1838–1903 · United Kingdom · Romantic
Amelia Lehmann (1838–1903), a British composer and arranger, wrote art songs and ballads, often published as "A. L.". She could hardly ever be persuaded to sing for anyone, but several of her songs featured in the programmes of the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, and "When love is kind" survives in a recording. Her pieces for voice and piano suit anyone playing with a singer.
Amelia Lehmann was born on 3 February 1838. Her parents were Anne Kirkwood and the Scottish writer and publisher Robert Chambers. At birth she carried her father's surname, Chambers, and as a composer she signed some of her works not with her own name but with the pseudonym "A. L.".
Her musical gift showed itself very early. According to her daughter Liza Lehmann, Amelia was so musical as a girl that her father declared she did not need lessons. She did not begin studying music seriously until adulthood, after her marriage.
In 1861, after a long courtship, Amelia married the painter Rudolf Lehmann. It was only after the wedding that she finally began to study music in earnest, taking singing lessons from several noted teachers.
Amelia had a flawless, absolute sense of pitch and could transpose music easily at sight. Her daughter wrote that she was among the most naturally gifted musicians she had ever encountered in a lifetime among artists.
At the same time, an almost painful shyness constrained her throughout her life. Singing in front of anyone was difficult for her, and few ever persuaded her to be heard — but those who did never forgot the peculiar charm of her singing.
That same shyness turned into excessive, almost painful self-criticism: Amelia destroyed most of the music she wrote, including many of her best works. Among the pieces she destroyed was an opera built on a text by Goethe.
As a composer, Lehmann worked mainly in the genres of the art song and the popular ballad. Some of these pieces appeared not under her own name but under the pseudonym "A. L.".
Between 1897 and 1928, a number of her works featured in the programmes of the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts. Her ballad "When love is kind" was later recorded by Ada Forrest for the Pathé label.
Although Lehmann herself could hardly ever be persuaded to sing for anyone, she was regarded by contemporaries as a gifted singer. She became her own daughter Liza Lehmann's first singing teacher, and her other pupils included the soprano Evangeline Florence.
Lehmann spent part of her life living in Rome, Italy. She died on 1 April 1903.
Lehmann is remembered for her art songs and popular ballads — lyrical miniatures for voice with piano accompaniment. Alongside composing her own music, she also worked as an arranger.
Several of her songs featured in the programmes of the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts in 1897–1928, and her ballad "When love is kind" survives in a recording made for the Pathé label by Ada Forrest.
The site offers three of her pieces for voice and piano — "The Highland Plaid", "How Delicious is the Winning" and "Bouton de Rose", ranging from intermediate-plus to advanced level. A good place to start is "The Highland Plaid", moving on afterwards to the two more demanding pieces.