Frances Allitsen

Mary Frances Allitsen (30 December 1848 – 1 October 1912), born Mary Frances Bumpus was an English composer. One of her most popular songs is a setting of Psalm 27, "The Lord is My Light". Early life Mary Frances Bumpus was born on Oxford Street in London, daughter of bookseller John Bumpus, née Barton. As a child she was far more inclined to literature than to music; her parents were opposed to a woman entering the musical profession. But although she had written a novel and some short stories, she finally abandoned literature and devoted herself to music. The family moved to a small village where Frances felt isolated and lonely. She said of that time, "It was impossible to go out walking of an afternoon without it being imputed that I was going to see the young men come in on the train, where the chief subject of conversation was garments, and the most extravagant excitement sandwich parties." Her family did not support her interest in music and as a result she was discouraged from seeking a formal education in the subject. Musical career She began her musical career as a singer and appeared as contralto soloist in Louis Spohr's The Last Judgement at a recital in Kilburn. Her voice failed, however, and she ended her singing career and turned to voice coaching and composing. She took some of her compositions to Thomas Henry Weist Hill, principal of the Guildhall School of Music, and he expressed his regret that she had put off serious study till so late. She began to apply herself to her musical studies with determination, but because she had to teach in order to support herself, and, at that time, this required travelling to her pupils' residences on trains and buses, she had to confine her studies to the night hours, in a state of fatigue.