The Heart of the Wood (1924)
by Adela Maddison (1862-1929)
Indictus Project
www.Indictus.org
Annie Rosen, mezzo-soprano
Eunmi Ko, piano
In this colorful and inventive song, English composer Adela Maddison reveals her French influences, yet also offers a window into her own passionate and curious nature.
Maddison lead an exciting, rather scandalous and complicated life. After settling down and having a family, she found herself as a composer. She championed the music of Gabriel Fauré, studied with him, became his lover, and left her family behind to follow him. He cherished her as well, and found her musical talent and compositions inspired. She almost certainly had physical relationships with women as well, and later on in her life she returned to England to care for her husband when he fell ill.
Image: A Blossom Way, by Frances Gearhart