Ursula Greville (1894 – 1991) was a British

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

and

folksong Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

singer, songwriter, writer and editor of ''

The Sackbut ''The Sackbut'' was a British music journal published from 1920 to 1934 by the Curwen Press. It published general articles on mainly contemporary, both British and foreign, music as well as reports on performances and records. It was founded by the ...

'' (a critical music magazine). She has been credited as the first woman recording engineer.

Career

Singer

Greville was first taught by her mother, who studied with Marchesi. She studied with Field Hyde in London and went to Milan to study with Alfredo Morelli in the early 1920s. She studied diction with Plunkett Greene. Her first recital in London was in 1920. She performed in England, Germany, Austria, and Spain. She did multiple tours in the US. Greville performed a recital at the Town Hall in New York on 16 and 24 October 1926.

Sackbut magazine

Greville became editor of ''

'' in July 1921 and she remained editor until 1934. She was in a relationship with John Kenneth Curwen, the publisher of the magazine, and had no prior experience so the decision was seen as controversial. She also composed some songs which were published through her husband's company,

Curwen Press The Curwen Press was founded by the Reverend John Curwen in 1863 to publish sheet music for the "tonic sol-fa" system. The Press was based in Plaistow, Newham, east London, England, where Curwen was a pastor from 1844. The Curwen Press is bes ...

Recording engineer

Greville was the recording engineer and part owner of Synchrophone Company, which was formed by Hans Knudsen in 1919 but purchased by Curwen in 1930. Synchrophone was formed to use a vacant record factory in Hertford, England. The factory's previous tenant was Metropole Record (who made Piccadilly and Melba records). In the 1934, Synchrophone started issuing under the label Octacros. Octacros recordings were single-sided 12" records to be played with short 16mm films. Cinemas would buy the records under a 12-month contract. The records were not sold to the public and are now considered rare. From 1934 to 1937, Greville was the recording director and the label had three other engineers. Octacros was bought out in 1937 by

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

. Greville engineered over one dozen records of Frank Newman playing the Christie Theatre organ at the Plaza Cinema (in Rugby, Great Britain) for Octacros. Collector Adrian Tuddenham noted the quality of these records was poor because the company was in financial trouble and had to use subpar materials and recording equipment as a result. The organ had been moved shortly before the recording which left Greville with a less than ideal location for placing a microphone. In addition, the audio had been sent by a 'high quality' telephone line to Hertford where it was captured.

Personal life

Greville was married in 1910 to publisher John Kenneth Curwen. The two had a son, Knowles, born in 1925. She was later married to the composer and conductor Kurt Schindler.Collins, Chris (2003) Falla in Britain, ''The Musical Times'', Vol. 144, No. 1883, pp. 33-48. She was a close friend of

Israel Regardie Francis Israel Regardie (; né Regudy; November 17, 1907 – March 10, 1985) was a British-American occultist, ceremonial magician, and writer who spent much of his life in the United States. He wrote fifteen books on the subject of occultism. Bo ...

. The two traveled together in the summer of 1936. She moved to the United States at the start of World War II.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greville, Ursula 1894 births 1991 deaths 20th-century British women singers Women audio engineers Early Recording Engineers (1930-1959)