Margery Moore is the professional name of Lilian/Lillian Margery Moore (1907[1] - 1993[2]). She was a British musician - composer, pianist, pedagogue - who flourished in London in the 1930s and 1940s. The majority of her works were published by the London firm of Novello, with some published by other London firms: Boosey and Hawkes, Curwen, and Stainer and Bell.
Margery Moore was born in the UK town of Birkenhead, the daughter of Thomas Moore (b. c. 1868), originally of Shenley in Hertfordshire, a 'railway employee', and his wife Catherine (b. c. 1877) originally of Beverley, East Yorkshire. By 1911 the family were living in Plymouth at 6 Green Bank Avenue.[3]
In Plymouth Margery took piano lessons from a Miss F. Faull, under whose aegis in January 1918 she took to the platform in a concert in Devonport, Plymouth to raise funds for the Red Cross. One reviewer described her as "a clever young pianist".[4]
By 1928 Margery Moore had formed the Margery Moore String Quartet in which she played viola. On Tuesday 9 October 1928 the quartet gave a concert in Plymouth that was broadcast by the BBC.[6]
In 1929, on 14 September, she was awarded Durham University's Mus. Bac. degree as an external (corresponding) student. Her examination 'exercise' was a string quartet in D-minor. The university records show that by this date she had moved from Devon to Toynbee Hall, 28 Commercial Street, London.[1]
Teaching and publishing
Margery Moore shown residing at The Crofts School in the Harrow Electoral Register of 1935.
By 1935 Margery Moore was a resident teacher at The Crofts, a school for girls in Station Road, Harrow.[7]
In 1935-36 Margery Moore was recorded as a member of the Union of Music Graduates,[8][9] which aimed to oppose the granting of spurious music degrees.[10]
In 1936 Margery Moore published a series of four polemical essays in The Musical Times on the subject of piano teaching under the general title Some Problems of the Young Piano Teacher: 1. Children;[11] 2. Adult Beginners;[12] 3. Parents;[13] 4. The Teacher.[14]
From October to December 1936 a short series of advertisements appeared in The Musical Times in which Margery Moore offered her services as an editor for amateur composers at the cost of 1s per manuscript.[15]
In July 1938 Margery Moore published another article in The Musical Times concerning piano pedagogy entitled Concerning the Piano Class.[16]
The period 1933-38 was when Margery Moore was most active in having her compositions published, much of it focussed on music for schools; see the section 'Composing' below.
In 1939, already a lecturer with the London County Council,[17] working at Toynbee Hall, and also on the staff of the East Sheen County School for Girls,[18] she found time to teach piano to a teenage German émigré called Helmut Kallmann (1922–2012), prior to his emigration to Canada (1940) where he became a pioneering music historian.[19]
At some point before 1939 and until at least 1960 Margery Moore lived at 34 Claremont Square, Islington.[21][17] At first she lived there with her parents - Thomas aged 68 and Catherine aged 67 - and Roland DeRougemont, then a member of the Auxiliary Fire Service aged 27 and whom she married in 1940.[22] (Roland remarried in 1953 to Valerie Rampton.[23]) By 1960 Margery was the sole occupant of the house in Claremont Square.[21]
1935 - Laughing Song. (Three-part song. S.S.A.), Words by William Blake.[25]
There are still pretty words to be found in poets some of whose work has been over-set. Margery Moore has taken Blake's 'Laughing Song' (' When the green woods laugh with the voice of joy'), and fitted it with S.S.A. music that, thrown off at the right speed, and with real mirth in the 'Ha ha' bits (so many singers get solemn, and forget to smile), would make a charming short item. C is the lowest note in the alto part, but for one A. "The Musical Times", January 1936.[26]
1935 - Teach me, my God and King. (Hymn-Anthem for unison singing. Series: Novello School Songs No. 1729), words by G. Herbert.[25]
1935 - The Wise Men (Novello Christmas Carols by Modern Composers No 512).[27]
1936 - A Little Child's Song (S.S), words by Muriel Rodney. Series: Novello's Music for Sunday School Festivals No. 121.[28]
A tuneful work for two voices. The second voice is sometimes singing above the first, and both are of equal interest. There is a contrasted middle verse and the freely written accompaniment is well varied. "The Musical Times" January 1937.[29]
1936 - Magic! (unison song), words by Muriel Rodney.[25]
1936 - The Carol of the White Rose. (Novello Christmas Carols by Modern Composers No 515)[30]
1936 - The Valiant Knight (Unison). Series: Novello's Music for Sunday School Festivals No. 122.[28]
A song for boys, 'The Valiant Knight,' words by Peter Brett, has a good tune, suitably bold and direct, which should make a ready appeal. "The Musical Times" January 1937.[29]
1937 - Fear no more the Heat of the Sun (part-Song for S.A.A.T.B.), words by William Shakespeare.[25]
1937 - Trotting. (Unison song for junior boys), words by Muriel Rodney.[25]
It is a pleasure to welcome a new and accomplished hand [...] The studies are designed for use in the earlier stages: they take for granted a manual technique good enough to leave the ll student free to concentrate on the peculiar difficulties of organ playing-registration, pedalling and the simultaneous use of two manuals. The studies have real musical value: many less attractive things are used as voluntaries and recital items. The composer's happy management of three-part writing is a feature. This little collection would be valuable as complllmentary or supplementary material for use with any primer. "The Musical Times" December 1934.[32]
1934 - Herzliebster Jesu; Vater unser: two chorale preludes.[25]
The first is in the Bach manner, yet with points of originality.The melody is given to a Great solo stop in the tenor, between flowing passages on the Choir Gedact in the same register; the accompaniment consists of Swell chords (with a figure that recalls the 'spirit in heaviness' theme of Bach) and a pedal chiefly of repeated quavers, with occasional allusions to the figure. The scheme is well-managed, with deeply expressive results. The 'Vater Unser' piece is a genuinely original conception, in which the melody is soloed on the a Great as a constituent in a fine polyphonic texture. There is some bold harmony, a real climax is achieved midway, and the piece, short as it is, leaves a powerful impression. The composer has evidently gone to school in the best of company, and to some purpose. She has ideas, and writes like a composer who is also a player. Her future work will be looked forward to by all who have an instinctive sense for work that is really individual. "The Musical Times" December 1934.[32]
Margery Moore has already attracted a good deal of favourable attention by a pair of striking chorale preludes and some well-written easy studies. Her 'English March' shows that she is ale also to write in popular style. March is modal in character, and mainly staccato. […] The piece is really an alla marcia postlude. "The Musical Times" March 1935.[33]
1936 - Two pieces for the organ: Pastoral [and] Paean.[25]
Piano
1936 - The Merry Midshipman: a book for boys. Four short pieces.[25]
1938 - The Piping Shepherds: four little pieces.[25]
These pieces are amongst the most expressive miniatures written for the piano in recent years. Brimful of invention, with pleasing rhythmic melodies, they have live part-writing and an attractive, wistful tenderness. From an advertisement in "The Musical Times". September 1938.[34]
References
1 2 3 'Durham University Music Exercises 1891-1980', GB-0033-UMU.487, and correspondence with the University archivist.
↑ 'Margery Moore' in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes 1916–2007. London, England: General Register Office. Registration District: Waltham Forest, Inferred County: Greater London, Register Number: B43, District and Subdistrict: 2551B, Entry Number: 251.
↑ The National Archives of the UK (TNA) Series RG14, 1911.
↑ ‘Helmut Kallmann’. Creative Canada: A Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-century Creative and Performing Artists (Volume 2), University of Toronto Press (1972).Online resource accessed 22 May 2023.
↑ Lilian M Moore, England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index,1916-2005. General Register Office; United Kingdom; Volume: 1b; Page: 1535.
↑ Roland A E De Rougemont, England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005, General Register Office; United Kingdom; Volume: 5c; Page: 2118
↑ Cornish Guardian (Bodmin, Cornwall, England) Thursday 30 November 1933, 13. The Christmas number of the Western Weekly News is again an excellent production [...]. Among the principal features will be found ]...] Ceremonies [... [a musical setting of Robert Herricks's poem specially composed for the number by Margery Moore, of Plymouth, whose compositions include the opera "Drake", songs, and works for the organ. Online resource (Extracted Article Text | OCR), accessed 29 September 2025.
YouTube has recordings of Damin Spritzer playing 'Herzliebster Jesu' and 'Vater unser': two chorale preludes for the organ.
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