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'''Amanda Christina Elizabeth Aldridge''', also known as '''Amanda Ira Aldridge''' (10 March 1866 – 9 March 1956), was a [[British]] opera singer and teacher who [[composer|composed]] love songs, suites, sambas and light orchestral pieces under the [[pseudonym]] of '''Montague Ring'''. She was the daughter of [[African-American|Afric]]<nowiki/>o brothers, Ira Daniel and Ira Frederick.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/women-in-music/amanda-aldridge-parlour-song-composer-teacher/|title=Who was Amanda Aldridge? The parlour song composer and teacher who inspired a generation|website=Discover Music|publisher=[[Classic FM (UK)|Classic FM]]|first=Rosie|last=Pentreath|date=29 January 2021|access-date=11 April 2022}}</ref> Aldridge studied voice under [[Jenny Lind]] and <!-- Clearly before he was knighted in 1914. -->[[George Henschel]] at the [[Royal College of Music]] in London, and harmony and counterpoint with [[Frederick Bridge]] and [[Francis Edward Gladstone]].
'''Amanda Christina Elizabeth Aldridge''', also known as '''Amanda Ira Aldridge''' (10 March 1866 – 9 March 1956), was a [[British]] opera singer and teacher who [[composer|composed]] love songs, suites, sambas and light orchestral pieces under the [[pseudonym]] of '''Montague Ring'''.
== Life ==
Amanda Aldridge was born on 10 March 1866 in [[Upper Norwood]], London, the third child of [[African-American]] actor [[Ira Aldridge|Ira Frederick Aldridge]] and his second wife, Amanda Brandt, who was Swedish. She had two sisters, Rachael and [[Luranah Aldridge|Luranah]], and two brothers, Ira Daniel and Ira Frederick.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/women-in-music/amanda-aldridge-parlour-song-composer-teacher/|title=Who was Amanda Aldridge? The parlour song composer and teacher who inspired a generation|website=Discover Music|publisher=[[Classic FM (UK)|Classic FM]]|first=Rosie|last=Pentreath|date=29 January 2021|access-date=11 April 2022}}</ref> Aldridge studied voice under [[Jenny Lind]] and <!-- Clearly before he was knighted in 1914. -->[[George Henschel]] at the [[Royal College of Music]] in London, and harmony and counterpoint with [[Frederick Bridge]] and [[Francis Edward Gladstone]].


After completing her studies, Aldridge worked as a concert singer, piano accompanist, and voice teacher. A throat condition ended her concert appearances, and she turned to teaching and published about thirty songs between the years 1907 and 1925 in a romantic [[Parlour music|parlour]] style, as well as instrumental music in other styles. Her students included [[Roland Hayes]], [[Lawrence Benjamin Brown]], [[Marian Anderson]]{{citation needed|date=November 2020}} and [[Paul Robeson]].<ref name=bbc>{{Cite ODNB|title=Shepley [née Humphrey], Ida (1908–1975), actress and singer|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-100422|access-date=2020-11-17|year = 2004|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/100422|isbn = 9780198614111}}</ref> In 1930, when Robeson performed as [[Othello (character)|Othello]] in the [[West End of London|West End]], Aldridge was in attendance, and gave Robeson the gold earrings that her father [[Ira Aldridge]] had worn as Othello.<ref name="The Rest Is Noise">{{cite web|url=https://www.therestisnoise.com/2013/07/aldridge-shakespeare-wagner.html|title=Othello's Daughter|first=Alex|last=Ross|work=[[The New Yorker]]|date=29 July 2013|via=The Rest Is Noise|access-date=11 April 2022}}</ref> Aldridge also took the singer [[Ida Shepley]] under her wing and converted her from a singer to a stage actor.<ref name=bbc/>
After completing her studies, Aldridge worked as a concert singer, piano accompanist, and voice teacher. A throat condition ended her concert appearances, and she turned to teaching and published about thirty songs between the years 1907 and 1925 in a romantic [[Parlour music|parlour]] style, as well as instrumental music in other styles. Her students included [[Roland Hayes]], [[Lawrence Benjamin Brown]], [[Marian Anderson]]{{citation needed|date=November 2020}} and [[Paul Robeson]].<ref name=bbc>{{Cite ODNB|title=Shepley [née Humphrey], Ida (1908–1975), actress and singer|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-100422|access-date=2020-11-17|year = 2004|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/100422|isbn = 9780198614111}}</ref> In 1930, when Robeson performed as [[Othello (character)|Othello]] in the [[West End of London|West End]], Aldridge was in attendance, and gave Robeson the gold earrings that her father [[Ira Aldridge]] had worn as Othello.<ref name="The Rest Is Noise">{{cite web|url=https://www.therestisnoise.com/2013/07/aldridge-shakespeare-wagner.html|title=Othello's Daughter|first=Alex|last=Ross|work=[[The New Yorker]]|date=29 July 2013|via=The Rest Is Noise|access-date=11 April 2022}}</ref> Aldridge also took the singer [[Ida Shepley]] under her wing and converted her from a singer to a stage actor.<ref name=bbc/>

Revision as of 09:51, 17 June 2022

Amanda Aldridge
Amanda in 1914
Born(1866-03-10)10 March 1866
Upper Norwood, London
Died9 March 1956(1956-03-09) (aged 89)
London
Other namesMontague Ring,
Amanda Ira Aldridge
Parents
RelativesLuranah Aldridge (sister)

Amanda Christina Elizabeth Aldridge, also known as Amanda Ira Aldridge (10 March 1866 – 9 March 1956), was a British opera singer and teacher who composed love songs, suites, sambas and light orchestral pieces under the pseudonym of Montague Ring.

Life

Amanda Aldridge was born on 10 March 1866 in Upper Norwood, London, the third child of African-American actor Ira Frederick Aldridge and his second wife, Amanda Brandt, who was Swedish. She had two sisters, Rachael and Luranah, and two brothers, Ira Daniel and Ira Frederick.[1] Aldridge studied voice under Jenny Lind and George Henschel at the Royal College of Music in London, and harmony and counterpoint with Frederick Bridge and Francis Edward Gladstone.

After completing her studies, Aldridge worked as a concert singer, piano accompanist, and voice teacher. A throat condition ended her concert appearances, and she turned to teaching and published about thirty songs between the years 1907 and 1925 in a romantic parlour style, as well as instrumental music in other styles. Her students included Roland Hayes, Lawrence Benjamin Brown, Marian Anderson[citation needed] and Paul Robeson.[2] In 1930, when Robeson performed as Othello in the West End, Aldridge was in attendance, and gave Robeson the gold earrings that her father Ira Aldridge had worn as Othello.[3] Aldridge also took the singer Ida Shepley under her wing and converted her from a singer to a stage actor.[2]

She cared for her sister, the opera singer Luranah Aldridge,[4] when she became ill, turning down an invitation in 1921 from W.E.B. Du Bois to attend the second Pan-African Congress, with a note explaining: "As you know, my sister is very helpless. . . . I cannot leave for more than a few minutes at a time."[3]

At the age of 88, Aldridge made her first television appearance in the British show Music For You, where Muriel Smith sang Montague Ring's "Little Southern Love Song". After a short illness, she died in London on 9 March 1956, a day before her 90th birthday.[5]

In the Autumn 2020 edition of The Historian, Stephen Bourne assessed the composer's life and career in an illustrated feature "At home with Amanda Ira Aldridge".[6] Bourne had previously written Aldridge's article for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.[7] In 2022, Google honoured Aldridge's memory with a Doodle.[8][better source needed]

Style

Aldridge ended her singing career to compose and teach music after laryngitis damaged her throat. She mainly composed Romantic parlour music, a type of popular music performed primarily in parlours of the middle-class homes, frequently by amateur singers and pianists.[5] Her music was published under the pseudonym Montague Ring. Under this name, she gained recognition for her many voice and piano compositions, including love songs, suites, sambas and light orchestral pieces, in a popular style that was infused with multiple genres.[9]

Works

Selected works include:

  • "An Assyrian Love Song," words by F. G. Bowles. London: Elkin & Co., 1921.
  • "Azalea," words and music by M. Ring. London: Ascherberg, Hopwood & Crew, 1907.
  • "Blue Days of June," words by F. E. Weatherly. London: Chappell & Co., 1915.
  • "The Bride," words by P. J. O'Reilly. London: Chappell & Co., 1910.
  • "The Fickle Songster," words by H. Simpson. London: Cary & Co., 1908.
  • "Little Brown Messenger," words by F. G. Bowles. London: G. Ricordi & Co., 1912.
  • "Little Missie Cakewalk," words by Talbot Owen; banjo accompaniment by Clifford Essex. London: Lublin & Co., 1908.
  • "Little Rose in My Hair," words by E. Price-Evans. London: Chappell & Co., 1917.
  • "Two Little Southern Songs. 1. Kentucky Love song 2. June in Kentucky," words by F. G. Bowles. London: Chappell & Co., 1912.
  • "Love's Golden Day," words by E. Price-Evans. London: Chappell & Co., 1917.
  • "Miss Magnolia Brown," words and music by M. Ring. London: Francis, Day & Hunter, 1907.
  • "My Dreamy, Creamy, Coloured Girl," words and music by M. Ring. London: Ascherberg, Hopwood & Crew, 1907.
  • "My Little Corncrake Coon," words by Talbot Owen. London: Lublin & Co., 1908.
  • "Simple Wisdom," words by H. Simpson. London: Lublin & Co., 1908.
  • "A Song of Spring," words by P. J. O'Reilly. London and New York: Boosey & Co., 1909.
  • "Summah is de Lovin' Time. A Summer Night," words by P. L. Dunbar. London: Chappell & Co., 1925.
  • "A Summer Love Song," words by I. R. A. London and New York: Boosey & Co., 1907.
  • "Supplication," words by P. J. O'Reilly. London: Leonard & Co., 1914.
  • "Through the Day. Three Songs. 1. Morning 2. Noon 3. Evening," words by P. J. O'Reilly. London and New York: Boosey & Co., 1910.
  • "'Tis Morning," words by P. L. Dunbar. London: Elkin & Co., 1925.
  • "When the Coloured Lady Saunters Down the Street," words and music by M. Ring. London: Ascherberg, Hopwood & Crew, 1907.
  • "Where the Paw-Paw Grows," words by Henry Francis Downing. London: Ascherberg, Hopwood & Crew, 1907.[5]

References

  1. ^ Pentreath, Rosie (29 January 2021). "Who was Amanda Aldridge? The parlour song composer and teacher who inspired a generation". Discover Music. Classic FM. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Shepley [née Humphrey], Ida (1908–1975), actress and singer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/100422. ISBN 9780198614111. Retrieved 17 November 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ a b Ross, Alex (29 July 2013). "Othello's Daughter". The New Yorker. Retrieved 11 April 2022 – via The Rest Is Noise.
  4. ^ "At the grave of Luranah Aldridge". Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  5. ^ a b c Andrews, Joyce (January–February 2010). "Amanda Aldridge, Teacher and Composer: A Life in Music". Journal of Singing. 66 (3). ISSN 1086-7732. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  6. ^ Bourne, Stephen (4 December 2020). "At home with Amanda Ira Aldridge". The Historian. Historical Association. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  7. ^ Bourne, Stephen (23 September 2004). "Aldridge, Amanda Christina Elizabeth [pseud. Montague Ring]". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/61850. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  8. ^ "Celebrating Amanda Aldridge". www.google.com. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  9. ^ Bourne, Stephen (2014). Black Poppies. The History Press.
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