Morfydd Owen (1891-1918)
Songs and Piano Works
Gail Pearson (soprano), Christopher Williams (piano)
rec. 2026, Acapella Studios, Cardiff, UK
Oriana Publications [75]

I’m rather ashamed to admit that until quite recently I had never heard of the tragically short-lived composer Morfydd Owen. In 2025 I interviewed the conductor Adrian Partington in connection with his premiere recording of Missa Cambrensis by Grace Williams. Towards the end of our conversation, he mentioned that Morfydd Owen had been a hero figure to Grace Williams and was the inspiration to her aspiration to become a composer. He told me that Owen was the forebear of all British female composers, “the Welsh equivalent of Ethel Smyth”, though a very different sort of person. There have been a few recordings of music by Owen, including her Romance for Strings (1911) (review). I believe that a handful of individual songs have made it onto disc and there have been two other albums which shone a spotlight on her songs. One was recorded by Helen Field with Ingrid Surgenor, back in 1999; it included seven songs by Morfydd Owen and some by Dilys Elwyn Edwards (Sain SCD 2196); I don’t believe that’s available any longer.

More recently, Elin Manahan Thomas, accompanied by Brian Ellsbury, made a recording, released in 2020, for the Ty Cerdd label (review) That album, which I have not heard, includes eleven songs and several piano works, one of which is the Piano Sonata in E minor, a work of just over 22 minutes duration. Gail Pearson and Christopher Williams have included all the songs which are on the Ty Cerdd album but I think this duplication is not unreasonable because the songs in question are all published pieces. Much rarer, though, are the other seventeen songs on the present disc, none of which are published; my understanding is that Gail Pearson went to the trouble of obtaining all of those songs from Cardiff University’s Special Collections. In the track list at the foot of this review I’ve marked with an asterisk the songs which are here recorded for the first time. My view is that the larger number of songs in Gail Pearson’s recital and the greater amount of piano music on the Ty Cerdd disc mean that the two albums nicely complement each other. Incidentally, I believe the Ty Cerdd album may now be available only as a digital download.

I think some biographical information will be in order since Morfydd Owen may be an unknown figure to many readers. For what follows in this and the next paragraph I am particularly indebted to the booklet note by Dr Rhian Davies. Morfydd Owen was born in 1891 at Treforest, a village which now forms part of the town of Pontypridd. She was only six years old when she began to compose. She had what Dr Davies describes as “a brilliant undergraduate career” at the University of Wales (1907-12), becoming one of the first women to be awarded a B. Mus. Degree by the University. She progressed to the Royal Academy of Music (1912-17) where she won multiple prizes. I understand that her principal study was composition, with piano and singing as secondary subjects. Her composition teacher was Frederick Corder (1852-1932); according to Wikipedia, among Corder’s other composition pupils at various times were Bantock, Bax, York Bowen and Alan Bush.  I was particularly interested to learn that Owen transcribed (from phonograph recordings) and arranged a number of folk songs. Rhian Davies says that this work led to the award of a Fellowship from the Academy “to consider how traditional music might influence the development of composition in Wales as it had in Russia and Scandinavia”.

Sadly, a planned study trip to St Petersburg was abandoned on account of the First World War. Instead, Morfydd Owen took singing lessons (she was a mezzo) and, apparently, gained excellent reviews when she made her professional recital debut as a singer at London’s Aeolian Hall in January 1917. All this rich early promise was cut short, however. Just a month after that London recital, Morfydd Owen married Ernest Jones, a Freudian psychoanalyst, after a whirlwind courtship of just six weeks. I suspect that such a brief courtship did not give her sufficient time to get to know properly her husband-to-be; would she have married him, I wonder, had she realised that, as Dr Davies tells us, Jones would expect his wife “to act as a housekeeper and secretary rather than continue to perform in public”. I infer that Jones’s demands on his wife’s time also stifled Morfydd’s creative impulse, just when her music was beginning to gain recognition through performances. Tragically, Morfydd Owen died on 7 September 1918, following an operation for appendicitis; she would have celebrated her twenty-seventh birthday just three weeks later. What a waste of such talent!   

Here, Gail Pearson and Christopher Williams present twenty-eight of the songs plus four piano pieces. I’ve traced the composition dates of almost all the compositions from Wikipedia; I hope the dates are accurate. If they are, you’ll see that almost everything dates from the period 1912 – 1918; in other words, the music was composed mainly during Morfydd Owen’s time at the Royal Academy or just afterwards. One might, therefore, describe them as student works but I think that would be unfair; what we hear on this disc is the work of someone who was already a most accomplished musician.

Most of the songs recorded here are settings of English words but there are a few exceptions. Gail Pearson opens with a pair of songs in Welsh. Gweddi Y Pechadur (A sinner’s prayer), sets a poem by Thomas Williams. I’ve been able to access the words and an English translation; Thomas’s poem is a sincere plea for forgiveness from a penitent soul. Morfydd Owen’s initial melodic line is lovely; the setting gradually increases in intensity and the result is heartfelt. The song has a haunting quality and Gail Pearson sings it most expressively. This is an impressive opening to the programme. Owen composed Gweddi Y Pechadur in 1911; I wasn’t surprised to discover that Suo-Gân (Lullaby) (1913) was a later piece. Though it’s a lullaby, it seems to me that the song is much more exploratory in terms of its melodic line and the harmonic language as compared with Gweddi Y Pechadur; in fact, it’s arguably one of the most musically searching songs on the disc. I found Owen’s musical response very interesting. The sentiments of Robert Bryant’s poem, in which a mother addresses her child, are pretty cosy, to be honest. However, the music is certainly not cosy or, indeed, conventionally soothing; on the contrary, the music voices quite intense feelings.

Much later in the programme come two songs in French. Both set texts by Alfred de Musset (1810-1857); how did Owen come across his writings, I wonder?  La Tristesse impressed me and, as I listened, I jotted down in my notes that what I was hearing was rather more than “just” a Welsh composer setting some French poetry. Owen’s melodic line suits the language very well indeed and it seems to me that this melancholic, intense setting is very idiomatically French. Chanson de Fortunio which follows is very different in character. Here, the music is light on its feet, not least because Pearson and Williams give it such a spirited performance. Again, this strikes me as a successful setting of a French text.

The remainder of the programme, from which I’ll cherry-pick a number of items, consists of songs in English. Jumping right to the end of the programme, we find three children’s songs (though written for an adult performer) which are settings of poems by Mrs J J Cadwaladr, who wrote under the pseudonym Eos Gwalia (The Nightingale of Wales). The words that Owen chose to set may well strike us nowadays aa naïf and even somewhat twee, but they show a lighter side to Owen’s art and the songs are charming. The one that particularly caught my ear was The Fairies’ Wedding. Here, Gail Pearson enters right into the spirit of things, trilling acrobatically and delightfully. Her performance is really engaging, as is that of Christopher Williams. The clever accompaniment is wittily derived from Mendelssohn’s famous Wedding March. The Land of Hush-a bye is, as its title might suggest, rather sentimental but the performance brings out the touching nature of the music.

Much earlier in the programme, and in a more serious vein, is Foredoomed. This is a mysterious song; Owen’s music is not at all conventional. Listening to this song, I formed the impression that she was both willing and able to push her musical boundaries in response to a text. It’s a most interesting setting. Gail Pearson and Christopher Williams also include a group of three settings of poetry by William Blake. Infant Joy is brief; the music conveys the ecstasy in the poem. Spring is equally short and joyful. In between comes a setting of that very familiar poem The Lamb. I liked Owen’s appealing and committed response to this poem. The programme also includes a song, A Mother’s Lullaby, in which Morfydd Owen sets a text she had written herself; is this the sole such example in her output of songs? It is a touching song; the music has a gentle lilt and the words are borne along on a flowing melodic line.  Goldfish is one of three songs to words by Ethel Newman. It’s short, lasting only just over a minute; this is another example of Owen’s ability to write fun music; here, the singing and playing more than suggest a twinkle in the eye. In complete contrast, To Our Lady of Sorrows is a big, serious song. The piano part is very interesting and underpins an eloquent, intense vocal line. This, I think, is another example of Owen pushing her boundaries. It’s one of the finest songs in this collection and it’s very well performed.

Gail Pearson offers the set of four songs which, though composed at various times, have been grouped together as Four Flower Songs. ‘God Made a Lovely Garden’ is, as the title may well suggest, somewhat sentimental, but it’s still pleasing. I liked ‘To Violets’ and ‘Daisy’s Song’ but the one which made the strongest impression on me was ‘Speedwell’. This song invites – and here receives – expressive singing.

There are twenty-eight songs on the programme, including no fewer than sixteen first recordings; all of the previously unrecorded songs are also unpublished, I believe. Interspersed among the songs is a selection of Morfydd Owen’s solo piano pieces. All of these have been recorded previously, though their inclusion here is no less welcome. Most of the pieces were on the Ty Cerdd disc by Elin Manahan Thomas and Brian Ellsbury, which I’ve already referenced. The collection entitled Four Welsh Impressions was recorded by Zoë Smith (Ty Cerdd TCR025). I learned from an essay by Rhian Davies (to which I’ll provide a link later) that the Impressions are “piano miniatures that evoke favourite Welsh landscapes and close friends: ‘Glantaf’, ‘Nant-y-Ffrith’, ‘Llanbryn-mair’ (sometimes called Waiting for Eirlys, a reference to Eirlys Lloyd Williams, an Academy contemporary) and ‘Beti Bwt’ (Morfydd’s nickname for her best friend Elizabeth Lloyd, with whom she shared a flat in Hampstead, 1914-16)”. All four of these pieces are short – they are contained on a single track, which plays for 7:30; musically, they are somewhat slender, but I enjoyed them. The most substantial of the piano pieces is the Rhapsody in C sharp minor. I think this is quite an impressive piece which contains a number of contrasting episodes. As I listened to some of the passages it crossed my mind to wonder how much of Rachmaninov’s piano music Morfydd Owen knew. The Piano Prelude in E minor is short (2:50) but it’s quite an ambitious composition. I found it very interesting. It was a good idea to include several piano works in and among the songs. 

It’s time to sum up my first serious encounter with the music of Morfydd Owen. She has been very well served by Gail Pearson and Christopher Williams. The project was clearly a labour of love for Ms Pearson who has, it seems, done a lot of research to unearth so many unpublished songs from the archives. That commitment is evident in all her performances. I liked her singing; the voice is well focussed. Furthermore, her tone is appealing and her diction is admirably clear. Morfydd Owen’s songs have been unjustly neglected and Gail Pearson is a fine advocate for them. So too is Christopher Williams. One or two of the songs have fairly uninteresting, largely chordal accompaniments but these are the exceptions. Most of the time the piano is an important protagonist in each composition and Williams provides excellent support for his soloist. He also plays the solo pieces with conviction and skill.

The performers have been successfully recorded by engineer Hywel Wigley. The acoustic is very obviously that of a recording studio but Ms Pearson’s voice is captured well by the microphone and there’s a good balance between voice and piano. One thing which disconcerted me slightly is that the gaps between the pieces is usually very slight. At first, I wondered if this had been caused by the editing process but as the recital progressed, I came to suspect that it was a deliberate device to replicate the effect of hearing songs performed as groups, as would happen in a live recital. I think that may well be the case because though the Four Welsh Impressions are contained on a single track there are very definite gaps between each of the pieces. 

I enjoyed the music very much. After I had finished all my listening and settled my views about the music and performances I came across an online essay, ‘An Incalculable Loss’: Morfydd Owen (1891-1918), written in 2018 by Rhian Davies. You can find it here and I recommend it if you want to learn more about this most interesting and tragically short-lived musician, Dr Davies expresses the view that “Morfydd’s songs are her most striking and original compositions… All are true singers’ songs, requiring technique, intellect and artistry to bring them off in performance”. She also comments that Owen “was certainly the pivotal figure in Welsh music at the turn of the twentieth century and one of the most versatile musicians that Wales has ever produced as a composer, singer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. By the time of her premature death, she had already produced a significant body of high-quality, meticulously-crafted work: some 250 surviving scores for the stage, orchestra, chorus, chamber and solo instruments, songs, hymns, folksong transcriptions and arrangements.”

I don’t yet know enough of her music but the description of Morfydd Owen as “the pivotal figure in Welsh music” certainly rings true when one considers that she inspired Grace Williams to become a composer. In recent years Grace Williams’ music has achieved wider recognition through broadcasts and recordings; surely it is time for Morfydd Owen’s output to emerge from the shadows so that it can be properly evaluated and appreciated. My main impressions from this disc are firstly that the music is enjoyable and rewarding to hear. Secondly, though, one has a distinct regret for what might have been. All the music performed here is very accomplished; no patronising allowances need be made for the relative youth of the composer. But given this degree of accomplishment and sensitivity, what more might Morfydd Owen have achieved had not her career and life been so tragically curtailed? I suspect she would have become a composer of no little stature.

There’s much more music by Morfydd Owen to discover. Rhian Davies tells us that there are no fewer than 250 surviving manuscripts. She specifically mentions two works for full orchestra, Nocturne and Morfa Rhuddlan (the former was played at the BBC Proms in 2018, I believe). In addition, I remember that during my aforementioned interview with Adrian Partington he referred admiringly to a work for string orchestra Threnody for the passing of Branwen, which he conducted (with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales) in 2017. He was equally positive about an unpublished and unperformed cantata, the score of which he has seen. The work is entitled Pro Patria. I understand that it is in English, but is a patriotic Welsh work, Rhian Davies also tells is that there are some orchestral works, choral, chamber and piano music, songs (in English, French and Welsh) and arrangements of Welsh and Russian folk songs. I’m eager to hear a piece entitled Beatific Sea, which I understand is to be included on a forthcoming CD by the Manchester Camerata conducted by John Andrews. The piece they have recorded is played by a string orchestra. However, when I read the Seen and Heard review of a concert performance that they gave I learned (from comments submitted by Rhian Davies) that what has been recorded is not the full story: it appears to be an extract from a more substantial work for solo mezzo (Morfydd Owen’s own voice) and full orchestra. Whilst I’ll be interested to hear the John Andrews recording, I should be even more pleased to hear the complete score from which the music has been extracted, 

For now, though, this excellent disc by Gail Pearson and Christopher Williams serves as a valuable introduction to the music of Morfydd Owen. It is worth saying that all the proceeds from sales of the disc are being donated to the charity Help Musicians. One feels that Morfydd Owen would be delighted that her music will be helping such a worthy cause

John Quinn

Contents
Gweddi Y Pechadur (1911) (words: Thomas Williams)
Suo-Gân (1913)* (Robert Bryant)
Slumber Song of the Madonna (1913) (Alfred Noyes)
To Our Lady of Sorrows (1912) (Wilfred Hinton)
Orbits (1911)* (Richard de Gallienne)
Foredoomed (1913)* (Philip Bourke)
The Nightingale (1911)* (Jean Ingelow)
Piano Prelude in E minor (1914)
Infant Joy (1912)* (William Blake)
The Lamb (1914) (William Blake)
Spring (1913) (William Blake)
Maida Vale (1912)
A Mother’s Lullaby (1914) (Morfydd Owen)
A Noontide Lullabye (1917)* (Ethel Newman)
Dear Home in The Hills* (1914?) (Ethel Newman)
Goldfish* (1914?) (Ethel Newman)
The Year’s at the Spring (1912)* (Robert Browning)
‘God Made a Lovely Garden’ Four Flower Songs: No. 4 (1914) (Mabel Spence)
‘Speedwell’ Four Flower Songs: No. 1 (1918) (Atwyth Eversley)
‘To Violets’ Four Flower Songs: No. 3 (1914) (Robert Herrick)
‘Daisy’s Song’ Four Flower Songs: No. 2 (1911) (John Keats)
La Tristesse (1914) (Alfred de Musset)
Chanson de Fortunio (1913)* (Alfred de Musset)
Rhapsody in C sharp minor (1914)
If I Had But Two Little Wings (1913)* (Samuel Coleridge Taylor)
Mister Rain (1916)* (Richard Aldington)
April (1914)* (William Watson)
Sunshine Town (1918)* (P J O’Reilly)
Four Welsh Impressions (1914/15) 
The Land of Hush-a bye (1916) (‘Eos Gwalia’ (J J Cadwaladr))
(January 1916)* (‘Eos Gwalia’ (J J Cadwaladr))
The In Cradle Land Fairies’ Wedding (1913)* (‘Eos Gwalia’ (J J Cadwaladr))
* First recordings