Amanda Christina Elizabeth Aldridge, also known as Amanda Ira Aldridge (10 March 1866 – 9 March 1956), was a British opera singer and teacher who composed love songs,
suites,
sambas, and
light orchestral pieces under the
pseudonym of Montague Ring.
After completing her studies, Aldridge worked as a concert singer, piano accompanist, and voice teacher. A throat condition ended her concert appearances, and she turned to teaching and published about thirty songs between the years 1907 and 1925 in a romantic
parlour style, as well as instrumental music in other styles. Among her pupils were the children of London's politically-active
Black middle-classes, including
Amy Barbour-James, daughter of
John Barbour-James, Frank Alcindor son of
Dr. John Alcindor, and composer
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's sister Alice Evans.[2] Her notable students included African-American performers
Roland Hayes,
Lawrence Benjamin Brown,
Marian Anderson and
Paul Robeson, and Bermudian-British actor
Earl Cameron.[3][4][5][6] In 1930, when Robeson performed as
Othello in the
West End, Aldridge was in attendance, and gave Robeson the gold earrings that her father
Ira Aldridge had worn as Othello.[7] Aldridge also took the singer
Ida Shepley under her wing and converted her from a singer to a stage actor.[4] In 1951, African-American weekly magazine
Jet reported that she was still giving piano and voice lessons aged 86.[8]
Amanda cared for her sister, the opera singer Luranah Aldridge (1860 – 1932), when she became ill, declining an invitation in 1921 from
W. E. B. Du Bois to attend the
second Pan-African Congress, with a note explaining: "As you know, my sister is very helpless. … I cannot leave for more than a few minutes at a time."[7]
At the age of 88, Aldridge made her first television appearance in the British show Music For You, where
Muriel Smith sang Montague Ring's "Little Southern Love Song". After a short illness, she died in London on 9 March 1956, a day before her 90th birthday.[9]
In the Autumn 2020 edition of The Historian,
Stephen Bourne assessed the composer's life and career in an illustrated feature "At home with Amanda Ira Aldridge".[10] Bourne had previously written Aldridge's article for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.[11] In 2022, Google honoured Aldridge's memory with a
Doodle.[12]
Style
Aldridge ended her singing career to compose and teach music after
laryngitis damaged her throat. She mainly composed Romantic
parlour music, a type of popular music performed primarily in parlours of the middle-class homes, frequently by amateur singers and pianists.[9] Her music was published under the pseudonym Montague Ring. Under this name, she gained recognition for her many voice and piano compositions, including love songs, suites, sambas and light orchestral pieces, in a popular style that was infused with multiple genres.[13]
Works
Selected works include:
"An Assyrian Love Song," words by F. G. Bowles. London: Elkin & Co., 1921.
"Azalea," words and music by M. Ring. London: Ascherberg, Hopwood & Crew, 1907.
"Blue Days of June," words by F. E. Weatherly. London:
Chappell & Co., 1915.
"The Bride," words by P. J. O'Reilly. London: Chappell & Co., 1910.
"The Fickle Songster," words by H. Simpson. London: Cary & Co., 1908.
"Little Brown Messenger," words by F. G. Bowles. London:
G. Ricordi & Co., 1912.
"Little Missie Cakewalk," words by Talbot Owen; banjo accompaniment by Clifford Essex. London: Lublin & Co., 1908.
"Little Rose in My Hair," words by E. Price-Evans. London: Chappell & Co., 1917.
"Two Little Southern Songs. 1. Kentucky Love song 2. June in Kentucky," words by F. G. Bowles. London: Chappell & Co., 1912.
"Love's Golden Day," words by E. Price-Evans. London: Chappell & Co., 1917.
"Miss Magnolia Brown," words and music by M. Ring. London:
Francis, Day & Hunter, 1907.
"My Dreamy, Creamy, Coloured Girl," words and music by M. Ring. London: Ascherberg, Hopwood & Crew, 1907.
"My Little Corncrake Coon," words by Talbot Owen. London: Lublin & Co., 1908.
"Simple Wisdom," words by H. Simpson. London: Lublin & Co., 1908.
"A Song of Spring," words by P. J. O'Reilly. London and New York:
Boosey & Co., 1909.
"Summah is de Lovin' Time. A Summer Night," words by
P. L. Dunbar. London: Chappell & Co., 1925.
"A Summer Love Song," words by I. R. A. London and New York: Boosey & Co., 1907.
^"Celebrating Amanda Aldridge". www.google.com. Archived from the original on 17 June 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link)