Louise Hanson-Dyer 1884-1962

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Louise Hanson-Dyer died in Monaco on 9 November 1962. Most of her Australian estate, valued
for probate at £241,380, was bequeathed to the University of Melbourne – an indication of her continued attachment to her homeland. The principal beneficiary of her European estate was her husband. He continued Louise’s work, commissioning a new edition of the complete works of Clément Janequin, adding to the catalogue of rare and otherwise unrecorded works, and supporting young musicians. In 1970 Decca bought the recording business; it continues to use the label for its specialised early music releases.

When Hanson died in 1971, control of Éditions de l’Oiseau-Lyre passed to his second wife, Margarita M. Hanson. Her most significant venture, a definitive 25-volume edition of polyphonic music of the 14th century, was completed in 1992. She also supervised the publication of revisions of existing editions, including a new edition the François Couperin collection with which Louise Hanson-Dyer had launched Éditions de l’Oiseau-Lyre five decades earlier. In 1992 Margarita Hanson was awarded the degree of Doctor of Music Honoris Causa by the University of Melbourne. When she retired in 1995, the business passed to musicologist and harpsichordist Davitt Moroney, who had been with the firm since 1981. He was succeeded in 2001 by Kenneth Gilbert, also long associated with the firm.

Since 1979, thanks to Louise Hanson-Dyer and J.B. Hanson’s munificence, all Éditions de l’Oiseau-Lyre’s publications have been produced with the financial assistance of the University of Melbourne. The company is now owned by the Lyrebird Trust, of which the University of Melbourne is a Trustee. It is also supported by the government of Monaco and several other European institutions.

Louise Hanson-Dyer’s precious collection of 15th to 19th century music scores, librettos and theoretical tracts was bequeathed to the university and is now part of the music library’s rare collections. In 2006 an exhibition of key items from the collection marked the renaming of the library in Louise’s honour and the launch of a new imprint: Lyrebird Press at the University of Melbourne. Appropriately, its first publication was a catalogue of the entire Louise Hanson-Dyer collection.

Frank Van Straten, 2007