Dora Bright
Encyclopedia
Dora Estella Bright, later known as Dora Estella Knatchbull, (16 August 1862 – 16 November 1951) was an English
composer
and pianist
. She composed works for orchestra, keyboard and voice, and music for opera
and ballet
, including ballets for performance by the dancer Adeline Genée
.
, South Yorkshire
. While at the Royal Academy of Music
during 1881–89, her teachers included Walter Macfarren and Ebenezer Prout
. She was the first woman to receive the Charles Lucas
prize for musical composition
, for her Air and Variations for String Quartet in 1888.
In 1892 she married Wyndham Knatchbull (1829–1900), a captain of the 3rd Dragoon Guards
and a great-grandson of Edward Knatchbull, 7th Baronet of Mersham Hatch
. Thereafter she lived at Babington, Somerset
. From around this time she started to compose works for dramatic performances.
She was also the composer for ballets created with Adeline Genée, in a collaboration which also involved the designer C. Wilhelm. These ballets included The Dryad, La Camargo and La danse. As well as dancing these in London, Genée performed them during her successful tours of America, Australia and New Zealand.
She died at Babington in 1951. Many of her works have not survived.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
. She composed works for orchestra, keyboard and voice, and music for opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
, including ballets for performance by the dancer Adeline Genée
Adeline Genée
Dame Adeline Genée DBE was a Danish/British ballet dancer.-Early years:Anina Kirstina Margarete Petra Jensen was born in Århus, Denmark. Her uncle, Alexandre Genée, gave her dancing lessons from the age of three. When she was eight, Alexandre and his wife, the former Antonia Zimmerman, adopted her...
.
Biography
Bright was born in SheffieldSheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
. While at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
during 1881–89, her teachers included Walter Macfarren and Ebenezer Prout
Ebenezer Prout
Ebenezer Prout , was an English musical theorist, writer, teacher and composer, whose instruction, afterwards embodied in a series of standard works, underpinned the work of many British musicians of succeeding generations....
. She was the first woman to receive the Charles Lucas
Charles Lucas (musician)
Charles Lucas was an English cellist, conductor, composer and publisher. He was a Principal of the Royal Academy of Music....
prize for musical composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
, for her Air and Variations for String Quartet in 1888.
In 1892 she married Wyndham Knatchbull (1829–1900), a captain of the 3rd Dragoon Guards
3rd Dragoon Guards
The 3rd Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated into the 3rd/6th Dragoon Guards in 1922....
and a great-grandson of Edward Knatchbull, 7th Baronet of Mersham Hatch
Sir Edward Knatchbull, 7th Baronet
Sir Edward Knatchbull, 7th Baronet was an Irish politician.He was the third son of Sir Edward Knatchbull, 4th Baronet and Alice Wyndham, daughter of Colonel John Wyndham. In 1763, he succeeded his nephew Wyndham as baronet...
. Thereafter she lived at Babington, Somerset
Babington, Somerset
Babington is a small village between Radstock and Frome, Somerset, England, which has now largely disappeared.-History:The parish of Babington was part of the Kilmersdon Hundred,...
. From around this time she started to compose works for dramatic performances.
She was also the composer for ballets created with Adeline Genée, in a collaboration which also involved the designer C. Wilhelm. These ballets included The Dryad, La Camargo and La danse. As well as dancing these in London, Genée performed them during her successful tours of America, Australia and New Zealand.
She died at Babington in 1951. Many of her works have not survived.
Works
Selected works include:Ballets
- The Dryad (1907)
- The Faun (1911)
- La Camargo (1912)
- La danse (1912)
- A Dancer's Adventure (1915)
Piano with orchestra
- Piano concerto No. 1 in A minor (1888)
- Piano concerto No. 2 in D minor (1892)
- Fantasia in G minor (1892)
Piano
- Variations on an Original Theme of Sir G. A. MacfarrenGeorge Alexander MacfarrenSir George Alexander Macfarren was an English composer.-Life:George Alexander Macfarren was born in London on 2 March 1813 to George Macfarren, a dancing-master, dramatic author, and journalist, and Elizabeth Macfarren, née Jackson. At the age of seven, Macfarren was sent to Dr...
(1894), duet
Songs
- Twelve Songs (1889) (text by Shakespeare, HerrickRobert Herrick (poet)Robert Herrick was a 17th-century English poet.-Early life:Born in Cheapside, London, he was the seventh child and fourth son of Julia Stone and Nicholas Herrick, a prosperous goldsmith....
and others) - Six Songs from the Jungle BookThe Jungle BookThe Jungle Book is a collection of stories by British Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling. The stories were first published in magazines in 1893–4. The original publications contain illustrations, some by Rudyard's father, John Lockwood Kipling. Kipling was born in India and spent the first six...
(1903) (text by KiplingRudyard KiplingJoseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
)