Читать книгу Sisters In Song; Women Hymn Writers - Leslie Clay - Страница 13

1884-1956

Helen Taylor 1876-1943

“Bless This House”

May started teaching piano at age fifteen to earn a living. She married just after turning nineteen, but continued playing in a trio. In 1912, she made a daring move for the time: she went to London to establish herself as a composer and left her children in the care of their father. By 1914, she earned enough to bring the family to England. She wrote about 500 songs and is the only Australian woman composer to win both local and international recognition before World War II. May also wrote under at least ten pseudonyms. This allowed her to publish more as most publishing houses wouldn’t publish more than four of her songs per year.

The words to her most famous song were written by an English woman, Helen Taylor, a poet and her friend. It was published in 1927 with the title “Bless the House.” A few years later, tenor John McCormack changed the title to “Bless This House” and it became one of his bestselling recordings. It is frequently found in spiritual/inspirational collections.