Marjory Kennedy-Fraser
Encyclopedia
Marjory Kennedy-Fraser, née Marjory Kennedy (1 October 1857 – 22 November 1930) was a Scottish singer, composer and arranger.
to a well-known Scottish singer, David Kennedy. As a child she used to accompany her father on his tours in Scotland
and abroad, playing the piano while he sang. Various of her sibling
s were also professional musicians, and three of them (Lizzie, Kate and James — soprano, contralto and baritone respectively) died in the fire that burnt down the Théâtre municipal
of Nice
, France
, in 1881. Her youngest sister Jessie married the pianist and teacher Tobias Matthay
. Their father David Kennedy died aged 61 in 1886 in Ontario
, Canada
, while on a tour.
In 1887 she married Alec Yule Fraser (born 1857), her mother's younger cousin, whom she had first met in 1882 in Aberdeen
. Alec had completed in 1881 his MA with Honours at the University of Aberdeen
and in 1885 was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
. In 1889, he was appointed headmaster of Allan Glen's Technical School in Glasgow
, and the family moved there. However, his health began to deteriorate and he was diagnosed with pneumonia
. The couple travelled to South Africa
, where the hotter weather contributed for Alec's health to improve considerably, but as soon as they returned to Glasgow, he became ill again and died in November 1890. Marjory thus found herself a widow at the age of thirty-three, and with her two small children, David and Patuffa, to look after. She settled at Edinburgh
with her mother and made her living as a music teacher and lecturer.
She developed a close friendship with the painter John Duncan
, with whom she shared a deep interest in the Celtic Revival
. They made a trip to Eriskay
in 1905, in which occasion he painted her against the island's landscape. While in Eriskay, Marjory witnessed many Gaelic folk songs endangered of disappearing as a result of population decline, and, being herself a singer, began a personal project to record and transcribe the music of the Hebrides
.
In the following years, she visited many of the islands to the west of Scotland, recording the traditional songs with a wax cylinder phonograph
. She later arranged them for voice and piano, or sometimes for harp
or clàrsach
—an instrument her daughter Helen Patuffa played. The arrangements were published, with words translated to English by the Rev. Kenneth MacLeod, in her three-volume Songs of the Hebrides (in the years 1909, 1917 and 1921), with a fourth volume, From the Hebrides, following a few years later. One of these songs became widely known with the title Eriskay Love Lilt.
Incidentally, the Rev. Kenneth MacLeod with whom she often collaborated was a famous poet in both Gaelic and English and the long time Church of Scotland minister of Gigha
. He is perhaps best known for "The Road to the Isles
" and "Thou Isle of Mull" and was related to such other literary figures as the journalist James Cameron
and the writer Dr. John Cameron
of St. Andrews.
For her contributions she was awarded with a CBE
, together with an honorary degree of Doctor of Music from the University of Edinburgh
, awarded in 1928. In 1930 she presented her archive of songs to the University Library, including her original wax cylinders of recordings. These have been re-recorded on tape for the Sound Archives of the School of Scottish Studies. Marjory Kennedy-Fraser died in Edinburgh
in the same year.
, New York
, on 17 March 1916.
The Russian tenor, Vladimir Rosing
frequently performed Kennedy-Fraser's songs in his London recitals. Ezra Pound
, reporting as William Atheling in the New Age, declared that Rosing was "the first singer who has been adequate to the music."
Biography
Marjory was born in PerthPerth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
to a well-known Scottish singer, David Kennedy. As a child she used to accompany her father on his tours in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and abroad, playing the piano while he sang. Various of her sibling
Sibling
Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
s were also professional musicians, and three of them (Lizzie, Kate and James — soprano, contralto and baritone respectively) died in the fire that burnt down the Théâtre municipal
Opéra de Nice
The Opéra de Nice is the principal opera venue in Nice, France.The théâtre municipal of Nice was inaugurated 7 February 1885 with a performance of Verdi's Aida. In 1902 the théâtre municipal became the Opéra de Nice.-References:...
of Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, in 1881. Her youngest sister Jessie married the pianist and teacher Tobias Matthay
Tobias Matthay
Tobias Augustus Matthay was an English pianist, teacher, and composer.-Biography:Matthaw as born in London in 1858 to parents who had come from northern Germany and were naturalised British subjects...
. Their father David Kennedy died aged 61 in 1886 in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, while on a tour.
In 1887 she married Alec Yule Fraser (born 1857), her mother's younger cousin, whom she had first met in 1882 in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
. Alec had completed in 1881 his MA with Honours at the University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
and in 1885 was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
. In 1889, he was appointed headmaster of Allan Glen's Technical School in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, and the family moved there. However, his health began to deteriorate and he was diagnosed with pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. The couple travelled to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, where the hotter weather contributed for Alec's health to improve considerably, but as soon as they returned to Glasgow, he became ill again and died in November 1890. Marjory thus found herself a widow at the age of thirty-three, and with her two small children, David and Patuffa, to look after. She settled at Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
with her mother and made her living as a music teacher and lecturer.
She developed a close friendship with the painter John Duncan
John Duncan (painter)
John Duncan was born in Dundee, Scotland in 1866. His father was a cattleman, but John was disinterest in the family business over an interest in visual art. By the age of 11 he was a student at the Dundee School of Art, then based at the High School of Dundee....
, with whom she shared a deep interest in the Celtic Revival
Celtic Revival
Celtic Revival covers a variety of movements and trends, mostly in the 19th and 20th centuries, which drew on the traditions of Celtic literature and Celtic art, or in fact more often what art historians call Insular art...
. They made a trip to Eriskay
Eriskay
Eriskay , from the Old Norse for "Eric's Isle", is an island and community council area of the Outer Hebrides in northern Scotland. It lies between South Uist and Barra and is connected to South Uist by a causeway which was opened in 2001. In the same year Eriskay became the ferry terminal for...
in 1905, in which occasion he painted her against the island's landscape. While in Eriskay, Marjory witnessed many Gaelic folk songs endangered of disappearing as a result of population decline, and, being herself a singer, began a personal project to record and transcribe the music of the Hebrides
Hebrides
The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...
.
In the following years, she visited many of the islands to the west of Scotland, recording the traditional songs with a wax cylinder phonograph
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
. She later arranged them for voice and piano, or sometimes for harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
or clàrsach
Clàrsach
Clàrsach or Cláirseach , is the generic Gaelic word for 'a harp', as derived from Middle Irish...
—an instrument her daughter Helen Patuffa played. The arrangements were published, with words translated to English by the Rev. Kenneth MacLeod, in her three-volume Songs of the Hebrides (in the years 1909, 1917 and 1921), with a fourth volume, From the Hebrides, following a few years later. One of these songs became widely known with the title Eriskay Love Lilt.
Incidentally, the Rev. Kenneth MacLeod with whom she often collaborated was a famous poet in both Gaelic and English and the long time Church of Scotland minister of Gigha
Gigha
The Isle of Gigha is a small island off the west coast of Kintyre in Scotland. The island forms part of Argyll and Bute and has a population of about 150 people, many of whom speak Scottish Gaelic. The climate is mild with higher than average sunshine hours and the soils are fertile.Gigha has a...
. He is perhaps best known for "The Road to the Isles
The Road to the Isles
"The Road to the Isles" is a famous Scottish traditional song. It is part of the Kennedy-Fraser collection and it appeared in a book entitled 'Songs of the Hebrides' published in 1917, with the eponymous title by the Celtic poet Kenneth Macleod. The poem is headed by the statement 'Written for the...
" and "Thou Isle of Mull" and was related to such other literary figures as the journalist James Cameron
James Cameron (journalist)
Mark James Walter Cameron was a prominent British journalist, in whose memory the annual James Cameron Memorial Lecture is given.-Early life:...
and the writer Dr. John Cameron
John Urquhart Cameron
John Urquhart Cameron is a distinguished academic and social reformer and a former parish minister of the Church of Scotland. He met and married the Anglo-Swedish skier Jill Sjoberg when he was a marketing executive with GlaxoSmithKline in London and they have a daughter Clare and a son...
of St. Andrews.
For her contributions she was awarded with a CBE
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
, together with an honorary degree of Doctor of Music from the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, awarded in 1928. In 1930 she presented her archive of songs to the University Library, including her original wax cylinders of recordings. These have been re-recorded on tape for the Sound Archives of the School of Scottish Studies. Marjory Kennedy-Fraser died in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
in the same year.
Recitals
Marjory and her daughter Patuffa used to present the collected songs in recitals. Below is a description of one such recital given at the Aeolian HallAeolian Hall (New York)
Aeolian Hall was a concert hall near Times Square in Midtown Manhattan, New York City located on the third floor of 29-33 West 42nd Street across the street from Bryant Park. The Aeolian Building was built in 1912 for the Aeolian Company, which manufactured pianos...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, on 17 March 1916.
The Russian tenor, Vladimir Rosing
Vladimir Rosing
Vladimir Sergeyevich Rosing , aka Val Rosing, was a Russian-born operatic tenor and stage director who spent most of his professional career in England and the United States...
frequently performed Kennedy-Fraser's songs in his London recitals. Ezra Pound
Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet and critic and a major figure in the early modernist movement in poetry...
, reporting as William Atheling in the New Age, declared that Rosing was "the first singer who has been adequate to the music."
External links
- Biography by the Edinburgh University Library