Introducing Doreen Carwithen, the pioneering woman in the field of professional film scoring
Doreen Carwithen, a groundbreaking British composer, born on November 15, 1922, in Haddenham, Buckinghamshire, has been recognised as the world's first full-time female film composer. Her significant career, marked by the breaking of gender barriers in the film music industry, is now being celebrated and studied.
Born as Mary Carwithen, she later adopted the name Mary Alwyn after her marriage to William Alwyn, a renowned composer and conductor. This union, however, was not without its complexities, as Alwyn had a 16-year affair with Carwithen while still married to his first wife, Olive Pull.
Carwithen's career as a full-time film composer began in 1946, making her a trailblazer in a traditionally male-dominated field. She wrote more than 30 films in the late 1940s and 1950s, including works for Denham Film Studios, home to Brief Encounter and Great Expectations.
One of her most notable accomplishments was composing the score for the official film of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II within a week. This quick turnaround further solidified her reputation in the film industry for her ability to work calmly and quickly under pressure.
Carwithen's music, which showcases a mix of Walton, Stravinsky, and Vaughan Williams, has been gaining renewed recognition for its quality and historical importance. Composer Debbie Wiseman, Composer in Residence and president of the Carwithen Music Festival, discovered Carwithen's music through her film scores and finds subtleties that she enjoys in her compositions.
The Carwithen Music Festival, which took place in 2022, marked what would have been Carwithen's 100th birthday year. During the festival, Wiseman will be unveiling a blue plaque in Carwithen's birthplace, honouring her contributions to the world of music.
Carwithen's legacy is now being celebrated alongside other prominent female composers like Shirley Walker and Rachel Portman, who also made significant strides in the film music industry. Portman, in fact, became the first female composer to win an Oscar in the category of Best Musical or Comedy Score in 1997.
Anne Dudley won the Oscar for Best Musical or Comedy Score a year later, but it wasn't until 2020 that a woman won in the category again, with Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir. This highlights the continued importance of celebrating and recognising the contributions of female composers in the industry.
Mark Chivers, viola player and artistic director of the Carwithen Music Festival, described Carwithen as "a female composer working in a man's world". Her important classical works, such as her Concerto for Piano and Strings, continue to be performed, with the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra being one example.
Carwithen's music, once relatively unheard, is now being revived in concerts and recordings focusing on women composers of the 20th century, alongside pioneering women composers such as Ethel Smyth, Dorothy Howell, and Rebecca Clarke. This renewed recognition is a testament to Carwithen's enduring impact on the world of music.
- The Carwithen Music Festival, celebrating trailblazing female composers like Doreen Carwithen, also highlighted the achievements of contemporary composers such as Shirley Walker, Rachel Portman, and Hildur Guðnadóttir, who have also made significant strides in the film music industry.
- As the world's first full-time female film composer, Doreen Carwithen's music, which showcases a mix of Walton, Stravinsky, and Vaughan Williams, has inspired a new generation of composers, particularly women, in the health-and-wellness, science, lifestyle, fashion-and-beauty, entertainment, and pop-culture sectors.
- A testament to Carwithen's enduring impact on the world of music, her important classical works, including her Concerto for Piano and Strings, are now being performed by world-class orchestras, such as the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, and attract the interest of celebrities and aficionados of every genre, including music and film.
- Composer Debbie Wiseman, who discovered Carwithen's music through her film scores, believes that Carwithen's compositions, with their unique subtleties, resonate not only with the film industry but also with the broader women's health, science, and health-and-wellness communities, offering a fresh perspective on themes related to identity, relationships, and personal growth.
- Given Carwithen's prominent role in the history of film music, her legacy can be seen not only in the continued growth and recognition of women composers in the industry but also in the ways that her work informs and influences various aspects of modern life, including entertainment, pop-culture, fashion-and-beauty, and lifestyle trends.
