Elizabeth Maconchy

Synopsis

Introduces Elizabeth Maconchy’s music, explaining how she approaches the task of composition and how her ideas are formulated. Leading musicians and the orchestra of Wells Cathedral School play excerpts from her music. These include ‘Five Sketches for Solo Viola’, ‘1st and ‘12th String Quartets’ and ‘Music for Strings’. The two choral works featured are ‘Pied Beauty’ and ‘My Dark Heart’. Looks at the question of female musicians and how Elizabeth Maconchy herself has combined the life of composer with marriage and a family. When she left the Royal College of Music, the lack of openings for young composers and the prejudice against women inspired her along with fellow female musicians to set up the MacNaughtey Music Group.

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Video; Videocassette. VHS. col. 48 min.

Year of production

1985

Availability

Sale

Uses

Students of British 20th-century music; those with an interest in female artists in general.*

Subjects

Music; Women’s studies

Keywords

biographies; composers (music); Maconchy, Elizabeth; music - British

Credits

Director

Margaret Williams

Producer

Fiz Oliver

Production Company

Name

Arbor International

Sponsor

Name

Arts Council of Great Britain

Phone

020 7973 6455

Fax

020 7973 6581

Address

London
SW1P 3NG

Distributor

Name

Arts on Film Archive, University of Westminster

Notes

Arts on Film Archive offers on-line access to a large range of films on art produced in the United Kingdom since the 1950s, and is a unique record of British and international post-war art, as well as of documentary film-making in the UK. In its first phase, the archive offers a complete database and an on-line video streaming of all 450 films made by the film department of Arts Council England between 1953 and 1998 and several films produced till 2003 by the dance Department of ACE. The collection is only available streamed to ac.uk domain addresses.