Dame Ethel Smyth (1858–1944)
Composer; Suffragette
Works published by MoV
Five German Partsongs (SATB) (ed. Maks Adach)
1. Komm süsser Tod
2. Kein Stündlein geht dahin
3. Gib dich zufrieden
4. O Traurigkeit, O Herzeleid!
5. Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag
1. Komm süsser Tod (SATB)
Edited by Maks Adach for Martyn Rawles – the Girl Choristers and Lay Vicars choral of the Cathedral Church of St Mary and St Chad, Lichfield.
Original Source Material: British Library Add. MS. 46861 ff. 3 - 19v Komm süsser Tod is the first of a group of five settings of Lutheran chorales, which were considered for publication, long after their composition, as the Five Sacred Partsongs. Dating from Smyth’s Leipzig period (1877–85) where she studied under Carl Reinecke and Heinrich von Herzogenberg and was introduced to many of the great musical figures of the day such as Johannes Brahms, Clara Schumann and Hubert Parry, the partsongs are written in an intense and lush Brahmsian idiom. The dynamic scheme indicated within this edition is Smyth’s own. (Maks Adach)
Text: Come, sweet death, come blessed rest!
And lead me to peace for I am weary of the world,
Oh come! I wait for you, Come soon, and lead me,
Close my eyes. Come, blessed rest!
1. Komm süsser Tod (SATB)
This work is published in our anthology Volume 1 and as a licenced digital pdf
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Perusal score coming soon
(October 2025)
2. Kein Stündlein geht dahin (SATB)
This work is published as a licenced digital pdf
To order the sheet music click on the button below.
Perusal score coming soon
(October 2025)
Recording coming soon
3. Gib dich zufrieden und sei stille (SATB)
This work is published as a licenced digital pdf
To order the sheet music click on the button below.
Perusal score coming soon
(October 2025)
Recording coming soon
4. O Traurigkeit, o Herzeleid! (SATB)
This work is published as a licenced digital pdf
To order the sheet music click on the button below.
Perusal score coming soon
(October 2025)
Recording coming soon
5. Erschienen ist der herrlich’ Tag (SATB)
This work is published as a licenced digital pdf
To order the sheet music click on the button below.
Perusal score coming soon
(October 2025)
Recording coming soon
Ethel Mary Smyth (1858–1944)
Ethel Mary Smyth was born in Marylebone, London and brought up at the family house, Frimhurst, at Frimley in Surrey. Despite her father’s vehement opposition to her pursuing a career as a composer, in 1877 Smyth was allowed to further her musical education at the Leipzig Conservatoire. During her time in Leipzig, Smyth met Antonin Dvořák, Edvard Grieg and most notably Pyotr Tchaikovsky, who encouraged her to study orchestration. She left the conservatoire after a year to study privately with Heinrich von Herzogenberg who introduced her to Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms.
When Smyth returned to England, her orchestral and choral music were very favourably received. In 1890, her Serenade in D was premièred in Crystal Palace and in 1893 her Mass in D was performed at the Royal Albert Hall by the Royal Choral Society. Smyth is best known for her operas, of which there are six. The Wreckers and The Boatswain’s Mate met with particular acclaim at their debuts, whilst in 1903 Der Wald was the first opera written by a woman to be performed at New York’s Metropolitan Opera.
An ardent supporter of women’s rights, Smyth was devoted to the cause of female suffrage. Laggard Dawn and The March of the Women were premièred by a chorus of Suffragettes at a fundraising rally at the Royal Albert Hall in 1911. In 1921, she was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment in Holloway prison alongside Emmeline Pankhurst for smashing the windows of suffrage opponents’ homes across London. It was during her time in Holloway that the most famous performance of The March of the Women took place: while the prisoners were taking their outdoor exercise in the prison yard, Smyth conducted their singing with her toothbrush from a nearby window. She conducted The March of Women once more in 1930, this time at an unveiling of a statue of Emmeline Pankhurst in the Victoria Tower Gardens. Ethel Smyth was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1922 for her services to music.
©MoV 2020 - [Longer, more detailed biography coming soon Sept 2025]