Alicia Adélaïde Needham [née Montgomery] (1863-1945 [some give DOB 1872-75]) was born in County Meath, Ireland. She studied at Victoria College, Londonderry, then at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music. During WWI, she served as a Red Cross Searcher for the wounded and missing. Her husband Joseph Needham (1853-1920), was a surgeon in Clapham, London. After his death, she was awarded a civil pension “in consideration of her work as composer, and of her straitened circumstances.” She died in Yorkshire. She published a few piano pieces, but was best known as a composer of songs and ballads in traditional Irish style, publishing over 600. She won numerous prizes, including a prize for best composition in honor of the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902.

 

All are SATB and unaccompanied unless noted in VOICING column. A noting of “div” indicates some divisi within a part or parts, but usually not a true independent part throughout the work. Solos and accompaniment are also noted.

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TITLE	VOICING	TEXT	REGION	LISTEN
How dear to me the hour		Thomas Moore	UK	LISTEN X Stop audio before closing
Songs of our land	w/piano	Frances Browne	UK	LISTEN X Stop audio before closing