Mary Elizabeth Caldwell

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Mary Elizabeth Caldwell (born August 1, 1909 in Tacoma , Washington , † November 15, 2003 ) was an American composer and organist.

Life

Caldwell studied at the University of California, Berkeley , then at the Munich Conservatory and the Juilliard School of Music . She then worked as an organist for more than fifty years. She composed numerous choral cantatas in which she a. a. recorded popular Christmas music and which has been part of the repertoire of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir since the 1950s .

Since the 1960s, Caldwell also turned to larger shapes. She composed a liturgical drama and wrote three operas for children for the Pasadena Junior League . One of the operas, A Gift of Song , which took up the story of the composition of the song Silent Night, Holy Night by Franz Gruber , was successfully performed worldwide.

Works

  • The Road to Bethlehem , cantata
  • What the Star Saw , cantata
  • Let Us Follow Him , cantata
  • Of Time and Eternity , Easter cantata
  • The Freedom Song , patriotic cantata
  • A Gift of Song , opera
  • Pepito's Golden Flower , opera
  • The Night of the Star , opera
  • In the Fullness of Time , liturgical drama
  • various compositions or arrangements of sacred songs for choir, solo voice or organ (see web links)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Holly Ann Schwartz: Operas by women in twentieth century America. 2008, p. 125, online (accessed November 24, 2011)
  2. ↑ Information on social security number 117-22-0566

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Caldwell, Mary Elizabeth
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American composer and organist
DATE OF BIRTH August 1, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH Tacoma , Washington
DATE OF DEATH November 15, 2003