Clive Carey
Encyclopedia
Francis Clive Savill Carey CBE (30 May 188330 April 1968), known as Clive Carey, was a British baritone
, singing teacher, composer
, opera
producer and folk song
collector
.
, Essex
in 1883. He went to Sherborne School
, and was a chorister in the Choir of King's College, Cambridge
, before becoming an Organ Scholar at Clare College
in 1901. He then entered the Royal College of Music
(RCM) under the auspices of the Grove Scholarship in Composition, studying under Sir Charles Villiers Stanford
(composition) and James H. Ley (singing). He had further study with Jean de Reszke
in Paris and Nice.
He made his London debut in a song recital in 1907, making an immediate impression. On 11 December 1907 he played Papageno in Mozart
's The Magic Flute
at Cambridge, in a performance he himself produced, in which the English translation by Edward J. Dent
was used for the first time. He then sang in a considerable number of other operas.
In 1911 Carey started collecting English folk song
s in Sussex
with Dorothy Marshall, and later in Oxfordshire
and Gloucestershire
. World War I
interrupted most of Carey's musical activities; he was a ward orderly in the Medical Corps in France, among other duties , although he did publish Ten English Folk Songs in 1915. Also in 1915, he began setting The Starlight Express
, but Sir Edward Elgar
was given the commission. After the war, he took part in Rutland Boughton
's performances at Glastonbury
. For the Old Vic Theatre
, where he was based from 1920 to 1924, he produced and sang in The Marriage of Figaro
and The Magic Flute (1920), and Don Giovanni
(1921). He also toured at home and in Europe in the vocal sextet called "The English Singers".
Clive Carey became a teacher of singing at the RCM. His pupils there over a number of decades until his death in 1968 included: Edith Coates
, Rita Hunter
, Arnold Matters
, Elsie Morison
, Margaret Nisbett
, John Noble
, Alberto Remedios
, Betty Roe
, Eric Shilling
, Joan Sutherland
and David Ward.
In 1924 he was appointed Director of Singing at the Elder Conservatorium
at the University of Adelaide
in South Australia
, and also appeared there in straight acting roles with a repertory company. He also collected Australian folk songs while he was there. He contributed an article on English folk songs to an Australian Theosophist magazine. He sang in some of Dame Nellie Melba
's farewell concerts in 1927. He toured India and the United States on his return journey in 1927-28, singing MacHeath in The Beggar's Opera
, and also appearing with a troupe of morris dancers
. He then returned to the RCM, where he lectured and gave English folk song recitals. He married Doris Mabel Johnston in 1929. From 1932 he confined himself mainly to teaching and operatic production, but he also sang occasionally at Sadler's Wells, and in 1936 he appeared at Covent Garden
as Master of the Chorus in Oedipus Rex
. He was a member of the Sadler's Wells Management Committee after the death of Lilian Baylis
in 1937.
In 1939, at the outbreak of World War II
, Carey happened to again be in Australia with his wife, and they remained there for the duration of the war; he taught in Melbourne
and gave song recitals. In 1945, back in London, he was appointed Director of Opera at Sadler's Wells.
In the New Year’s Honours of 1955, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
(CBE).
Clive Carey was active in restoring the original intentions of the composers who interested him, by removing accumulated traditions in the performances of certain of their operas. This gave the performances he was involved in a freshness and vitality that had often been long lost.
His compositions included a number of songs and incidental music
. His incidental music to The Blue Lagoon and The Wonderful Visit were both heard in London. His song Rondel was sung by Elsie Suddaby
at the 1930 Proms
. Melmillo was performed at the 1932 Proms by Steuart Wilson
. Other songs include The Spring, Love on my Heart from Heaven fell, Alma Mater, The Liverpool Girls, I have loved Flowers that fade, In the Highlands, Villanelle, Triolet, Jenny kiss'd me, April Children and Three Songs of Faery.
Clive Carey had personal associations and correspondences with E. M. Forster
, Rupert Brooke
, Edward J. Dent
, M. R. James
, William Denis Browne
Ernest Farrar
, Percy Lubbock
and other notable people. There is a large collection of his papers and letters in the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library
.
He died in London on 30 April 1968, aged 84. He and his wife, who also died in 1968, are buried at the Holy Trinity Parish Church, Claygate
, Surrey
. His obituary appeared in Vol. I, No. 4 of the Folk Music Journal, 1968.
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
, singing teacher, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
producer and folk song
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
collector
Collecting
The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector. Some collectors are generalists, accumulating merchandise, or stamps from all countries of the world...
.
Biography
Clive Carey was born at Sible HedinghamSible Hedingham
Sible Hedingham is a large village and civil parish in the Colne Valley in Braintree District of Essex, in England. It has a population of 3,665....
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
in 1883. He went to Sherborne School
Sherborne School
Sherborne School is a British independent school for boys, located in the town of Sherborne in north-west Dorset, England. It is one of the original member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference....
, and was a chorister in the Choir of King's College, Cambridge
Choir of King's College, Cambridge
The Choir of King's College, Cambridge is one of today's most accomplished and renowned representatives of the great British choral tradition. It was created by King Henry VI, who founded King's College, Cambridge in 1441, to provide daily singing in his Chapel, which remains the main task of the...
, before becoming an Organ Scholar at Clare College
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1326, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its gardens on "the Backs"...
in 1901. He then entered the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
(RCM) under the auspices of the Grove Scholarship in Composition, studying under Sir Charles Villiers Stanford
Charles Villiers Stanford
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford was an Irish composer who was particularly notable for his choral music. He was professor at the Royal College of Music and University of Cambridge.- Life :...
(composition) and James H. Ley (singing). He had further study with Jean de Reszke
Jean de Reszke
Jean de Reszke, born Jan Mieczyslaw, , was a Polish tenor. Renowned internationally for the high quality of his singing and the elegance of his bearing, he became the biggest male opera star of the late 19th century....
in Paris and Nice.
He made his London debut in a song recital in 1907, making an immediate impression. On 11 December 1907 he played Papageno in Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
at Cambridge, in a performance he himself produced, in which the English translation by Edward J. Dent
Edward Joseph Dent
Edward Joseph Dent, generally known by his initials as E. J. Dent was a British writer on music....
was used for the first time. He then sang in a considerable number of other operas.
In 1911 Carey started collecting English folk song
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
s in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
with Dorothy Marshall, and later in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
and Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
. World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
interrupted most of Carey's musical activities; he was a ward orderly in the Medical Corps in France, among other duties , although he did publish Ten English Folk Songs in 1915. Also in 1915, he began setting The Starlight Express
The Starlight Express
"The Starlight Express" is a children's play by Violet Pearn, based on the imaginative novel "A Prisoner in Fairyland" by Algernon Blackwood, with songs and incidental music written by the English composer Sir Edward Elgar in 1915.- Production :...
, but Sir Edward Elgar
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
was given the commission. After the war, he took part in Rutland Boughton
Rutland Boughton
Rutland Boughton was an English composer who became well known in the early 20th century as a composer of opera and choral music....
's performances at Glastonbury
Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
. For the Old Vic Theatre
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
, where he was based from 1920 to 1924, he produced and sang in The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
and The Magic Flute (1920), and Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
(1921). He also toured at home and in Europe in the vocal sextet called "The English Singers".
Clive Carey became a teacher of singing at the RCM. His pupils there over a number of decades until his death in 1968 included: Edith Coates
Edith Coates
Edith Coates OBE was an English operatic mezzo-soprano. A highly gifted actress with a striking stage presence, Coates initially found success in larger dramatic roles before transitioning into portraying mainly character parts in the 1950s. She began her career with Lilian Baylis's opera company...
, Rita Hunter
Rita Hunter
Rita Hunter CBE was a British operatic dramatic soprano.Rita Hunter was born in Wallasey, Merseyside. She studied singing in Liverpool with Edwin Francis and later in London with Redvers Llewellyn and Clive Carey...
, Arnold Matters
Arnold Matters
Arnold Matters was an Australian operatic baritone whose career was made mostly in England during the 1930s and 1940s...
, Elsie Morison
Elsie Morison
Elsie Jean Morison is an Australian soprano.Morison was born in Ballarat, Victoria, and studied at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music from 1943-45...
, Margaret Nisbett
Margaret Nisbett
Margaret Nisbett, MBE, is an Australian coloratura soprano.-Biography:Margaret Nisbett was born in Preston, Victoria. She had an older sister, Coral , now deceased....
, John Noble
John Noble (baritone)
John Noble was an English baritone. He was Ralph Vaughan Williams's favourite in the title role of the composer's opera The Pilgrim's Progress....
, Alberto Remedios
Alberto Remedios
Alberto Remedios is a British former operatic tenor, especially noted for his interpretations of Wagner's heldentenor roles....
, Betty Roe
Betty Roe
Betty Roe is an English composer, singer, vocal coach, and conductor.-Biography:Betty Roe was born in North Kensington, London, England. Her father was a fishmonger at the Shepherd's Bush Market, and her mother was a bookkeeper...
, Eric Shilling
Eric Shilling
Eric Shilling was an English opera singer and producer, long associated with English National Opera. He was married to the soprano Erica Johns, and their son is George Shilling.-Life and career:...
, Joan Sutherland
Joan Sutherland
Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s....
and David Ward.
In 1924 he was appointed Director of Singing at the Elder Conservatorium
Elder Conservatorium
The Elder Conservatorium of Music is Australia's senior academy of music and one of the country's most distinguished institutions for comprehensive education, professional training, and research in music...
at the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, and also appeared there in straight acting roles with a repertory company. He also collected Australian folk songs while he was there. He contributed an article on English folk songs to an Australian Theosophist magazine. He sang in some of Dame Nellie Melba
Nellie Melba
Dame Nellie Melba GBE , born Helen "Nellie" Porter Mitchell, was an Australian operatic soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian Era and the early 20th century...
's farewell concerts in 1927. He toured India and the United States on his return journey in 1927-28, singing MacHeath in The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satirical ballad opera to remain popular today...
, and also appearing with a troupe of morris dancers
Morris dance
Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, handkerchiefs and bells may also be wielded by the dancers...
. He then returned to the RCM, where he lectured and gave English folk song recitals. He married Doris Mabel Johnston in 1929. From 1932 he confined himself mainly to teaching and operatic production, but he also sang occasionally at Sadler's Wells, and in 1936 he appeared at Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
as Master of the Chorus in Oedipus Rex
Oedipus the King
Oedipus the King , also known by the Latin title Oedipus Rex, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed c. 429 BCE. It was the second of Sophocles's three Theban plays to be produced, but it comes first in the internal chronology, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone...
. He was a member of the Sadler's Wells Management Committee after the death of Lilian Baylis
Lilian Baylis
Lilian Mary BaylisCH was an English theatrical producer and manager. She managed the Old Vic and Sadler's Wells theatres in London, and ran an opera company, which became the English National Opera , a theatre company, which evolved into the English National Theatre, and a ballet company, which...
in 1937.
In 1939, at the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Carey happened to again be in Australia with his wife, and they remained there for the duration of the war; he taught in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and gave song recitals. In 1945, back in London, he was appointed Director of Opera at Sadler's Wells.
In the New Year’s Honours of 1955, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(CBE).
Clive Carey was active in restoring the original intentions of the composers who interested him, by removing accumulated traditions in the performances of certain of their operas. This gave the performances he was involved in a freshness and vitality that had often been long lost.
His compositions included a number of songs and incidental music
Incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
. His incidental music to The Blue Lagoon and The Wonderful Visit were both heard in London. His song Rondel was sung by Elsie Suddaby
Elsie Suddaby
Elsie Suddaby was a leading British lyric soprano of the years between World War I and World War II. She was born in Leeds.A pupil of Sir Edward Bairstow, she was known as ‘The Lass With The Delicate Air’ .She was principal soprano in the bicentennial St Matthew Passion Elsie Suddaby (1893 -...
at the 1930 Proms
The Proms
The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
. Melmillo was performed at the 1932 Proms by Steuart Wilson
Steuart Wilson
Sir James Steuart Wilson was an English singer, known for tenor roles in oratorios and concerts in the first half of the 20th century....
. Other songs include The Spring, Love on my Heart from Heaven fell, Alma Mater, The Liverpool Girls, I have loved Flowers that fade, In the Highlands, Villanelle, Triolet, Jenny kiss'd me, April Children and Three Songs of Faery.
Clive Carey had personal associations and correspondences with E. M. Forster
E. M. Forster
Edward Morgan Forster OM, CH was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society...
, Rupert Brooke
Rupert Brooke
Rupert Chawner Brooke was an English poet known for his idealistic war sonnets written during the First World War, especially The Soldier...
, Edward J. Dent
Edward Joseph Dent
Edward Joseph Dent, generally known by his initials as E. J. Dent was a British writer on music....
, M. R. James
M. R. James
Montague Rhodes James, OM, MA, , who used the publication name M. R. James, was an English mediaeval scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge and of Eton College . He is best remembered for his ghost stories, which are regarded as among the best in the genre...
, William Denis Browne
William Denis Browne
William Charles Denis Browne , primarily known as Billy to family and as Denis to his friends, was a British composer, pianist, organist and music critic of the early 20th century. He and his close friend, poet Rupert Brooke, were commissioned into the Royal Naval Division together shortly after...
Ernest Farrar
Ernest Farrar
Ernest Bristow Farrar was an English composer, pianist and organist-Life:Ernest Farrar was born in Lewisham, London. The son of a clergyman, he was educated at Leeds Grammar School, where he began organ studies and in May 1905 won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music...
, Percy Lubbock
Percy Lubbock
Percy Lubbock, CBE was an English man of letters, known as an essayist, critic and biographer.-Life:Percy Lubbock was the son of the merchant banker Frederic Lubbock and his wife Catherine, daughter of John Gurney of Earlham Hall, Norfolk...
and other notable people. There is a large collection of his papers and letters in the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library
Vaughan Williams Memorial Library
The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library is the library and archive of the English Folk Dance and Song Society , located in the society's London headquarters, Cecil Sharp House...
.
He died in London on 30 April 1968, aged 84. He and his wife, who also died in 1968, are buried at the Holy Trinity Parish Church, Claygate
Claygate
Claygate is a village in the English county of Surrey, approximately south west of London and within the Metropolitan Green Belt.It is primarily a residential area but with offices, farms and two shopping areas with a supermarket, five pubs and numerous restaurants...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. His obituary appeared in Vol. I, No. 4 of the Folk Music Journal, 1968.