chamber music, possibly hoping that there would be more opportunities for it to be performed. The Piano Trio No 1 in G received its first performance in Bristol at the end of 1889, with the composer as pianist. The second trio was given at the

Gloucester Guildhall Gloucester Guildhall is a former municipal building in Eastgate Street, Gloucester, which is now used as a arts and theatre venue. It is a Grade II listed building. History The original town hall, known as "the Tolsey" meaning "town hall", was ...

on 29 October 1903. The Piano Quartet in B minor and the Violin Sonata were both introduced at the same

Steinway Hall Steinway Hall (German: ) is the name of buildings housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway & Sons pianos. The first Steinway Hall was opened in 1866 in New York City. Today, Steinway Halls and are located in cities such ...

concert in London on 28 April 1900, performed by Sybil Palliser, Edie Reynolds,

Lionel Tertis Lionel Tertis, CBE (29 December 187622 February 1975) was an English violist. He was one of the first viola players to achieve international fame and a noted teacher. Career Tertis was born in West Hartlepool, the son of Polish-Jewish immigra ...

and Charles Ould. Her songs and chamber works were regularly performed at the festivals and were generally well-received. She composed rapidly: "I get a whole movement in my head before I touch paper. I hardly ever alter my compositions." Comparatively little of Ellicott's work has survived to this day apart from a few songs and instrumental works.

Works

Orchestral * ''Concert Overture'' (1886) * ''Dramatic Overture'' (1886) * ''Festival Overture'' (1893) * ''Fantasia for piano and orchestra'' (1895) * Overture ''To Spring'' Chamber * ''A Sketch for violin with piano accompaniment'' (1883) * String Quartet in Bb (1884) * String Quartet in F * ''A Reverie for Violoncello & Pianoforte'' (1888) * Piano Trio No 1 in G (1889) * Piano Trio No 2 in D minor (1891) * ''Six Pieces for Violin and Pianoforte'' (1891) * Piano Quartet in B minor (1900) * Sonata in D for violin and piano (1900) * Sonata for cello and piano Choral * ''Elysium'' cantata (1889) * ''The Birth of Song'': a cantata for soli, chorus and orchestra (1892) * ''King Henry of Navarre'': a choral ballad (men's voices) with orchestral accompaniment ad. lib. (1894) * ''To the Immortals'' Part songs * "Sing to me". Duet for Soprano & Tenor; words by R. S. Hichens (1887) * "Radiant Sister of the Day". A Four-part Song; words by Shelley (1887) * "Peace be around thee". Four-part Song; words written by T. Moore (1888) * "Bring the bright Garlands". Part-Song; words by Moore (1889) Solo songs * "The sweet blue eyes of springtime". (Die blauen Frühlingsaugen.) Song; poem by H. Heine. English translation by C. Rowe (1881) * "From my sad tears are springing". (Aus meinen Thränen.) Song; poem by H. Heine. English translation by C. Rowe (1881) * "To the Immortals". Song; words by D. F. Blomfield (1883) * "Verlust": solo song; words by Heine, English Translation by J. Troutbeck. n C minor and D minor.(1884) * "I love thee". Song; words by R. S. Hichens (1887) * "A Dream of the Sea". Song; words by R. S. Hichens (1889)

Discography

* The Piano Trio No 1 in G major (circa 1889) has been recorded by the Trio Anima Mundi on ''English Piano Trios'', DIVINE ART DDA2515 * The Piano Trio No 2 in D minor (1891) was recorded by the Summerhayes Piano Trio. (''English Romantic Trios'':

Meridian Records Meridian Records is a British independent record label based in London. Having been founded in 1977, Meridian has celebrated more than a third of a century of recording classical music in its well regarded 'natural sound'. Meridian has tradit ...

, 2005. CDE84478) * ''Reverie'' was recorded by Joseph Spooner (cello) and Michael Jones (piano) at Potton Hall, Suffolk, 21–23 May 2008. (''Romantics in England – Music for Cello & Piano'': Dutton, 2009. CDLX7225)Walter Macfarren, Michael Balfe, Rosalind Ellicott, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Roger Quilter & Edgar Bainton ROMANTICS IN ENGLAND MUSIC FOR CELLO & PIANO
''www.duttonvocalion.co.uk'', accessed 15 December 2020

Notes

References

External links

* * (Creative Commons Licence Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) not suitable for uploading to Wikipedia) * Fuller, Sophie
''Grove Music Online'' entry
(extract) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellicott, Rosalind 1857 births 1924 deaths English classical composers 19th-century English musicians English Romantic composers British women classical composers People from Cambridge 19th-century classical composers Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Musicians from Cambridgeshire 20th-century English women musicians 19th-century British composers 20th-century women composers 19th-century women composers 20th-century English composers