Summary of Frances Copthorne Materials

Envelope	Composition	Format	Comments
1	Tattered Tree Ladies for Voice, Violin, and Piano Lyric: Pauline Hansberger (sp?) Music: Frances Copthorne	Handwritten ink score. Separate handwritten score for violin.
2	When Night Comes On for Voice and Piano Lyric: Elsie Fowler Music: Frances Copthorne	Photocopy of handwritten copy of original score made in early 1980s.
3	Incidental Music for The Emperor’s New Clothes a Play For Children Lyrics: Charlotte Chorpenning Music: Frances Copthorne	Printed score, published by Samuel French, © 1935.
4	Mischief Moon for Voice and Piano Lyric: Caroline Thomas Music: Frances Copthorne	Handwritten ink score.
5	The Squeaky Swing for Voice and Piano Lyric: Elsie Fowler Music: Frances Copthorne	Handwritten ink score.
6	Mazurka for Piano Music: Frances Copthorne	Photocopy of handwritten ink score.
7	On My Last Day for Voice, Violin, Cello and Piano Lyric: Francesca Falk Miller Music: Frances Copthorne	Photocopy of handwritten copy of original score made in early 1980s.
8	Your Voice for Voice and Piano Lyric: Francesca Falk Miller Music: Frances Copthorne	Photocopy of printed score, published by H.T. Fitzsimmons Co., Chicago. © 1931.

9	A Romantic Rose A Light Comic Opera Libretto: Francesca Falk Miller Music: Frances Copthorne	Typewritten libretto only	Unfortunately, only the handwritten cover sheet for the score still exists, indicating that the music consisted of an overture and “15 musical numbers”
10	The Lost Waltz for Voice and Piano Lyric: Francesca Falk Miller Music: Frances Copthorne	Typewritten sheet with all the words, but the handwritten ink score is incomplete
11	A Roman Holiday for Voice and Piano Lyric: Viva Karman (sp?) Music: Frances Copthorne	Handwritten pencil score
12	Velvet Shoes for Voice and Piano Lyric: Eleanor Wylie Music: Frances Copthorne	A photocopy of the words is all that is available
13	Mohammedan Love Song for Voice and Piano Lyric: ??? Goodrich Music: Frances Copthorne	Handwritten score. Inked-in for the voice, penciled-in for the piano.
14	From Psalm 136 for Voice and Piano Lyric: Psalm 136 Music: Frances Copthorne	Handwritten pencil score.
15	Meet the Professor An Operetta in Two Acts Book and Lyrics: Francesca Miller Music: Frances Copthorne	The typewritten book and lyrics appear complete, but there is a handwritten score for only one song: Butterflies.
16	Lady Night for Voice and Piano Lyric: Francesca Falk Miller Music: “Louise Fritz” (probably Frances Copthorne)	Handwritten ink score in Frances Copthorne’s hand	“Louise Fritz” is in quotes on the score. A news item from the April 14, 1932 Musical Leader indicates that it is Frances Copthorne’s compo-sition. (See Envelope 21)
17	Miscellaneous poems that Frances may have been considering for song lyrics	varied

Envelope	Contents	Comments
18	Material from the 1920s Early material references her singing and the fact that she was taking voice lessons. One 1921 news piece noted that her voice “is of a clear, singularly appealing quality which she uses with considerable facility.” Later material refers to her compositions.
19	Material from 1930 As these materials indicate, by 1930 her focus was composition, and accompanying singers who were performing those compositions.
20	Material from 1931 A focus during this year was the Children’s Civic Theatre of Chicago, of which she was Music Director. In August, her work The Emperors New Clothes was performed by the Theatre. Reference is also made to Meet the Professor being in publication. Her involvement with the League of American Pen Women (first noted in a 1929 news article) was again mentioned in several 1931 articles.	On the back of the Children’s Civic Theatre August 19 Program is an ad by the Baldwin Piano Company that says: “The Baldwin Piano Company is happy to announce that Mrs. Frances Copthorne, Music Director of the Children’s Civic Theatre of Chicago, Inc., under the auspices of The Chicago Drama League, will be associated with them after September 1^st in an advisory capacity, and will be glad to consult with parents concerning their children’s future cultural development.” Frances was involved with Baldwin for a number of years afterward, helping Baldwin to sell their pianos. I recall that in the early 1940s she owned a Baldwin grand.
21	Material from 1932 Her two-act operetta Meet the Professor was performed this year, and she participated as accompanist in several recitals of her works.
22	Material from 1933 More recitals. A highlight of the year was a meeting of the National League of American Pen Women in Springfield, Illinois, and a Musicale held at the Governor’s mansion. Several of Frances’s songs were on the program.

Material from 1934

This year’s highlight was the Washington, DC convention of the National League of American Pen Women, and the Music Festival held in conjunction with it. Among the many events was a Musicale in the East Room of the White House attended by Eleanor Roosevelt at which Frances accompanied, on “the gold piano,” the performance of her song “On My Last Day” by lyric soprano Marie Sidenius Zendt. The next day there was a Composers Concert at which Frances accompanied this same singer in four of Frances’s songs.

Material from 1935 through 1939

The highlight of this period was the year Frances spent in Paris with her daughter Louise. Frances studied counterpoint with Nadia Boulanger, and according to the piece in the April 26, 1939 Chicago American, was about to give “the American premier” of her new compositions.

The 1937 Winnetka Talk article in this envelope refers to a couple of awards for her songs, and the fact that she had written “over 100 songs.” Too bad that so many of them appear not to have survived.

In the early 1940s Frances battled breast cancer and she died in 1945.

Miscellaneous Materials

Scanned reproductions of photographs of Frances Copthorne at various ages.

“About Frances Copthorne,” a short overview of Frances Copthorne’s life prepared by Copthorne Macdonald in 1999 for his granddaughter Camille Drummond.