Margaret Purcell (18 August 1914 – Fall 1991) née Dudley, was an American composer. Purcell's father was the journalist Pendleton Dudley and her mother the motorist Hermine Dudley. Purcell's sister was the dancer, choreographer, and teacher Jane Dudley.
Education Margaret Purcell studied piano with pianist and composer Katherine Heyman between 1927 and 1928, who was a proponent of the music of Alexander Scriabin. She also later studied composition with the English composer Richard Arnell, who also taught at Trinity College of Music. Letters exist between Arnell and Purcell from the 1950s, in which he offers her advice on aspects of music.
Personal life Her father Pendleton Dudley was a journalist and worked in public relations, and her mother Hermine Dudley was the first women motorist to drive across the United States. Hermine took her daughter Margaret on a trip abroad in 1938, taking several weeks to explore the fjords and roads of Norway and Sweden. Margaret's later marriage to Richard Purcell was short, due to an accident. During her lifetime she lived in New York, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, and Charleston, South Carolina, where she died.
Career The archive of Purcell's unpublished works resides in London at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Her compositional output ranges from solo piano and songs, to chamber and orchestral works.
Purcell's orchestral work Chalumeau was premiered at the Town Hall in New York City, 113 West 43rd Street, on 25 January 1947, with Harold Kohon conducting the American Chamber Music Ensemble. This concert also included works by Vincent d'Indy and Richard Arnell. Another concert featuring Purcell's music including her Nine Piano Pieces dedicated to Arnell, Two Songs (Monastery Evening and The Call), and an Impromptu for Piano, occurred in London 7 March 2001 performed by Julia Richter. This event also featured choreography by her sister Jane Dudley, and took place at Studios 1 and 2, The Place.
Purcell's setting of text demonstrates a wide interest in authors including Rabindranath Tagore, Langston Hughes, Walter De La Mare, Otomo no Yakamochi and the Hindu mystic Lalla.
Selected works OrchestralOverture: Bergen HarbourFull orchestra1944. "To Jule Eisenbud"ChalumeauString Orchestra1945ChamberClarinet QuartetClarinet and strings1st movement missing.
2nd & 3rd movements complete.Pied PiperFlute, Clarinet and BassoonVocalAll my LoveContralto and Piano1961 (Anonymous Scottish poem)AutumnContralto and Piano1957 (Oe no Chisato)Beloved IContralto and Piano1961 (Poem from Selections of Vivekananda)Beloved IIContralto and Piano1961Cancionero IContralto and Piano1960 (Poem from the Spanish middle-ages)Cancionero II Contralto and Piano1960Cancionero VContralto and Piano1961Carol IContralto and Piano1961Carol IIContralto and Piano1961Carol III "Northern Wind"Contralto and Piano1961Come Back. Cancionero VIContralto and Piano1961 (Poem by Rabindranath Tagore)Days and MomentsContralto and Piano1960 (Walter de la Mare)Dive DeepContralto and Piano1961 (Poem from Gospel of Ramakrishna)Four Songs for Contralto I Wait My Lord No Regret Lament Song for Little SnookContralto and Piano1956 – 1957 Chinese poem, 500BC. Langston Hughes. 13th Arabian poem. Song missing.Greek LullabyContralto and Piano1959HymnContralto and Piano1960 (Gospel of Ramakrishna)LoveContralto and Piano1960 (Anonymous English poem, 1605)Love IIContralto and Piano1961Love SongContralto and Piano1960 (18th century poem)Lullaby for Bunny-love IContralto and Piano1955Lullaby for Bunny-love IIContralto and Piano1959 (Shakespeare)Lullaby IContralto and Piano1961Lullaby IIContralto and Piano1961Lullaby IIIContralto and Piano1961MistContralto and Piano1957 (Otomo no Yakamochi)MozarabicVoice and PianoNot I but thouContralto and PianoPoem IContralto and Piano1961 (Poem by Rabindranath Tagore)Poem IIContralto and Piano1959 (Hindu mystic, Lalla)Psalm 55Contralto and Piano1960Self of my selfContralto and Piano1960 (Hindu mystic, Lalla)SkyContralto and Piano1960 (Fujiwara no Tadahira)SongContralto and Piano1960 (Anonymous 15th century poem)Song & Poem IContralto and Piano1960Song & Poem IContralto and Piano1960Song and Poem IContralto and Piano1961Song, Variation on BContralto and Piano1961South ShoreVoice and pianoStary SkyContralto and Piano1960 (9th century Irish poem)The Gentle NowContralto and Piano1964The Reed of PanContralto and Piano1959 (12th century poem)The Risen SunContralto and Piano1960 (Walter de la Mare)Three Songs for Tenor I travelled with them Poem The Plum TreeTenor and Piano1957 Al-Mu'yamid ibn Abbad. Saigyo Hoshi. Fujiwara no letaka.Tomorrow shall be my dancing dayContralto and Piano1959 (Anonymous 15th century Enslish poem)True LoveContralto and Piano1959 (Anonymous 13th Century English poem)Turtle DoveContralto and Piano1959 (Ancient Spanish Ballad)Two Songs for Tenor Plaineth TwilightTenor and Piano1951 Anonymous. William Sydney Walker.Two Songs: Monastery Evening The Call1949 "Dedicated to Richard Murdock"Western WindContralto and Piano1958 (Anonymous 15th century English poem)Why TarryVoice and Piano1961Winter EveningContralto and Piano1960 (Walter de la Mare)Solo InstrumentFantasy I "Bells"Piano1958Fantasy IIPianoFantasy IIIPiano1964Fantasy IVPiano1964Fantasy VPiano1963ImpromptuPiano1948Nine Piano PreludesPiano"Dedicated to Richard Arnell"Prelude IPiano1958Prelude IIPianoPrelude IIIPiano1958RondeauxPianoSongAccordionSongPiano1964 "To Dad, with all my love from Margie"Toccata IPiano1958Toccata IIPiano1958
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