The Late Works of Dame Ethel Smyth: A Musical Microcosm of Interwar British Culture

This paper examines the late musical compositions of Dame Ethel Smyth in the context of British society and culture between the two World Wars. It focuses on Smyth\u27s large-scale works, especially her operas The Boatswain\u27s Mate (1914) and Entente Cordiale (1923-1924) and her oratorio The Prison (1930). Using these works as examples of the composer\u27s mature style, I draw attention to a number of Smyth\u27s original artistic choices as well as her sophisticated use of social commentary. Also considered in this research are certain anticipated roles for women as composers at the time, Smyth\u27s other passions and pursuits, and her interactions with her contemporaries. Her activities as a composer reflected an evolving social landscape for British women in addition to new musical developments

“When a woman speaks the truth about her body”: Ethel Smyth, Virginia Woolf, and the challenges of lesbian auto/biography

As professionals who encountered first-hand the invidious barriers within patriarchal society that hindered career women, Ethel Smyth and Virginia Woolf both used their published writings to pursue lifelong crusades against the under-representation of females in their respective disciplines. This article compares the different strategies by which the two artists strove to tell the truth about their experiences as women, and considers the corresponding implications for Smyth’s musical output. While the egotistical Smyth candidly recounted stories relating to herself, Woolf excised overt authorial presence from her texts, instead invoking fictitious, protean narrators to reflect the collective unconsciousness of Womanhood. Woolf’s encouragement and criticism of Smyth’s literary endeavours are examined in the context of her biographical theories and feminist critiques, and of the lesbian proclivities of both women. Their published writings and personal documents suggest that Smyth actively appealed to the very autobiographical strategies that Woolf persistently counselled her to subvert, in order to compete with the (heterosexual) patriarchy on equal terms. She apparently held this option to be the only available one through which to insinuate herself within the canonical traditions specific to music, as distinct from those of literature

THE EARLY IMPACT OF THE REVISED LEAVING CERTIFICATE GRADING SCHEME ON STUDENT PERCEPTIONS AND BEHAVIOUR. ESRI RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 85 JANUARY 2019

This report examines the early effects, on student perceptions and behaviour, of a change in the grading structure for the Leaving Certificate (LC) examination, which took place in 2017. Potential change in LC outcomes is an important policy issue, given the crucial role played by upper secondary grades in access to higher education (HE) and in (higher quality) employment in Ireland (Hannan et al., 1998; McCoy et al., 2010a; Smyth and McCoy, 2009). In Ireland, the terminal, externally assessed system, with its high-stakes character, has been found to profoundly influence the nature of learning and skills development experienced by young people (McCoy et al., 2014b; Burns et al., 2018; Smyth et al., 2011). This report assesses whether an adjustment in the grading system has had an impact on the perceptions and behaviour of the first cohort of students experiencing the new scheme, in their final year of school

Akpan Papers, March 18, 1893

Arthur William Catesby Smyth wrote these letters to his fiance, and first cousin, Beatrice Alice Smyth while she was living in England, and he was living in Orlando. Smyth was a partner in Smyth and Co. Orange Packers and Shippers. Most of the letters are to Beatrice, with a few being to other family members. The letters focus on the relationship of Arthur and Beatrice, but also include information on the citrus industry, property prices and social events. � Arthur William Catesby Smyth married Beatrice Alice Smyth in July 1893 while in England. The two moved to Orlando and lived in the house Arthur had built for them. Their fortunes followed that of the citrus industry. They had four children together before Arthur died in 1905 while they were visiting England

Akpan Papers, November 13, 1892

Arthur William Catesby Smyth wrote these letters to his fiance, and first cousin, Beatrice Alice Smyth while she was living in England, and he was living in Orlando. Smyth was a partner in Smyth and Co. Orange Packers and Shippers. Most of the letters are to Beatrice, with a few being to other family members. The letters focus on the relationship of Arthur and Beatrice, but also include information on the citrus industry, property prices and social events. � Arthur William Catesby Smyth married Beatrice Alice Smyth in July 1893 while in England. The two moved to Orlando and lived in the house Arthur had built for them. Their fortunes followed that of the citrus industry. They had four children together before Arthur died in 1905 while they were visiting England

Akpan Papers, December 18, 1892

Arthur William Catesby Smyth wrote these letters to his fiance, and first cousin, Beatrice Alice Smyth while she was living in England, and he was living in Orlando. Smyth was a partner in Smyth and Co. Orange Packers and Shippers. Most of the letters are to Beatrice, with a few being to other family members. The letters focus on the relationship of Arthur and Beatrice, but also include information on the citrus industry, property prices and social events. � Arthur William Catesby Smyth married Beatrice Alice Smyth in July 1893 while in England. The two moved to Orlando and lived in the house Arthur had built for them. Their fortunes followed that of the citrus industry. They had four children together before Arthur died in 1905 while they were visiting England