Belliss, Ethel

Wiki entry: currently none; indeed, Ethel Belliss is barely even known to Google.

International Music Score Library Project [IMSLP] entry: currently none.

All I know about Ethel Belliss is written below!

Piece	MP3	Midi	Genre
Venetia, Schottische		MIDI	piano salon CD2
	This piece is "Dedicated by special permission to Miss Webb of Newstead Abbey -- VENETIA, Schottische for the Pianoforte by ETHEL BELLISS." Ms Belliss seems to have sunk without trace. But there is a lot about Miss Webb on the web. She is Augusta Zelia Webb, 1858-1925. Her father was immensely rich, and bought Newstead Abbey [near Nottingham] in 1861, outbidding Queen Victoria in the process. The family had much to do with opening up Africa, being, eg, friends with Dr Livingstone. The Webbs spent an enormous amount of money on modernising the Abbey, which previous owners [notably the Byron family] had neglected. After passing it on through the family, inc Augusta, they eventually gave it to the city. Augusta had a younger sister called Ethel; it's at least possible that Belliss was her nom-de-plume. On the other hand, a grand house occupied by a large and wealthy family would have had a staff to match -- not just cooks and gardeners, but also governesses, music teachers and so on, so Ms Belliss may be one of those. On the third hand, she may simply have been an acquaintance or guest. I'd guess that this rather slight Schottische dates from one of the many parties held at Newstead. According to Amazon, the printed piece dates from 1892. The phrasing and staccato marks in the music are not always very self-consistent. Not entirely clear whether these are editorial blunders or deliberate; but I've sequenced them as found, as the differences are musically quite slight.

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Andy Walker, anw [at] cuboid4.me.uk [remove digit to construct address]