Amy Horrocks

Amy Elise Horrocks (23 February 1867 – 4 December 1919), a life-long pacifist, was an English music educator, composer (particularly of songs) and pianist, born to English parents (Francis James Horrocks 8 July 1829 – 27 April 1913) and Hannah Horrocks (née Allen 1833 – 22 April 1913) in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where it is suggested that Francis Horrocks was constructing tramways. Amy had an elder sister, Marian, also born in Brazil, but who died there in 1862 aged 1 year. Contrary to one report, she did not have a brother. She had a close association with the Royal Academy of Music as both a student, teacher and Fellow and enjoyed a degree of professional success, including several performances of her work at the Proms.

Early Life

The family (Francis, Hannah, Amy [aged 4] and their servant Mary Thompson) are recorded in the Scottish census of 1871, as lodgers in Edinburgh, so presumably they left Brazil between 1867 and 1871 and are possibly taking a holiday. When they return from Brazil the family settles initially in Cheshire. Francis had a loose family connection to the area with his elder brother Thomas having been born and died in Chester as an infant in 1827, during the time their father (also called Thomas) was stationed there while serving as a quartermaster in the Royal Fusiliers.

Amy’s early education from the age of about six is at Miss Frances Anne Gregson’s Highbury College in Bowdon, Cheshire, which opened in the 1870s and continued to operate into the early twentieth century. The school site is now occupied by Altrincham Preparatory School for Boys (Kendrick 1996). Kendrick shines a little bit of light on the school, and mentions lessons in French, German, Mathematics, Science, Sewing. Cooking, Physical Training, Deportment, Dancing, Tennis and Ping-Pong (!), but there is no evidence of music teaching being particularly noteworthy: “Miss Gregson … is said to have claimed … that you could teach anything as long as you were one lesson ahead of your pupils… The supreme asset to the school was Gertrude , academically brilliant, with a reputation as a teacher. She was the first woman to attain degree standard at London University, in about 1887, at which date the University did not grant degrees to women. She had read English at London, but also had mathematical gifts, and at the age of forty was accepted at Manchester University for a degree course in Chemistry… The school’s motto was ‘Semper ad Lucem'."

But in 1879 the family relocates to London and are living at 35 Bartholomew Road, Kentish Town and Amy is enrolled at North London Collegiate School for Girls, the country’s oldest academic girls’ school, founded by Frances Mary Buss in 1850. Amy joins the school in May 1880 and is a pupil of Music Master John Blockley who “in addition to teaching pianoforte playing, gave lessons in class and solo singing and harmony, and was also a composer”. No mention is made of Amy’s musical prowess while at the school (Amy wins a Junior prize for ‘satisfactory’ French) and she leaves in Easter 1882.

Indeed it might be argued that Frances Buss did not consider music teaching to be very important. A letter of hers written in 1868 about establishing a school states that “I would rigidly and entirely omit all arrangements for teaching instrumental music, which I believe to be the bane of girls’ schools, in the time wasted and the expense entailed.” However she does make an exception for musical harmony “… by which I mean the laws of musical construction, an interesting, and, in an educational point of view, a most useful subject for mental training. Instrumental music—the piano chiefly—might fairly be left to a private teacher, as might dancing also.” However, by 1872, thankfully, her views had moved on significantly: “I want to teach music grandly - thoroughly in classes - making each girl understand what she plays, as well as if she were reading some passage of poetry, teaching her to find out the musician’s thought; his [sic] mode of expressing it; other ways of expression of the same thought, viz. words. The grammar of music should be known to every musician.” She evidently began to understand the importance of musical education as after her death in 1894, a teacher at the school reflected that “I was afraid at first that she would not understand my point of view with respect to the study of music in high schools, but, instead of being misunderstood, she gave me her sympathy and help from the first in my endeavour to make music an earnest and educational part of school-work. … She was always so glad to find that the majority of girls who did well in music were just those who were doing well in other school-work. … She was never shocked at my hopes, mostly very wildly expressed, for the future of music in the education of girls. Music, above all studies, needs backing up with the advantage of a thoroughly good education. It has always been my endeavour to keep it from encroaching unfairly on the time and strength of the girls. Miss Buss understood this, and helped to make it understood.”

After Amy leaves, the school does record Amy’s successes at the Royal Academy of Music, noting her Certificate of Merit for Harmony, Bronze and Silver Medals for Pianoforte, Potter Exhibition and Sterndale Bennett prize as well as one of her performances, commenting “Amy Horrocks (Potter Exhibitioner) played the pianoforte part of a Sonata for the Pianoforte and Violincello, one of her own compositions … It is always gratifying to us to see our pupils coming to the fore in whatever line they have chosen after leaving our midst.” Two years later the school magazine again notes, “Miss Amy Horrocks, who has been studying for some time at the Royal Academy, also held a successful concert, at which several of her own compositions were performed”. Another magazine article quotes the Daily Graphic: “The name of A. E. Horrocks is new to us, but to judge by his (or her?) cantata, ‘The Wild Swans’ (Joseph Williams), the composer is evidently above the average degree of merit. The cantata suffers from a poor libretto, which does not afford much scope for development, but every advantage has been taken, and the result is most musicianly and full of promise. It is an excellent little work, and may be recommended to small choirs of female voices, who care for good music." Amy’s song, ‘At Peep of Dawn’ is performed at the school concert in 1897 and her ‘Collection of Two-Part Songs’ is bought for the library in 1902.

Amy at the Royal Academy of Music

By the time of the 1881 census the family (Francis, Hannah, Amy [aged 14 and described as a scholar], a visitor, Alice Marland [described as a solicitor’s wife] and a new servant Susan Hood) have moved and are living at 17 Goldhurst Terrace in Hampstead. In the 1891 census the family are living at 163 Goldhurst Terrace which is actually the same house: According to Camden History Society, "in 1877 Goldhurst Road (as it was then) was approved from Finchley Road as far as Fairhazel Gardens. The name was officially changed to Goldhurst Terrace the following year when the extension from Fairhazel Gardens to Priory Road was agreed. For many years the houses were numbered and named in ‘East’ and ‘West’ sections on either side of Fairhazel Gardens which caused great confusion. Before all the houses were built, a renumbering order was issued in 1896". What is now 163 Goldhurst had already been constructed by 1894 and sits west of Fairhazel Gardens so would have been subject to renumbering as it seems it would have been labelled as the West section prior to 1896.

It is presumably shortly after this when Amy starts her musical career, studying piano and composition under the pianist Adolf Schlösser and musician Francis William Davenport at the Royal Academy which she enters in 1882 (Brown and Stratton 1897) at the tender age of 15.

Amy is referred to as a Professor of Music in the 1891 census, having been elected as an Associate of the Academy in 1890 and a Fellow in 1895. She wins various awards while a student, including the Potter Exhibition prize in 1888 and the Sterndale Bennett Prize in 1889 (Brown and Stratton 1897).

Highlights of Amy’s student career at the Royal Academy are captured in various newspaper articles:-

• The Musical Times describes the annual distribution of prizes at the Royal Academy earlier that year on July 28 1883. Amy wins prizes for piano and French. And in 1885, describes that year’s prize ceremony in which Amy wins a silver medal for piano and a bronze medal for harmony. In 1886 an article describes a chamber concert given by Royal Academy students at St James’s Hall “before a large audience. The excellent system of training pursued in the Academy was amply manifested … Miss Selina Quicke in a ‘Love Song’ by Amy Horrocks (student) deserve honorable mention.”
• The Era mentions Amy’s performance on the pianoforte in a concert at St James’s Hall on 1 April 1887.
• The Standard gives more high praise for another concert at St James’s Hall mentioning Amy Horrocks on the pianoforte. The Era comments “The well-known duet by Mendelsohn in D major for pianoforte and violincello afforded Miss Amy Horrocks and Mr Allen Gill an opportunity for the display of considerable talent. Miss Amy Horrocks played the pianoforte part with refinement and capital execution, and the good tone and finished method of Mr Allen Gill certainly merited cordial recognition, which the audience did not fail to give in the measure deserved.” The Musical Times adds that: “high commendation is due to Miss Amy Horrocks and Mr. Allen Gill for their rendering of three movements of Mendelsohn’s sonata in D, for piano and violincello”.
• Another glowing report in The Musical Times notes “At each final Concert of the term, it has been our pleasant duty to note a distinct advance in the average of merit displayed by the pupils, and under these circumstances it is not surprising to find that the numbers enrolled in [the] Academy are steadily increasing. … At a concert given in Steinway Hall … the choir was in a chorus by Amy Horrocks ‘The Return of May’”.
• The Lancashire Evening Post, The Queen and The Illustrated London News all report: “Royal Academy of Music. The competition for the Westmorland Scholarship took place on Saturday, when it was awarded to Marie Hooton. There were ten candidates. The Potter Exhibition was also competed for, and adjudged to Amy E. Horrocks. There were twenty-eight candidates.”
• The East London Observer reports: “Last week a grand evening concert, under the direction of Mr. W.G. McNaught, A.R.A.M., was given in the hall of the City of London College, Moorfields, in aid of the building fund of that most deserving institution. … succeeded by Miss Amy Horrocks with a pianoforte solo, Schumann’s ‘Novellette in F.’ … Miss Ethel Barnard came next with ‘The Bird and the Rose,’ by Miss Amy Horrocks, who accompanied … Miss Amy Horrocks and Miss Emily Johnston followed with ‘Allegreto [sic] and Allegro’ (for piano and violin) from Grieg’s ‘Sonata in F.’”
• Lloyds Weekly London Newspaper reports: “Royal Academy of Music. Some of the more advanced students at this institution appeared at a concert at St. James’s hall on Monday afternoon, directed by the Principal, Dr. A.C. MacKenzie … Some variations on an original theme by Miss Amy E. Horrocks, for piano (played by the composer), violin, viola and violincello, containing effective passages for each of the instruments, proved one of the chief successes of the afternoon.” However, The Era felt that “Among the most interesting of these efforts we may mention the original Variations for pianoforte, violin, viola and violincello by Miss Amy E. Horrocks. There was scope for much variety in a piece of this kind, and perhaps we cannot credit Miss Horrocks with having done all that was possible in affording the instrumentalists a chance for individual display, and this seemed rather a pity, when she had such talented interpreters associated with her as Mr Walenn (violin), Mr Dyson (viola), and Mr Allen Gill (violincello). Miss Horrocks played the pianoforte part extremely well. She had chosen a capital theme for the variations, an original melody, and her ideas were well worked out. All that we suggest respecting the solo portions is that, of course, additional interest is given to a movement when there is greater freedom and variety of style.” But The Musical Times adds “At a Chamber Concert given by the students of the Royal Academy of Music in St James’s Hall … the programme and the performance were alike excellent. … The programme also included … an extremely interesting set of Variations on a theme in F, for pianoforte, violin, viola and violincello, the work of Miss Amy Horrocks. The knowledge of the capabilities of the several instruments shown in the work, and the manner in which they are employed, are most creditable to the taste and musicianship of the composer.”
• The Bath Chronicle and Reading Mercury report “The Sterndale Bennett prize at the Royal Academy of Music has been awarded to Amy Horrocks. There were 29 candidates.” And The Western Daily Press and The Queen both report “The Sterndale Bennett prize (which consists of a purse of 10 guineas) at the Royal Academy of Music has been awarded to Miss Amy Horrocks. There were twenty-nine competitors.”
• The Musical Times reports “At the Royal Academy Chamber Concert, given at St. James’s Hall … some interesting work was done. A Sonata in G, for violincello and pianoforte, by Miss Amy E. Horrocks (played by the composer and Mr. B.P. Parker), elicited very favourable opinions.”. But The Pall Mall Gazette considers that the concert “disclosed no fresh artist or composer likely to excite musical circles” and dismisses Amy’s sonata (despite her Potter prize success) as “essentially student music”.
• The Musical Times presents a report of a seasonal concert, praising many performances by various students and mentions that “Talent and merit were made manifest in various degrees by every one of the soloists, these compromising Miss Amy Horrocks, Miss Maude Wilson, Miss Mabel Lyons, and Miss Plaistowe (pianoforte).” The concert is also reported in The Pall Mall Gazette. Equally The Weekly Dispatch reports that “words of encouragement may be bestowed especially on Miss Amy Horrocks”.

Early Career as a Composer and Performer

One of her Prince's Hall concerts is advertised in The Morning Post and The Standard and is favourably reviewed in The Weekly Dispatch, describing the music as “agreeable” including “a well-written and effective sonata in G, for piano and violincello”. While The Northern Whig describes Amy as “a talented composer as well as an able pianist” and later goes on to say she is “making a name as a composer as well as a pianist”. The Musical Times goes into a lot more detail: “Miss Amy Horrocks’s Concert. Several examples of the skill of Miss Amy Horrocks as a pianoforte player and composer were presented on Thursday afternoon … at Princes’ Hall, when, besides executing Chopin’s Fantasia in F minor (Op. 49) and joining Miss Winifred Robinson (violin) in Brahms’s Duo Sonata in A (Op. 100), she had an important share in a second part formed entirely of materials from her own pen. Naturally special interest attached to the latter. First in this list came a Sonata in G, for pianoforte and violincello, containing some excellent workmanship in the opening Allegro and the final movement, and having for its middle section a theme with variations ingeniously worked out. Altogether the work shows much promise, more especially as the composer does not seem afraid to express her ideas in the manner she deems most suitable to the purpose. It was capitally played by Miss Horrocks and Mr. Whitehouse, and was cordially approved. Of the ‘Eight Variations on an Original Theme,’ for pianoforte, violin, viola and violincello, it is scarcely possible to enter into particulars, for the reason that Mr. Arthur Dyson was an involuntary absentee. His place was taken by Mr. Wayland, with Miss Horrocks at the pianoforte; Miss Winifred Robinson, violin; and Mr. Whitehouse, violincello. The young composer played a Berceuse and Waltz, also by herself; and between the various pieces in the second part some of her songs were sung by Miss Marian McKenzie [of whom more later], Miss Edith Tulloch and Mr. Fred. King. The first-named sang the plaintive ‘Ashes of Roses’ and the joyous ‘Bonnie wee thing’ and Miss Tulloch, the fanciful ‘A Midsummer Song.’”

Amy’s career as a composer can be shown by reviews of several of her compositions in a variety of contemporary newspapers and periodicals. For instance, Amy’s music is reported as being performed by members of the Lyric Club Orchestral Society in 1889. Four of her songs are reviewed (mainly favourably) in the Crotchets and Quavers column of The Gentlewoman in 1890: “And now I want to say something about a young lady composer, Miss Amy Horrocks. I have been sent four songs composed by her, and I am quite delighted by all of them except one. ‘Ashes of Roses’ is really beautiful, though only slight. It breathes the very spirit of romantic sorrow, and is highly original also. ‘A Love Song of the 17th Century’ is not quite so good. It seems to me more ambitious but less effective. The other two, ‘With a Primrose,’ and ‘A Cradle Hymn,’ are very much above the average, especially the former, in which at the end Miss Horrocks makes the voice drop a tenth, a rather daring thing to do, but very admirable here. Grieg, by whose compositions I should fancy Miss Horrooks [sic] [is] inspired, in one of his songs takes the voice down from G natural to G sharp below, in a very merciless but very delightful manner. I strongly recommend these four songs to all capable singers and shall look forward with interest to fresh work from this clever young composer, who evidently looks upon song writing as a worthy vehicle for refined art, and not as a mere swift and easy means of making money.”

Other pieces by Amy are listed or reported on several occasions:-

The Return of May

• The Morning Post, 27 December 1886: “’The Return of May,’ choral trio for female voices with pianoforte accompaniment, by Amy Elise Horrocks, is very pretty and melodious and if well sung would doubtless be effective. Originality is more prominent in the treatment than in the melody.”
• The Queen, The Lady’s Newspaper, 15 January 1887: “The Return of May, choral trio by Amy E. Horrocks”.
• The Graphic, January 29 1887: “’The Return of May,’ a choral trio for female voices, words by Mrs Hemans, music by Amy Elise Horrocks, is well adapted for the schoolroom.”

Bonnie Wee Thing

• The Queen, The Lady’s Newspaper, 24 November 1888: “Bonnie Wee Thing, song, by Amy Elsie [sic] Horrocks.”
• The Graphic, 12 January 1889: “’Bonnie Wee Thing,’ Robert Burns’ tender little poem has been set to music by Amy Elise Horrocks with a fair amount of success.”

An Idyll of New Years Eve

• The Morning Post, 30 December 1889: Amy composed the incidental music for this piece performed in aid of the poor of Chelsea in 1890, also reported by The Globe (1 February 1890).

A Midsummer Song

• The Daily Telegraph, 1 April 1890: “A Midsummer Song (Amy Elise Horrocks) – Miss Dorothy Pole will sing this pretty new song today at Edinburgh. Stanley Lucas, Weber, and Co., 34 New Bond Street. W.”

Berceuse in F. Waltz in C

• The Queen, 1 November 1890: “An eminently artistic manner and an elegant style pervade these agreeable pianoforte pieces, the ‘Berceuse’ being distinguished by grace and tenderness, and the Valse by delicate piquancy.”

Four Songs in Two Books

• The Musical Times, 1 February 1891 and 1 March 1891. “Four Songs in Two Books. Amy Elise Horrocks” appears in an advertisement for the publisher Robert Cocks.

When Mortals are at Rest

• This arrangement is favourably reviewed in the Birmingham Daily Post where Amy is described as “not the least distinguished of the large number of lady composers of the present day”.

Six Songs, Two Fairy Songs for Treble Voices and Six Pieces for Piano

• The Crotchets and Quavers column of The Gentlewoman comments on Amy’s student career at the Academy and mentions that she is now employed there as a teacher. The column goes on to sing Amy’s praises as a “rising talent” in very generous terms: “She ought to have a bright future before her, because she has a quite unusual talent.” The column describes the Six Songs as being “slight enough, not elaborate nor highly dramatic, nor wildly fervent. Miss Horrocks’ art is essentially restrained art. But in each of these songs there is charm, melody, means cleverly employed, unity of purpose.” The Fairy Songs are “rather more ambitious” and the article also touches on Amy’s Eight Variations and Six Pieces for Piano, concluding “I advise cultivated amateurs to lose not time in making the acquaintance of Miss Horrocks’ compositions”.

The Skylark’s Wooing, Hill Tops

• The Queen, 14 March 1896: “Like unto everything proceeding from the pen of this accomplished lady, these two duets, for equal voices, are full of grace and betray the artistic nature of their composer in every bar. ‘The skylark’s wooing’ is remarkable for the free use made of the chords of the fundamental seventh; The ‘Hill Tops’ is remarkable for nothing but its melodic charm.”

On a Nankin Plate

• The Queen, 12 December 1896: Amy’s song is included in a Chappell and Co. Dance Album, described in the New Music column as “a suitable setting of humorous words by Austin Dobson” and rather more verbosely in the Gentlewoman as “a delightful little piece of nonsense, wherein dainty verse and dainty air go hand in hand with a species of alacrious [sic] pathos. It is an unpretentious and quite taking song for the drawing room, and cannot fail to amuse if clearly enunciated.”

The Bird and The Rose

If Amy can be said to have had a ‘hit’ then it is her song, The Bird and the Rose with words by writer and satirist Robert Smythe Hichens published in 1895.

The Bird and The Rose

A rose that bloomed in a desert land
Sighed in her loneliness;
A little bird that was singing near
Was touched by her distress.

“Why are you sad, sweet rose?” he said,
“Why do you weep and sigh?”
“Ah!” said the rose “if I had wings
To other lands I’d fly.”

“Why do you linger here, dear bird,
When you might fly away?”
“Because I love your scent, sweet rose,
In this lone land I stay.

I linger in this solitude,
To cheer you with my song.”
“Ah! little bird, bear me away,
Your spreading wings are strong.”

The little bird raised the sweet rose
And spread his pinions fair;
He flew away across the sea
Through the bright summer air.

But when he reached his nest at last
He sang a sadder lay;
His joy was hushed. The lovely rose
Was faded quite away.

Arno Lücker writing in online Van magazine, analyses the song: “In a leisurely, narrative Andante, the song often goes from harmony to harmony, with a few connecting lines, in the style of lovely folk art songs of the 19th century, which also - only with biblical text - found their way into various hymnals of (free) church groups (primarily in the USA and Canada). Subtle chromaticism is at work here in the middle voices and the text almost always appears syllable for syllable, each on its own note value. Only when the direct speech of the questioning bird finds its way does more movement enter the music, gently interpreting the text. Syncopated chords vibrate in the comforting middle of the piano. And at the end of this beautiful song there is a reluctant conclusion full of homeliness.”

The song features in many contemporary reports:-

• The Queen, The Lady’s Newspaper, 4 June 1887: “The Bird and the Rose, song, by Amy Elise Horrocks.”
• The Daily Chronicle, 2 September 1887: “… simple grace marks the song in F, ‘The Bird and the Rose,’ words by Robert S. Hichens, music by Amy Elise Horrocks.”
• The Queen, The Lady’s Newspaper: “Vocal Music ‘The Bird and the Rose’. Song. Poetry by Robert S. Hichens, music by Amy Elise Horrocks. (London Publishing Company). – This is an extremely pretty and neatly written song for mezzo soprano – compass C below to F fifth line – the natural unaffected style of which, and its artistic merits, should insure it for a wide acceptance”, but is only described as having “average merit” by The Era. The song is advertised in Music Trade Review who say the “composer evinces a serious aim in this creditable song” and in The London Evening Standard.
• A “capital rendering” of ‘The Bird and the Rose’ by Lillian Henschel is reported in The Daily News. The song also features as part of the entertainment for a “Conversazione” of the Liverpool Geographical Society in 1893, is on the programme of Benefit Concerts for the “Relief of Distressed Foreign Artists” held in Queen’s Hall and for “a local association” in Wimbledon, concerts in Huddersfield, Derby, Norfolk, Sunningdale (performed by Bertha Moore), another charitable concert in London (where the piece is somewhat prosaically mistitled ‘The Bird and the Flower’), this time in aid of the North Argyll Nursing Association, a concert in Kent and in Devon in 1897. The song features in the 1896 and 1897 Boosey-sponsored London Ballad Concerts and draws the comment that “the poetry of music and idea was not lost” during a performance by Georgina Delmar (of whom more later) which held the audience in the Montgomery Hall, Sheffield. The song features in a concert in Blackburn in 1898, a charity event in Bourton-on-the-Water and concerts by the American contralto Antoinette Sterling in Bury St Edmunds and Dereham. The song features again in a concert in Norwich, Maidenhead and in Eastbourne in February of 1899. In February 1900, the song features at a concert raising money for the Dunstable War Funds and is recorded on a 78 record by Herbert Witherspoon in 1917.

Developing professional success and career at the Royal Academy

Two of Amy’s songs, ‘An Idle Poet’ (later performed at the Proms) and ‘Constant Love’ (both described as “charming”) are performed by Frances Morris at an Orchestral Union concert at Temperance Hall in Derby in 1891. Another song is performed by a cold-affected Miss Waite at Croydon’s Small Public Hall in 1892.

A performance of her Eight Variations features at another St James’s Hall concert, conducted by Royal Academy principal Alexander MacKenzie on 27 February 1893 with the piece described as a “very clever composition” and “may be regarded as a distinct advance upon any of Miss Horrocks’s previous efforts”. The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News describes the quartet “composed by Miss Amy Horrocks” as giving “further testimony to the excellence of the teaching obtainable at the R.A.M.” While The Era describes Amy as “a most promising young composer, whose simple and graceful theme was treated with no little variety of effect in the course of the eight variations, all of them being pleasing and some decidedly effective.”

After completing her studies, she continues to perform as a pianist and retains strong links with the Academy, where she becomes a teacher. As well as teaching, Amy acts as one of the Academy’s examiners for the 1893 and 1897 Hine Exhibition Prize for composition and the 1896 Robert Cocks Prize for piano playing. And one of her songs (‘To Music To Becalm His Fever’) features at the Academy’s annual prize giving in 1894 and two of her “fresh and pretty” duets, ‘April Showers’ and ‘The Skylark’s Wooing’, at another Academy concert in 1898.

Amy performs Dvorak and one of her own piano compositions at a concert in Westerham, Kent, publicised in the Westerham Herald and also features as soloist and composer at a Birmingham Chamber Concert. She contributes to a collection of Artistic Songs, published by Robert Cocks & Co. where she is referred to as Elise Horrocks. And this is followed up by a letter mentioning Amy, from the publisher lamenting the lack of public interest in “high class songs” and the limitations this placed on music publishers, stating that until things change, “the publishers of ‘artistic’ work must content themselves with the thought that they are devoting energy and capital towards bringing about this much desired improvement, for that is all the compensation they are likely to get at present.”

Amy’s song ‘Holly’ is “heard to great advantage” at a charitable concert in Nottingham. Amy is one of a number of featured composers at a performance of music by the D’Oyly Carte singer Esther Palliser. The programme consists entirely of works by female composers (including Clara Schumann), prompting The Weekly Dispatch to comment that the event “proved that if lady composers cannot write with power, they can with grace, fluency, symmetry, and charm”. The Social Review mentions the concert in a column dedicated to highlighting Women’s Pursuits with the note that “Young ladies desirous of procuring advice as to their careers in life should write in confidence enclosing coupon cut from the last page of this journal to ‘Thyra’, care of Editor, The Social Review, 49 Middle Abbey Street, Dublin.”

Amy composes two songs, ‘Garden Voices’ and ‘Lullaby’ for a performance by the singer Marian McKenzie in Plymouth (her birthplace) in 1895. An article in the Newark Advertiser goes into more detail about Marian McKenzie’s career ahead of a concert in 1896, highlighting her ballad-singing abilities and mentions Amy as being one “of the best ballad writers the [Royal] Academy has produced” who contributes two songs (actually the same two songs, ‘Garden Voices’ and ‘Lullaby’) especially for the performance which “were listened to with evident delight by the audience” as reported the following week. Amy’s accompaniment of the Russian pianist Wassily Sapellnikoff in a performance at the Steinway Hall of two of her duets, ‘The Night Has a Thousand Eyes’ and ‘A Flower’ is advertised in the Morning Post and London Evening Standard.

And the singer, Rosa Leo performs Amy’s ‘Lullaby’, demonstrating “expressive style and rare intelligence” at a vocal recital at the Steinway Hall. Amy’s songs feature at three more of Rosa Leo concerts in 1896. The first Steinway Hall event on 3 March includes ‘The Night Has a Thousand Eyes’ and ‘A Flower’ described as “effective airs, ably contrasted” and also as “clever and pleasing duets”. These “charming”, “new and clever vocal duets” afforded “a delightful finale”. At later concerts in the series, advertised in The Morning Post and London Evening Standard, “‘Forget-me-not’ by Amy Horrocks, is a perfect gem, and ‘The Answer,’ by the same composer, is a sweet little ditty, which was deliciously sung by Miss Leo” and she is counted as one “of the best of our lady English writers of songs”. This 1896 series of Rosa Leo’s Steinway Hall concerts featuring Amy’s songs are also mentioned in The London Evening Standard, The Weekly Dispatch, The Queen and The Musical Times.

The London Ballad Concerts

Amy is performed at a concert in Clifton in 1896 and her song, ‘A Romany Spring Song’ features in the annual Wilhelm Ganz concert. Ganz was a German-born English pianist, violinist, and conductor. The song is described “pleasing” and as carrying “with it a delightful little breeze, straight from the heather”.

Two more of Amy’s songs (‘The Bird and the Rose’ and ‘My Pretty Jane’) are performed by Jack Robertson as part of a 1896 London Ballad Concert, sponsored by one of Amy’s publishers, Boosey & Co. These Ballad concerts began in the 1860s and consisted mainly of newly composed songs and were sponsored by sheet music publishers as a way to drive sales of music that would be bought by members of the public to perform at home. Remember this was before recorded music and at a time when many households would possess a piano for domestic entertainment. Esther Palliser performs Amy’s “pretty”, “piquant” ‘Romany Spring Song’ at a Queen’s Hall Ballad Concert in January 1897. ‘The Bird and the Rose’ features again in another Queen’s Hall Ballad Concert in October 1897 performed by Edwardian actress, Georgina Delmar. And the song makes yet another appearance at the Ballad Concert in March 1898.

The Lady of Shalott

Amy herself makes an appearance at the 1898 Ballad Concert accompanying Ellen Bowick in her performance of Tennyson’s ‘The Lady of the Shalott’ for which Amy had composed a “graceful and picturesque” accompaniment of violin, cello and piano . Amy is quite likely to be one of the first composers (if not the first) to set Tennyson’s poem to music. The duo repeat the performance on several occasions in 1899. Amy’s musical arrangement of the poem is performed at a Royal Academy student concert in July 1899, although the event’s length is not appreciated by the reviewer for the London Evening Standard: “St. James’s Hall leaves little to be desired on the score of ventilation, but nearly two hours and a half of musical festivity in yesterday’s oppressive heat was clearly too much for a large portion of the audience, who filtered out long before the final items were disposed of”. Nevertheless, The Era describes the piece as “graceful and melodious … In the descriptive portions Miss Horrocks has succeeded well, and the effect was pleasing”. Ellen Bowick returns with a “thoughtful” and “agreeable variation” rendition of the piece at the 1900 Ballad Concert and also performs the recitation in Eastbourne later in the year, although the piece is misattributed to “Amy Louise [sic] Horrocks”. Another performance of ‘The Lady of Shalott’ by Elinor Lucas “was rendered admirably and elicited loud applause”.

Amy’s career prospers

An Amy composition, ‘Sing Heigh-ho!’ is performed by Australian contralto, Ada Crossley at another Ballad concert in December 1898 and Amy’s work is also performed at a recital given by the celebrated English operatic soprano and contralto, and occasional pianist of the Victorian era, Greta Williams. Greta Williams is also remembered as a heroine of the 1899 wreck of the SS Stella, in which 77 people perished. During the 14 hours she and other survivors waited in open boats for their rescuers, she quelled the fears of the passengers and crew by singing ‘O, Rest in the Lord’.

Amy is performing the piano again in 1899 at the Salle Erard in London’s Regent Street, accompanying Hungarian cellist Dezso Kordy. Kordy performs two of Amy’s pieces “for which both executant and composer received a hearty recall”. By the end of the century, Amy is advertising her services as a music teacher, drawing on her Royal Academy credentials and has clearly established herself on the London classical music scene. In the 1901 census she is still living with her parents in Goldhurst Terrace, along with a Dutch lodger (Carl Bloemandal) and their servant, Alice Clarke. Amy describes herself as a Professor of Music living ‘on own account’.

Three of her ‘Six Greek Love Songs’ are premiered by the baritone Frederick Keel (to whom the collection is dedicated) at the Steinway Hall in May 1899 and her duet for female voices, ‘Harebell Curfew’ is described as “charming” and “this clever lady composer has selected a tuneful and generally grateful [sic] melody, while the refinement of the accompaniment mingle pleasing and picturesque effects”. Amy’s songs continue to feature at the Ballad Concerts in London’s St James’s Hall. Her two new songs, ‘To Violets’ and ‘July the Pedlar’ are described as being “written with studious simplicity though with musicianly feeling”. And English contralto, (Louise) Kirkby Lunn performs Amy’s ‘Bonnie Wee Thing’ , while Amy accompanies Rhoda Wiley in her vocal recital, including two of Amy’s “tuneful and well-written” songs (‘To Violets’ and ‘July the Pedlar’), at the Steinway Hall . The County Gentleman comments that the “former was not a success; but the latter proved pretty and commendably short”, but according to the Hampstead News, both songs “were enthusiastically received”. Another of Amy’s vocal compositions, ‘Prithee Maiden’, sees out the century by featuring at the inaugural concert of the Wycombe Orchestral Society. But despite her growing fame, the Musical Times writes to a correspondent to “regret that we cannot trace the publisher of ‘Short Exercises on Sight-reading’ by A.E. Horrocks”.

Amy’s piece, ‘The Hotspur’ is performed by Scottish baritone Andrew Black at the 1900 Ballad Concert, but he “failed to make [it] very convincing”. Two of her Greek Love Songs make a welcome reappearance in 1900 at a concert given by Florence Bulleid accompanied by Amy and “were items of interest, the second, entitled ‘Golden Eyes’, proving very bright and effective, winning for the singer and composer a warm recall”, although another reviewer dismisses the songs as “of no especial merit”. Amy’s songs feature in a concert in Halifax by the American baritone David Bispham, and her ‘Love, the Pedlar’ (presumably this is actually July the Pedlar) is included in a concert in Acton. Frederick Kreel reprises his performance of Amy’s ‘Six Greek Love Songs’ at Steinway Hall in June 1901.

It may be that the Birmingham Mail is to blame for the original miss-spelling of Amy’s second name, when they report on another performance in 1901 of ‘The Lady of Shalott’ “with a beautiful musical accompaniment for piano, violin, and violincello, by Amy Elsie [sic] Horrocks”, describing the music as “quite symphonic in character”.

Amy and Sir Henry Wood and the Proms

It is alleged that Amy was proposed to by Sir Henry Wood “who was a student with her at the Royal Academy, whom she called Grubby Wood” (Norrington 2006) and whom she apparently turned down! There was clearly some sort of a relationship or friendship between the two as Amy has several of her compositions performed (and some of them premiered) at five of Wood’s Promenade Concerts between 1897 and 1909.

The first of these is in the early days of the Promenade concerts when Robert Newman (co-founder with Wood of the Queen's Hall promenade concerts in 1895) built on the success of the second summer season of proms and presented Saturday-only concerts in the early spring of 1896/7. Amy appears on the bill for the Promenade concert under the baton of Henry Wood, sharing the programme with performances of Rossini’s ‘William Tell’ Overture, Allan Macbeth’s ‘Serenata’, Gounod’s ‘Funeral March of a Marionette’ and two pieces by Wagner amongst others . Amy “was twice called to the platform after the first performance of her ‘orchestral legend’ Undine” on 6 February 1897 (Jacobs 1994). The performance receives a lot of favourable press coverage with the Musical Times describing the piece as “deftly orchestrated and possesses considerable interest” with the underlying mediaeval legendary incidents “musically suggested in a graceful and effective manner”. The Glasgow Herald says Amy has “an agreeable and melodious style”, and “Miss Horrocks treated her theme in a graceful and musicianly manner”. The Standard adds that the piece is “melodious, fresh in design and brilliantly executed”, while the Irish Times remarks that the “themes are melodious, and well chosen, plenty of contrast is provided, and the scoring is decidedly effective”. The weekly magazine, Black and White, mentions Amy’s performance, but sadly illustrates the ignorant attitudes of the time towards Dvorak’s New World Symphony, describing it as “n***** music”. The Daily Telegraph celebrates Amy’s prowess, describing her as “a musician who has already attracted the attention of those who look for elements of promise in the younger generation”. And The Era hopes “that a composer, young, talented and already popular, will continue to exercise her gifts in the same direction, and have the good fortune to hear her ideas so perfectly rendered as they were on this occasion”.

The success of the proms encourages speculation in the press on which composers would produce new work for the next season of concerts. The Glasgow Herald, The Stage, The Sporting Gazette, The Weekly Dispatch, Lloyds Weekly Newspaper, The Referee, The Norfolk News, The Queen and The Graphic all identify Amy as one such composer.

But as things turn out her second proms outing is not until a year later, with her fresh composition ‘Romaunt of the Page’, which has its world premiere on 6 October 1899 (Jacobs 1994), (Newmarch 1904). The event is previewed in the Glasgow Herald, but the newspaper gives Amy a bit of a backhanded compliment stating that the piece was “misnamed a Ballade by Miss Amy Horrocks. It is based on Mrs Browning’s ‘Romaunt of the Page.’ But to depict in music a work of this character is almost impossible, and, at any rate, it is rather beyond the means of this clever young student”. The Graphic agreed, calling the work “a somewhat over-ambitious symphonic piece by that clever young composer, Miss Amy Horrocks”. The Gentlewoman is more upbeat calling the piece a “very pleasing novelty” and describing Amy as “a young lady already well known as the writer of some charming songs, and one who is to be warmly welcomed into the growing ranks of women composers”.

Amy’s songs feature at three more promenade concerts: ‘An Idle Poet’ on 3 and 21 September 1900 and what had by now become her greatest ‘hit’, ‘The Bird and the Rose’ on 23 August 1909. Whatever relationship she may have had with Henry Wood clearly came to nothing, as he writes in his 1938 autobiography that “I have now quite lost sight of Amy Elise Horrocks”. She had actually died nearly twenty years previously and Wood continues, quite erroneously, “She returned to her native Brazil, where she was born of English parents, having being made a fellow of the R.A.M. [Royal Academy of Music]” Wood (1938). The truth is that she eventually (after a long gap between proposal and marriage) marries Nicholas (Nico) Paramythioti (1871–1943 - a businessman from Corfu and therefore perhaps her muse for her 1899 Greek Love Songs?) on 22 August 1903.

Career after marriage

A list of some of her compositions from the British Library catalogue reveals that her output drops off after she marries and has children. From then on, her works feature only intermittently in the British press and no further performances by herself are reported. ‘To Althea from Prison’ features in a concert in Cheltenham in 1901. Later that year, Ellen Bowick performs ‘The Lady of Shalott’ at the London Ballad Concerts again and also in Bath and it is described as “a melodrama and dramatic scene for solo voice … heard for the first time in New York in the season now closing [1906]” one of the “more important”. The recitation is also included in a concert in Hampstead in 1902, at the Steinway Hall in 1904 and 1905 and at a Royal Academy of Music concert in 1906. Amy achieves a first by a performance her music in Canada by the Toronto Ladies Trio, accompanying a “delightful recitation” of the poem by R.S. Pigott . The Leeds Mercury reports Amy’s composition of the music a mere 10 years late(!), while The Croydon Guardian reports on a performance in Eastbourne, describing the piece as “delightfully given and thoroughly enjoyed”. The Bromley Chronicle reports “a most artistically rendered” recital including the poem in 1917 and there are favourable reports on another performance in Sheffield in 1918 .

‘The Bird and the Rose’ continues to make regular appearances: At a school concert in Bournemouth, Hythe, East London, a cricket club fundraiser in Lincolnshire, a Meister Glee singers performance in Penzance, as part of the entertainment at the conclusion of a meeting of the Conservative supporting Primrose League in Exeter, on the programme sung by Jack Robertson as part of a concert by popular contralto, Clara Butt during a tour that takes in Exeter, Bristol and Belfast. Mr Robertson continues to perform the song in his own concert in Canterbury. ‘The Bird and the Rose’ makes up part of a concert in Elgin and also “Ladies Night” at the Society of Bristol Gleemen, a group of choral enthusiasts founded in 1886. The song is also one of the competition pieces for vocalists at the Bristol Eisteddford, is included in an amateur performance in Cork and a concert in Drumglass, County Tyrone. The piece features in one of the Pump Room concerts in Bath, as part of the “annual conversaxione” of the Presbyterian Literary Society in Jersey in 1909 and is on the programme for the musical entertainment at the distribution of prizes at the Retford Miniature Rifle Club in 1914. The song is also included in the Henley in Arden Musical Society’s concert in 1914 and is mentioned as one of the popular songs of the time (meaning the Victorian era of Arthur Sullivan, as in Gilbert and Sullivan) (Simpson 1910).

Husband and wife Ethel Barnes and Charles Philips include one of Amy’s songs in their Bechstein Hall Chamber Concert. Amy’s cello piece ‘Twilight’ is performed in Bath and earns an encore. Two of her duets, ‘To Violets’ and ‘July the Pedlar’ are included in the annual Grantham concert in 1902 and the same two songs appear in a 1903 concert in Norwich and also a fundraiser for the hospital in St Albans and a concert in Eastbourne. ‘July the Pedlar’ also features in a concert in Croydon performed by American opera singer Margaret Crawford and was “finely sung … and had to be repeated”. The song is also included in a school concert in Forest Hill in 1908 and is one of the competition pieces at the 1909 Bury and District Music Festival.

The Stage reviews her new compositions in 1903, ‘Forget Me Not’ and ‘An Idle Poet’ saying that they "should find favour as light items”. The newspaper also misspells her second name as Elsie. The London Evening Standard finds them “very short, but charming little songs” and also misspells her name. These two songs are also reviewed in The Referee where they are described as “unpretentious, but might be made very effective by a sympathetic singer”, but at least her name is spelled correctly. One of these songs, ‘Forget Me Not’ is included in a concert by soprano, Charlotte Thudichum in 1906. The Daily Telegraph announces “a bright setting of Nash’s ‘The Sweet Spring’ and one of ‘Weep you no more, sad fountains’”. Amy is one of three featured composers at a concert of new music at the Lyceum Club in 1906. ‘Romany Spring Song’ is on the programme at the 1909 Theydon Bois Choral Society concert in East London. ‘The Fairy Cobbler’ is one of the competition pieces for a junior singing festivals in 1910, ‘Rose Song’ in Bristol in 1911 and ‘Spring Day’ in Morecambe in 1913. Amy’s songs continue to appear at the Ballad Concerts, this time performed again by Kirkby Lunn in 1914. New compositions ‘My Little House’ and ‘The Baby Child of Mary’ are advertised by Chappell & Co in 1914/5 . “Very impressive” singing of Amy’s work by English contralto Marguerite d'Alvarez in 1914 is noted by the Daily Record and she is included in a concert in Plymouth. One of Amy’s newer piano pieces, ‘A Tale of the Sea’ features in a Letchworth concert in 1916.

Amy is referenced in the obituaries of one of her former pupils, composer and namesake Amy Woodforde-Finden who died on 13 March 1919 .

Personal Life

Amy was apparently informed by a doctor that she would never have any children, but then produced two, one of whom, her daughter Pamela, was always at great pains to point out that Amy's own two children and all of their various offspring "are all Amy's children" (Norrington 2006). Amy and Nico move to France (where her two children are born, Jean in 1904 and Pamela in 1906) and she seems to divide her time initially between France and Margate (where her parents had retired to and where they are both buried, having succumbed to the influenza epidemic, dying within a few days of each other in 1913).

Diary

She kept a diary, (which spans the years 1907 to 1918) which she wrote as a sort of life-guidance manual for her two children. It is not a diary in the sense of a chronology of events, although a large section of it is devoted to the events of World War I and Amy’s evident displeasure at the whole affair. It also describes how she and Nico were constantly relocating in France during this period in search of a healthy environment for their children. These few entries give an insight into her opinions about music and composition.

24 October 1907 “I’m afraid my composing days are practically over. I worked too hard once upon a time, & now I can only do very little without feeling my head spin round. And as regards the opera it really does not matter; these light things are usually written & composed by half a dozen different people; they have no consistency whatever, but nobody minds.”

21 March 1908 “I have been filling up my time with composition I have from past songs in hand; because expenses are heavy & I want to help. I hope neither of my dears will want to take up music as a profession, by the way! Their Mummy should serve them as an awful warning. If you put aside prima donas, infant prodigies, & a very few composers who happen to be momentarily the sage, there is no profession worse paid; & certainly there are very few more injurious to the health.”

23 May 1908 “All those things – hysterical religion, sentimental poetry, sad music – (of which I myself have written far too much!) all, as Ruskin says “waste your strength in artificial sorrow” – that strength which God gave you to bear your real troubles, to control your own nature, & to fight the battle of life.”

Le Drapeau Bleu

Amy and Nico wrote to each other frequently during the nineteen years of their engagement and marriage from September 1900 to June 1919. “We know that Mother and Father write to each other every day … Father’s letters often begin ‘Dear Girl’ and end ‘Your loving husband Nico’” (Norrington 2006). In 1919 their letters cover Amy’s composition of a song, which went through various iterations, often with Nico suggesting lyrics and advising on French grammar. Amy enters the song, which became Le Drapeau Bleu, into a competition run by the French newspaper L’Oeuvre to compose a song to celebrate the end of the first world war and the establishment of a Society or League of Nations, as proposed by US President Wilson, which had chosen a blue flag as its symbol.

Even though The Blind Horse of Corfu gives the impression that Nico destroyed the song,”… a 'Song for Peace' which had apparently won an important prize" (Norrington 2006), obituaries in The Stage and, suffragette newspaper, The Vote announcing Amy's death both report that "shortly before her death a jury of musicians and literary men in Paris had awarded her the prize, open to the world, for a song in honour of the 'Drapeau Bleu' - the ensign of the League of Nations" . Le Drapeau Bleu was eventually published in 1920 and was performed by Amy’s granddaughter, Nicole Paramythioti one hundred years later, in January 2020 at a concert in Horspath, Oxfordshire organised by Amy’s great granddaughter, musician, Isabel Richards to celebrate Amy’s life and music.

Le Drapeau Bleu (Chant des Peuples)
The Blue Flag (Song of the People)
Words and music by A.E. Horrocks Paramythioti (1920)

Salut, ô frères de la grande foi!
Salut, ô règne de la noble loi!
Au jour naissant, de loin nous pouvons voir
Briller le rayon du céleste Espoir.

Refrain
Hissez le drapeau bleu
Dans tous les coins de la terre!
Hissez le drapeau bleu;
Le Paix a vaineu la Guerre!
Hissez le drapeau bleu:
Partout les peuples sont frères
Assez de fer! Assez de feu!
Hissez le drapeau bleu!

Le monde, endormi dans un rêve affreux
De sang, de tyrans et de malheureux,
A l’aube sourit, tournant son regard
Vers le reflet qui est notre étandard.

Refrain

Voici l’aurore, voici le soleil;
Salut, ô matin de ce doux réveil!
Du grand chemin s’élève un chant nouveau
Chantez, ô frères! Salut au drapeau!

Refrain

English translation by Paul Davy (2020)
Hello o brothers of the faith so great!
Hello to the kingdom and laws of state!
From far we can see in the dawn’s new light
And a ray of hope shines celestially bright.

Chorus
Hoisting the bright blue flag
In every corner of the world!
Hoisting the bright blue flag
The Peace has overcome War!
Hoisting the bright blue flag:
Out there the people are brothers
There’s enough iron! There’s enough fire!
Hoisting the bright blue flag!

The world was sleeping through bad dreams at night
Of blood, dictators and unhappy plight,
The rising sun smiles, while turning his gaze
To the reflection as our flag is raised.

Chorus

Here is the early dawn. Here is the sun;
Hello good morning sweet waking begun!
A new song grows from the great path to shout
Say hello to the flag! Brothers sing out!

Chorus

Death

Amy died on 4 December 1919 in Paris. She is recorded as a Deceased Fellow (under her married name) in the 1929/30 Prospectus for the Royal Academy of Music and Nico as a Subscribing Member. An obituary in The Etude sums up her life: “Amy Elsie [sic] Horrocks, pianist and composer, died lately in Paris. She was born in Brazil, of English parentage. She composed numerous songs, as well as compositions in larger form. Undine, an orchestral tone-poem, had performance at Queen’s Hall, London, with success. Her most famous song was The Bird and the Rose”.

Nigel Burton writing in Sadie (1994), also makes the mistake that Amy returned to Brazil and summarises Amy’s musical career: “Horrocks’s work suffer from a lack of musical substance, though her miniatures have a certain delicate charm. Her piano writing is usually derived from the style of Adolf Henselt and Anton Rubenstein; in larger works, however (such as the Cello Sonata and the Eight Variations op. 11 for piano quartet), of the texture is reminiscent of Brahms. She relied heavily on her rhythmic facility and was over-fond of canons. Her most successful piece is the experimental narrative scena with piano trio, The Lady of Shalott.”

Posthumous performances

Amy’s work continues to be performed after her death. The Royal Academy of Music celebrates its centenary in 1922 and featured two of her songs prompting the Monthly Musical Record to recommend her song, Tragedy: “Miss Horrocks’ music is graceful and melodious. The most sensitive person need not hesitate to invest threepence in a copy”. Later in 1922, ‘The Lady of Shalott’ is performed in Wallingford and again in Forest Hill, London in 1925 . Amy’s Christmas Carol is one of the performance pieces in a Scottish musical festival, although there is only one entrant. The Yorkshire Post reports another performance of The Lady of Shallot in Harrogate in 1929 and the piece also features in a concert in Orpington in 1938 and Eastbourne in 1940. Her cello pieces Irish Melody and Country Dance feature in another music festival in Somerset in 1934. The Bird and the Rose is performed in Chester in 1942 .

Recorded and Published Works

Amy composed music for orchestra, chamber ensemble, choral and solo voice. The Bird and the Rose was recorded on a 78 record (Victrola (64751) by Herbert Witherspoon in 1917. Some of her other works have been recorded and issued on CD, including:

• Catherine Wilmers, Simon Marlow: A Cello Century of British Women Composers (22 August 2000) Quicksilva Records, ASIN: B00004U5FS
• Alexandra Mackenzie & Ingrid Sawers: Beyond Twilight: Music for Cello & Piano By Female Composers (20 October 2023) Delphian DCD34306

Copies of many of her compositions are held at the British Library. Selected works include (dates are dates of publication unless better dates are available):-

Date of Publication Unknown

• The Answer [Song]
• A Flower [Song]
• Garden Voices [Song]
• Holly [Song]
• My Pretty Jane [Song]
• Short Exercises on Sight-reading
• Wild Swans [Cantata]

1886

• The Return of May. Choral Trio for female voices, with pianoforte accompaniment. Words by Mrs Hemans, published by Lucas, Weber & Co., London 1886

1889

• Sonata for cello and pianoforte, published 1889
• An Idyll of New Years Eve, published 1889

1890

• Berceuse in F. Op. 4 No. 1. [P. F.], published by Augener, London 1890
• Waltz in C. Op. 4 No. 2. [P. F.], published by Augener, London 1890
• Ashes of Roses (words by E. Goodall) and A Love Song of the 17th Century (words by Austin Dobson). With a Primrose (words by T. Carew) and A Cradle Hymn (words from Kingsley's ‘Waterbabies') [In 2 keys], published by R. Cocks & Co., London 1890
• Constant Love. [Song, etc.], published by Stanley Lucas, Weber & Co., London 1890

1891

• Blow, blow, thou Winter Wind. [Three-part song] Words by Shakespeare, published 1891
• A Serenade. [Three-part song] Words by H.M. Waithman, published 1891
• A Midsummer Song. Words by M.C. Gillington [In C minor and D minor], published by Stanley Lucas, Weber & Co., London 1891
• At Peep of Dawn. [Three-part song] Words by C. Scollard, published 1891

1892

• Six Songs. Op. 10, published by J. Williams, London 1892
• Two Fairy Songs, for treble voices. 1. Elfin Sleep Song, 2. The Fairy Thrall. Words by M. C. Gillington. Op. 13, published by J. Williams, London 1892

1893

• When Mortals are at Rest, etc., published 1893
• Eight Variations on an original Theme for pianoforte, violin, viola and cello. Op. 11, published by J. Williams, London 1893
• Cradle Song and Scherzo à la Mazurka for violin and piano. Op. 12, published by J. Williams, London 1893
• Six Pieces for Piano. No. 1. Boat-Song, No. 2. Minuet, No. 3. Romance, No. 4. Spinning-Song, No. 5. Waltz, No. 6. Mazurka. Op. 14, published by J. Williams, London 1893
• Rose-Song. Words by P.B. Marston, published 1893
• A Spring Day. [Song] Words by Wordsworth, published 1893
• Christmas Carol. [Song] Words by J. Milton, published 1893
• A Dirge for the Year. [Song] Words by P.B. Shelley, published 1893
• A Garden. [Song] Words by P.B. Shelley, published 1893
• To Music, to Becalm his Fever. [Song] Words by R. Herrick, published 1893

1894

• Irish Melody and Country Dance for violoncello and piano. Op. 17 No. 1, published by J. Williams, London 1894
• Bloom, O my Rose. [Two-part song] Words by W.S. Landor. Op. 18 No. 1, published 1894
• Love's Requiem. [Song with violoncello obbligato] Words by M.C. Gillington, published by J. Williams 1894

1895

• Bitter for Sweet. [Two-part song] Words by C. Rossetti. Op. 18 No. 3, published 1895
• Summer Changes. [Song] Words by P.B. Marston, published 1895
• A Lullaby. [Song] Words by Mrs G. Byron, published by J. Williams, London 1895
• My Love will ne'er forsake me. [Irish Love Song] Words by Mrs. G. Byron, published by J. Williams, London 1895
• The Bird and the Rose. [Song] Words by R.S. Hichens, published by Boosey & Co., London & New York 1895
• Bonnie Wee Thing. [Song] Words by R. Burns, published by Boosey & Co., London & New York 1895
• The Skylark's Wooing. [Two-part song] Words by M.C. Gillington. Op. 23 No. 1, published by Augener & Co, London 1895
• April Showers. [Two-part song] Words by M.C. Gillington. Op. 23 No. 2, published by Augener & Co, London 1895
• Hill-Tops. [Two-part song] Words by M.C. Gillington. Op. 23 No. 3, published by Augener & Co, London 1895

1896

• Sonata in G for pianoforte and violoncello. Op. 7, published by J. Williams, London 1896
• Another Spring. [Two-part song] Words by C. Rossetti. Op. 18 No. 5, published 1896
• On the Pond. [Two-part song] Words by F. Schloesser. Op. 18 No. 6, published 1896
• On a Nankin Plate. [Song] Words by A. Dobson, published by Chappell & Co., London 1896
• Prithee, Maiden. [Song] Words by S. Lever, published by Boosey & Co., London & New York 1896
• A Romany Spring Song. Words by M. Byron, published by Boosey & Co., London & New York 1896

1897

• Undine, Op. 16 for orchestra, published 1897
• The Nightingale. [Song] Words by F.E. Weatherly, published by Boosey & Co., London & New York 1897
• Slumber Song of the Year. [Two-part song] Words by M. Byron, published 1897
• Ragged Robin. [Two-part song] Words by M. Byron, published 1897
• Piano Trio in B flat, published 1897

1898

• The Winds. A Cantata for treble voices. Words by M.C. Gillington. (German words by W. Kastner). Op. 22, published by J. Williams, London 1898
• The Fairy Cobbler. [Two-part song for female voices] Words by M.C. Gillington, published by Augener & Co, London 1898
• Tragedy. [Two-part song for female voices] Words by M.C. Gillington, etc., published by Augener & Co, London 1898
• Amoret. [Song]. Words by M. Byron, published by Boosey & Co., London & New York 1898
• The Recompense. [Song with violoncello accompaniment] Words by M. Byron, published by Boosey & Co., London & New York 1898
• Sing Heigh-ho! [Song] Words by C. Kingsley, etc., published by Boosey & Co., London & New York 1898

1899

• Romaunt of the Page, A Ballade published 1899
• Elfin Sleep Song [Three-part song], etc., published 1899
• The Night has a Thousand Eyes. [Canon] Words by F.W. Bourdillon, published 1899
• The Fairy Thrall. [Four-part song], etc., published 1899
• Harebell Curfew. [Duet for female voices.] Words by M. Byron, published by Augener & Co, London 1899
• Spring in the Forest. [Two-part song for female voices, with pianoforte accompaniment] Words by M. Byron, published by Augener & Co, London 1899
• Six Greek Love Songs, published by Boosey & Co., London & New York 1899
• Golden Eyes [Song.] Words by A. Lang, published by Boosey & Co., London & New York 1899
• An Indian Lullaby. [Song] Words by M.C. Gillington, etc., published by Houghton & Co., London 1899
• July the Pedlar. [Vocal duet] Words by N. Hopper, published by Chappell & Co., London 1899
• The Season for Wooing. [Song] Words by G.S. Aspinall, published by Chappell & Co., London 1899
• A Spanish Pastoral. Spanisches Schäferlied. [Song with flute obbligato] Words by M. Byron, German translation by O.L. Sturm, published by J. Williams, London 1899
• To Violets. [Vocal duet] Words by M. Byron, published by Chappell & Co., London 1899
• The Lady of Shalott. Words by Tennyson with pianoforte accompaniment, Boosey & Co., London & New York 1899
• The Lady of Shalott. Words by Tennyson with musical accompaniment for violin, violoncello and pianoforte, Boosey & Co., London & New York 1899

1900

• Trois Pièces faciles pour violon avec accompagnement de piano. No. 1. Barcarolle. No. 2. Élégie. No. 3. Masjurka. Op. 34, Schott & Co., London 1900
• The Daisy. [Two-part song for female voices, with pianoforte accompaniment] Words by Wordsworth, published by Augener & Co, London 1900
• Sweet Dreams. - Cradle Song. - [Duet for female voices] Words by W. Blake, published by Augener & Co, London 1900
• The Hotspur. [Song] Words by M. Byron, published by Boosey & Co., London & New York 1900
• Lady Moon. [Song] Words by M. Byron, published by Boosey & Co., London & New York 1900
• To Althea, from Prison [Song] English words by R. Lovelace, German by W.A. Kastner, published by J. Williams, London 1900
• Rigaudon for violin with pianoforte accompaniment, Augener & Co., London 1900
• 4 Songs. No. 1. My Lady Wind, No. 2. The Shepherd, No. 3. The Babes in the Wood, No. 4. The Lamb, published by Augener & Co., London 1900
• 4 Songs. No. 1. The Old Woman and her Broom, No. 2. Sleep, Baby, Sleep, No. 3. Cock Robin’s Serenade, No. 4. Up in the Morning Early, published by Augener & Co., London 1900

1901

• Twilight, a Rêverie for violoncello and pianoforte. Taken from ‘Songs for Children', J. Williams, London 1901
• 4 Songs. Voice part in Tonic Sol-fa notation, etc., published 1901
• 6 Action Songs. No. 1 The Marching Host, No. 2. The Blue Room, No. 3. The Weathercock, No. 4. The Flowers' Frocks, No. 5. Old Jack Frost, No. 6. The Soldier's Return. Words by M.C. Gillington. In Staff and Tonic Sol-fa Notation, published by Augener & Co. 1901
• The Return of May. [Choral Trio for female voices, with pianoforte accompaniment, etc.] published by Augener & Co., London 1901
• The Rigadoon. [Song] Words by M. Byron [In D and F.], published by Chappell & Co., London 1901

1902

• Six (Nine) Action Songs. No. 1. A Birdie's Plans, No. 2. The Fan Folk, No. 3. The Sleep Fairy, No. 4. Dolly's Distress, No. 5. Impecunious, No. 6. The Beetle and the Dormouse, No. 7. The Flower Circus, No. 8. The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, No. 9. The Butterfly's Wedding. Words and Actions by M.C. Gillington published by J. Williams, London 1902–04
• Philomel and the Aloe Flower. [Song] Words by A. Webster, published by J. Williams, London 1902
• The Sun's the Heart of the Sky. [Song] Words by A. Webster, published by J. Williams, London 1902

1903

• Two Lyrics. No. 1. Forget-me-not, No. 2. An Idle Poet. Words by H. Robertson, published by J. Williams, London 1903

1904

• The Dustman. [Song] Words by M. Byron, published by Boosey & Co., London & New York 1904
• An Indian Lullaby, etc., published 1904
• 4 Songs. No. 1. The Flowers' Mother, No. 2. A Little Spring Song, No. 3. Queen Mab, No. 4. Adventure. Words by M. C. Gillington and T. Hood, published by Augener, London 1908
• The Sweet Spring. [Duet for female voices] Words by T. Nash, etc., published by Augener & Co, London 1904
• Weep you no more, sad Fountains. [Duet for female voices] Words anonymous, etc., published by Augener & Co, London 1904

1905

• Says the Nightingale. [Duet for female voices] Words by M.C. Gillington, published by Augener, London 1905
• The Dancers. [Two-part song for female voices, with pianoforte accompaniment] Words by M.C. Gillington, published by Augener, London 1905
• The Blackbird. [Two-part song for female voices, with pianoforte accompaniment] Words by M.C. Gillington, published by Augener, London 1905
• The Cuckoo. [Duet for female voices] Words by M.C. Gillington, published by Augener, London 1905
• Mayday Morn. [Duet for female voices] Words by M.C. Gillington, published by Augener, London 1905

1908

• Child's Talk in April. [Duet for female voices] Words by C. Rossetti, published by Augener, London 1908
• Forest Slumber Song. [Duet for female voices] Words by M.C. Gillington, published by Augener, London 1908
• The Daisy Lullaby. [Two-part song] Words by M. Byron, published 1908
• Cottage Cradle Song. [Two-part song.] Words by M. Byron, published 1908

1911

• Picture Story Books. [Action Song] Words by M.C. Gillington, published by J. Williams, London 1911
• The Discontented Bunny. [Action Song] Words by M.C. Gillington, published by J. Williams, London 1911
• Travellers' Tales. [Action Song] Words by M.C. Gillington, published by J. Williams, London 1911

1913

• A Summer Wish. [Two-part song] Words by C. Rossetti, published 1913
• Dead Hope. [Two-part song] Words by C. Rossetti, published 1913
• If I had a Court and Castle. [Irish Love Song] Words by M.C. Gillington, published by J. Williams, London 1913
• My Love is a slumb'ring Flower. [Song] Words by M.C. Gillington, published by J. Williams, London 1913

1914

• The Baby Child of Mary. [Spanish Lullaby, etc], published by Chappell & Co., London, etc 1914
• My Little House. [Song] Words by M. Byron, published by Chappell & Co., London, etc 1914

1915

• A Tale of the Sea, and Valse. Two light pieces for the pianoforte, published by Chappell & Co., London, etc 1915

1917

• The Bird and the Rose. [Song for bass voice and orchestra], published 1917

1919

• Le Drapeau Bleu (Chant des Peuples). [Song], published by Poulalion, Paris 1920