Maude Valérie White

[citation needed] Although born near Dieppe in Normandy to upper middle-class parents, White and her family moved to England when she was only one year old.

She made her way by teaching piano, and by writing songs and playing them at galas and soirées, sometimes presenting recitals with contralto, composer, and festival organizer Mary Augusta Wakefield.

As Sophie Fuller notes, White's music during this period of her career is characterized "by careful word setting, expansive melodies, a sense of rhythmic propulsion and an avoidance of clear-cut cadences" (Grove).

Even later, past the turn of the century, her works become more impressionistic, as shown in "La Flûte Invisible" (Victor Hugo) and "Le Foyer" (Paul Verlaine).

Among other successful titles were "Come to me in my dreams", "Ye cupids droop each little head", "Until (semper fidelis)", "Mary Morison" and "My soul is an enchanted boat".