Spectral Muses Revisited: The Channeled Melodies of Rosemary Brown

Rosemary Brown (1916-2001) was a middle-aged South London widow, making ends meet as a grade school kitchen assistant, who rocketed to international fame in 1968 through a BBC broadcast recounting her purported collaborations with long-dead composers. These included Liszt, J.S. Bach, Handel, Beethoven, Schubert (who of course no longer needs spectacles), Monteverdi, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Brahms, Robert and Clara Schumann, Mozart, Grieg, and Poulenc. And after he died in 1971, Igor Stravinsky joined them.

Though Ms Brown's musical education had consisted of no more than two years of piano lessons and a couple of halfhearted trips to the opera, she went on to turn out over a thousand pieces worthy, in the estimations of a number of musicologists, of many of these legendary giants. Concert pianist Hepzibah Menuhin (Yehudi's sister), observed, "There is no question but that she is a very sincere woman. The music is absolutely in the style of these composers." Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, who studied under Sir Lennox Berkeley and Pierre Boulez and scored the film Murder on the Orient Express, said, "A lot of people can improvise, but you couldn't fake music like this without years of training."

In 1969 the BBC arranged to observe Ms Brown in the act firsthand. They sat her down on a piano bench and waited for Franz Liszt. In due course he appeared, to her anyway, and dictated a piece he called Grubelei that, like much of this material, was far beyond her technical competence to perform. Composer and Lizst specialist Humphrey Searle scrutinized Grubelei and found it to be remarkably characteristic of Lizst's last few years. "It is highly chromatic," he later recalled, "and one hand is written in 5/4 time against 3/2 in the other. The latter is not a thing that Liszt ever did as far as I know, but it is the sort of thing he might have done."

I'm no expert here but from what I've heard of Rosemary Brown's music it certainly sounds convincing. At the very least we have a stupendous volume of splendid musical parodies in front of us, and it remains to be explained how someone of such prosaic means could have produced them non-supernaturally. I am rather surprised that Ms Brown reported no contact with Sir Edward Elgar, her country's most cherished composer, whose unparalleled orchestrations would have been supremely difficult to mimic. Or, similarly, Ralph Vaughn Williams or Sir Charles H.H. Parry or Fritz Delius (who once snarled, "Grieg had more music in his little finger than Stravinsky has in his whole body."). In any case, you the living can contact Romana-Hamburg and judge for yourself. They offer the documentary Music from Beyond on DVD and a corresponding CD compilation of 40 of Brown's piano pieces, 38 of them performed by Gerhard Helzel.

The preceding article comes from the "Curious Thing of the Week" section of my website. http://www.curiousnotions.com

---

Bono: From Music To Fashion To Helping The Poor

U2s lead singer Bono isn't content with being part of... Read More

What is Piano GHD Syndrome?

Do you remember the movie, Groundhog Day? In this wonderful... Read More

Songwriting - The Art of Writing a Good Song

Did you know that good songwriting is often the key... Read More

How to Improvise Using a Few Chords

When a painter is getting ready to paint, a color... Read More

Memorizing Music - How Is It Best Achieved?

When memorizing music there are several things you can do... Read More

Composing for Dummies

When most people hear the word composer, they automatically think... Read More

All About Eminem

Marshall Mathers, was born October 17, 72, and could be... Read More

Just 3 Chords? No Way!

A student wrote me an email about the lesson "Ocean... Read More

5 Ways to Enjoy Your Music Files

OK, say you've got one thousand of your favorite MP3... Read More

Win Friends & Influence People Through Music -- Is It Possible?

The idea that studying music improves the social development of... Read More

The Music Industry and Its Lack of Talent

So it has come to this... what we see overrides... Read More

Canadian Stars: The Marble Index and the Waking Eyes

Canadian Indie bands are dominating the music scene and it... Read More

How to Create a Multi-artistic Piece - Part II

In the last article, the creation of a theme, its... Read More

Zen and the Art of New Age Piano

We all want to be in the moment. That's where... Read More

Why You Cant Play Piano

It's really not your fault. You see, you've been taught... Read More

Say Something

The music of Rush influences and inspires, at least that's... Read More

The Gong - An Instrument Everyone Can Play

What exactly is a Gong?The gong is a musical instrument... Read More

How Piano Lessons Benefit Young Children

Piano lessons provide a wide range of benefits to young... Read More

Everything I Play Sounds the Same

Many students want to create music that has a certain... Read More

Five Great Practice Ideas I Learned From My Piano Students!

Sometimes the teacher learns more from the student than the... Read More

Play Too Loud And Well Cut The Power!

"Turn it down!"How often have you heard that command in... Read More

The Art of Music

Music is the art of arranging sounds in periodic time... Read More

Making Music As A Lefty

Author Interview with Ryan Thomson, seacoast New Hampshire resident, and... Read More

Les Paul Vintage Gibson Guitars

Les Paul vintage Gibson guitars were first produced in 1952.... Read More

Visualization Techniques for the Pianist

Controlling the images of the mind through image projection has... Read More

People are Turning to Meaningful Songs for Emotional and Spiritual Relief:

A New Breed of Aspiring Songwriters Is In The Making.... Read More

Celtic Music: The Japanese Connection

My friend, guitarist Brian Hughes, toured with the Chieftain's in... Read More

Piano Playing Your Way: How To Have More Fun Playing The Piano Than You Ever Have Before

Piano playing doesn't have to be boring. There's no law... Read More

Radio - What?s Happened To It?

Remember when radio stations played great music?OK, before you accuse... Read More

A Brief History Of Gibson Guitars

Gibson guitars have been around forever. It's funny, but although... Read More

Songs Await Singer

I Want To Grow Old With You (C)Chorus: I want... Read More

Vintage Guitar Collectors Can Still Find Deals

If you're a recent vintage guitar collector, the stories you've... Read More

Musical Improvisation Basics - Four Strategies For Playing Wrong Notes

While it probably doesn't seem like this would help -... Read More