AASR Song Spotlight: Three May Keep A Secret If Two Of Them Are Dead
Dulcie Holland (1913–2000) is remembered by many Australian musicians not only as a composer, but also as one of the country’s most influential music educators. Through her long association with the AMEB and her widely used theory and composition texts, generations of Australian students encountered her work long before they discovered her songs.
Yet Holland herself once remarked:
“Composing is very difficult. It needs a lot of concentration and dedication to get things just right. I feel I’m missionary in music in a way.”
That dedication remained with her throughout her life, composing well into her eighties.
Three May Keep A Secret If Two Of Them Are Dead comes from her late song cycle Six Recital Songs (1993), settings of poetry from A Singing of Sayings by Jyoti Brunsdon. Holland described the collection as “a musical response” to Brunsdon’s poems, which were written specifically for her to set - a particular intersection of artistic collaboration, where poetry and music emerge together to form an entirely new work.
Perhaps the title Six Recital Songs itself hints at Holland’s awareness that singers needed more Australian repertoire for the concert platform. The collection moves between lyrical beauty, wit and theatrical storytelling, offering performers music that is both engaging and highly performable.
This final song of the cycle is especially delightful. A cautionary tale, full of wry humour and character, it gives performers the opportunity to tell a story directly to the audience and works beautifully as an encore or light-hearted program ending.
As Jenny reflected:
“Her songs are often accessible and I had unwisely dismissed her writing for many years as I have always enjoyed a musical challenge. But then I found this collection of more recent songs written in 1993 towards the end of her life and simply called Six Recital Songs, in a second hand music store. Full of lyrical tunes, I fell in love with this one in particular because of its great title and wry humour. Plus, it gives you the opportunity to ‘break the fourth wall’ and communicate directly with the audience, rather than simply performing to them.” Works like this remind us of the remarkable breadth within Australian art song - repertoire that can be profound, lyrical, intimate and genuinely funny, sometimes all within the same collection.
Listen to Three Can Keep a Secret if Two of Them are Dead performed by Flametree.
You’ll find all the links on the song page here.