Emmeline M. D. Woolley Explained

Emmeline Mary Dogherty Woolley (1843 – 18 March 1908), commonly referred to as E. M. Woolley, was an English-born Australian pianist, organist and composer.

History

Woolley was born in Hereford,[1] England, eldest of five daughters of Mary Margaret Woolley, née Turner (died 21 September 1886),[2] and her husband John Woolley, who in 1850 was headmaster of King Edward VI Grammar School, Norwich.[3] Blanche Mary Elizabeth Woolley (1845–1906), mother of Freda Du Faur, was a sister.

In 1851 her father was offered a position of inaugural Professor of Logic and Classics and Principal at the University of Sydney, and in 1852 the family emigrated to Sydney,[3] where their five daughters were educated at home.Woolley was a talented pianist but had little access to high culture in Sydney, so she was sent to Florence, where she became familiar with the masses of Palestrina, Pergolesi and Cherubini. She studied under Alessandro Kraus the Elder (1820–1904), Carlo Duccè (Ducci) and Pietro Romani (1791–1877), later with Julius von Kolb, from whom she learned much of Liszt's approach to composition and performance.[3] After five years' absence she returned to Sydney.[1]

In 1866 her father died in the sinking of the SS London, leaving the family without a source of income. His friends and colleagues supported his widow with generous contributions, and she liquidated some valuable furniture.[4] Woolley turned to teaching, which she preferred to the concert stage. She also served as organist to St John's Anglican Church, Darlinghurst, and coached the church choral society.She did much to popularize the works of Grieg, also Gounod, Schubert, Spohr, Clara Schumann, Mann, Brahms, and Rubinstein.[3]

Ethel C. Pedley

In 1882 a close personal and artistic collaboration developed between Woolley and Ethel Pedley, a niece and pupil of Mme Sainton-Dolby, supplying piano accompaniment to Pedley's choir of amateur vocalists[5] who contributed to popular concerts à la "People's Concert" at the Sydney Sailors' Home.[6] On occasion, Pedley sang in the choir at St John's church, where Woolley was organist,[7] also at concerts in aid of the National Shipwreck Society, of which Woolley was an organiser.[8] And Woolley supported Pedley's various concerts as accompanist, to universal acclaim.[9] In 1885 they toured Europe, attending concerts and visiting conservatories. They were invited to a reception in London for Franz Liszt. They were in London again in 1895–96, when they lobbied the Royal Academy of Music and Royal College of Music[10] to enable their examinations to be held in Australia.

In 1884 or earlier,[11] Pedley founded and, assisted by Woolley, trained the St Cecilia Choir, an all-female society of some 30 members which, apart from benefiting its members, raised funds for charities such as the Sydney City Mission.[12] After ten years, the choir was still going strong, and on 11 June 1895 gave the first public performance of Woolley's cantata The Captive Soul, to text by Pedley, at the Oddfellows' Temple, Elizabeth Street.[13] They shared a house in Darlinghurst, where Pedley died on 6 August 1898, aged 39. She is remembered today for her book for children, Dot and the Kangaroo, published posthumously.

St John's Church

Woolley was organist for St John's Anglican Church, Darlinghurst, for 10 years.[1]

In 1880 she suggested moving the organ and choir from the loft to the floor, believing it would result in better singing by the congregation, a presumptuous proposal, some thought.[14] In 1884 she established an Organ Fund, soliciting donations and raising money by concerts.[15] [16] The old (1867) Walker and Sons organ was moved to the Congregational Church, Balmain, that same year[17] and the church enlarged to accommodate the new three-manual Hill and Son organ.[18] It was installed[19] by the Sydney firm of Layton Brothers,[20] and 'opened' by the newly-appointed church organist Fred Morley, in August 1886.[21] The papers of the day made no mention of Miss Woolley.

Death

Woolley died at her home, 27 Upper William Street south, Darlinghurst or North Sydney, after months of painful illness, having lost the use of her hands. Following a service at St John's Church, Darlinghurst, her remains were interred at the Waverley Cemetery.

Compositions

The Captive Soul cantata to words by Ethel Pedley.

Recognition

Emmeline Woolley Scholarship

The Emmeline M. Woolley Scholarship was a prize awarded triennually through a competition in both music theory and performance on the pianoforte, run by the Associated Board of the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music of London, England.[22] Funded by public subscription, it paid for tuition at the College in England for three years, valued at £100, later amended to £50 per annum. An applicant had to be a female under 21 years, resident in New South Wales for at least five years.

No further records have been found.

Notes and References

  1. News: "The Captive Soul." . . LIX . 1825 . New South Wales, Australia . 29 June 1895 . 12 June 2024 . 1319 . National Library of Australia.
  2. News: Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction . . 650 . New South Wales, Australia . 16 November 1886 . 12 June 2024 . 7936 . National Library of Australia.
  3. News: The Late Miss Woolley . . LXXVI . 1990 . New South Wales, Australia . 25 March 1908 . 11 June 2024 . 41 . National Library of Australia.
  4. News: Advertising . . LVI . 9138 . New South Wales, Australia . 4 September 1867 . 12 June 2024 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
  5. News: News of the Day . . 13,874 . New South Wales, Australia . 16 September 1882 . 12 June 2024 . 11 . National Library of Australia.
  6. News: Concerts . . 13,905 . New South Wales, Australia . 23 October 1882 . 12 June 2024 . 9 . National Library of Australia.
  7. News: News . . 1142 . New South Wales, Australia . 5 March 1883 . 12 June 2024 . 2 . National Library of Australia.
  8. News: Amusements . . 1204 . New South Wales, Australia . 16 May 1883 . 12 June 2024 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
  9. News: Miss Pedley's Concert . . New South Wales, Australia . 17 January 1884 . 12 June 2024 . 2 . National Library of Australia.
  10. News: Examinations in Music . . 5462 . New South Wales, Australia . 22 December 1896 . 13 June 2024 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
  11. News: Advertising . . 14,300 . New South Wales, Australia . 26 January 1884 . 12 June 2024 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
  12. News: The Mission Concert . . XL . 1319 . New South Wales, Australia . 17 October 1885 . 12 June 2024 . 846 . National Library of Australia.
  13. News: Musical "At Home" . . 4984 . New South Wales, Australia . 12 June 1895 . 12 June 2024 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
  14. News: St John's Church, Darlinghurst . . 307 . New South Wales, Australia . 22 June 1880 . 13 June 2024 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
  15. News: Amusements . . 1680 . New South Wales, Australia . 25 November 1884 . 12 June 2024 . 8 . National Library of Australia.
  16. News: Gipsy's Notes . . XXX . 777 . New South Wales, Australia . 29 November 1884 . 13 June 2024 . 30 . National Library of Australia.
  17. News: Organ Recital . . 16 August 1884 . 13 June 2024 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
  18. News: St John's Church, Darlinghurst. . . XXII . 12 . New South Wales, Australia . 21 November 1885 . 13 June 2024 . 11 . National Library of Australia. This article includes a useful history of the church.
  19. Web site: St John's Anglican Church . Dr Kelvin Hastle . Sydney Organ Society . 12 June 2024.
  20. News: News of the Day . . 15,070 . New South Wales, Australia . 13 July 1886 . 13 June 2024 . 7 . National Library of Australia.
  21. News: News of the Day . . 15,096 . New South Wales, Australia . 12 August 1886 . 13 June 2024 . 7 . National Library of Australia. This article gives extensive specifications of the instrument
  22. News: The Woolley Scholarship . . 22,505 . New South Wales, Australia . 2 March 1910 . 13 June 2024 . 11 . National Library of Australia.
  23. News: Puck's Girdle . . 23,231 . New South Wales, Australia . 26 June 1912 . 13 June 2024 . 5 . National Library of Australia. Kathleen was a daughter of contralto Marie Narelle.
  24. News: Puck's Girdle . . 23,669 . New South Wales, Australia . 19 November 1913 . 13 June 2024 . 7 . National Library of Australia.
  25. News: Emmeline M. Woolley Scholarship . . 1081 . New South Wales, Australia . 14 September 1916 . 13 June 2024 . 19 . National Library of Australia. Sullivan was a student of S. Gordon Lavers.
  26. News: Sisters of Mercy, Golden Grove . . LXXI . 3688 . New South Wales, Australia . 27 November 1919 . 12 June 2024 . 23 . National Library of Australia. Here spelled "Emeline"
  27. News: Woolley Scholarship . . 26,460 . New South Wales, Australia . 25 October 1922 . 13 June 2024 . 8 . National Library of Australia.
  28. News: Music and Drama . . 28,933 . New South Wales, Australia . 27 September 1930 . 13 June 2024 . 10 . National Library of Australia. another Lavers pupil
  29. News: Convent of Mercy, Enmore . . 1825 . New South Wales, Australia . 8 January 1931 . 13 June 2024 . 13 . National Library of Australia.
  30. News: Miss Dorothy White . . 31,220 . New South Wales, Australia . 24 January 1938 . 13 June 2024 . 4 . National Library of Australia. No contemporary announcement has been found. It appears to coincide with the change in prize value and break in 3-year cycle.
  31. News: Associated Board . . 31,092 . New South Wales, Australia . 27 August 1937 . 13 June 2024 . 7 . National Library of Australia.
  32. News: The Social Round in Canberra . . 15 . 3945 . Australian Capital Territory, Australia . 30 October 1940 . 13 June 2024 . 2 . National Library of Australia.

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