Today’s Google Doodle honors Amanda Aldridge, a British composer, teacher, and opera soprano.
On this day in 1911, Aldridge performed a piano recital at Queens Small Hall, the original home of the BBC Symphony and London Philharmonic Orchestras, London’s pre-war major musical venue.
Google celebrates Amanda Aldridge, the ‘Three African Dances’ composer
Under her alias, Aldridge published around 30 songs and scores of instrumental tracks.
She created romantic parlour music, a popular genre among the middle class at the time, by combining numerous rhythmic influences and genres with poetry by black American authors.
Sheet music was played at home with a piano and vocals, known as parlour music. Its popularity stemmed from the fact that record players were not generally available at the time.
Many of her songs focused on her African-American heritage, which she was eager to share with her students of similar backgrounds.
At the age of 88, she made her first appearance on British television, on the show Music for You.
Muriel Smith, an American singer, presented her song “Little Southern Love Song.”
