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This talented musician continually felt the burden of her family legacy. Being the child of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, one of the best-known British composers of the 1900s, the composer’s reputation was cloaked in the lingering obscurity of bygone eras.

An Inaugural Recording

Earlier this year, I reflected on these memories as I got ready to produce the first-ever recording of Avril’s concerto for piano composed in 1936. With its intense musical themes, expressive melodies, and valiant rhythms, her composition will provide music lovers deep understanding into how the composer – a composer during war who entered the world in 1903 – conceived of her world as a woman of colour.

Past and Present

But here’s the thing about legacies. It can take a while to acclimate, to see shapes as they really are, to separate fact from misrepresentation, and I had been afraid to confront the composer’s background for a period.

I earnestly desired the composer to be following in her father’s footsteps. In some ways, she was. The idyllic English tones of parental inspiration can be detected in several pieces, such as From the Hills (1934) and Sussex Landscape (1940). However, one need only review the titles of her father’s compositions to see how he viewed himself as both a champion of UK romantic tradition and also a representative of the African diaspora.

It was here that Samuel and Avril appeared to part ways.

The United States judged Samuel by the brilliance of his compositions as opposed to the his racial background.

Samuel’s African Roots

During his studies at the renowned institution, Samuel – the offspring of a parent from Sierra Leone and a British mother – began embracing his heritage. At the time the Black American writer the renowned Dunbar came to London in the late 19th century, the aspiring artist was keen to meet him. He composed this literary work as a composition and the next year adapted his verses for a musical work, Dream Lovers. Then came the choral piece that put Samuel on the map: Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast.

Drawing from this American writer’s The Song of Hiawatha, this composition was an international hit, especially with Black Americans who felt vicarious pride as American society evaluated the composer by the excellence of his compositions as opposed to the his background.

Activism and Politics

Success did not reduce his beliefs. In 1900, he attended the initial Pan African gathering in England where he met the prominent scholar WEB Du Bois and observed a range of talks, covering the subjugation of Black South Africans. He was an activist until the end. He maintained ties with pioneers of civil rights such as this intellectual and Booker T Washington, delivered his own speeches on ending discrimination, and even engaged in dialogue on issues of racism with the US President on a trip to the White House in the early 1900s. Regarding his compositions, the scholar reflected, “he made his mark so notably as a creative artist that it cannot soon be forgotten.” He died in 1912, at 37 years old. But what would her father have made of his offspring’s move to be in this country in the mid-20th century?

Issues and Stance

“Child of Celebrated Artist shows support to South African policy,” appeared as a heading in the Black American publication Jet magazine. Apartheid “appeared to me the correct approach”, the composer stated Jet. When pushed to clarify, she qualified her remarks: she did not support with this policy “as a concept” and it “could be left to resolve itself, overseen by good-intentioned residents of diverse ethnicities”. Had Avril been more aligned to her family’s principles, or from segregated America, she might have thought twice about apartheid. But life had shielded her.

Background and Inexperience

“I have a British passport,” she stated, “and the authorities never asked me about my ethnicity.” Thus, with her “fair” skin (as described), she floated alongside white society, supported by their praise for her renowned family member. She presented about her parent’s compositions at the Cape Town university and conducted the broadcasting ensemble in Johannesburg, featuring the heroic third movement of her composition, named: “In memory of my Father.” Although a confident pianist on her own, she avoided playing as the soloist in her piece. On the contrary, she always led as the conductor; and so the segregated ensemble performed under her direction.

The composer aspired, as she stated, she “could introduce a change”. However, by that year, things fell apart. After authorities discovered her mixed background, she could no longer stay the nation. Her British passport offered no defense, the British high commissioner advised her to leave or face arrest. She went back to the UK, deeply ashamed as the magnitude of her naivety became clear. “The lesson was a difficult one,” she lamented. Compounding her disgrace was the printing that year of her ill-fated Jet interview, a year after her sudden departure from the country.

A Familiar Story

As I sat with these legacies, I perceived a recurring theme. The story of identifying as British until it’s revoked – which recalls troops of color who fought on behalf of the British in the second world war and lived only to be denied their due compensation. Along with the Windrush era,