Page 6-7 - WINTER 2013
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WINTER 2013
6
7
LGBTs have always had
a strong association with
the arts and music is no
exception. The theme of
this year’s LGBT History
Month is music and
there are plenty of strong
role models to celebrate.
Here are just 14 notable
LGBTs who contributed
to our rich musical
heritage.
Gays in
Music
..... a rich heritage
George Frideric
Handel
(1685-1759)
Handel’s family were not
especially musical and he left his
home country of Germany to live
in London in 1712 when he was
27. By that time he was already a
famous composer and was paid a
good yearly income from several
rich patrons, including Queen
Anne. But Handel seemingly never found love and stayed
single all his life. However, many of his cantatas are non-
gender specific, leading some historians to the conclusion
they were in fact written about men.
Blondell
(1155-1202)
Blondell was a French trouvère
(poet and composer) who worked
in the court of Richard I. He was
named Blondell due to his long,
blond hair and his boss Richard
was very fond of him to say the
least, in fact, there are quite a
few hints that the two were more than just friends. When
Richard I was sent to prison, Blondell helped to find him
by going from castle to castle and performing their ‘special
song’. When he reached the right castle, Richard sang the
second verse from his prison cell. He was later released and
the two were reunited.
Dame
Ethel Smyth
(1858 -1944)
Although her army
officer father was not
keen on the idea of
his daughter having
a career in music,
Ethel studied secretly.
She eventually
managed to convince her father to allow her
to attend the prestigious Lipzig Conservatory.
Later, she wrote an extensive body of work,
most notably The March of Women, which
became the anthem for the women’s suffrage
movement. Throughout her life, Smyth had
passionate affairs with women and fell in love
with both Emmeline Pankhurst and Virginia
Woolf.
Ivor Novello
(1893-1951)
Also known as a
successful screen
actor, Novello was
an accomplished
musician. His first
big hit was Keep the
Home Fires Burning,
which became a favourite during the First
World War. During the 1930s he wrote a
series of successful musicals and became
known as one of the most popular writers and
performers of the time. Novello met Robert
Andrews in 1916 and the two became great
friends and later their relationship developed
into a partnership which lasted for 35 years.
They would often perform together in some of
Novello’s musicals and plays.
Sir
Noel Coward
(1899-1973)
Working at around
the same time as
Novello, Coward’s
career spanned stage,
screen writing and
composition. He
became well known in entertainment from
a young age and his musicals and songs were
well loved. During the Second World War he
offered his services for British Intelligence.
However, the Government felt he would be
better off using his entertaining skills and so
he performed vital war work entertaining the
troops. It was during the war years that he
met his long-term partner, the actor Graham
Payn. Coward’s sexuality was an open secret,
everybody in his personal life knew and most
of the general public had worked it out, but
he never ‘came out’ in his lifetime.
Benjamin
Britten
(1913-1976)
The son of a dentist,
Britten became a central
figure in 20th century
classical music. He
studied at the Royal
College of Music before
completing his first ever choral work – A Boy
Was Born – in 1934. He later became famous
with works such as War Requiem and The
Yong Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. A major
influence on his work was his professional and
personal partner Peter Pears, who sang many
of his works. Britten also composed some
memorable scores for films and controversially
became a contentious objector during the war.
