Amy Woodforde-Finden

Amy Woodforde-Finden (1860 – 13 March 1919) was a composer who is best known for writing the music to "Kashmiri Song" from Four Indian Love Lyrics by Laurence Hope.

Amy Woodforde-Finden was born Amelia Rowe Ward in 1860 at Valparaíso, Chile, the youngest daughter of American parents, Alfred and Virginia Worthington Heath Ward. Alfred served as a US Consul after being recommended by Balie Peyton, US Ambassador to Chile under President Zachary Taylor. Her father died in 1867 and her mother moved the family to London, where Virginia became a naturalized British citizen in 1873. Around that time Amy displayed a skill for composition and became a student of Carl Schloesser and Amy Horrocks. Her early work, published as Amy Ward, though promising, was received only tepidly.

At the age of 34, she married Brigade-Surgeon Woodforde Finden, who served during the Second Afghan War and Third Burmese War with the Bengal establishment of the Indian Medical Service; they lived in India for several years, and during her time there she wrote and published what would become her most famous pieces: The Lover in Damascus and Kashmiri Song. The latter was originally self-published in 1902 but because of its popularity and the influence of Hamilton Earle, it was eventually published by Boosey & Co. The popularity of Kashmiri Song and The Lover in Damascus kept her in the good graces of her publishing house and in the hearts of her audience. Her songs are noted for their sentimentality, their romantic fluidity and how they blend a particularly British, middle-class sensibility with an Asian pastiche. In the years that followed the success of Kashmiri Song, Amy composed On Jhelum River, The Pagoda of Flowers and Stars of the Desert.

The year 1916 was a bitter-sweet one for Amy: she lost her husband in April and her work was featured in the film Less Than the Dust. This was just the first of her work to be showcased in film. In 1943 Kashmiri Song would be used in the film Hers To Hold. Amy moved back to London after she lost her husband, and survived him by only three years, dying on 13 March 1919. It is said that she died composing at the piano. Amy is buried in Hampsthwaite churchyard in North Yorkshire, and her memorial is a recumbent figure in white marble.

The legacy Amy Woodforde-Finden leaves is one of bridging cultures with music and words. She interpreted the sounds and motives of Asian-South Asian music to an American-European audience and transported the listener to a world of romance and the exotic.

Birth and Death Data: Born 1860 (Valparaíso), Died March 13, 1919 (London)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1908 - 1942

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 57 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-6372 10-in. 8/29/1908 Kashmiri love song Evan Williams Tenor vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor BVE-18757 10-in. 11/19/1926 Kashmiri song Lambert Murphy Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-18757 10-in. 11/24/1916 Kashmiri song Lambert Murphy Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-26145 10-in. 3/6/1922 Less than the dust Elsie Baker Female vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor BVE-27330 10-in. 6/21/1929 Kashmiri song Reinald Werrenrath Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-27330 10-in. 12/20/1922 Kashmiri song Reinald Werrenrath Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-28515 10-in. 8/29/1923 Kashmiri song (Un canto de Kashmiri) The Troubadours Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor B-29431 10-in. 2/1/1924 Till I wake Royal Dadmun Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-29658 10-in. 3/12/1924 Less than the dust Royal Dadmun Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-30272 10-in. 6/12/1924 Kashmiri song Fannie Shreve Heartsill Female vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor CVE-34768 12-in. 4/12/1926 Indian love lyrics, part 1 Victor Salon Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor CVE-34769 12-in. 4/12/1926 Indian love lyrics, part 2 Victor Salon Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor CVE-42419 12-in. 2/7/1928 Temple bells Victor Salon Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor BVE-57729 10-in. 11/25/1929 Kashmiri song Hernández Brothers Instrumental ensemble composer  
Victor BVE-62313 10-in. 5/27/1930 Kashmiri song Connecticut Yankees Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-73088 10-in. 7/8/1932 The temple bells Conrad Thibault ; Theodore Walstrum Baritone vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor BSHQ-73089 10-in. 7/8/1932 Less than the dust Conrad Thibault ; Theodore Walstrum Baritone vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor BSHQ-73090 10-in. 7/8/1932 Kashmiri song Conrad Thibault ; Theodore Walstrum Baritone vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor BSHQ-73091 10-in. 7/8/1932 Till I awake Conrad Thibault ; Theodore Walstrum Baritone vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor PBS-042563 10-in. 3/8/1940 Kashmiri love song Kenny Baker ; David Broekman Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor BS-071779 10-in. 2/9/1942 Kashmiri song Joe Reichman Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BVE-Test-1736 10-in. 6/28/1932 Kashmiri song Conrad Thibault Baritone vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia 80165 10-in. 1/26/1922 Kashmiri song Louis Graveure Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 80569 10-in. 9/28/1922 Less than the dust Louis Graveure Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 80570 10-in. 9/28/1922 The temple bells Louis Graveure Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
(Results 1-25 of 57 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Woodforde-Finden, Amy," accessed March 29, 2023, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108932.

Woodforde-Finden, Amy. (2023). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 29, 2023, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108932.

"Woodforde-Finden, Amy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2023. Web. 29 March 2023.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108932

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