Doreen Carwithen (1922-2003)

Marking the centenary of her birth, Donald Macleod delves in to
the little known world of 20th century British composer Doreen
Carwithen.


Doreen Carwithen is one of only a handful of female British
composers who worked in the film industry in the 1940s and 1950s.
Dramas, mysteries, horror flicks, documentaries, the thirty plus
films she scored form a substantial part of her musical legacy.


An award winning student, Carwithen first came to critical
attention in the concert hall, with the catchily titled ODTAA,
One damn thing after another, in 1947. Predictably, newspaper
headlines made much of her gender and her youth. She was just 24.
It seemed as if a bright future lay ahead, yet, at the beginning
of the 1960s Carwithen would stop writing music, a situation
which perhaps in part explains why her music dropped off the
radar for many years. One hundred years since her birth, Donald
Macleod brings to light the little-known yet fascinating story of
this 20th century British composer.


This week Donald Macleod is joined in conversation by Leah Broad,
whose new biography of Carwithen is due out next year. They chart
Carwithen’s career from the age of five, when she began piano and
violin under the guidance of her musical mother, to the moment
when she ceased to compose.


Music Featured:


Men of Sherwood Forest (excerpt), arr Philip Lane Serenade for
tenor and piano String Quartet No 1 Concerto for piano and
strings Piano sonatina Violin sonata Bishop Rock String Quartet
No 1 (2nd mvt) Four Piano Preludes Suffolk suite (1st mvt) Cello
sonatina String Quartet No 2 Mantrap Suites, arr Philip Lane
Three Cases of Murder, arr Philip Lane East Anglian Holiday, arr
Philip Lane Boys in Brown Suite, arr Philip Lane


Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Johannah Smith