Ethel Smyth: Mass in D
We are delighted to make available the full manuscript of Dame Ethel Smyth's Mass in D, which was thought lost to scholarship.
Dame Ethel Smyth was a pioneering composer and important figure in LGBTQ+ history. She was a member of the movement for women's suffrage in the UK in the 1910s and composed the anthem 'The March of the Women', which she memorably conducted through the bars of a cell in Holloway Prison.
Mass in D was one of her most ambitious works, but its premiere in 1893 had a poor reception, with reviews focusing on her being 'woman composer' rather than the quality of the piece itself. In 1924, the Mass was revived by Sir Adrian Boult, which gave it wider recognition, enabling Smyth to conduct it herself in 1928. Smyth gave the score to Boult in gratitude in 1938. Boult, who was raised in Liverpool, donated it to the University in 1963.
The manuscript was fully catalogued but remained unknown to scholars until Professor Lisa Colton, Head of Music at the University of Liverpool, identified its significance: read Professor Colton's account of the discovery in Women's Song Forum here.
We are grateful to the estate of Dame Ethel Smyth for permission to publish a letter from Smyth held with the manuscript, and Smyth's handwritten dedication of the score to Boult. For all enquiries about reproduction of the letter please contact David Higham Associates Ltd.
The score will be on display in the exhibition 'Lightbulb Moments' in the Victoria Gallery and Museum from Autumn 2025.
(Image: Library of Congress LC-DIG-ggbain-33693)
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