TO
Mrs. Louis C. Elson
TRUE TYPE OF
SELF-SACRIFICING WIFE AND MOTHER
IN A MUSICAL FAMILY,
THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED
BY HER SON

NOTE

The Church of Rome, though admitting no women to a share in performing its services, has yet made a woman the patron saint of music. The religions of antiquity have paid even more homage to the weaker sex in the matter, as the multitude of musical nymphs and fostering goddesses will show.

Of Saint Cecilia herself little is known accurately. The very apocryphal legend states that about the year 230 a noble Roman lady of that name, who had been converted to Christianity, was forced into an unwilling marriage with a certain Valerian, a pagan. She succeeded in converting her husband and his brother, but all were martyred because of their faith. This it is stated, took place12 under the Prefect Almacus, but history gives no such name. It is unfortunate, also, that the earliest writer mentioning her, Fortunatus, Bishop of Poitiers, speaks of her as having died in Sicily between the years 176 and 180. It is doubtful whether she would have been known at all, in connection with the art, but for a passing phrase in her story, which relates that she often united instrumental music to that of her voice in sounding the praises of the Lord. Because of these few words, she is famed throughout musical Christendom, half the musical societies in Europe are named after her, and Raphael's picture, Dryden's ode, Stefano Maderno's statue, and a hundred other great art works have come into existence.

The earliest inferences of woman's influence in music are to be drawn from the Hindoo mythology.[1] According to the tabular schedule of all knowledge, found in the ancient Brahmin records, music as an art belongs in the second chief division of lesser sciences, but on its mathematical and philosophical side it is accorded a much higher position, and is treated of in the oldest and most sacred Hindoo work, the Veda. This authority tells us that when Brahma had lain in the original egg13 some thousand billion years, he split it by the force of his thought, and made heaven and earth from the two fragments. After this, Manu brought into being ten great forces, whence came all the gods, goddesses, good and evil spirits. Among the lesser deities were the genii of music (Gandharbas) and those of the dance (Apsarasas), who furnished entertainment for the gods before man possessed the art.

About this time the female element began to assert itself. At Brahma's command, his consort, Sarisvati, goddess of speech and oratory, brought music to man, incidentally giving the Hindoos their finest musical instrument, the vina. The demigod Nared became the protector of the art, but Maheda Chrishna performed a more material service by allowing five keys, or modes, to spring from his head, in the shape of nymphs, while his wife, Parbuti, produced one more. Then Brahma helped the cause along by adding thirty lesser keys, or modes, all of them in the form of nymphs also.

These modes varied in character, some of them being too fiery to be attempted by mortals. It is related that Akbar, the emperor, once ordered the famous singer, Naik Gobaul, to sing the Raagni, or improvisation, of the mode of fire. The poor singer entreated for a less dangerous task, but in14 vain. Then he plunged up to his neck in the waters of the river Jumna, and began. Before he had finished half of the song, the water around him began to boil. He paused, but, finding the emperor's curiosity relentless, continued the strain, until at the close his body burst into flames and was consumed. Another melody caused the formation of clouds and the fall of rain, and a female singer is said once to have saved Bengal from drought and famine by means of this lay. Many other refrains had a similar power over the forces of nature; one could make the sun disappear and bring on night at midday, while others could change winter to spring, or rain to sunshine.

In all Indian legends, the charm of music is described as of immense potency. All animate and inanimate nature is represented as listening with ecstasy to the singing of Chrishna and Parbuti.[2] When Chrishna was on earth, in the form of a shepherd, there were sixteen thousand pastoral nymphs, or shepherdesses, who fell in love with him. They all tried to win his heart by the power15 of music, and each one sang to him in a different manner. Hence arose the sixteen thousand different keys which were said to have existed at one time in India.

The Hindoo musical system of to-day is likewise ascribed largely to female sources. The scale consists of seven chief tones, which are represented by as many heavenly sisters. The names of the tones (sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni, corresponding to our do, re, mi, etc.) are merely abbreviations of the names of the nymphs who preside over them. The tones of the scale are divided into quarters, and the number of quarters in the diatonic scale intervals is four, three, two, four, four, three, and two. Thus the number of possible modes is vastly greater than in our own scale, which has only semitones. There are six chief modes, represented by six genii, while each one is married to five of the thirty nymphs who typify the lesser modes. Each one of the genii has eight sons, and these are wedded to a nymph apiece, making forty-eight in all. Every member of this prolific musical family presides over something, if it is only one of the quarter tones that form the scale.

To illustrate the method of naming, the four quarters of the fifth scale tone (pa, or Panchama) belong to the nymphs Malina, Chapala, Lola, and16 Serveretna. The next full tone (dha) is owned by Santa and her sisters. If the higher tone, dha, should be flatted, giving it the same pitch as the upper quarter of the lower tone, pa, the Hindoo musician would not speak of dha as being flat, but would say instead, "Serveretna has been introduced to the family of Santa and her sisters."

The Hindoo music of to-day is not as potent as in mythical times. The people themselves acknowledge the decline of their art, and admit that even in the last century or two it has deteriorated. As for the miracle-working Ragas, or improvised songs, the people in Bengal will say that they can probably be heard in Cashmere, while the inhabitants of Cashmere will send the inquirer back to Bengal. Woman, too, has a less important position than of old. "When the ancient sages made our musical system," says an eminent Brahmin in an interview at San Francisco, "there were many women among them; but now not one can accomplish anything in the art."

In the traditions of ancient Egypt, music is entirely under the patronage of male gods. Thoth, the Egyptian Hermes, invented the lyre by striking the tendons of a dead tortoise, which had dried and stretched in the shell. Osiris, too, the chief of the Egyptian gods, protected the art, although Strabo17 says music was not allowed in his temple at Abydos. While travelling in Ethiopia, the story runs, Osiris met a troupe of revelling satyrs, and, being fond of singing, he admitted them to his train of musicians. In their midst were nine young maidens, skilled in music and various sciences, evidently the prototype of the Grecian Muses. Horus, the son of Osiris (equivalent to the Greek Apollo) was considered the god of Harmony.

An important mythical character was Maneros, son of the earliest Egyptian king. He seems to hold the same position as Linus, son of Apollo, among the Greeks. The first song of Egyptian music was a dirge for his untimely end, and a lament for the swift passing away of youth, spring, joy, and so on. Gradually the song itself, instead of the king's son, began to be called Maneros, and became the well-known banquet song of the social feasts, calling upon the guests to enjoy life while they might. In time the song became a symbol of gaiety and merriment instead of grief.

In most of the ancient civilizations, the songs appear to have been accompanied by clapping of hands, to mark the rhythm. There were many actual dances, also, in ancient Egypt, as is fully proven by a number of the old paintings. Some were like our jigs, break-downs, or clog-dances, while others18 consisted of regular figures, such as forward and back, swing, and so on, the latter kind being restricted to the lower orders. In all of these, women must have taken a large part, and doubtless they were responsible for some of the music. They were not allowed to play the flute, but could indulge in the tabor and other instruments. Some of the scenes depicted closely resemble the modern stage, and it is more than probable that, when the audiences of to-day applaud our own ballet scenes, they are enjoying themselves in the old Egyptian manner.

There can be no doubt that woman played an important part in music, possibly even in composition, in many civilizations which apparently allowed her only a restricted field of action. The Empress of Germany recently defined woman's sphere as consisting of four subjects,—children, clothes, cooking, and church; yet the German women have far more influence than this official utterance would indicate. It is not surprising, then, to find in the folios of Lepsius a reproduction of something analogous to our conservatories of music. It represents a course of musical instruction in the school of singers and players of King Amenhotep IV., of the eighteenth dynasty. There are several large and small rooms, connected with each other, and containing furniture and musical instruments. In some19 are the musicians practising and teaching. One teacher sits listening to the singing of a young girl, while another pupil is playing the accompaniment on a harp. Still another girl stands attentively listening to the teacher's instructions, as in a modern class. In another place are two girls practising a dance with harp music. In one room is a young lady having her hair dressed, while in another a young girl has placed aside her harp and is sitting down to lunch with a companion. All this goes to show that different civilizations often resemble one another more than would appear at first sight, and very probably woman's part in ancient Egyptian music was much like that which she plays in our own to-day.

The earliest Hebrew music was undoubtedly modelled after that of Egypt. In later Biblical times, however, there were many national instruments, and the style of the music must have been characteristic. The Old Testament, even in its earlier books, contains many examples of the songs of the people. Their ancient folk-music showed three principal styles,—the joyous bridal song, the cheerful harvest or vintage song, and the wailing funeral song; and there are many examples of each in the Scriptures. As there was no definite notation among the ancient Hebrews, the actual20 tunes that were sung with these songs will never be known. But it may be possible that the melodies have been preserved by rote, for it is certain that these three schools of singing exist to-day in Arabia and Syria. Whole villages are known to unite in a seven-day festival of rejoicing, not unlike the one at the wedding of Samson, as described in the fourteenth chapter of Judges.

The Song of Solomon presents an entire set of bridal songs in the popular vein. A good example of the mourning song is found in the opening chapter of the second book of Samuel, where David laments the death of Saul and Jonathan. It is somewhat exceptional because of its being rendered by a man, for in Eastern countries the professional mourners were always women, hired for the occasion. The men might join in the chorus of woe if they wished, but the main part of the song was always given by the women, who were not unlike the "Keeners," heard in Ireland on similar occasions, even down to recent times. The book of Lamentations presents a series of funeral songs, written in imitation of the professional lays of grief, and containing many allusions to the mourning women. In the fifth chapter of Amos, in Habakkuk, and many other books, are further illustrations of such folk-songs. The fifth chapter of Isaiah begins21 with the cheerful style of the vintage song, and then suddenly changes to a song of grief, forming an artistic contrast that must have been highly effective.

In the Hebrew songs, as in the Egyptian, there must have been much dramatic action united with the vocal work. When the word "dancing" occurs, it generally means only gesture and pantomime. Its use is made evident in the song of Moses, in Exodus XV. It requires little imagination to picture Miriam using a folk-song with which her hearers were familiar, improvising words to suit the occasion, and illustrating the whole with successive gestures of pride, contempt, sarcasm, and triumph, while the assembled multitude joined in the chorus at every opportunity.

Still more evident does this union of voice and action become in the song of Deborah and Barak, in Judges V. A possible description of the performance of this musical comedy is given by Herder, who suggests that "Probably verses 1-11 were interrupted by the shouts of the populace; verses 12-27 were a picture of the battle, with a naming of the leaders with praise or blame, and mimicking each one as named; verses 28-30 were mockery of the triumph of Sisera, and the last verse was given as a chorus by the whole people." According to this, the tune must certainly have been a familiar one.22 The whole scene, with its extemporized words, its clapping of hands to mark the rhythm, and its alternation of solo and chorus, was probably not unlike the singing at some of the negro camp-meetings on the Southern plantations.

Foremost among the patrons of the art in Grecian mythology are the Muses. These were not always nine in number. Originally, at Mount Helicon, in Bœotia, three were worshipped,—Melete (meditation), Mneme (memory), and Aoide (song). Three Muses were also recognized at Delphi and Sicyon. Four are mentioned as daughters of Jupiter and Plusia, while some accounts speak of seven Muses, daughters of Pierus. Eight was the number known in Athens, until finally the Thracian worship of nine spread over the whole of Greece. The parentage of these divinities is given with as many variations as their number. Most commonly they were considered daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (memory), born in Pieria at the foot of Mount Olympus. Some call them daughters of Uranus and Gæa, others of Pierus and Antiope, still others of Apollo or of Jupiter and Minerva. The analogy between the Muses and the nine maidens in the Egyptian troupe of Osiris has already been noted.

In Homer's poems, the Muses have already attained their well-known abode on Olympus, where23 they sing the festive songs at the banquets of the immortals. They were supposed to inspire the mind of the bards, and in early times the poets were perfectly sincere in invoking them and believing in their inspiration. The Muses, in presiding over the various branches of Grecian art, appeared unable to brook any rivalry. Thamyris, an ancient Thracian bard, boldly challenged them to a trial of skill, and, on being overcome by them in the contest, was deprived by them of his sight and of the power of singing. He is represented in art as holding a broken lyre. The nine daughters of King Pierus of Macedonia fared no better, and after an unsuccessful contest were changed into birds. The Muses were closely connected with Apollo, who was looked upon as their leader. Many mountains, as well as grottos, wells, and springs in various parts of Greece, were sacred to them.

The Sirens were another personification of the marvellous power of music among primitive peoples. Their parentage also is variously given, though they are usually mentioned as daughters of the river god, Achelous. They are generally represented as maidens, with a more or less extensive equipment of wings and other plumage. These wings were obtained at their request when Proserpine was carried off, that they might be better able24 to hunt for her. But another account says that they refused their sympathy to Ceres, and were given their feathery coating by her in punishment. Some writers say it was due to Aphrodite, who was angered at their virginity. The Sirens, as well as other ambitious performers, were rash enough to attempt a contest with the Muses, and met with the customary defeat. The victorious nine then pounced upon the unfortunate trio, and tore off wings and feathers.

The Sirens' chief occupation consisted in sitting on the rocks by the sea and singing to passing mariners. According to Homer, their island lay between Æaea and the rock of Scylla, or near the southwestern coast of Italy; but the Roman poets place them on the Campanian coast. Their magic power to charm all hearers was to last only until some one proved himself able to resist their spell; and here again accounts differ. Homer gives the credit to Ulysses, who stuffed his mariners' ears with wax, and had them bind him to the mast. Apollonius Rhodius, however, in the Argonautica, claims the credit for Orpheus, who saved the expedition of the Argonauts by singing the Sirens into silence, after which the musical damsels fell from their heights and were themselves changed into rocks. If some of our modern musicians were put25 to the same test, and condemned to death if they failed to charm their auditors, the results would be beneficial both to art and to the cemeteries. The power of the Sirens lasted after their death, and, like their cousins in Egyptian and Indian lore, they used their music to charm the souls of the blessed dead.

Leaving the realms of the supernatural, the only great name that the student will find among the musical women of Greece is that of Sappho. The story of her life is known only in its general outlines, and even these have been the subject of many learned disputes. She was born near the close of the seventh century B.C., either at Mytilene or at Eresos in the island of Lesbos. She grew to maturity at the former place, and became one of the two great leaders of the Æolian school of lyric poetry. From the fragments of her poetry, and those of her great rival, Alcæus, it is evident that the two were not envious of each other's fame, but lived in the most friendly intercourse. Of the events of her life, we have only two. One, referred to in the Parian marble and by Ovid, is her flight from Mytilene to Sicily, between 604 and 592, to escape from some unknown danger. The other is the well-known story that, being in love with Phaon, and finding her love unrequited, she cast herself26 from the Leucadian rock. This rock is a promontory on the island of Leucas, upon which was a temple to Apollo. At the annual festival of the god, it was the custom to cast down a criminal from this rock into the sea. To break his fall, birds of all kinds were attached to him, and, if he reached the sea uninjured, boats were ready to pick him up. This apparently was a rite of expiation, and as such gave rise to the well-known story that unfortunate lovers leaped from this rock to seek relief from their distress. The story of Sappho and Phaon is one of these, but it has been claimed that its authenticity vanishes at the first breath of criticism.

It is fair to class Sappho as a musician, for in ancient Greece poetry and music were inseparable. Of her poems, which filled nine books, only a few fragments remain, of which the most important is a splendid ode to Aphrodite. At Mytilene she appears to have gathered about her a large and elegant circle of young women, who were her pupils in poetry, music, and personal cultivation. Her influence must have been widespread, for the list of her disciples includes names from all parts of Greece. Her work of teaching, in the midst of her fair followers, has been compared with that of Socrates surrounded by the flower of the Athenian27 youth. The power of her poetry is shown by the story of its effect on the rugged character of Solon, the lawmaker. Hearing for the first time one of her pieces, sung to him by his nephew, he expressed in the most impassioned terms the wish that he might not die before having learned such a beautiful song.

The career of Sappho is made more wonderful by the fact that woman's work in ancient Greece was supposed to consist only of family duties. She taught her sons in childhood until they were sent to their regular masters, and she guided her daughters and set them an example in doing household duties. According to Pericles, that woman was most to be prized of whom no one spoke, either in praise or blame. Because of Sappho's prominence and social activity, but more especially because of the ardent character of some of her poems, her good name has been assailed by many modern critics. The majority, however, consider the accusations as groundless.

Alcman, the great lyric poet of Sparta (Lydian by birth), brought the so-called Lydian measure to its highest perfection. He was always ready to praise women in his verses, and wrote some choruses especially for the—

"Honey-voiced, lovely singing maidens,"
28

which were sung by female voices only. Bœotia could boast of two great poetesses. Myrtis, a native of Anthedon, is reported to have been the instructress of Pindar, and is said to have contended with him for the palm of superiority. She was famous through the whole of Greece, and many places possessed statues in honour of her. The second poetess was Corinna, of Tanagra, sometimes called the Theban because of her long residence at Thebes. She flourished about 490 B.C., and was a contemporary of Pindar. Like Myrtis, she is said to have instructed him, and is credited with having gained a victory over him in the public games at Thebes. Only a few fragments of her work have been preserved to us. But Pausanias, who states that she defeated Pindar no less than five times, thinks that her personal charms may have had something to do with the matter.

While teaching Pindar, Corinna once offered to beautify his earlier efforts with mythological allusions. The pupil, nettled by this criticism, soon brought to his instructress a new poem, of which the first six stanzas touched upon every part of Theban mythology; whereupon she cooled his enthusiasm by remarking with a smile: "One must sow seed by the handful, not by the bagful."

Whether the character of these earlier poetesses29 was above reproach or not, it is certain that in the later days of Grecian civilization music was handed over to the most degraded classes. In Egypt the caste of professional musicians was not held in any respect, and the art was often merely an added accomplishment to enhance the value of slaves. So, too, in Greece, the practice of music was given over to the Hetæræ, or courtesans. That these women were at times able to win a high position is amply proven by the case of Aspasia. A native of Miletus, she came to live in Athens, and there gained the affections of the great leader Pericles, not more by her beauty than by her high mental accomplishments. The story of her life, and of the literary and philosophical circle which she drew around her, is too well known to need repetition. Another famous courtesan, though less well endowed mentally, and evidently on a much lower plane of character, was the famous flute-player Lamia. It was her beauty rather than her intellect that won the great honours which she attained; and a temple dedicated to her as Venus Lamia, as well as a signet upon which her portrait has been preserved, bear witness to this fact.

The character of Greek music can only be conjectured. At first simple, it was regulated on a mathematical basis by Pythagoras, who understood30 the laws of vibration. Later on it developed into something more rich and varied, and, while still devoted to unison, or melodic, effects, it was undoubtedly full of beauty, as is the old Scotch music. Its great development, as well as the use of many small instruments (kithara, flute, etc.), go far to prove that music must have formed a larger part of woman's domestic life than the actual records show.

Roman civilization borrowed much from Greece, especially in the matter of art. It is not surprising, therefore, to find that the musical status of Rome, especially in her later days, was a mere replica of that of Greece. In the instrumental field, we find the lyre of less importance, but the flute (a term that included reed instruments also) was constantly used in ceremonial and sacrificial music. Trumpets were in use at all triumphal processions, while in the days of the empire the well-known but problematical water-organ became popular. Although the Roman domestic conditions admitted of more freedom than those of Greece, it is doubtful if the women took any important part in performance or composition of music. There are no great poetesses on the Roman roll of honour, while there are many on that of Greece.

Rome differed from Greece in having its poetry31 and music written by different authors, while in Greece both words and notes emanated from the same brain. But even among men the Romans possessed no important composers. The names of those who wrote music to the plays of Terence and Plautus (the plays themselves being imitations of the Greek) are known to history, but the composers possessed no position of consequence. If the men received no great homage, there must have been little incentive for women to strive in the musical field.

As in Greece, female slaves played a large part in the world of art,—with this difference, that in Rome the masters were usually on a lower plane of cultivation than their own slaves. Dancing was an adjunct to music, though often practised as a separate branch of entertainment, and brought to a high state of perfection in its pantomimic form.

The position of woman in the far East was inferior even to her station in Greece and Rome. In China, for example, everything feminine was held in contempt. This had its influence on the musical system of the Chinese, according to one of their legends. After the invention of music, the formation of various instruments, and the composition of many songs, all due to more or less mythical emperors, Hoang-Ti, who reigned about the year32 2600 B. C., decided to have the art scientifically investigated and its rules formulated. In his day music was practised, but not understood in its natural elements. The emperor therefore ordered Ling-Lun to look into the matter.

This dignitary, about whose work many anecdotes exist, travelled to Northwestern China, and took up his abode on a high mountain, near a bamboo grove. On cutting a stalk and excavating the pith between two of the joints, he found that the tube gave the exact pitch of the normal human voice, and also the sound given by the waters of the Hoang-Ho, which had its source near the scene. Thus was discovered the fundamental tone of the scale.

Meanwhile, the Foang-Hoang, or sacred bird of Chinese mythology, appeared with its mate and perched upon a neighbouring tree. The male bird sang a scale of several tones, while the female sang another composed of different tones. The first note of the male bird coincided in pitch with Ling-Lun's bamboo tube, and by cutting other tubes the erudite investigator proceeded to reproduce all the tones of both. By combining these, he was able to form a complete chromatic scale. But, owing to the prejudice against the weaker sex, the tones of the female (called feminine tones even to-day) were discarded33 in favour of those of the male bird. The latter, the basis of Chinese music, correspond to the black keys of our piano, while the former were equivalent to the white, or diatonic, notes of our scale.

That Chinese music, based on this pentatonic scale, need not be at all displeasing, is proved by many of the old Scotch tunes, which are built on the same system. An excellent illustration of its rhythmic structure, frequent iterations, and melodic character may be found in our own familiar tune, "There is a happy land, far, far away." The harsh quality that Europeans often find in Chinese performances is undoubtedly not a necessary adjunct, as the same criticism may be made upon many of our own street singers or brass bands.

The Chinese, like many other ancient nations, have a great contempt for the caste of musicians and actors, although enjoying the drama keenly. Parents have almost unlimited power over their children, and may sell them as slaves, or even in some cases kill them; but they are not allowed to sell them to the troupes of strolling comedians or to magicians. Any one convicted of doing this, or aiding in the transaction, is punished by one hundred blows of the bamboo. Any person of free parentage marrying an actor or actress receives the same punishment. Yet, while musicians connected34 with the stage are held under the ban, those who devote themselves to the religious rites receive the highest esteem. These, however, cannot be women.

The music of Japan, though built on the chromatic scale, was much the same as that of China. Actors and musicians command hardly more respect in the island than on the Continent. Women play a negative part in both countries, if we except the Geishas, who entertain in the tea-houses. But Japan has made such rapid strides in civilization recently that it may not be impossible for woman to develop the activity that she has already shown in Western lands.

The position of woman among the northern races that overthrew the Roman power was wholly different from that which she held in the more ancient epoch, but even under the newer regime it was no enviable one. In many of the earlier Germanic systems, wives were bought by a definite payment of goods or of cattle. That this was a recognized practice is shown in the laws of Ethelbert, which state that if a man carry off a freeman's wife, he must at his own expense procure another for the injured husband. Usually women had no rights of inheritance, though in some cases they could inherit when there were no male children, and in others they could transmit the right of inheritance to their male descendants. Sometimes they were allowed to inherit movable property of a certain sort, probably largely the result of their own handiwork. The evident idea of the Salic law was to allow woman a marriage portion only, and36 as soon as she was safely bestowed upon some neighbouring group of people, neither she nor her children had any further claim upon the parent group.

Great cruelty was evident in the treatment of female slaves. According to the laws of Athelstan, if one of these were convicted of theft, she should in punishment be burned alive by eighty other such slaves. A similar example of stern discipline is afforded by the ecclesiastical provision, occurring no less than three times, that, if a woman scourged her slave to death, she should do penance. It is little wonder that under these conditions the female slaves would sing in a rather forced manner, if at all, and the women themselves would hardly indulge in the gentle art of composing music.

The early Christian Church, too, afforded no encouragement for women to exert their musical abilities. When the earliest meetings occurred in the catacombs, the female members of the congregation took their part in singing the hymns, but, when organized choirs were formed, they were allowed no place. The singing-schools founded in Rome by the Popes Sylvester I. and Hilary, at the end of the fourth century, were devoted solely to the training of male voices. In describing the earlier music, St. John Chrysostom says: "The psalms which we sing unite all the voices in one, and the37 canticles arise harmoniously in unison. Young and old, rich and poor, women, men, slaves, and citizens, all of us have formed but one melody together." But the custom of permitting women to join with men in the singing was abolished by the Synod of Antioch in the year 379.

In the music of the Celtic and Gaelic races, also, woman had no place. Their songs, like their lives, were martial in character. The harpists of Ireland and Wales, and the bagpipers of Scotland, were all men, and they made strict rules about the admission of new members to their guilds. Even among the early English minstrels, who devoted their powers to the milder art of love-songs and Christmas carols, no women are to be found. The wandering life of these bards and singers was too rude at first to admit of participation by the gentler sex, and it was only under more stable conditions of civilization that woman at last gained the opportunity of showing and developing her talents.

With the advent of chivalry, she found herself at once in a more exalted position. In this epoch, when cultivated minds began to devote their energies to other things besides fighting in war and carousing in peace, music found new and worthier subjects in nature and love and the beauty of woman. Under the new system she became the38 arbiter of all knightly disputes, the queen to whom all obedience was due. From this extreme worship arose the schools of the Minnesingers and the Troubadours, who paid her manifold homage in the shape of poetry and song.

According to the general statements of history, the Minnesingers began their career in the time of Frederick Barbarossa, of Germany. This would place their origin in the latter part of the twelfth century. Yet it is a strange fact that Heinrich of Veldig, usually accounted the pioneer in this new school of singing, utters a complaint about the loss of the good old times, and bewails the decay of the true greatness of the art to which he devoted himself. The original song in which he expresses this sentiment is still extant, and the particular stanza in question runs as follows:

"Do man der rehten minne pflag
Da pflag man ouch der ehren;
Nu mag man naht und tag
Die boesen sitte leren;
Swer dis nu siht, und jens do sach,
O we! was der nu clagen mag
Tugende wend sich nu verkehren."

That many of the early songs of the Minnesingers have been preserved is due to the forethought of Rüdiger of Manesse, a public officer of Zurich in39 the fourteenth century. He made a thorough collection of all specimens of the style of the Minnesingers, and many subsequent works, such as that of Von Der Hagen, are based upon his researches.

The language ordinarily used by the Minnesingers was that of Suabia, which was that employed at the imperial and many lesser courts of Germany. They used it with a skill and delicacy which was generally far superior to the style of the Troubadours. In performing their works, they did not, like their western brethren, have recourse to hired accompanists, or Jongleurs, but supported the vocal part by playing on a small viol. The Jongleurs were essentially a French institution, and no class of musicians similar to them existed in Germany. The Minnesingers, like the Troubadours, were amateurs, and aimed to keep free from the taint of professionalism. Men of the highest rank were proud to belong to this order of musicians, and emperors, princes, and famous knights are found among them.

The love-songs of the Minnesingers, as already intimated, were less fiery than those of the Troubadours. While the Provençal minstrel allowed his homage to his chosen lady to proceed to extreme lengths, his German brother paid a less excessive but far purer tribute to the object of his affections. Very often, too, the German poets rose to a still40 higher level, and sang praises of the ideal qualities of womanhood in general. Thus the singers of Germany caused far less domestic discord than those of France.

That there was still some unlicensed gallantry, however, can be seen from the type of music known as "Wacht-Lieder," or watch-songs. In these the amorous knight is represented as pleading with the watchman of the castle for admission to his lady-love. Sometimes the song took the form of a warning from the watchman, telling that daylight was near and the knight must depart.

Besides giving the world a host of shorter songs, the period of the Minnesingers brought forth some really great poets who were successful in the larger forms. The author, or authors, of the famous "Nibelungenlied" are unknown; but the work remains to us as the greatest epic of Germany. Foremost in point of fame stands Wolfram von Eschenbach, author of the familiar "Parzifal." In depicting his characters, he strikes a note of idealistic beauty. Another great poet was Gottfried of Strasburg, almost as famous as Wolfram, and in some respects his opposite. His characters are endowed with life and vigour, and eager to seize the pleasures of earth while they last. His best work was "Tristan and Isolde."41

The legend of Tannhäuser, which has crystallized and been handed down to us in story, has an undoubted basis of fact. The existence of the cave of Venus, in the Thuringian hill of Hörselburg, may be taken as not proven; but there certainly was a tournament of song at the castle of the Wartburg, and many famous knights probably took part in it. Whether Tannhäuser himself was real is an open question; but there can be no doubt about Walther von der Vogelweide, who was one of Germany's greatest masters in the shorter forms.

Examples of still another style in the work of the Minnesingers are almost surely a direct imitation of the work of the Trouvères of Northern France. These examples consist of more or less lengthy fables, or sometimes tales with a pleasing moral attached. Many stories of Roman history are found among these, and many of the proverbs which we use without thinking of their authorship date from this time. Among the latter are, "Set not the wolf to guard the sheep," "Never borrow trouble,"

"The king must die,
And so must I,"

and many other such gems of wisdom.

In all this the women had some share, if they did not play so important part as their sisters in42 France. Their position as hostesses, or as the objects of poetical tribute, enabled them to comment and criticize, and, if they did little actual composing, they were allowed to take a prominent part in the performance of music. We find in the old books of rules and codes of education that the woman of rank and position was possessed of many accomplishments, if not exactly those that are expected to-day. One of these codes, or Essenhamens, as they were called, gives the four chief duties of women, and, making allowance for the change in civilization, they correspond fairly well with those already quoted from the present German Empress. The cooking and sewing remain the same, but, instead of amusing the children, the women were expected to care for children of a larger growth, by obtaining a knowledge of surgery. The chatelaine was supposed to take full charge of her lord if he returned wounded from tourney or battle. Instead of church matters, the final accomplishment was the secular game of chess.

Another work of the time gives rules of behaviour for women, inculcating a submissive demeanour that is hardly practised to-day. The usual modesty of deportment was prescribed; women were always to direct their glances discreetly downward, and in the case of a stranger were to speak43 only when addressed. If a room were full of women, and a man should suddenly enter, the rules of decorum compelled them to rise immediately, and remain standing until he should seat himself.

The extent of knightly devotion to women in the age of chivalry can hardly be exaggerated. The work of Ulrich von Lichtenstein, for instance, in his "Frauendienst," is full of the most absurd performances, which any sensible lady would have been justified in repudiating. The Troubadours indulged in even greater vagaries, and one Pierre Vidal, in love with a certain Louve de Penautier, whose first name meant "she-wolf," adopted the name of Loup, and actually assumed a wolf skin as his garment. To prove his sincerity even more, he insisted upon being completely wrapped in this hide and hunted by hounds and horsemen. After the dogs had caught him, he would not allow them to be pulled off, but insisted upon enduring their attacks for the glory of his lady-love. When nearly dead, he was rescued and taken to her castle, where he recovered health if not mental balance.

More noble than any of these was the tribute paid to women by the Minnesinger Henry of Meissen. Declining to single out any one fair Muse, he sang of womankind as a whole, and never ceased to praise their purity, their gentleness, and their nobility.44 Through his life he was honoured by them with the title of "Frauenlob" (praise of women), and at his death they marched in the funeral procession, and each threw a flower into his grave, making it overflow with blossoms.

The royal house of Suabia did its best to encourage the art of the Minnesingers, allowing them a liberty of criticism that would ordinarily be undreamed of in court life. It is in an epoch little later than this that we find a singer expressing one of his objections to royalty in the following verse:

"King Rudolf is a worthy king,
All praise to him be brought;
He likes to hear the masters play and sing,
But after that he gives them naught."

The rise of the Troubadours is due wholly to Oriental influences. There may have been some native poetry among the pastoral races of the sunny land of Provence, where the guild flourished, but not a single line of it remains to us. Moreover, it is certain that the Eastern minstrels left their impress in Spain, and that the Crusaders brought back from the Orient, among many other novelties, the custom of encouraging minstrelsy. The Arabian bards sang chiefly of love, as they well might in a land where female loveliness received such45 excessive worship. At the Saracenic courts, the bards were ever ready to win gratitude, and even more substantial rewards, by praising the latest favourite at the expense of former beauties. Provence, with its dazzling sun and glowing climate, possessed a striking resemblance to the Eastern countries, and among its inhabitants were many who could boast an Oriental ancestry. No less than five times did Saracen emirs lead their hosts into the country, endeavouring to overcome it not only by force of arms, but by the more peaceful and more certain method of introducing their own industries and customs. Provence itself was a land of peace and repose, and could better encourage gentler arts than the warlike nations of Northern Spain. We may find the Troubadours definitely established there in the early part of the twelfth century.

The language of their songs is the beautiful "Langue d'oc," so called from the use of the word "oc" to mean yes, and thus distinguished from the "Langue d'oil" of Northern France and the "Lingua di si" of Italy. The "Langue d'oc" was spoken in the entire southern part of France, and has given its name to a province of the present. So when the nobles of Provence, in the lordly retirement of their ancestral castles, sought an entertainment suited to their refined and sympathetic46 natures, they were soon imitated by the greater part of the nation.

The songs of the Troubadours were in many cases taken directly from Eastern models. In early Arabian times it was customary for two shepherds to converse in music by intoning responsive phrases on their flutes; and it soon became customary for two minstrels to sing in like manner. In the early songs of the Bible, too, are many verses whose second half answers the first, and, in fact, the Hebrew words for "answer" and "sing" are said to be identical. Among the Troubadours, this species of musical dialogue took the form of the tenson, or contention. The use of answering couplets in solo songs is another point of resemblance. Another favourite Arabian form was the casida, or stanza constructed with only one rhyme, and the rich and melodious Provençal tongue lent itself excellently to poems of this structure. So successful were the Troubadours in using it that sometimes their compositions were over a hundred lines in length. The short but brilliant Arabian lyrics, called "Maouchah," or embroidery, were well imitated by dainty and sparkling lyrics of the Troubadours. The Oriental mourning song became the Planh, or dirge. The evening tribute of the Arabian minstrels to their chosen loves became the47 serenade, while the Troubadours went still further in this vein by originating the aubade, or morning song. Among the other forms used, the verse was merely a set of couplets, the chanson was divided into several stanzas, while the sonnet was much freer in form than at present. When more than two singers took part in a tenson, it became a tournament. The sirvente was a song of war or politics, sometimes satirical, sometimes in praise of the exploits of a generous patron. The sixtine contained six stanzas of six lines each, with the rhymes holding over from one stanza to the next, and occurring in a different order in each stanza. The rhymes in the sirvente differed from what we consider correct by consisting always of a repetition of the same word. The discord was a sort of free fantasia, sometimes in several dialects. The pastorelle was of pastoral character, usually consisting of short lines and containing a dialogue.

Among the more narrative forms are found the ballad, more especially favoured by the Trouvères, or minstrels of the "Langue d'oil" regions. It gave rise to the various metres used in the epics, and sometimes formed the basis of these longer works. In general, the Trouvères devoted themselves to fiction and story, while their southern brethren sang of love. The novel, used largely in the south, was48 a short poem containing some brilliant anecdote of gallantry, couched in neat phrase. The romance, or long narrative, was by reason of its size the most permanent of all the poetry of this age. Though written by both Troubadours and Trouvères, the latter were far superior in style and invention, and it is mostly their work which has survived. These romances were sometimes in prose, but more often in poetry of extremely smooth and flowing metre.

The romances grouped themselves in three principal cycles,—first, the Carlovingian, including the stories of Charlemagne, of Roland and the twelve peers, of Fierabras, and so on; second, the Arthurian, dealing with the legends of the Round Table; and third, the Alexandrian, containing tales of antiquity, chiefly of Alexander the Great. In the first group, "Brut d'Angleterre" contains the mythical story of all the early English kings. It was adapted from lower Brittany by Robert Wace. A Saxon Trouvère continued this to his own time, imbuing his work with thorough hatred of the Normans. Walter Map, Archdeacon of Oxford under Henry II., wrote many Arthurian tales, while Chrétien de Troyes wrote the greater part of "Sir Perceval de Galles" in Norman-French. "Floriant and Florete" is another Arthurian tale, while "Aucassin and Nicolette," of unknown authorship, is a charming49 romance of love in Southern France and captivity among the Saracens.

The life of the Troubadour forms a pleasing picture in the book of mediæval history. He was essentially a gentleman by birth, scorning to take pay for his songs, and often distributing the gifts he received among his servants. He had to maintain a large retinue, and give sumptuous entertainments, with the result that he often used up his entire patrimony. The usual course in such cases was a trip to Palestine with the Crusaders, and a gallant death in battle with the infidel. But before reaching that end, his career must have been decidedly pleasant. He would pass the winter in his castle, training himself in feats of arms and in musical composition. At the advent of spring, he would issue forth, followed by a train of Jongleurs singing his songs, and proceed through field and wood to the nearest castle. Here in the evening a great feast would be arranged, with the Jongleurs in a special minstrels' gallery. Next day there would be music on the ramparts, or in fair weather brocade carpets would be spread in the meadows, and knights and ladies would listen to more songs. Here the Troubadour himself at times deigned to perform, thus affording his hearers an unusual privilege. Here, too, the women had a chance to show50 their own skill; for, if there were no woman Trouvères, there were plenty who were well able to hold their own in the shorter forms of the Troubadours.

That kings and princes did not disdain to become Troubadours is proved by the example of Richard of England and the Dauphin of Auvergne. But it is more unexpected to find a queen among their ranks, and that no less a queen than Eleanor, wife of Henry II. of England. Her grandfather, William of Poitou, was one of the earliest patrons of the art, and she inherited his tastes. Her career, like his, is one of boldness and adventure. When wife of Louis VII., before her marriage with Henry, she set an example to chivalry by going to the Crusades with that French king, and not in the capacity of wife, but rather as an Amazon warrior. She gathered around her a troupe of kindred spirits, and, equipped in the most graceful array that armourers and milliners could devise, started off at the head of her husband's knights. Her campaign was conducted on principles of pleasure rather than of strategy. In Asia Minor, where she led the van during the march, she chose her route according to the beauty of the landscape rather than safety of position, and more than once brought the army into grave danger. She varied the monotony of the advance by several romantic love episodes, notably with a young emir in the train of the Sultan Noureddin. She conducted her career in much the same style as the light opera heroine of to-day, who pauses in the midst of the action to sing a song, pursue an amour, or bask in the favour of all beholders.

51Chief among her admirers was Bernard de Ventadour, whose verse has received high praise from the poet Petrarch. Of humble birth, he won the interest of the viscount of the castle, who gave him a good education. In those days this training consisted in knowing how to be courteous and well behaved, and how to compose a song and sing it. Bernard, after exercising his growing powers on the beauties of spring, the fragrance of flowers, and the music of the nightingale, turned his attentions to the charms of the young viscountess, which he sung with such success that one day the object of his praises, in a fit of rapture, bestowed a kiss upon him. Enraptured by this, he sang his eulogies with still more boldness, until he roused the jealousy of the lord of the castle, who locked up his young spouse, and drove the Troubadour from the district. He took refuge at the court of Eleanor, for whom he conceived a second and more passionate adoration, and whom he followed to England. But52 Henry was either more indulgent or more indifferent, and no further quarrels came.

The atmosphere of refinement brought into the rude life of the castle by the Troubadours is more than offset by the domestic infelicity they caused. Each of these knight-errants of literature was supposed to choose a lady-love, and it made no difference if she were already married. Thus conjugal fidelity was at a very low ebb, while amorous intrigues were openly encouraged by what amounted to a definite system of civilization. To settle the many vexed questions arising from this state of affairs, the Courts of Love were formed, at which noble ladies decided all disputed points. Most famous of these courts was that of Queen Eleanor herself, while among the others were those of the ladies of Gascony, the Viscountess of Narbonne, the Countess of Champagne, and the Countess of Flanders. Disputes before these courts usually took the form of the tenson, or contention, already described.

Many are the legendary accounts of the laws upon which these courts based their decisions. There are fables of knights riding in magic forests and finding scrolls attached by golden chains to the necks of fiery dragons, or the feet of fleet birds. These laws, if not applicable in our present civilization,53 show in the most interesting fashion how the subject of love was regarded in the twelfth century. Among them are found the following startling statements:

"Marriage cannot be pleaded as an excuse for refusing to love."

"A person who cannot keep a secret can never be a lover."

"No one can really love two people at the same time," says one rule; but another adds, "Nothing prevents one lady being loved by two gentlemen, or one gentleman by two ladies."

Two years was the required period of mourning for a dead lover. But such constancy may not have been demanded in the case of the living, for, according to rule, "A new love-affair banishes the old one completely."

Lovers in those days were expected to show the most definite symptoms of their malady; for, according to law, "Every lover is accustomed to grow pale at the sight of his lady-love;" "At the sudden and unexpected prospect of his lady-love, the heart of the true lover invariably palpitates;" and "A real lover is always the prey of anxiety and malaise." Also, "A person who is the prey of love eats little and sleeps little."

There are many maxims on the best way of keeping54 true love alive, and many more on the subject of jealousy. That the love of the Troubadours was none too permanent is indicated by the statement, "A moderate presumption is sufficient to justify one lover in entertaining grave suspicions of the other."

Among the celebrated decisions is one given by the Countess of Champagne upon the question, "Can real love exist between married people?" Basing her decision on the fact that love implies a free granting of all favours, while marriage enforces constraint, the fair arbiter decided for the negative. Another decree, of wider application, was pronounced by Queen Eleanor. A lover, after entreating his lady's favour in vain, sent her a number of costly presents, which she accepted with much delight. Yet even after this tribute to her charms, she remained obdurate, and would not grant him the slightest encouragement. He accordingly brought the case before the Court of Love, on the ground that the lady, by accepting his presents, had inspired him with false hopes. Eleanor gave the decision wholly in his favour, saying that the lady must refuse to receive any gifts sent as love-tokens, or must make compensation for them. The story does not tell whether the lady in question accepted the suitor or returned the gifts.55

The absurdity to which these laws were carried is shown by another decision of Eleanor's. A gentleman became deeply smitten with a lady who had given her love to another, but who would have been pleased to return his devotion if ever deprived of her first lover. Soon after, the original pair were married. The gentleman, citing the decision that real love cannot exist between married people, claimed that the lady was now free to reward his fidelity. The lady declared that she had not lost the love of her first suitor by marrying him, but Queen Eleanor upheld the decision cited, and ordered the lady to grant her new lover the favours he desired.

The Troubadours at times treated subjects far different from the usual short lyrics or long romances. Many of these minstrels performed the unusual task of setting the laws in poetic form. It is not unusual to find lawyers becoming good poets, but in this case the legal minstrels drew from the codes of their native land enough inspiration for long effusions. Moral and religious precepts, too, were often put in the form of lengthy poems. Of even greater interest to the student of old customs are the so-called "Essenhamens," or collections of rules for behaviour for young ladies. In one of these, by Amanieus des Escas, called the56 god of love, the poet gives his counsel to a young lady in the train of some great countess. He meets her in one of her walks, whereupon she addresses him and asks for certain rules to guide her conduct. The poet, after apologetically insisting that she must know more about it, having ten times as much common sense as he has, overcomes his scruples, and proceeds to pour forth much undiluted wisdom.

From his verses we learn to approve of the well-known system of early rising and early retiring, with many minor points about washing, dressing, caring for the teeth and nails, and other mysteries of the toilet. Then follow rules for behaviour in church, with directions to preserve a quiet demeanour, and avoid improper use of the eyes or the tongue. From the church the writer conducts his pupil to the dinner-table, reciting many important details in carving, passing the dishes properly, and performing the correct ablutions. He closes this episode with the excellent advice that no harm can come from tempering wine with water. After this comes the conversation in the drawing-room, and many naïve methods of raising interesting discussions are suggested.

Less highly gifted than the Troubadours were the Jongleurs, who composed their retinue. These musical57 jacks-of-all-trades began as accompanists, singing the songs of their master at the castles he visited. But soon they grew numerous and independent, and occupied a station varying from that of our public entertainers to that of the humblest street musician. Nothing came amiss to them,—singing, playing all instruments, dancing, imitating the calls of animals and birds, and even the juggling that has derived its name from them. In the wandering life that they led, they were often forced to take their wives and children along, and thus women grew accustomed to take some part in the performances.

The glee-maidens were essentially an English institution, and no doubt they were more sure of courtesy and protection in that country than on the Continent. They were by far the most romantic figures of the minstrel world. Often they would wander about the country alone and unguarded, braving or avoiding the dangers of the road. Sometimes their only escort was a pet dog or a goat. They arrayed themselves in small garments of bright colours, often adorned with silver, while on their feet were leather buskins. They were at home in the courtyards of castles and monasteries no less than in the midst of villages and towns, and, mounting on some slight knoll, they would entertain gentles and commoners with voice and violin. They58 are often introduced into the romances of early England, and many famous glee-maidens are found on the pages of history. One of the most celebrated was Adeline, who lived in the time of William the Conqueror, and was successful enough to be rewarded by him with an estate.

In the reign of Henry III. we find one really great figure among the glee-maidens,—Marie de France. She was the Jongleuse of William Longsword, son of Henry II. and Fair Rosamond, and he certainly deserves the gratitude of the literary world for discovering and fostering her wonderful talent. Born probably in Brittany, her life and works identified her with the English. She was familiar with the Breton tongue, and also with Latin. Her first production was a set of lays in French verse, that met with instant popularity throughout England. The courts of the nobles reëchoed with her praises, and ladies as well as knights were never weary of listening to her songs. Twelve of them are now in the British Museum, among them a beautiful one dealing with King Arthur and the Round Table. These works are of rare charm, no less for their pleasing style and depth of feeling than for their simplicity of expression and clearness of narrative. Her second effort was a poetical rendering of many of Æsop's fables,59 done either as a favour or a tribute of love for her protector. This was followed by a translation of the Purgatory of St. Patrick in Ireland, taken from the Latin.

Few of the glee-maidens were so richly gifted or so highly placed as Marie. Most of them travelled about, either alone or in the company of glee-men, and were content with more ordinary compositions. At times they were accompanied by dancing bears, who went through their figures with the maidens, while the glee-men played, and tripped a fantastic toe, if not exactly a light one.

The existence of the Jongleurs gradually undermined that of the Troubadours, as the former grew more and more proficient. In the thirteenth century we find Guirant Riquier, often called the last of the Troubadours, requesting King Alfonso X. of Castile to make a definite classification of Jongleurs, and title the best, thus preventing the indiscriminate mixing of high and low musicians in the public mind. The king made some effort to do so, but met with little success, for the whole institution was gradually decaying. A more tragic fate awaited the Troubadours of Provence, the home of the art. Espousing the cause of the Albigenses, they used their wit with such telling effect that they brought down upon themselves the deadly hatred of the60 Papists; and in the short but bloody war that followed, they were almost wholly exterminated in the cruel slaughter caused by the forces of religious intolerance. Don Pedro of Aragon, who came to aid his brother Troubadours, met with defeat and death, and after his loss the victors started on a career of cruelty, torture, and indiscriminate murder. The castles of the minstrel knights, once the home of beauty and song, were razed to the ground, and the Troubadours were blotted from the page of history.

Among the women who have influenced music without actually creating it, none have had greater chances to use their power than the wives of the famous composers. Often they have been endowed with no inconsiderable musical genius themselves, but have sacrificed their claim to renown upon the altar of domestic duty. Sometimes, in rare instances, they have had the ability to perform the double task of caring for the household and continuing their own musical labours. Their story is an interesting one, and from the time of the great John Sebastian Bach, who stands as a model of domestic purity, down even to the present day, they have played a large part in shaping the musical destinies of the world.

From the twelfth to the seventeenth century is a long gap, and music underwent many changes during this period. After the passing of the minstrel62 knights, popular music fades out of sight. That it had an existence, however, is amply proven. The Jongleurs must have continued long after their masters were stamped out, for their direct successors are with us to-day, and our hand-organ is the descendant of their fearful and wonderful organistrum. The entire school of English national music saw its palmiest days during this epoch. Even on the Continent, the great schools of contrapuntists delighted to show their skill by employing as their cantus firmus, or chief part, some well-known popular song, such as "L'Homme Armé," for example.

In Germany, the mantle of the Minnesingers fell upon the guilds of musical amateurs in the growing commercial cities. Less poetic than their predecessors, these Mastersingers, as they named themselves, often took refuge in arbitrary rules and set metrical forms that made a poor substitute for real inspiration. That there was some genuine poetic feeling and humour among them is shown by the work of Hans Sachs, the greatest of their number. He wrote many poems and plays, of which the "Fassnachtspiele" were the most popular and the most mirth-provoking. Contrary to the version of his life given in Wagner's opera, he succeeded in making a second marriage late in life; and contrary63 to the general experience in such cases, the marriage was a happy one, for his young wife was exceedingly proud of her famous husband. But in the actual creative work of the Mastersingers woman played no part.

Sacred music and the science of composition flourished as never before. There is an appropriate saying that old music was horizontal, while now it is vertical; and the contrast between the interweaving of parts, proceeding smoothly together, and our single melodies supported by massive chords, is aptly illustrated by the remark. This very interweaving led to a style of music that was extremely complex, affording chances for intellectual and mathematical skill rather than emotional fervour. It has been customary to say that this style of composition was unsuited to women, and to pass over the epoch with the casual remark that no women composers appear within its limits. But modern research has shown the futility of this statement.

The records of the Netherland schools are meagre, so it is to Italy that we must turn for the earliest examples of skilled women composers. The first great name is that of Maddalena Casulana, who was born at Brescia about 1540. Her published compositions took the shape of two volumes64 of madrigals, issued in 1568 and 1583. Next in point of time comes Vittoria Aleotti, a native of Argenta. Her magnum opus was published at Venice, in 1593, under the flowery title, "Ghirlanda dei Madrigali a 4 Voci." Francesca Baglioncella, born at Perugia in the same century, is another exponent of the art, while Orsina Vizzani, who first saw the light of day at Bologna in 1593, not only composed many pieces in this form, but by playing her own and others'[3] works did much to make it popular with all music-lovers in Italy.

The year 1600 saw the beginning of opera, due to the work of Peri and his Florentine compeers in trying to—

"Revive the just designs of Greece."

Among the early operatic composers is found the charming and accomplished Francesca Caccini, daughter of that Giulio Caccini who was Peri's friend and most formidable rival. Born at Florence65 in 1581, and educated in the most thorough manner, she was for many years the idol of her native city, not only because of her great talent in singing and composition, but also on account of the exquisite beauty of her Latin and Tuscan poetry. Among other musical works by her are two examples of the new form,—"La Liberazione di Ruggiero" and "Rinaldo Innamorato,"—both of which are preserved to us. A later composer in the same field was Barbara Strozzi, whose opera, "Diporti d'Euterpe," was successfully received at Venice in 1659. In Ricordi's modern collection of old Italian songs are some charming examples of her skill in other directions.

In the domain of Italian sacred music, too, the women were not inactive. Catterina Assandra, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, wrote a number of religious works, of which "Veni Sancte Spiritus," for two voices, achieved more than passing fame. Margarita Cozzolani and Lucrezia Orsina Vezzana, both Catholic sisters, won renown by their motets and other sacred works. Cornelia Calegari, born at Bergamo in 1644, won the plaudits of her nation by her wonderful singing and organ-playing, as well as by her many compositions. Her first book of motets was published in her fifteenth year, and met with universal success. The66 highest forms possessed no difficulties for her, and among her works are several masses for six voices, with instrumental accompaniment. These names are enough to show that woman was able to hold her own, even in a period when music had apparently banished those emotional qualities with which she is said to be most in sympathy.

The women of other countries were not idle in this period of musical activity. Germany, in spite of her meagre records, can show at least one great name. Madelka Bariona, who lived during the sixteenth century, upheld the musical reputation of her country by publishing seven five-voiced psalms at Altdorf, in 1586. Bernarda Ferreira de Lacerda was of Portuguese nationality. She won great renown by her writings and her knowledge of languages. Philip II. of Spain wished to entrust her with the education of his children, but she declined, alleging as her reason that she wished to devote all her time to study. Many of her manuscript compositions and musical writings are preserved in the Royal Library at Madrid.

France can boast of a real genius in Clementine de Bourges, who was born at Lyons in the sixteenth century. Such authorities as Mendel and Grove accord her a rank with the very greatest of her time. She held a high position among the intellectual67 leaders of that day, as much by her great learning as by her musical skill. She shows complete mastery of many instruments, and her gifts in composition are amply proven by her four-part chorus, which can be found in J. Paix's organ collection. Her career was brought to an untimely end by grief. She was engaged to Jean de Peyrat, a royal officer, who met his death in a skirmish with the Huguenots in 1560. Her sorrow at this disaster proved incurable, and she died in the next year.

Although the unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots, belongs to a more northern land, the credit of her talents may be fairly accorded to France, where she received her education. She made no musical attempts in the more ambitious forms, but wrote many songs, among which "Las! en mon doux Printemps" and "Monsieur le Provost des Marchands" met with considerable success in their day.

With the advent of Bach, music was no longer the dry mathematical study that it had been during the later middle ages, for in his hands it became imbued with true feeling. Descended from a famous family of musicians, he was born at the little German town of Eisenach, in 1685. Receiving his early education at Ohrdruf, he showed himself endowed with unusual genius. Forced to make his68 way when fifteen years old, he supported himself in the Convent School of St. Michael's, at Luneburg, by means of his musical talents. After a short term as court musician at Weimar, he became organist of the New Church at Arnstadt, and here he met the woman who was to be his first wife. Almost the earliest mention of her is made in a report of the consistory, criticizing the young organist for certain breaches of discipline. From this report, it appears that he had asked for four weeks' leave for study, and had stayed away four months; he had played interludes that the reverend board considered too long and too intricate; and, on being reproved, he had made them too short; and once, during the sermon, he had gone forth and spent these stolen moments in a wine-cellar. The final charge asks by what authority he has latterly allowed a strange maiden to appear, and to make music in the choir. This "strange maiden," who made music with Bach in the solitude of the empty church, was none other than his cousin, Maria Barbara. A year later (1707) he married her, and took her to Mühlhausen, where he had found a less troublesome post as organist in the Church of St. Blasius.

The domestic life of Bach and his wife was a pattern for married couples of all time. All his69 friends unite in calling him an especially excellent "Haus-Vater," a term of commendation applied to those men who remember their duty to their own families, and do not sacrifice domestic happiness to fame and fortune. Personally he was pleasant to every one, mere acquaintances as well as intimate friends, and his house was always the centre of a lively gathering. With his wife, he took sedulous care of the education of his children, of whom there were no less than six at her early death in 1720.

Bach was not the man to remain long a widower, and in the next year the bereaved composer's fancy lightly turned to thoughts of a second marriage. His choice fell upon Anna Magdalena Wulken, a Cöthen court singer of twenty-one years, and the happy consummation occurred on December 3d. She was a good musician, and did much to enliven the domestic circle by her beautiful soprano voice. Not content with merely taking part in her husband's works, she learned from him to play the clavier and read figured bass, and rendered him valuable aid by copying music for him.

Soon after the marriage, Bach and his wife started a manuscript music book, entitled "Clavier Büchlein von Anna Magdalena Bach, Anno 1720." On the first page was written a playful denunciation of the melancholy and hostility to art that70 were so often inculcated by the Calvinism of that time. This book and another of the kind, which followed it five years later, are both preserved in the Royal Berlin Library. In them are a series of clavier pieces, by Bach, Gerhard, and others; a number of hymns and sacred songs; one of several humourous song's, describing the reflections of a smoker; and still others, apparently addressed to his wife, and giving fresh proofs of his devotion to her. Her portrait was painted by Cristofori, but disappeared after being in the possession of one of the sons.

As a result of his second marriage, Bach was blessed with thirteen more children, six sons and seven daughters. All his children loved him, and his kindness and sincerity enabled him to retain their respect as well as their affection. In all his activity he was never too busy to save some time for the family circle, where, in later life, he would take the viola part in the concerted music that cheered his domestic hearth. It is sad to think of the poor wife's fate in contrast with so much family happiness. After Bach's death, in 1750, she struggled bravely to support her children, but became gradually poorer, and was forced to end her days in an almshouse, and be buried in a pauper's grave.71

Less happy than Bach in his married life was Franz Josef Haydn. After a boyhood of poverty and struggles, he obtained a position as Kapellmeister to a Bohemian nobleman, Count Morzin. This post was none too lucrative, however, for it brought the composer only about one hundred dollars a year, while his teaching could not have provided him with much extra wealth, and his compositions brought him nothing. Yet his financial troubles did not deter him from seeking those of matrimony, in spite of the fact that Count Morzin never kept married men in his service. According to the poet Campbell, marriage looks like madness in nine cases out of ten; and Haydn's venture was certainly no exception.

The one upon whom the composer's affections lighted was the younger daughter of a barber named Keller. He had met her while a choir-boy in the Church of St. Stephen, at Vienna, and she had afterward become one of his pupils. For some unexplained reason,—let us hope it was not because of the young composer's love,—she took to the veil, and renounced the wickedness and the marriages of the world. The barber, possibly hoping to lighten the suitor's disappointment, and very probably wishing to have both daughters off his hands, promptly suggested to the young lover that72 he take the elder sister instead. Apparently realizing that marriage at best is but a lottery, Haydn accepted the proposition.

The wedding took place at St. Stephen's, on November 26, 1760. Whether Count Morzin would have made an exception in Haydn's case, and retained him in spite of this event, there is no means of telling, for that nobleman met with financial reverses, and was forced to give up his musical establishment. Fortunately for the young genius, some of his works had been heard and admired by the Prince Paul Esterhazy, who showed his musical discernment by taking Haydn into his service and becoming a lifelong patron of the composer.

There was little real affection between Haydn and his wife at the start of their life journey together. He declared, however, that he really began to have some feeling for her, and would have come to entertain still warmer sentiments toward her if she had behaved at all reasonably. But unfortunately, she did not seem to be capable of behaving reasonably. The wives of great men are usually proud of the attainments of their husbands, and take no pains to conceal this fact. But the barber's daughter of Vienna was totally lacking in any real appreciation of her gifted consort. As Haydn himself observed once, it would have made no difference73 if he had been a shoemaker instead of an artist. She used his manuscript scores as curl-papers and underlays for the family pastry; she made continual use of the conjugal privilege of going through his pockets and abstracting the cash; and once, when he was in London, her calm selfishness rose to the point of asking him to buy a certain house, which she admired, so that she might have a home provided for her widowhood.

Through all his troubles, Haydn preserved a dignified silence about his domestic unhappiness, and in his letters it is mentioned only twice. For a long time he bore the trials patiently, but at length was forced to give up the household and live apart from his domestic tormentor. The woman who had hoped for a permanent home in her widowhood ended her lonely existence in 1800, nine years before the close of her husband's career.

With these facts in view, it is not surprising to find that Haydn at times sought elsewhere the consolation he was denied at home. He was fond of feminine companions, especially when they were well endowed with personal attractions. He must have possessed ingratiating manners, for he certainly could not boast of great personal attractions, and he himself admitted that his fair admirers were, "At any rate, not tempted by his beauty." His74 natural tenderness showed itself in a passionate fondness for children,—a blessing denied to his own home.

One of his most violent friendships had for its object a young Italian singer of nineteen, Luigia Polzelli. Apparently she was not happy with her husband, and a bond of mutual sympathy drew the composer to her. After the death of her husband, she persuaded Haydn to sign a promise to marry her if his wife should die, but the composer afterward repudiated the agreement, very likely not wishing to repeat his first matrimonial blunder.

Another romance is found in the love-letters sent to the composer by a charming London widow named Schroeter. Without overstepping the bounds of propriety, he was able to draw some profit from this episode, for he gave lessons to his fair admirer, and allowed her to do manuscript copying for him. Apparently the friendship was more of her seeking than of his own, as her letters to him bear witness. These are copied neatly in one of his note-books, along with various amusing "Anectods," a description of a London fog, "thick enough to be spread on bread," and an excellent receipt for making the Prince of Wales's punch.

Mozart was another musical genius who was forced to accept as second choice the sister of his75 first love, though in his case the results were not so disastrous as with Haydn. It was in Mannheim, on the way to Paris, that Mozart made the acquaintance of the copyist Weber, and succumbed to the charms of his daughter, Aloysia. But Leopold Mozart, wisely playing the rôle of stern father, soon sped the susceptible youth on his way to the French capital. It is a French proverb that tells us,—

"Nous revenons toujours
À nos premiers amours,"—

and a year later he returned. But Aloysia, now famous by her singing, soon made it plain that his affection was no longer returned. Mozart seems to have borne the blow well, and soon after her marriage to the actor Lange, who proved a jealous husband, he wrote home his decision to wed her younger sister, Constance. After much opposition from members of both families, he carried out his intention.

As in Haydn's case, the young couple were forced to live on "bread and cheese and kisses," with none too much of the first two articles. Mozart, more than any other composer, met with undeserved hardships. On every side his music was praised and his genius admired, but nobles and76 princes, and even the emperor, would give him no material aid. He made a devoted husband, and much of the money that disappeared so readily from his hands was probably used for the benefit of his wife, whose health was not of the best. Their life (in Vienna at first) was a continual effort to solve the old vexed problem of making both ends meet, and Constance must be given high praise for the wonderful skill with which she managed the small and uncertain income of her husband. Several times the young couple were brought face to face with the direst need, but their patience and cheerfulness carried them through the crisis. On one occasion, when there was no fuel on hand and no money to buy any, a visitor found the pair busily engaged in waltzing about their bare room in order to keep warm. At another time they were rescued from their extremity only by the kindness of their friend, the Baroness Waldstätten, who intervened just in time to save them from beggary. After three years, Leopold Mozart relented enough to visit his daughter-in-law, whom he found far more deserving than he had expected; but he himself was not well off, and could be of little financial help.

That Constance was of great aid to her husband, in spite of an easy-going nature, cannot be doubted. She possessed the faculty of telling interesting stories77 and novelettes, and with this apparently inexhaustible fund of invention she would amuse him between his periods of work. The description that we have of the composition of the great "Don Giovanni" overture gives a pleasing illustration of this phase of the family life. Owing to rehearsals and other work, the day before the performance arrived with no overture yet written. In the evening, according to his custom, Mozart began the task by sketching out the themes and a general plan of construction for the work. Near him sat his wife, ready to entertain him with her pleasing tales when he looked up from his work. For one or two hours he did indulge in actual repose; but all through the rest of the night he continued the work, relieving his mental concentration by listening to the storiettes or occasionally sipping a glass of his favourite punch. The manuscript was completed and ready for the copyist the next morning at seven o'clock, and along with the other numbers scored a complete success in the evening.

Some blame has attached to Constance for the lack of exact knowledge about Mozart's grave. At the hour of his burial, in the public cemetery, a violent storm drove away all the mourners. There was a cholera scare in Vienna at the time, which kept many people away from the graveyard. Her78 own neglect of the matter may have been caused by illness, but, whatever the reason, the fact remains that when public interest was aroused the exact location of Mozart's grave could no longer be defined.

The life of Carl Maria von Weber was tinged in its earlier years with the romance that seemed to pervade all phases of life in his native country. Germany had just passed through one of her rare but regular periods of national awakening, and every one was full of a keen spirit of patriotic originality in life, letters, and art, as well as in music. Gifted with unusual talents, trained in the paternal hope of his becoming a boy prodigy like Mozart, and urged by the need of making his own career, he soon made a name for himself by his personal charms as well as his talents. A welcome guest in the homes of aristocracy and cultivation, he possessed a roving disposition and a spirit of adventure that made his life not unlike that of the early Troubadours.

It was in Vienna that he met his future wife. Being given charge of the opera at Prague, he journeyed to the Austrian capital for the purpose of engaging singers, and among them brought back the talented Caroline Brandt. He soon wished to enter into closer relations with this singer, but found79 obstacles in the way of marriage. She was unwilling to sacrifice at once a career that was winning her many laurels, and she did not wholly approve of the wandering life that the gifted young manager had led up to the time of their meeting. We find him discontented with this situation, and travelling about in search of a better and more important post; and during one of these trips he received a letter from Caroline, saying that they had better part. This brought forth the accusation from the embittered Weber that "Her views of high art were not above the usual pitiful standard, namely, that it was but a means of procuring soup, meat, and shirts." There can be no doubt, however, that her influence was of the utmost value in steadying his efforts.

When Weber was once back in Prague, her real love for him overcame all scruples, and she showed herself ready to wait until he should attain a post of sufficient value to permit their marriage. After putting the Prague opera on a stable basis, he looked about for a long time in vain, until finally he obtained a life position as conductor in Dresden. At last he was able to return to Prague and marry his faithful Caroline, with the certainty of being able to provide her a home. The newly wedded pair made a triumphant concert tour, and settled down80 to a life of domestic felicity in Dresden. It can hardly be said that Weber lived happily ever afterward, for he found many troubles in connection with his new post. But his married life was such a constant source of joy to him that he felt always inspired with fresh energy to overcome all difficulties. It was during his married career that he won those immense popular successes, with "Der Freischütz," "Euryanthe," and "Oberon," that gave the most brilliant lustre to a name already immortal. The last opera took him to London, away from his beloved family. Aware of his failing health, he made every effort to reach home, but that boon was denied him, and he died without another view of those who would have been anxious to soothe his last moments.

Ludwig Spohr was another composer who possessed a musical wife. He came of a musical family, his father being a flutist, while his mother played the piano and sang. Ludwig took up the violin at five years of age, and at six was able to take part in concerted music. His compositions began at about the same time. After a youth of earnest study, long practice, and successful tours, he finally became leader in the band of the Duke of Gotha. It was there that he met Dorette Scheidler, the famous harpist, whom he afterward married. Her81 influence is seen in his later compositions, for he wrote for her a number of sonatas for harp and violin, as well as a good many harp solos. The musical pair went on many tours, always sharing the honours of the performances.

Still more evident is the influence of woman upon music in the case of Hector Berlioz. This great genius, born in 1803, was the son of an opium eater, and the morbid character of most of his works may be traced to this cause. Berlioz studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but his sensational style did not win favour with the classical Cherubini, and the young man was forced to work against many difficulties. He was even forbidden at one time to compete for the Prix de Rome, and came near giving up his career in dejection.

On the Parisian stage was a beautiful Irish actress, named Harriet Smithson, who was performing the plays of Shakespeare. Berlioz at once fell in love with her, but it was some time before his needy circumstances allowed him to lay his suit before her. When he did so, his passion found shape and expression in a great musical work,—the Symphonic Fantastique.

This is a weird and sinister composition, but very effective. It is in five movements. The first represents a young man seeing his ideal and falling82 in love with her, the object of this sudden affection being depicted by a tender theme on the violin. This theme pervades the entire work. In the second movement, which represents a ball, it signifies the entrance of the fair one. The third movement is called "In the Fields," and contains a duet between the two lovers in the guise of a shepherd and shepherdess. They are portrayed by an English horn and an oboe, the result being one of the great instrumental dialogues that are sometimes found in-works of the tone masters. An effective touch is the introduction of a thunder-storm, after which the English horn begins a plaintive note of inquiry, but meets with no reply. In the fourth movement, the young man has slain his love in a fit of jealousy, and is on his way to execution. Very powerful music expresses the fatal march, interrupted every now and then by the surging footsteps of the crowd. At its close, the hero ascends the scaffold; amid a hush, the tender love theme reappears, but is obliterated by a sudden crash of the full orchestra, and all is still. Berlioz, however, does not let his hero rest in the grave, but adds a fifth movement to show him in the infernal regions. Piccolo and other wild instruments depict the fury of the demons, a parody on the Dies Iræ follows, and83 even the tender love-theme is not spared, but is turned into the most vulgar of waltzes.

This musical love-letter was understood, and Miss Smithson afterward married the great composer. But, unfortunately, the romance stopped at this point, and they did not "live happily ever afterward." The actress was forced by an accident to leave the stage permanently. She and her husband did not agree well, and were continually at odds. Finally she took to drink, and a separation soon followed. Berlioz married again, his second wife being the singer, Mlle. Recio. He outlived her, and in later life was taken care of by her mother.

The symphony, incidentally, was so successful at its first performance that a strange-looking man rushed to the platform, saluted the composer, and sent him a more substantial token in the shape of twenty thousand francs. The stranger proved to be Paganini, but that famous violinist was such a miser that the story has been doubted. It is said that he acted in behalf of an unknown benefactor, but his enthusiasm at the performance seems to disprove this, and the work possesses just the dark and sinister character that would appeal to Paganini.

Another composition inspired by the same love episode is the "Romeo and Juliette" Symphony.84 Berlioz tried to make all his music tell a story, and he believed in the theory that tones could be made to represent ideas in a much greater degree than is usually supposed. The result is shown in many characteristic passages in his works, an excellent example being the gentle and melancholy theme that typifies Childe Harold in the symphony of that name. But Berlioz carried his idea to extremes, and fairly earned the half-reproach of Wagner, who said of him: "He ciphers with notes." That Berlioz could write with more direct beauty is shown by his practical joke at the expense of the critics; for he pretended to unearth an old piece by a certain Pierre Ducré, which they praised greatly in contrast with his own works, and after they had done their worst, Berlioz proved that he himself was the mythical Ducré.

Giuseppe Verdi was another great musician who felt the full richness of domestic happiness, if only for a time. Born in the little hamlet of Le Roncole in 1813, he proved himself possessed of unusual talent, and after a time went to Busseto for lessons. There he came to the notice of M. Barezzi, who became the friend and patron of the young student. The story of his being refused at the Milan Conservatory, and afterward amazing the authorities by his speed in composing fugues, is too well known85 to need repetition. After his Milan studies, we find him back at Busseto, in love with Barezzi's daughter Margherita. The father, unlike the usual stern parent who repels impecunious musicians, gave his permission for their union, which took place soon after, in 1836.

In a couple of years he settled down in Milan, with his wife and two children. Success began to crown his efforts, and his career of opera composer was well begun, when his domestic happiness came to a complete end. First one child fell sick and died of an unknown malady, then the second followed it in a few days, and within two months the bereaved mother was stricken with a fatal inflammation of the brain. In the midst of all these misfortunes, Verdi was kept at work by a commission for "Un Giorno di Regno," which was to be a comic opera! Little wonder that the wit oozed out of the occasion, and the performance proved a failure. The despondent Verdi resolved to give up his career altogether, and only by the insistence of the manager, Merelli, was he finally persuaded to resume his occupation. In later life he married again, passing a placid existence on his extensive estates.

The domestic career of Richard Wagner has formed the subject for endless discussions. His86 birth, his early studies, his university career, and his start as a professional musician, all took place in Leipsic. There, too, he met the famous opera singer, Wilhelmine Schroeder-Devrient, whose gifts made such an impression on the young composer. It was the excellence of her acting, as well as her singing, that gave the embryo reformer his first ideas of the intimate union of drama and music that is one phase of his later operatic greatness. Many of his leading rôles were written for her, and as late as 1872 he stated that whenever he conceived a new character he imagined her in the part.

His work as leader took him first to Magdeburg. The failure of his early opera, "Das Liebesverbot," put an end to this enterprise, and soon afterward he appeared as concert leader in Koenigsberg. There he met and married his first wife, Wilhelmina (or Minna) Planer. Their natures were different in many respects. While he displayed many of the vagaries of genius, she was patient and practical, and, if not wholly understanding the highest side of his nature, she gave up her own career to help him through his days of poverty and struggle.

The first venture of the wedded pair was at Riga, where Wagner was engaged for a term to conduct in a new theatre. After this, they took ship for87 Paris, and the stormy passage gave Wagner many a suggestion for his "Flying Dutchman." It was in the French capital that Minna's domestic qualities were given their most severe trial, for the composer found little or no chance to produce his own works, and was forced to gain a precarious living by the commonest musical drudgery. Probably her constant care and economy were all that turned the scale in favour of success. At length the Dresden authorities became interested in some of the earlier operas, and Wagner was liberated from his dependent position.

The stay in Dresden being cut short by the political troubles of 1848 and 1849, Wagner found a home in Zurich, where his wife soon joined him. There he wrote or sketched the grand works that came to full fruition in his later life. After years of exile, he came back to Germany, where his pursuit of fortune was still in vain, and might have ended in suicide but for the sudden patronage of his royal admirer, the mad King Ludwig of Bavaria. It was at this time that the differences in character began to cause domestic infelicity in the Wagnerian household. Finally the pair separated, and, although he did not leave Minna in want, yet she was compelled to pass the last few years of her life in seclusion and loneliness, while he basked88 in the favour of royalty, and found the high position that had so long been denied him. It is usually claimed by Wagner's most rabid partisans that she was unable to hold her place in the new surroundings, and that his genius needed a helpmate more in sympathy with his high ideals. Admitting the truth of these assertions, the fair-minded critic must accept them as an explanation, at least, of his conjugal ingratitude, but Minna's faithful performance of duty in the early days will not allow them to stand as a valid excuse.

Wagner's second marriage with Cosima, daughter of Liszt and divorced wife of Von Bülow, resulted happily. The devotion of the new helpmate to the Wagnerian cause has survived the master's death by many years, and is still witnessed by the musical world. The domestic bliss of their married life is well shown in the beautiful Siegfried Idyll, which Wagner composed as a surprise for his wife on their son's birthday.

89Among living composers gifted with musical wives, the most preëminent is Richard Strauss. As Clara Schumann could perform her husband's works, so the wife of Strauss, who is an excellent singer, is at her best when giving her husband's songs. Like Grieg's wife, she is more successful than all other singers in this rôle of domestic devotion. She usually appears with him as accompanist, a position in which he excels, and each modestly tries to make the other respond to the applause that is sure to follow their performance.

History has never witnessed a more perfect union of two similar natures, both endowed with rich mental gifts, and each filled with a perfect sympathy for the other, than the marriage of Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck. It holds a place in the story of music similar to that occupied by the romance of Abelard and Heloise in poetry. The lives of both composers afford an example of the most unselfish devotion and depth of affection, combined with the highest idealism in an art that poets themselves have admitted to be even nobler than their own.

91The birth of Clara Wieck, on September 13, 1819, took place at Leipsic. That city had not yet entered upon the period of musical greatness that it was soon to enjoy. The day of Beethoven and Schubert was apparently passing, and only the lighter and more trivial styles of composition held sway. Her father, however, Friedrich Wieck, was a piano teacher of extensive reputation and most excellent qualities, and did his best to raise the standard of the place. From him, and from her mother as well, the young Clara inherited her innate musical taste. But the maternal influence was not of long duration, for domestic troubles soon caused the separation of Wieck and his wife, the latter marrying the father of Woldemar Bargiel, while the former also entered into a second union, with Clementine Fechner at Leipsic. A daughter of this second marriage, Marie Wieck, won some fame as a pianist, but was far surpassed by her elder half-sister.

Clara did not at first show signs of becoming a child prodigy, but in her fifth year she gave indications of possessing musical talent, and her careful father proceeded at once to develop her powers. So successful were his individual methods that in four years she was able to play Mozart and Hummel concertos by heart, and ready to sustain her part in public. Her first appearance was in conjunction with Emilie Reichold, one of her father's older pupils, with whom she played Kalkbrenner's variations on a march from "Moses." One important paper of the time spoke of her success as universal and well deserved, and did not hesitate to predict92 a great future for her under her honoured father's wise guidance.

Wieck has been the subject of much criticism on account of his supposed harshness and severity. In the matter of Clara's musical training, however, these charges cannot be sustained, as one of her own letters will show. "My father has come before the world in an entirely false light," she writes, "because he took art earnestly, and brought me up to regard it earnestly. People have no idea how utterly different from the usual standards must be the whole education and career of any one who wishes to accomplish something worth while in art. In connection with artistic development, my father kept the physical development especially in view also. I never studied more than two hours a day in the earliest times, or three in later years; but I had also to take a daily walk with him of just as many hours to strengthen my nerves. Moreover, while I was not yet grown up, he always took me home from every entertainment at ten o'clock, as he considered sleep before midnight necessary for me. He never let me go to balls, as he judged I could use my strength for more important things than dancing; but he always let me go to good operas. In many free hours I used to grow enthusiastic over piano arrangements of operas and other93 music. One cannot do that when one is tired out. Besides that, I had, even in earliest youth, intercourse with the most distinguished artists. They, and not dolls, were the friends of my childhood, though I was not deprived of the latter. Those people who have no comprehension of such a serious bringing up ascribed it all to tyranny and severity, and held my accomplishments, which may indeed have been more than those of a child, to be impossible unless I had been forced to study day and night. As a matter of fact, it was wholly my father's genius for teaching that brought me so far, by cultivation of the intellect and the feelings united with only moderate practice."

"To my pain," she continues, "I must say that my father has never been recognized as he deserved to be. I shall thank him during my entire lifetime for the so-called severities. How would I have been able to live through a career of art, with all the heavy difficulties that were laid upon me, if my constitution had not been so strong and healthy because of my father's care?"

About this time there came upon the scene a youth named Robert Schumann. Born in 1810, of a family that was literary rather than musical, he had obtained some knowledge of the art with his father's consent. After the death of the latter,94 his mother would not hear of his choosing a musical career, but insisted on his studying law. This he did at Heidelberg, in a rather original manner,—taking long walks, reading Jean Paul's works, and practising piano nearly all day. In the summer he met Wieck, whom he adopted as a teacher, and in this way he came to know the learned pedagogue's talented daughter.

Her musical education was now beginning to bear fruit. In the concert tours that she began soon after her first triumph, she never allowed herself to be carried away by the fondness of the public for mere display, but always aimed at something higher. Instead of making a show of her technical attainments, she consecrated her powers to the cause of true art. It required great courage to uphold her standard, for she came upon the scene at a time when only phenomenal playing, bristling with seemingly unconquerable difficulties, won the public homage and the public wealth. Herein both she and her future husband showed themselves actuated by the very highest motives.

Unfortunately for the romantic side of the story, theirs was not a case of love at first sight. No less than five years after their first meeting, we find Schumann deeply interested in a certain Ernestine von Fricken, another pupil of Wieck. It is stated95 that the beautiful numbers of the "Carneval" were due largely, if not wholly, to her inspiration, which at that time reached its highest point.[4] The letters A, S, C, and H (the German way of notating B) represent the Bohemian town of Asch, where she was born, and are also the only musical letters in Schumann's own name. He himself noted this coincidence in a letter to Moscheles, and built the themes of the various numbers almost wholly upon them.

However this may be, he certainly had a great admiration for Clara even in her early years. He took piano lessons of her father, and became for a time an inmate of their house. He owed much to the teaching, but still more to the stimulating artistic society of the Wieck family.

In 1829 he left his teacher, and made a final effort to prepare for the legal career that his mother had planned for him. It was of little avail, however, for in the next year we find him writing home that his entire life had been "but a twenty years' strife between poetry and prose,—or music and law,—and it must now cease." So earnestly did he plead his case that his mother at last yielded to his wishes, though with fear and trembling, and96 the final decision was referred to Wieck. That artist, who had by this time fully recognized Schumann's great gifts, gave his decision in favour of music, and the young enthusiast, after having his affairs duly settled, returned to Leipsic and devoted himself altogether to art.

It is probable that he would have given himself wholly to the career of a successful pianist, but for an accident. After a year of painstaking practice, he invented a contrivance by which the weaker fingers were allowed to gain strength by usage, while the third finger was held back. This mechanism was altogether too successful, for, after using it some time, he found his third finger so badly crippled that he was forced to give up hope of ever winning fame on the concert stage. What seemed a catastrophe to him has proven a blessing to the world, for, if he had spent his life in executing the works of others, he would never have had the leisure to create his own immortal compositions.

Meanwhile Clara was steadily improving her already remarkable powers. Besides keeping up her playing, she now began regular study in composition. In later life the two were to labour together in many pieces, but even at this time Schumann's interest in her work was great, and in one of his early compositions (Impromptu, Op. 5) we97 find him using a theme of hers as the basis of his own piece.

The eleven-year-old girl was now started upon a series of tours by her father, who wished to give her some idea of the world, and to let the world gain some knowledge of her attainments. From Dresden he writes home joyfully to his wife: "It is impossible to describe the sensation that your two little monkeys from the Leipsic menagerie have made here." But the fatherly care and wisdom were not lacking, for he continues: "I am anxious lest the honours and distinctions should have a bad influence upon Clara. If I notice anything of the sort, then I shall travel further at once, for I am too proud of her modesty, and would not exchange it for any decoration in the world." In the next year the triumphs were continued at Weimar, Cassel, and Frankfurt. After winning the approval of Spohr and other competent judges who were above all envy, she proceeded to Paris, where her father had the proud privilege of exhibiting her talents to Chopin. In Weimar, Goethe took a deep interest in the wonderful child, and sent his picture to the "Richly endowed (Kunstreichen) Clara Wieck," as a token of the pleasure her playing had given him.

As the result of her Parisian meeting with98 Chopin, she became one of the best interpreters of that master's works, and gave them to the world in much the same manner that she did those of Schumann soon afterward. Usually her work in educating the public was successful. But critics are not all safe guides, and even to-day we find many unmusical men in responsible newspaper positions, so it is not surprising to find an occasional misunderstanding occur. In Vienna, for instance, we find the influential but self-important Rellstab writing that it is "a shame that she is in the hands of a father who allows such nonsense as Chopin's to be played." These strictures did not extend to the performance, however, and the writer does not fail to acknowledge her marked talent. Fétis bears witness to the "lively sensation" she created on the banks of the Seine, while along the Danube she won victory on victory. The aristocracy were eager to admit her to their circle, and the Austrian Empress named her court virtuoso, an honour never before bestowed on a foreigner.

Some time before this, she had won the attention and interest of the young Schumann, if nothing more. He had been at work on a symphony in G minor (which, by the way, proved a failure and was never published), and the performance of the first movement in his native Zwickau took place99 at a concert given there by Clara, then only thirteen. Even then her performance was astonishing, and, as Schumann put it, "Zwickau was fired with enthusiasm for the first time in its life." Schumann was no less excited than the rest of the town. His letters of that time are full of expressions that seem to betray a deeper feeling, though he himself did not become conscious of it until later. "Call her perfection," he writes to a friend, "and I will agree to it." In a Leipsic tribute, he inquires: "Is it the gifted child of genius (Wunderkind), at whose stretch of a tenth people shake their heads, but admire? Is it the hardest of difficulties, which she throws off to the public as if they were wreaths of flowers? Is it perhaps mere pride, with which the city looks upon its daughter; or is it because she gives us the most interesting things of the most recent times with the least delay? I do not know; but I do feel, simply, that she has the spirit that compels admiration."

The great poets, too, gave her their tributes of praise. "They recognized in this inspiring vision," says Liszt, "a true daughter of their fatherland. They strewed their pearls of song before her, and glorified this Benjamin of their race, who, gazing about with inspired glances and wondrous smiles,100 seemed like a silent Naiad, who felt herself a stranger in the land of prose."

Meanwhile the love that had been growing in silence between her and Schumann began to take tangible form. His unspoken passion found expression in the written rhapsodies addressed to "Chiarina" in his new music journal, the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik. In a more purely musical manner, his feelings took shape in such works as his "Daidsbündler" Dances, the "Chiarina" of the Carnival, the F-Sharp Minor Sonata, the Kreisleriana, the Humoreske, the Novelettes, and the Nocturnes,—truly an offering of rare beauty, and well worthy to express the feelings of the inspired lover. They bore witness of his adoration to all who knew him, and all who were able to listen with understanding ears. And Clara, too, in spite of high honours and higher friendships, had already given her heart to the silent man endowed with the deep spirit of romance and poetry. She was his, in spite of the opposition of her father, who guarded his treasure with a jealous eye, and would hear of no marriage unless in the distant future.

It was in 1836 that the two lovers came to an understanding. In the next summer Schumann made formal mention of his suit to her father. Wieck's refusal may have been due to his entertaining101 higher hopes for his now famous daughter, but at any rate the father found an adequate reason in the vague and unsubstantial prospects of the young composer. This was a sad blow, but Schumann tacitly acknowledged its justice, for he soon began making efforts to better his condition, instead of working only for the glory of art. Although he tried to resign himself to give Clara up, he could not do so, and with her consent he left for Vienna in hopes of giving his music journal a broader field. The effort was not a success; Schumann found Vienna no less trivial in its tastes than many other places, and wrote home that people could "gabble and gossip quite as much as in Zwickau." His sojourn there had one important result in his discovery of Schubert's beautiful C major Symphony, which he sent to Mendelssohn for performance at the Leipsic Gewandhaus.

Disappointed in material prospects, he tried to obtain a more honourable position by getting a Doctor's degree from the University of Jena. "You know, perhaps, that Clara is my betrothed," he writes to an influential friend. "Her high rank as an artist has often led me to consider my own humble position, and, although I know how modest she is, and that she loves me simply as a man and a musician, still I think it would please her to have102 me seek a higher position in the civic sense of the word. Let me ask you: Is it very hard to get a Doctor's degree at Jena?" Apparently it was not hard when a man of Schumann's fame applied, for in another letter he writes: "Everything combined to fill the measure of my joy. The eulogy is so glorious that I certainly owe you a large share of thanks for it. It gave me and my friends most sincere pleasure. The first thing I did was, of course, to send a copy into the north to a girl who is still a child, and who will dance with glee at the idea that she is engaged to a Doctor."

But Wieck's refusal to sanction the marriage could not be altered. In fact, his opposition became even stronger and more determined. Finding any direct appeal of no avail, Schumann was forced to have recourse to law, and Wieck was compelled to give reason for his refusal before a legal tribunal. Although Schumann was not rich, yet he possessed some income from his paper, and his other work brought him enough reward to enable him to make a home for Clara. Besides these receipts, he had a small property that gave him an annual return of 500 thalers, and as he himself wrote: "We are young, and have hands, strength, and reputation.... Tell me now if there can be real cause for fear." Nevertheless the case dragged on, and a nature103 as sensitive as his must have been deeply mortified by the legal wrangling and the publicity of the affair. At last a favourable decision was reached, and after a year of doubt and suspense the marriage took place on September 12, 1840.

Henceforth their life was one perfect union. There could be no happier marriage in the world than this one, where a man of creative genius was mated with a woman gifted with the ability and the wish to interpret his works earnestly and faithfully. They regarded art from different points, but with the same ideas and ideals. Both were wholly devoted to all that was true and noble, and both felt the same antipathy to whatever was trivial or superficial. Together they moved along the pathway of life; together they won their laurels. "To admire one or the other was to admire both," says Liszt, "for, though they sang in different tongues, their life music made but one noble harmony. The annals of art will never divide the memory of these two, and their names can never be spoken separately."

And now Schumann's happiness began to take tangible form and show itself to the world. Hitherto his compositions had been chiefly for the pianoforte, but now his genius burst forth in song. Cycle followed cycle during the next few years, and104 the fortunate lover sang of his happiness in strains of such romantic beauty that their charm can never fade while love and music have power to sway the passions of mankind. The warm feeling and emotion in the poems of Rückert, of Chamisso, of Heine, were echoed and intensified by the choicest melodies of the art that is said to begin its expression where language ends. That Clara had some direct share in these songs, besides publishing many of her own, there can be no manner of doubt. She certainly formed their inspiration, and must have assisted in the task of preparing them.

These works placed Schumann in the foremost rank of song composers, and he is now held equal to Schubert and Franz in this form, if not actually the greatest song-writer in the world. Franz is more delicate, Schubert more simply melodious, but Schumann's songs are endowed with a warm vigour of strong emotion that has never been equalled. His contemporaries felt their force, but hardly realized their full power, for one of the writers on Schumann's own paper accorded them only a secondary rank. "In your essay on song-writing," the composer replies, "it has somewhat distressed me that you should have placed me in the second rank. I do not ask to stand in the first, but I think I have some pretensions to a place of my own."105 Posterity has been proud to place him with the foremost.

In other matters besides those relating to art, the marriage was perfectly happy. Both husband and wife possessed simple domestic tastes, and both were endowed with the innate modesty that prevented their being harmed by the continual praise of the world. They lived for each other, and for their children. He modelled his compositions on lines to suit her artistic nature, and she threw herself ardently into the task of giving these works to the world. Her days were spent in winning fame for him, or in shielding his sensitive and irritable nature from too rude contact with the world. Now that his life was one of perfect tranquillity, he withdrew more than ever from intercourse with strangers, and became wholly absorbed in his domestic felicity and his creative work. The complete happiness of his married life was bound to produce its effect on his nature, and not only in the songs, but in the larger works also, his most beautiful music is due to the inspiring influences of this part of his life.

After a time his wife was able to entice him from the quiet home (first in Leipsic, then Dresden, and finally Düsseldorf) that sheltered this scene of domestic harmony. Sometimes her tours were106 taken alone, but at last she was able to draw him with her into the world. In Germany, in the Netherlands, in Austria, even in Russia, constant triumphs awaited them. There were a few exceptions, chief among them being Vienna, the city where Mozart struggled so long in vain, and where Gluck was unable to produce more than a passing impression by his great operatic reforms. But nearly all the places they visited offered admiration and incense to the faithful pair of artists. Through Schumann's genius, that of his wife was influenced, and Clara Schumann became far greater than Clara Wieck had ever been. She became a true priestess of art. She did not rest until she gave the world a clear understanding of the depth of thought in his great works. She made her fame serve his, and considered the recognition of his qualities her own reward. Yet it still happened at times that this recognition came slowly, and in Vienna, as late as 1846, he was spoken of merely as the husband of Clara Wieck, and after the court concert given by her, some one turned to him with the question: "Are you musical, too?"

Gradually the perfect happiness was marred by the growing sickness of Schumann. Always extremely nervous and excitable, he had on one or two earlier occasions been forced to forego work.107 In 1851 the disease became evident again. By degrees his conduct grew more and more eccentric, and he became a victim of actual delusions. He often insisted that he heard one particular note, or certain harmonies sounding, or voices whispering messages of hope or of sorrow. One night the spirits of Schubert and Mendelssohn seemed to reveal a theme to him, upon which he tried to complete a set of variations. At times he would work calmly and sensibly, but one day, in a fit of mental anguish, he left his house, alone, and threw himself into the Rhine. Rescued by some boatmen, he went home to experience a few more lucid periods, but insanity gradually mastered him. His last two years were spent in a private asylum near Bonn, where he died July 29, 1846. His wife, who had been on a tour in London, returned just in time to witness his end. He was buried in Bonn, near the tombs of Beethoven and Schubert.

As widow, Clara Schumann continued faithfully the work of her married life. Her many tours were still a means of performing her husband's music, and she was able to know that her life-work was successful in Germany at least. Soon after his death, the name of Schumann became immortal, and the very peculiarities of his work were recognized as essentially national in character. His108 widow found a home with her mother in Berlin, where she stayed for four years, and whither she returned after twelve years in Baden-Baden. In 1878 she became chief teacher of piano in the school founded by Doctor Hoch at Frankfort, and there for ten years she lived and worked with the most complete success. In 1892 she retired from her labours, and on May 19, 1896, her long life of usefulness came to a quiet end. Five days later she was laid at rest with her husband in the peaceful little cemetery at Bonn.

In private life, as well as in public performance, her personality remained one of earnest simplicity and nobility of thought. She was admired and loved by all who knew her, and when failing health compelled her to give up her teaching, their affection showed itself in the substantial form of a large subscription.

Her compositions, according to the foremost critics, are not numerous, but show the sincerity of purpose that marks all her work. Even her earliest pieces, chiefly short dance forms for piano, are redeemed from triviality by interesting rhythms and fresh, almost abrupt, modulations. They are mostly delicate rather than forceful, with frequent ornaments and staccato passages that require a light and skilful touch. Among her later and more109 serious works, the G minor trio is musicianly and interesting; the three cadences to Beethoven concertos are charming examples of their kind, and the preludes and fugues (Op. 16) form an excellent legato study, and are eminently successful in construction as well. A piano concerto, Op. 7, dedicated to Spohr, is short and poorly balanced, the first movement being a single solo leading into the andante. The later works, especially the songs, show plainly the influence of her husband's great genius. The list of her published compositions is as follows:

Op. 1, Quartre Polonaises, piano.
Op. 2, Caprices en Forme de Valses, piano.
Op. 3, Romance Variée, piano.
Op. 4, Valses Romantiques, piano.
Op. 5, Four Piéces Caracteristiques, piano.
Op. 6, Soirées Musicales, 6 pieces, piano.
Op. 7, Piano Concerto in A minor.
Op. 8, Variations de Concert (Pirate de Bellini), piano.
Op. 9, Souvenir de Vienne, Impromptu, piano.
Op. 10, Scherzo for piano.
Op. 11, Three Romances, piano.
Op. 12, Three Songs from Rückert's "Liebesfrühling."110
Op. 13, Six Songs.
Op. 14, Second Scherzo, piano.
Op. 15, Four Piéces Fugitives, piano.
Op. 16, Three Preludes and Fugues, piano.
Op. 17, Trio, G minor, for piano, violin, and 'cello.
Op. 18 and 19 did not appear.
Op. 20, Piano variations on a theme of Robert Schumann.
Op. 21, Three Romances, piano.
Op. 22, Three Romances, piano and violin.
Op. 23, Six Songs from Rollet's "Jucunde."

Without opus number, Cadenzas to Beethoven's concertos, Op. 37 and 58; Song, "Liebeszauber," Geibel; Andante and Allegro for piano; Song, "Am Strand;" and a march in E flat, composed in 1879 for a golden wedding.

Clara Schumann edited Breitkopf and Härtel's edition of her husband's works, and issued a volume of his early letters.

Although some of the great composers remained unmarried, many of them were influenced by women, and the effect is frequently visible in their compositions. Dedications of musical works to women are apparently a matter of little moment, but often they are surface indications of some deep feeling underneath, which is expressed in the music. Especially will this be found true in Beethoven's case, but it applies also to Schubert and other composers.

If George Frederick Handel never married, it was certainly not from lack of an opportunity to do so. In 1703, while still in his teens, he journeyed with his friend Mattheson, who was in search of a post as organist, from Hamburg to Lübeck. The place was occupied by the renowned Buxtehude, who was so advanced in age that he was forced to look for a successor. The two young aspirants112 tried the organs and clavicembalos, but did not care to accept the post. It seems that one of the conditions bound the successful applicant to marry the organist's daughter, and neither of them showed the slightest inclination to take this decisive step.

It is said of Handel that during his Italian trip he became engaged to the singer, Vittoria Tesi. But his biographer, Chrysander, disbelieves the story, and the historian Burney speaks of an Italian count as her lover. According to the latter account, she behaved very generously, and tried to dissuade her noble admirer from a marriage that would disgrace him and his family. Finding him insistent, she left her house one morning, and for fifty ducats persuaded a baker's apprentice to marry her, the pair to live separately, while the step would be used in dismissing the poor count. If she had really been engaged to Handel, or had loved him, she might have had a husband at less expense; and probably a musician is a more valuable article than a baker's apprentice.

During his long career in England, Handel was twice nearly married. In one case the mother of the fair charmer objected to her daughter's union with a "mere fiddler." Handel drew back with becoming pride, and was probably not much hurt. Certainly he never lost the magnificent appetite for113 which he was famous. Soon afterward the mother died, and the father, apparently put in control of the family by this event, stated to the composer that there was now no objection to the match. But Handel declined the offer, saying that it was too late. The situation was different from that at Lübeck, and his musical career now stood in the way of matrimonial ventures. At a later time he wished to marry a lady of wealth and position, but, as she made it a condition that he should give up his profession, he declined to pursue the match. None of these women were of especial influence upon him or his music, and he composed his long series of operas and oratorios in complete bachelor freedom.

Gluck owed much of his musical success to the aid of a woman. While in Vienna, gaining fame by his earlier works in Italian style, he won the interest and esteem of the ladies of the imperial court, among them the Empress Maria Theresa. He was chosen to direct music at court festivals, and after one of his later Parisian successes, the empress honoured him with the post of court composer. Gluck's wife had not the position or influence to help him in the musical side of his career, as Clara Wieck did Robert Schumann, but in the cultivated atmosphere of the court he found one woman who afterward aided him with all the force114 of her rank and influence,—his pupil, Marie Antoinette, the future Queen of France.

Even at Vienna Gluck was planning the reforms in opera that were to banish the prevailing vocal inanities from the stage, and make his name immortal. He did not minimize the beauty of contemporary operatic music, but claimed that it consisted merely of a set of conventional arias and scenas, and that the music did not in any way emphasize or illustrate the meaning of the words. As in the well-known sextet from "Lucia," which divides the sheep from the goats in our own day, the character of the music was often directly at variance with the spirit of the words. His memorable production of "Orfeo," though not remodelling the world at a single stroke, won a full triumph, and showed all music lovers the force of the new theories.

115It was the French attaché, Du Rollet, actuated by a sincere admiration of the Vienna master's works, who first proposed to have Gluck come to Paris. One of the directors of the Royal Academy of Music, to whom Du Rollet addressed himself, made the matter public in France, but did not reply. After some time Gluck himself renewed the agitation for a hearing, with no better results. That his work was understood is shown by a note from the Academy to Du Rollet, wherein one of the directors promises to accept Gluck's opera if he will contract to furnish six more; for one such work would overthrow all the French operas produced up to that time. Finding the directors unable to come to a decision, Gluck appealed directly to the Dauphine Marie Antoinette, who gave the necessary orders, removed all difficulties, and invited Gluck to the city where she was to be his faithful friend and patroness through all struggles and trials.

Of the success of Gluck in Paris, this is hardly the place to speak. Through all the intrigues of his musical enemies, the queen remained a firm adherent of the new school. The contest was long and fierce. Singers left or pleaded some excuse at the last moment; rival composers produced opera after opera in hope of eclipsing him; critics, for and against, entered into a protracted war of words and wit; and finally Gluck's opponents, under the lead of Madame Du Barry, brought in the Italian Piccini, with the avowed intention of obliterating Gluck's fame. Great as his genius was, he might have had a harder fight for justice but for his firm friend at court. He always had access to the queen, and was always accorded more respect at court than his rivals, Piccini or Sacchini. Realizing the worth of his own works, he often laid himself open to the charge of116 conceit, but the queen was ever ready to defend him warmly.

Marie Antoinette was herself a composer, and no doubt Gluck's early tuition was responsible for her musical attainments. Hers was not the rank nor the period in which a woman could attempt to work in the larger forms, but her songs were eminently successful. One of those, since made familiar by a more modern setting, is reproduced for the benefit of the reader. Its grace and charm will speak for themselves.

With Haydn and Mozart ranking among the married men, the next tonal master who claims attention is the great Beethoven. He was a mental giant endowed with intense emotional vigour,—hearing inwardly the beautiful strains that he wrote down, dreaming of the millennium and human brotherhood, and expressing in the most heartfelt terms his yearning for the one and only love who would share his lot with him. Yet when we come to search for this one and only love, we find that her name is legion. We also find that Beethoven remained single through it all, and never won a helpmate to guide his destinies and curb his eccentricities. His love for women was pure and sincere, if not lasting, and many indications of the strength117 of his passion are to be found in the great works that bear his name.

That Beethoven stood in sore need of a wife to regulate his personal habits may well be assumed. Probably there never was a lodger who was more constantly in trouble than this irritable and absent-minded genius. Wholly absorbed in his music, he never seemed to realize that thumping the piano at all hours of the day and night might prove disagreeable to his fellow boarders. Even when not playing, he would think out his great themes, and fall into a fit of abstraction that might last for hours. He would stand beating the time, or he would pace the room shouting out his melodies with full voice. As an antidote to this excitement, he would pour water over his hands at frequent intervals, regardless of the damage to the floor and the ceiling below. He was fond of taking long walks, which he would not omit in wet weather, and when he returned on rainy days the furniture was sure to suffer. He indulged in the habit of shaving at his window, to the great amusement of the people passing by, and the intense chagrin of his landladies. As a result of these traits, he was forced to make frequent changes of base, and at one time he was paying rent in four different places at once.

The following story of Beethoven's absent-mindedness118 is vouched for by Moscheles: "When I came in early to find Beethoven, he was still abed; but feeling wide-awake and lively, he jumped up and placed himself at the window just as he was, in order to examine the 'Fidelio' numbers which I had arranged. Naturally a crowd of boys gathered under the window, whereupon he roared out, 'Now, what do those —— boys want?' Upon my pointing to his own scantily clad figure, he said, 'Yes, yes, you are quite right,' and immediately put on a dressing-gown."

Beethoven and his servants usually had hard times getting along with each other. He was utterly careless and untidy, and the utmost confusion reigned in his room. "Books and music were scattered in all directions," says a visitor. "Here the residue of a cold luncheon; there some full, some half-emptied, bottles. On the desk the hasty sketch of a new quartette; in another corner the remains of breakfast; on the pianoforte the scribbled hints for a noble symphony, yet little more than in embryo; hard by, a proof-sheet waiting to be returned; letters from friends, and on business, spread all over the floor; between the windows a goodly Stracchino cheese; on one side of it ample vestiges of a genuine Verona salami; and notwithstanding all this confusion, he constantly praised, with Ciceronian119 eloquence, his own neatness and love of order!" When something did go astray, he would complain bitterly that everything was done to annoy him; but, after a few moments of raving, he recovered his natural good humour.

Though never married, Beethoven was always in love. He had several attachments during his youthful days in Bonn, though none were really serious. Meeting again in later life with one of his early flames, the gifted singer, Magdalena Willman, he begged her to become his wife, but met with a refusal. "He was very ugly and half crazy," she said afterward in excuse. Most of the objects of his later affections were women of rank and position, but in early years he fell a prey to the charms of damsels in much more humble stations. According to his pupil, Ries: "Beethoven never visited me more frequently than when I lived in the house of a tailor, with three very handsome but thoroughly respectable daughters."

At twenty, he fell in love with Babette, daughter of the proprietress of a coffee-house that he frequented. That Babette's charms impressed others may be gathered from the fact that she afterward became the Countess Belderbusch. Three years later, Eleonora von Breuning was the recipient of his devotion, and he would no doubt have found a120 good wife in her if she, too, had not finally married some one else. The next important figure on the list was the Countess Babette de Keglevics, afterward Princess Odeschalchi, to whom Beethoven showed his feelings in the shape of the Sonata, Opus 7. The Baroness Ertmann he addressed as "Liebe, werthe, Dorothea Cecilia," while the Countess Erdödy received the still warmer greeting of "Liebe, liebe, liebe, liebe Gräfin." All of these women, and many others, were ready to stand almost any liberty from Beethoven, and they entertained the warmest affection for him. At a later date, the Countess Erdödy erected a temple in her park to the memory of Beethoven. That his affections were changeable, if intense, was admitted by the composer himself. On being teased about his conquest of a beautiful woman, he admitted that she had interested him longer than any of the others,—namely, seven whole months.

More serious was his feeling for the lovely young Countess Giulietta Giucciardi, one of his pupils. "Life has been made a little brighter to me lately," he writes, adding later, "This change has been brought about by a dear, fascinating girl, whom I love, and who loves me. After two years, I bask again in the sunlight of happiness, and now, for the first time, I feel what a truly happy state marriage121 might be." But, unfortunately, she was not of his rank in life, and later on we find her, too, marrying another. Beethoven would certainly have married her if he could have done so, and his epistles to her are full of many fervid expressions of love. At his death, some letters of the most passionate description were found in his desk, and for a time it was thought they were addressed to her, but they are now ascribed to the influence of her successor.

The Countess Therese von Brunswick, who next received Beethoven's devotion, had been one of his pupils, and had once been rapped over the knuckles by him for inefficiency. Twelve years later, in 1806, pupil and teacher were actually engaged,—secretly, to be sure, but with full knowledge and consent of her brother. Yet after four years of varying conditions the match was broken off, and the composer again forced to take refuge in the lonely comfort of his art.

But he found other consolation in the charms and the companionship of Bettina von Brentano, whom he met at this time. According to his letters, she was no whit behind any of the others in being his "dearest friend," "dearest girl," and "dearest, fairest sweetheart." Soon Beethoven was to see her, too, married to another, and, if he never succeeded122 in taking the fatal plunge himself, he could at least have the melancholy satisfaction of knowing that all the objects of his adoration had entered safely into the holy state of matrimony.

In 1811 he met Amalia Seebald, and soon afterward inscribed in her album the sentiment:

"Ludwig von Beethoven,
Whom if you ever would,
Forget you never should."

His feeling for her was not exactly the effervescent feeling of youth, but the quieter, deeper sentiment of personal esteem and affection, which comes later in life, and is therefore more lasting. Her influence is visible in much of his later music, and the seventh and eighth symphonies were inspired by her.

That Beethoven took a friendly interest in other love-affairs besides his own is shown by an incident taking place in Töplitz, where the actor, Ludwig Loewe, was in love with the landlord's daughter of the "Blue Star," at which Beethoven used to dine. Conversation was usually impossible because of stern parents and a multitude of diners. "Come at a later hour," said the girl; "only Beethoven is here, and he cannot hear." This answered for a time, but at length the parents forbade the actor the house. Despite Beethoven's serious reserve,123 Loewe had often noticed a kindly smile on his face, and now resolved to trust him. Finding the composer in the park, he begged him to take charge of a letter for the girl. Satisfied with the honesty of the young man's intentions, Beethoven did this, and next day brought back the answer, keeping up his rôle of messenger during the whole of the five weeks that he remained in the town.

Franz Peter Schubert was a true son of Vienna. Sprung from the lower classes, he never felt wholly at ease among the aristocracy, and made no such deep impression upon them as Beethoven did. He was most at home in the informal society of his few chosen friends, all men of talent in some direction, whom he drew about him by his own genius and good-fellowship. His very nickname, "Kanner-was," taken from his usual question about newcomers, bears witness to the fact that he would have nothing to do with any one who did not show intellectual ability in some direction,—poetry or art, if not music.

Schubert's brief schooling, where his natural gifts were left to flourish by themselves, was succeeded by three years of musical drudgery in the shape of school-teaching. But his genius was restless, and he threw up that post. How he existed during the next few years is a complete mystery. He lived124 for a while rent-free, and his wants were never many, but for some time he apparently got along with no income whatever. His fertility in composing songs showed itself already. His later feat of writing "Hark, Hark, the Lark" on the back of a bill of fare, finishing it within half an hour of his first seeing the poem, is well known. It seems that he could forget as easily as he invented. At one time he sent a set of songs to his friend Vogl for inspection, but the latter was unable to look them over for two weeks. On finding one of especial interest, Vogl had it transposed to suit his voice, and gave it to Schubert to play. The composer, after trying it, cried in admiration: "I say, that's not bad; whose is it?"

At last he obtained the post of private teacher in the family of Count Esterhazy. It was the Countess Caroline, younger of the two daughters, who was to become the object of Schubert's later adoration. On the first visit, however, she was only nine, and we find Schubert, with his usual promiscuous taste, more at home with the servants than in the drawing-room. "The cook is a pleasant fellow," he writes; "the ladies' maid is thirty; the housemaid very pretty, and often pays me a visit; the nurse is somewhat ancient; the butler is my rival; the two grooms get on better with the horses than with125 us. The count is a little rough; the countess proud, but not without heart, and the two young ladies good children."

Eight years later he spent another period of six months at the château, and at this time felt the passion for the young countess that has been so often alluded to in his biographies. According to Bauernfeld, she inspired an ideal devotion that sustained and comforted him to the end of his life. There can be no doubt that etiquette and their difference in position prevented much intercourse between the two, but his devotion was apparently as lasting as it was unselfish. According to Kreissle, it found expression once, on her asking him, in jesting reproach, why he never dedicated anything to her. "Why should I," came the reply; "everything I ever did is dedicated to you." One of his posthumous works bears her name, which would hardly have been printed unless found on the manuscript in the handwriting of this greatest of tone-poets.

Mendelssohn came of a family that boasted an eminent intellectual leader of Judaism in the shape of Moses Mendelssohn, the composer's grandfather. Abraham, the father, brought up his two children, Fanny and Felix, in the Lutheran faith. Between the brother and sister there existed the most intimate understanding and affection, lasting through126 their entire lives. Both were musically gifted, possessing delicate hands and taper fingers that were often spoken of as if made expressly for playing Bach fugues.

Growing to maturity in the delightful family atmosphere that characterizes the better class of Jews and their descendants, Fanny Mendelssohn met and loved the young painter, Wilhelm Hensel. Her mother would not hear of an immediate engagement, but, after five years of art study in Rome, Hensel returned to become Fanny's betrothed. Felix, now launched on his professional career, produced an organ piece especially for the wedding. Another work for family use was his cantata, or opera, "Son and Stranger," composed for the silver wedding of his parents. This was prepared without their knowledge, and in order that the non-musical Hensel might take part with the rest of the family, Mendelssohn wrote for him a number consisting wholly of one note repeated. Even with this aid the Muses were unpropitious in the performance, and Hensel could not hit the right pitch for this note, while all his neighbours tried to prompt him, and the young composer sat at the piano convulsed with laughter.

Fanny Hensel led a life of happy activity. She127 and her brother drew around them a circle of celebrities that included scientific as well as artistic leaders. Like her brother, she was a composer. At first, however, he objected to her publishing her works, on account of her sex, and half a dozen of her songs without words were brought out among his own. In 1846 she ventured at last to issue some piano melodies and vocal works, in compliance with flattering offers from Berlin publishers. Then her famous brother sent his blessing on her becoming "a member of the craft," and hoped she would taste only the sweets and none of the bitternesses of authorship. Her greatest work is a piano trio,[5] which was not published until after her death. Among other compositions, she wrote several choruses for Goethe's "Faust," and a number of part-songs.

Her life came to an untimely close. In the year 1847, while conducting the little choir that she led on Sundays, she met an end as sudden as it was unexplained. Her hands dropped in an instant from the keyboard of the piano, and fell limp at her side. In spite of medical aid, death came after a short interval. It is highly probable that the early exertions of herself and her brother, which made128 their talents so wonderful, resulted in lessening their vital strength.

Mendelssohn himself was married. After his father's death he had wedded Cécile Jeanrenaud, daughter of a French pastor, and with her he passed a life of happiness. Fanny speaks in admiration of her beautiful eyes and expression, and praises her constant gentleness, which so often soothed her brother's nervous and irritable moods. But not even her kindness could make Mendelssohn forget the death of his sister, who had been a second self to him. When he first heard of it, he uttered a shriek, and fell senseless to the ground. His own death came directly from this fall, for it caused the breaking of a blood-vessel in his head, according to his physician. A holiday in Switzerland did some good, but the sight of Fanny's rooms on his return more than neutralized this effect. He grew weaker and weaker, until he met his death, less than six months after that of his sister. The bereaved wife, who had given such bright domestic charm to the home circle, lingered on for six years, but drooped in her loneliness until at last consumption carried her off.

In direct contrast to the clean and sunny happiness of Mendelssohn is the passionate and morbid æstheticism of Chopin. Like Beethoven, the Polish129 pianist never married, but, unlike Beethoven, he was not actuated by the highest of ideals. The first object of his devotion was the young soprano, Constantia Gladkowska, who was just ready to graduate from the Warsaw Conservatory when he was attracted by her. He became her champion in criticism, and his letters are full of emotional outpourings about her. He gave concerts with her, and found some moments of real bliss in her society, but she finally married another.

A second affair was his love for Marie Wodzinski, whom he had known in childhood and met at Dresden. She was just nineteen, and endowed with charming beauty. The pianist-composer spent many an evening with her at the house of her uncle, and often joined the family in their walks. But this affair, too, came to no result. The hour for farewell struck, she gave him a rose, and he improvised a valse for her. This waltz, which he afterward sent her from Paris, was the one called "L'Adieu."

That Chopin was fickle in his passions is shown by an anecdote of George Sand's. According to her, he was in love with a young Parisienne, who received him very kindly. All went well until one day he visited her with another musician, who was at that time better known than Chopin in Paris. Because the young lady offered this man a chair130 before thinking of asking Chopin to be seated, he never called on her again, and apparently forgot her immediately. George Sand avers that during all this period he was considering a marriage in Poland, but other acquaintances do not confirm this part of the story.

During the ten years passed together by Chopin and George Sand, in Majorca, Genoa, Nohant, and Paris, Chopin produced most of his important works. How much they were inspired by her, no one can say. But it is certain that her care of him in his usually ailing condition must have been of great aid to him. It is certain that she became an integral part of his life, for he did not survive their separation longer than two years. This separation at any rate, was responsible for some of the Polish master's compositions, for he comforted his wounded spirit by pouring out his emotions in such works as the great A flat Polonaise.

A figure of lesser though more recent prominence was Sybil Sanderson. Her fame on the operatic stage is a matter of the present, in spite of her death. She inspired the composer Jules Massenet to produce many of his best works, notably the opera, "Esclarmonde," which was written with her in view as performer. Another tribute to her is found in the song, "Femme, Immortelle Été."131 These are but a few of the more important instances in musical history, which go to show that woman's influence is responsible for many works in connection with which her name does not appear at first glance. The actual women composers, however, form a long and honourable list, and are by no means confined to the present period of female emancipation.

England's period of musical greatness has been said to be the past and the future. During the contrapuntal epoch her music flourished as never before or since, and side by side with the Shakespearian period in literature came an era of musical glory scarcely inferior to it. During the Restoration, too, music still held its own, thanks to the genius of Purcell in opera. But no names of women are recorded, and it is only in the eighteenth century, and the latter half at that, that they begin to appear on the roll of fame.

The year 1755 witnessed the birth of two women who were gifted enough to leave worthy works behind them,—Maria Parke and Mary Linwood. The former was the daughter of a famous oboist, who gave his child an excellent training. She became well known as a pianist and singer, and among other works produced songs, piano sonatas, violin133 pieces, and even a concerto for piano, or rather harpsichord. Miss Linwood devoted herself more entirely to vocal compositions, and published a number of songs and the oratorio, "David's First Victory." Two operas by her were left in manuscript.

Mrs. Chazal, who flourished at a still earlier date, won reputation as an orchestral conductor. This work is hardly deemed to come within woman's sphere, but the many choral and orchestral festivals of England offered her a better chance in this direction than her sisters in other lands could obtain. Mrs. Chazal's works included overtures and an organ concerto, as well as piano and violin music. Organ compositions seem to have been fairly numerous in England a hundred years ago, and we find Jeanne Marie Guest, daughter and pupil of a well-known organist, writing a number of voluntaries and other selections, also some manuscript concertos and some piano music. Other instruments were not neglected, as may be seen from Ann Valentine's "Ten Sonatas for Harpsichord and Violin," published in 1798. Another good organist was Jane Clarke, who issued a setting of psalms, as sung at Oxford, in 1808.

Coming nearer to our own times, Elizabeth Stirling, who died in 1895, was considered one of the very best of English organists. Her works for that134 instrument include two grand voluntaries, a half-dozen excellent pedal fugues, eight slow movements, and many other pieces. She has done much unselfish labour in arranging selections of Bach and the other great organ masters, besides publishing songs, duets, and piano works of her own. In 1856 she tried for a musical degree at Oxford, presenting an orchestral setting of the 130th Psalm; but, although the work won high praise, no authority existed for granting a degree to a woman. Marian Millar, a composer of songs and orchestral-choral works, met with more success in hunting for the coveted "Mus. Bac." and obtained it by applying to Victoria University. Augusta Amherst Austen, another organist, has written songs and hymn tunes, while Elizabeth Mounsey, also a performer, has published songs and piano pieces as well as organ works.

Ann Shepard Mounsey (1811-91), afterward Mrs. Bartholomew, a sister of Elizabeth, is mentioned by Spohr as a child prodigy. She was a friend of Mendelssohn, who wrote his "Hymn of Praise" for her sacred concerts in London. A set of "Thirty-four Original Tunes and Hymns" may be classed as organ work, but her greatest effort took the shape of an oratorio, "The Nativity." She also wrote a sacred cantata, and many135 lesser vocal works, including excellent solo and ensemble songs. Emma Mundella (1858-96) received an education both long and broad, and brought forth part-songs, piano pieces, church music, and an oratorio, "The Victory of Song." Elizabeth Annie Nunn (1861-94) also produced religious works, and, besides songs and various church music, published a Mass in C.

In the early part of the nineteenth century, the mechanical skill of Sebastian Erard made the harp extremely popular. At that time English households contained harps much as they do pianos at present. Excellently adapted as it was for women's performance, it is not surprising to find women composing for it also. Elizabeth Anne Bisset, Hannah Binfield, and Olivia Dussek, afterward Mrs. Buckley, were three famous examples of female skill in writing for the instrument.

Of song composers there have been a multitude. Among the early ones, Ellen Dickson (1819-78), under the nom de plume of Dolores, won a wide reputation. Her works are still sung, the most popular being her setting of Kingsley's brook song, "Clear and cool." Frankly simple in style, but full of pretty melodies, were the songs of Mrs. Charles Barnard (1834-69), who became widely known under the pseudonym of "Claribel." With her may136 be classed the ballad writers, such as Mrs. Jordan (Dora Bland), who composed the "Blue Bells of Scotland," or Lady Scott (Alicia Anne Spottiswoode), the author of "Annie Laurie" and other well-known songs. Mary Ann Virginia Gabriel (1825-77) was best known by her many tuneful songs, but wrote also part-songs, piano pieces, and a number of cantatas and operettas. Charlotte Sainton-Dolby (1821-85), the famous singer and friend of Mendelssohn, was also most widely appreciated because of her songs, though her cantatas, "The Legend of St. Dorothea" and "The Story of the Faithful Soul," were often performed. Sophia Julia Woolf (1831-93) won fame by her piano pieces and her opera, "Carina," as well as through her songs.

Kate Fanny Loder, not content with songs and the opera "L'Elisir d'Amore," has composed an overture for orchestra, two string quartettes, a piano trio, piano and violin sonatas, minor piano pieces, and some organ works. Caroline Orger (1818-92) was another talented composer whose work possessed sincerity and artistic value, and was above the merely popular vein. Among her productions, which have been often performed, are tarantellas, a sonata, and other piano pieces, a 'cello sonata, a piano quartette and trio, and a piano concerto.137

Alice Mary Smith (1839-84) seems to have been on the whole the foremost woman composer that England has yet produced. A pupil of Sterndale Bennett and Sir George A. Macfarren, she devoted herself wholly to composition, and made it her life-work. Her music is clear and well balanced in form, excellent in thematic material, and endowed with an expressive charm of melodic and harmonic beauty. Among her orchestral works are two symphonies, one in C minor and the other in G; four overtures, "Endymion," "Lalla Rookh," "The Masque of Pandora," and "Jason, or the Argonauts and Sirens;" a concerto for clarinet and orchestra, and an "Introduction and Allegro" for piano and orchestra. Her chamber music is also successful. It consists of four quartettes for piano and strings in B flat, D, E, and G minor, also three string quartettes. With the orchestral works should go two intermezzi for "The Masque of Pandora," finished later than the overture. Her published cantatas include "Rüdesheim," "Ode to the Northeast Wind," a strong work, "The Passions" (Collins), "Song of the Little Baltung" (Kingsley), and "The Red King" (Kingsley). Her many part-songs, duets, and solos are imbued with rare melodic charm, as may be seen from the famous duet, "Oh, that we two were maying." Her career, though138 none too long in years, was one of constant creative activity.

There are a number of English women who have done excellent work in the large orchestral forms, if we may count festival performances as a measure of success. Edith Greene has composed a symphony, which was well received at London in 1895. To her credit may be placed many smaller works of real merit, among them a worthy violin sonata. Amy Elsie Horrocks, born in Brazil, brought out her orchestral legend, "Undine," in 1897. She has also composed incidental music to "An Idyl of New Year's Eve," a 'cello sonata, variations for piano and strings, several dramatic cantatas, a number of songs, and many piano and violin pieces. Besides doing this, she has won fame as a pianist. Mrs. Julian Marshall, born at Rome, has produced several orchestral works, as well as several cantatas, an operetta, a nocturne for clarinet and orchestra, and a number of songs. Oliveria Louisa Prescott, a native of London and a pupil of the Royal Academy of Music, is responsible for two symphonies, several overtures, a piano concerto, and some shorter orchestral pieces, besides vocal and choral work.

Dora Bright, born at Sheffield in 1863, another student of the Royal Academy, is one of England's139 most gifted musicians at the present time. She became assistant teacher of piano, harmony, and counterpoint, and won many prizes, being the first woman to obtain the Lucas medal for composition. Her two piano concertos are praised by critics for their "bright and original fancy and melodious inspiration of a high order, coupled with excellent workmanship." The orchestral colouring is said to be thoroughly exquisite. A fantasia for piano and orchestra was given at the London Philharmonic Concerts in 1892, the first instance of a woman's composition being given by that orchestra. Her string quartettes have won notice, also her piano duos, a violin suite, some flute and piano pieces, and several piano solos and songs.

Alice Borton has published an "Andante and Rondo" for piano and orchestra, as well as several piano works (suite in old style) and a number of songs. Edith A. Chamberlayne has composed two symphonies, as well as a manuscript opera, a sextette for harp, flute, and strings, and various harp, organ, and piano music. Edith Swepstone has had some movements of an unfinished Symphony performed, also an overture, "Les Tenebres," at London in 1897. She has written a piano quintette and a string quartette, besides short cantatas and the usual lesser pieces for violin, piano, and voice.140 Marie Wurm, born at Southampton in 1860, is a successful pianist as well as composer. Her concerto in B minor is highly praised for excellent workmanship, originality, and melodic strength and charm. Among her other works are a concert overture, a string quartette, violin and 'cello sonatas, some five-voiced madrigals, with various piano pieces and songs.

Rosalind Frances Ellicott has won a place of honour among women composers. She was born in 1857, and is a daughter of the Bishop of Gloucester. Her music is not especially ecclesiastic in vein, but includes many notable secular compositions. Among her important works are dramatic, concert, and festival overtures, and a fantasia for piano and orchestra, all given at various English festivals. Of her various cantatas, the "Birth of Song," "Elysium," and "Henry of Navarre" have met with the most success. She has written two piano trios, a string quartette, and much music for 'cello, piano, and voice.

Ethel M. Smyth, who recently was brought into notice in America by the performance of her opera, "Der Wald," is one of England's talented musical women. In purely orchestral vein she has produced a serenade in D and the overture "Antony and Cleopatra," both being given at the Crystal Palace141 in 1890. She has shown originality in other than operatic fields, and her greatest work is a Mass in D. This is a composition of decided merit, and is full of sustained dignity and breadth of style. It is intensely modern in quality, and its expressive feeling is somewhat reminiscent of Gounod, but it is not in any sense an imitation of the great Frenchman. Her string quintette has been performed at Leipsic. She has written a violin sonata and the usual number of minor pieces and songs. Her opera has received much praise, but the final verdict rates it as rather confused and undramatic, in spite of much good music in the score.

Many women have attempted opera, but none have met with more than temporary success. In England, owing to the example of Gilbert and Sullivan, light operas and operettas have flourished to a considerable degree. Mary Grant Carmichael met with some success through her operetta, "The Snow Queen," but like Miss Smyth gave the world a more important work in the shape of a mass. Ethel Harraden, sister of the novelist, had her opera, "The Taboo," brought out at the Trafalgar Square Theatre, London, with excellent results. She has composed an operetta, "His Last Chance," besides vocal, choral, and violin pieces. Harriet Maitland Young has completed several operettas, of which "An142 Artist's Proof" and the "Queen of Hearts" were successfully performed. Annie Fortescue Harrison witnessed the production of her "Ferry Girl" and "Lost Husband" at London. Louisa Gray's "Between Two Stools" has been given at many places. Ida Walter's four-act opera, "Florian," received a London performance in 1886. Florence Marian Skinner has made Italy the scene of her work. Her "Suocera," in serious vein, appeared at Naples in 1877, while her "Mary, Queen of Scots," after being given at St. Remo and Turin, received a London hearing.

England is preëminently a land of musical festivals, at which choral work plays an important part. London and the larger cities have their regular series of concerts, and the size of the capital attracts outside artists, but many of the smaller towns have annual occasions, at which local talent is sure to receive a full appreciation. This accounts for the prevalence of cantatas in the English musical repertoire. Subjects of all sorts are used, and dramatic, romantic, or even simple pastoral themes appear to delight the British ear when set to music and given by some singing society.

Among the many women who have attempted this form of composition, some have already been mentioned, but a number have been satisfied with143 it for their only efforts in extended style. Lizzie Harland produced her dramatic cantata, "Cœur de Lion," in 1888, following it with the "Queen of the Roses" for female voices. Ethel Mary Boyce, winner of various prizes, has composed "Young Lochinvar," "The Sands of Corriemie," and other cantatas, as well as a March in E for orchestra. Miss Heale, another London aspirant, is credited with "Epithalamion," "The Water Sprite," and other choral works. Emily M. Lawrence has produced "Bonny Kilmeny" and "The Ten Virgins," both for female voices, while Caroline Holland has written the cantata, "Miss Kilmansegg," and the ballad, "After the Skirmish," for chorus and orchestra. Miss Holland has won laurels as a conductor, besides being known as a composer. All of these have done a greater or less amount of work in the small forms, for piano, voice, or violin.

Still longer is the list of women who have worked wholly in the shorter forms. Yet the absence of ambitious work must not be taken to indicate a lack of musical genius, for many of England's best known musical women rest their fame upon a few short pieces. There is a vast difference between good music and great music, and a song of real worth often outlasts an ambitious but overswollen symphony that is laid on the shelf after one hearing.144

In the field of violin music, there are many women deserving mention. Margaret Gyde, after taking prizes and scholarships, produced two excellent violin sonatas, besides piano pieces, songs, and some organ music. Contemporary organists, in passing, are well represented by Kate Westrop, who has published four short voluntaries for organ. Laura Wilson Barker, wife of Tom Taylor, has entered the classical arena with a violin sonata, and has done more ambitious work in the music to "As You Like It" and the cantata "Œnone." Caroline Carr Moseley has produced several pieces for violin and 'cello, and has written one or two dainty works for toy instruments. Mrs. Beatrice Parkyns, born of English parents at Bombay, has several charming violin compositions to her credit, and the same may be said for Kate Ralph, a native of England. Emily Josephine Troup is another violin composer, who has also tried her hand at songs and piano pieces. Maggie Okey, at one time wife of the pianist De Pachmann, and now married to Maître Labori, famous as the advocate of Dreyfus, has composed a violin sonata, a violin romance, and several piano pieces. Kate Oliver is responsible for some concerted music, while Alma Sanders has produced a piano trio, a violin sonata, and a piano quartette. To-day Ethel Barns heads the list of violin composers among women.

145By far the most important name in this field of woman's work is that of Agnes Zimmermann. Born in Cologne in 1847, she received her musical education in London. At the Royal Academy of Music she studied piano under Pauer and Potter, afterward attaining high rank as a performer. In composition, her teachers were Steggall and George Macfarren. She won the silver medal of the Academy, and obtained the king's scholarship twice, in 1860 and 1862. In the next year she made her London début, and a year later appeared with the Gewandhaus orchestra at Leipsic. Her fame as a classical pianist was soon established, and her excellent work in editing the sonatas of Beethoven and Mozart bore added testimony to her musical knowledge. Her compositions include a piano trio, three violin sonatas, a suite and other pieces for piano, and a number of songs. Her clear style and thorough musicianship have given these works more than a passing value, and she is reckoned to-day as one of England's leading women composers.

Still more numerous than the violin composers are the women who have shown their ability merely in the form of a few piano pieces. Almost every eminent performer is at some time tempted to express146 his own musical thoughts in writing. Such has been the case with Arabella Goddard, the famous pianist. Born near St. Malo, in 1838, she played in her native place at the age of four. At six she was studying with Kalkbrenner at Paris. At eight she played before Queen Victoria, and published six piano waltzes. Among her maturer works are an excellent ballade and several other piano selections. Dora Schirmacher, born in 1862, was less precocious, but won the Mendelssohn prize at Leipsic, where she studied under Wenzel and Reinecke. Her works consist of a suite, a valse-caprice, a sonata, a serenade, a set of tone pictures, and so on. Amina Beatrice Goodwin was another child prodigy, first playing in public at the age of six. She studied with Reinecke and Jadassohn at Leipsic, Delaborde at Paris, and finally with Liszt and Clara Schumann. She has published many piano selections, besides founding a pianoforte college and publishing a good book of practical hints on technique and touch. She is married to an American, Mr. W. Ingram-Adams. The list of piano composers might be extended much further, but these are the most representative names.

Of the long list of song composers, but few have produced anything of marked artistic value. Foremost among these at present is Liza Lehmann, who147 has recently become famous through her song cycle, "In a Persian Garden." She came of a gifted family, for her father, Rudolph, was an excellent artist, and her mother a composer of songs, which were modestly published over the initials "A. L." Her grandfather was Robert Chambers, famed by his Encyclopædia. Born in London, she studied singing with Randegger, and composition afterward with Freudenberg, of Wiesbaden, and the Scottish composer, MacCunn. She expected to make a career as a singer, but found herself so extremely nervous whenever appearing that she was forced to abandon the idea. She persevered awhile, however, and has been frequently heard in Great Britain and Germany.

In 1894 she retired and married Mr. Herbert Bedford. Only then did she begin those efforts in composition that have since met with such great success. She has published a number of songs and some piano and violin pieces, but is always thought of in connection with her cyclic setting of the Persian poet, Omar Khayyam. When she composed this, she was little known, and fortune as well as fame was a stranger to her. Oddly enough, all the London publishers refused this work, which has since then charmed two continents. Finally it was sung at her house by a gathering of musical friends,148 the performers being Ben Davies, Albani, Hilda Wilson, and David Bispham. They were so delighted with it that they brought it out at the Monday "Pops," and after that its success was assured. There are other song cycles by this composer, notably "In Memoriam," but none equal the "Persian Garden." It is full of rich passages of exquisite beauty, moving pathos, and strong expression.

Frances Allitsen passed a lonely childhood in a little English village. She would improvise warlike ballads for amusement, though her later works and her character are marked by gentleness of thought. She hoped to make a name by singing, but unfortunately lost her voice. Her family were all hostile to a musical career, and regarded her tastes as most heinous. She describes the scene of her youth as a place "where, if a girl went out to walk, she was accused of wanting to see the young men come in on the train; where the chief talk was on the subject of garments, and the most extravagant excitement consisted of sandwich parties." Domestic misfortunes and illness left their mark on her, but could not hinder her musical progress. She finally sent some manuscripts to Weist Hill, of the Guildhall Music School, and with his approval came to London. Her days were spent in teaching, to earn money with which to pay for her149 studies in the evening, but she braved all difficulties, and finally won success. She is best known in America by her songs, which are really beautiful settings of Browning, Shelley, Longfellow, Heine, and other great poets. But she is a master of orchestral technique as well. Her overture, "Slavonique," was successfully performed, and a second one, "Undine," won a prize from the lady mayoress. Her room is a delightful gallery of photographs of artists and musicians. She has a picture of Kitchener, whose example, she says, ought to cure any one of shirking; hence the mistaken anecdote that she could not work without a picture of Kitchener on her desk.

Mrs. Rhodes, known in the musical world as Guy d'Hardelot, was of French ancestry and birth. She spent her childhood in a Norman castle, and her youth in Paris and London, studying music. After marriage she met with reverses, and was forced to earn a living by teaching. She studied composition with Clarence Lucas, and gives him great credit for developing individuality. She has three excellent guiding maxims,—"Avoid familiar things, choose words so clear that people can see the picture, and be sure that the climax comes at the end."

Her songs succeed in combining the elegance and lightness of the French school with the appealing150 simplicity of the English. Her reputation was established with her first publication, the melancholy and dramatic "Sans Toi." Her many succeeding lyrics range from liveliest humour to deepest pathos, and all are thoroughly artistic. Widely known are "Sans Toi," "Mignon," "Vos Yeux," "Say Yes," "Chanson de Ma Vie," "La Fermière," "Valse des Libellules," and many others. Her favourite poets are Victor Hugo and Ella Wheeler Wilcox, a rather strange mixture. Her only attempt in larger form is the operetta "Elle et Lui." She is a great friend of Mme. Calvé, who is especially fond of her songs. She has accompanied Calvé on an American tour, and has appeared with her before Queen Victoria at Windsor. She sings herself with a light but attractive voice and the most perfect diction. Of late she has composed for Calvé some acting songs, such as "The Fan."

Maude Valerie White takes rank among the very best of England's song writers. Born at Dieppe in 1855, she entered the Royal Academy at the usual age, completing her studies at Vienna. During her student days she produced a mass, and at various times she has composed violin and 'cello pieces, but she has won most fame, as well as much money, by her songs. Grove considers the best of these to be the settings of Herrick and Shelley;151 he gives high praise to her setting of the latter's "My soul is an enchanted boat," and considers it one of the finest songs in our language. Her other lyrics include such gems as "To Mary," "Ophelia's Song," "Ave Maria," and so forth, besides a number of exquisite German and French songs. Her careful attention to the metre and accents of the words, combined with the excellence of the poetry she chooses and the real worth of her music, have won the admiration of all music lovers.

Florence Gilbert, a sister of the well-known dramatist, has won some renown as a ballad composer. She studied harmony and composition with Stainer and Prout, and after this excellent training spent much time in creative work. For a long time she let her songs remain in manuscript, out of diffidence as to their value. Finally Mme. Helen Trust, the singer, came upon them, and obtained permission to bring out the "Message to Phyllis." Its success was pronounced, and the composer was easily persuaded to issue her other works.

One of the older group of song composers is Clara Angela Macironi, whose work has been known many years. Born in 1821, she studied in the Academy, and became one of its professors. Her suite for violin and piano is well written, but she is known to the general public chiefly by her152 part-songs. Some of these have been sung by three thousand voices at the Crystal Palace. She has published many songs for solo voice also, but these are hardly equal in musical worth to the productions of the more recent geniuses.

Less high in standard, but vastly popular, are the songs of Hope Temple, of whose works "My Lady's Bower" and "In Sweet September" are probably familiar in many households. Edith Cooke has found a vein of dainty playfulness in "Two Marionettes" and other similar songs. The productions of Kate Lucy Ward are graceful and musicianly, while Katharine Ramsay has written some admirable children's songs. Without enumerating more, it may be worth mentioning that the famous Patti has tried her hand at composing songs, and that Lady Tennyson has set some of her husband's lyrics, although he is said to have been tone-deaf and unable to appreciate any music.

The Irish songs of Alicia Adelaide Needham are said to be exceptionally good, and thoroughly new and local in flavour. Ireland is also represented among women composers by Christina Morison, who produced a three-act opera, "The Uhlans," and wrote many songs; Lady Helen Selina Dufferin, whose songs are widely known, especially the "Lay of the Irish Emigrant;" and Lady Morgan, born153 in the eighteenth century at Dublin, and known through her operetta, "The First Attempt."

Scotland can show no great woman composer. There are a few ballad writers besides those already mentioned, but they are of little importance. Wales can boast one musical daughter in Llewela Davies, who won a large collection of prizes while at the Royal Academy. Her works include three sketches for orchestra, a string quartette, a number of songs, and a violin sonata that received a London performance in 1894, and was highly praised by the critics.[6]

It is only natural that the country whose composers have led the world for more than two centuries should produce many musical women. The list excels not only in point of length, but in merit and priority. It begins with the nun Roswitha, or Helen von Rossow, who flourished at the end of the tenth century, and won renown by her poetry, some of which she set to music. But in modern times many important names are found in Germany at a time when few or none appear in other countries.

Music was considered a proper relaxation for royalty, and in the eighteenth century every petty court aimed to keep its orchestra and performers, while very often the exalted hearers would try their own hands at playing or composing. Frederick the Great was especially fond of music, and played the flute with much skill and persistence, and his sister, the Princess Anna Amalie, was as gifted as her155 brother in a musical way. She wrote many compositions, of which an organ trio has been published in a Leipsic collection, while her cantata, "Der Tod Jesu," represents a more ambitious vein. Contemporary with her was Maria Antonia, daughter of the Emperor Charles VII., and pupil of such famous men as Porpora and Hasse. Her musical aspirations took the form of operas, of which two, "Il Trionfo della Fedelta" and "Talestri," have been published recently. Amalia Anna, Duchess of Saxe-Weimar, composed the incidental music for Goethe's melodrama, "Erwin and Elmira," and won flattering notices, though part of their praise may have been due to her rank. Maria Charlotte Amalie, Duchess of Saxe-Gotha, published several songs, and wrote a symphony for an orchestra of ten instruments.

Coming into the nineteenth century, we find the Princess Amalie of Saxony possessed of considerable talent. Her skill showed itself in the form of various pieces of church music and no less than fourteen operas, best among them "Die Siegesfahne" and "Der Kanonenschuss." The Empress Augusta herself, wife of Kaiser Wilhelm I., besides always fostering the art of music, was gifted with a talent for composing, even in the larger forms. Among her works are an overture, the ballet "Die Maskerade,"156 and several marches, of which one is on the German army lists at present. Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen, who lived but twenty-four years, found time to compose several marches and a number of songs and piano pieces.

Among living composers, Princess Beatrice of Battenberg is the author of a number of melodious songs, also an orchestral march and some church responses. Saxe-Meiningen seems to hold its own in the present as well as the past. Princess Charlotte, daughter of the Emperor Frederick III., has composed some military and Turkish marches, also a tuneful "Cradle Song" for violin and piano. Marie Elizabeth, of the same principality, counts among her works an "Einzugsmarsch" for orchestra, a Torch Dance for two pianos, a number of piano pieces, and a Romanze for clarinet and piano.

One of the most notable female figures in German music was Maria Theresa von Paradies. Born at Vienna in 1759, she met with an accident when three years old, and became blind for life. Even with this drawback, however, her musical aptitude was so great that her parents were justified in letting her begin regular studies and procuring the best teachers for her. At the age of eleven she appeared in public, singing the soprano part of Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, and playing her own accompaniment157 on the organ. This interested the Empress Maria Theresa, who procured the best of teachers for her. She made such rapid progress in piano that at her first concert she was able to arouse the utmost enthusiasm by her expressive and sympathetic performance. She made a number of concert tours, winning plaudits everywhere. In Paris, where she stayed six months, she appeared at the Concerts Spirituelles, and played frequently before Marie Antoinette. After various royal audiences in England and Germany, she returned to Vienna, where she soon retired from public life, and devoted herself to teaching and composition.

Her memory was something phenomenal. It is said that she was able to play no less than sixty concertos with the most absolute accuracy, besides knowing any number of smaller piano works. Her power of concentration is also made evident by the fact that she would dictate her own compositions, note by note, without the slightest alteration. Very few, even among the great composers, have possessed this faculty. Wagner and Mendelssohn were perhaps the most gifted. Beethoven's great works were the result of much careful correction, and in some cases represent as many as six or eight revisions.

Her compositions have won praise from the greatest158 musicians, and show merit of a high order. Among her dramatic works, the most successful in point of performance are "Rinaldo and Alcina," a fairy opera (appreciated in its day much as "Hansel and Gretel" is in our own), the melodrama "Ariadne and Bacchus," and the pastoral operetta "Der Schulcandidat." Her other works include a piano trio, a number of sonatas and variations for piano, several songs and other vocal works, besides a few cantatas. Her remarkable gifts won her the friendship of the foremost musicians of her time. Among others Mozart admired her greatly, and dedicated a concerto to her.

Another figure of musical importance was Marianne Martinez. Born at Vienna in 1744, she began her musical studies while still a child. Her first efforts at composition were made when she was twelve years old, and met with a most favourable reception, though of course they cannot compare with her later productions. She was an excellent pianist, or what would correspond to a pianist in our day, and among her teachers on the harpsichord was Haydn himself. She became equally proficient in singing, under the great teacher, Porpora, and the historian Burney speaks of her vocal accomplishments with unstinted praise.

Among the works of her maturer period, her159 church music ranks highest of all. Her oratorio "Isacco," with words by Metastasio, is her worthiest production, and met with deserved success when performed at Vienna in 1788. Besides this work, she composed two other oratorios, a successful mass, a four-part Miserere, a number of psalms for four and eight voices, with orchestral accompaniment, several motets, and many other pieces of a religious character. The list of her works does not end here, but comprises symphonies, overtures, and other orchestral numbers, including several piano concertos. Taken as a whole, her works entitle her to a worthy place among women composers of all time.

Leaving the eighteenth century, the next woman composer of note is Emilie Zumsteeg. Born at Stuttgart in 1796, she soon showed that she had inherited the musical taste of her father, himself a well-known composer. On his death, six years later, the widow supported herself by keeping a music-store, where the growing daughter absorbed much knowledge of the art. Soon she began regular study, and won her way into notice by her singing and piano-playing. Her sight-reading abilities were something phenomenal, and she could play from full instrumental scores with ease. Her home became the centre of a brilliant circle, including Weber, Hummel, Lindpaintner, and poets as well as musicians.160 She was much prized as a teacher of piano and singing, and a personal favourite in her native city. Of her compositions, the most ambitious is an overture to the play "Die Geister Insel." She wrote also several piano pieces, among them three polonaises. But according to German authority,[7] it is her songs that have made her memory honoured. Her originality and her skill in metrical treatment have won her high praise, and many of the songs achieved wide popularity.

Leopoldine Blahetka, the Austrian pianist, was one of the most prolific of women composers. Born near Vienna in 1811, she made such rapid progress under her mother's tuition that by Beethoven's advice she was placed under Czerny in her fifth year. She pursued composition as well as piano, and when twelve years old was able to appear in Vienna and play a set of variations with her own orchestral accompaniment. Among her later teachers were Moscheles, Kalkbrenner, and Sechter. She made frequent tours, and met with universal success. The criticisms of her work include an extremely favourable notice by Schumann. In 1840 she settled in Boulogne, where she became renowned as a teacher, and led a successful career until her death in 1887.161

Of her many works, the most ambitious are a piano concerto, the "Souvenir d'Angleterre" for piano and orchestra, and two sets of piano variations with orchestral accompaniment. Among her numerous examples of chamber music are found variations for string quartette and piano, two piano quartettes, a piano trio, several violin sonatas, a polonaise, and sets of variations for 'cello, violin, and flute with piano. She has composed a grand duet and a number of solos for piano, also numerous vocal duets and songs. Her operetta, "Die Räuber und die Sänger," was successfully produced at Vienna.

One of Germany's greatest women composers was Emilie Mayer. Hers was a fortunate position, for she was always well provided for, and could exercise her powers without the need to think of the financial result. She was born in Friedland in 1812, her father being "Apotheker," a position of far more importance in German towns than that held by our pharmacists. Emilie showed the usual signs of musical talent, and was given the best of teachers. After advanced work with Carl Loewe, the great ballad composer, she entered the musical life of the German capital. Here she gave a concert as her introduction, playing the piano herself, and making the programme entirely of her own compositions. On this occasion were given a concert-overture, a162 string quartette, Psalm 118 for voices and orchestra, and two symphonies, the "Militaire" and the B minor. This was an imposing array, but it was only a beginning, and her productive career continued until her death in 1883.

Not all of her works have been published, but all show good thematic material and an unusual sense of musical form. The list includes many dances and songs, two string quartettes, two piano quartettes, two quintettes, ten piano trios, eight violin sonatas, twelve overtures, Psalm 118 with orchestra, seven symphonies, and an operetta. This is certainly an extensive catalogue for any composer. Among the printed works, the best are the "Faust" overture, Op. 46; the violin sonatas, Op. 17 and 21, also the nocturne, Op. 48, an expressive work; the 'cello sonata, Op. 47; the piano trio, Op. 13; and for piano solo an allemande, Op. 29, that is full of masculine power and energy.

Agnes Bernouilly, a native of Berlin, was another woman who devoted herself to orchestral productions. Her works in the larger forms have been given often by the Saro orchestra and others, while her songs and piano works have received much praise from the critics. Another composer of renown was Aline Hundt, one of Liszt's best pupils, who was born in 1849, and died at the early age163 of twenty-four. In her short career she wrote a march for orchestra, a "Champagnerlied" for tenor solo, chorus, and orchestra, selections for viola and violin with piano, a number of male choruses, and several songs and piano pieces. Theresa Schaeffer has composed a festival overture for grand orchestra, besides many piano pieces and songs. Anna Benfey-Schuppe wrote an overture for "Götz von Berlichingen," as well as incidental music to other plays and various chamber works. Nanette von Schaden, a native of Salzburg, composed two piano concertos, as well as numerous sonatas and rondos for piano. Constanze von Buttenstein, besides issuing a number of songs and piano works, has published an "Ave Maria" for alto voice, with an orchestral accompaniment that is sometimes reduced to organ and string quartette.

Among other symphonic writers, Nina von Stollewerck, a native of Austria, is credited with two symphonies. She has written other ambitious works, besides songs and male choruses of some merit. Agnes Tyrell is another Austrian, having been born at Brunn in 1848. She pursued her studies at Vienna, where she became an excellent pianist as well as a composer. Among her works are a symphony, three overtures, and a number of164 smaller orchestral selections, as well as some worthy piano pieces.

Louisa Adolpha Lebeau, born at Rastatt in 1850, is undoubtedly one of the most gifted of living women composers, not only in her own country, but in the entire world. Her teachers include such famous names as Clara Schumann and Kalliwoda for piano, and Rheinberger in composition. She is an excellent pianist, and has made frequent and successful tours to all the great cities of Germany. Her appearance at the Gewandhaus concerts in Leipsic is in itself a proof of her superior attainments in this direction. She often performs her own works, which are always successful.

With the exception of symphony and opera, her compositions include practically every form used in modern music. Her Concert Overture, Op. 23, first performed in 1882, has been repeatedly given in Germany. Her Festival Overture, also, has met with a warm reception. Her piano concerto, Op. 37, is another work that is frequently heard, while the Fantasia, Op. 25, for piano and orchestra, practically another concerto, is rich in musical beauty, and contains a finale of exceptional strength. Among orchestral works with chorus, her oratorio, "Ruth," Op. 27, is a work of extreme beauty, and one which has been heard in all the important cities165 of Germany, Austria, and Holland. The cantata "Hadumoth" is another valuable work, showing great dramatic strength and an excellent handling of large choral effects. A concert aria for baritone and orchestra, "Im Sängersaal," is also worthy of mention.

It is her chamber music, however, that is responsible for her greatest triumphs. This is marked by the utmost clearness of thought and theme, and shows a most pleasing originality. It has been highly complimented by such a great musician as Lachner, and one of her pieces for 'cello and piano carried off first prize in a competition at Hamburg, in 1882, in which many noted composers had entered. Of great merit is a quartette, Op. 28, for piano, violin, 'cello, and viola. Another worthy work is the string quartette, Op. 34. Her trio, Op. 15, for piano, violin, and 'cello, the 'cello sonata, Op. 17, and the violin sonata, Op. 10, have been classed with the very best examples of their kind. Her other works include a number of piano pieces, among them some excellent fugues, three solos for the humble and seldom-heard viola, and a lovely romance for violin and piano.

A number of other German women have attained prominence through their concerted music. Josephine Kanzler, born at Tolz in 1780, wrote two166 string quartettes, besides piano sonatas and songs. She was a pupil of the famous Abt Vogler. Helene Liebmann, about fifteen years later, produced several quartettes of the same sort, as well as two piano trios and a number of violin sonatas, piano pieces, and songs. Clementine Batta has published a Melodie Religieuse for voice, piano, 'cello, and organ. Louise Kern has shown a fondness for combining violin, organ, and piano. Louise Langhans (maiden name Japha), born at Hamburg in 1826, is usually given an honourable place in the German lists of women composers. She studied with Robert Schumann, at Düsseldorf, and became famous as a pianist. Her compositions, not all published, include several string quartettes, a piano trio, sonatas, choral works, fragments of an opera, and a number of effective piano pieces. Among contemporary composers, Mathilde von Kralike has published a piano trio of some interest.

Of the women who have attempted large choral works, there are several besides those already mentioned. Baroness Bertha von Bruckenthal has received high praise for her "Grand Messe Solennelle," and for some four-voiced numbers with organ accompaniment. She has also written pieces for violin, 'cello, voice, and piano. Angelica Henn, one of Kalliwoda's best pupils, is credited with a167 "Missa Solemnis," also an opera, "The Rose of Lebanon," and some songs and instrumental works. Anna Pessiak-Schmerling, born in Vienna, was for many years teacher of singing at the conservatory there, and won more than a local reputation through the performance of her masses. Johanna Kinkel is responsible for a "Bird Cantata," as well as an operetta and many popular songs. Hers also is the well-known quartette, "The Soldier's Farewell." Agathe Plitt, a child prodigy in her early years, is still an excellent pianist, and has entered the lists in composition with a number of successful cantatas, psalms, motets, and other sacred works. Hermine Amersfoodt-Dyck won fame by producing the cantata, "Gottes Allgegenwart."

In the operatic field, Josepha Müller-Gallenhofer, born at Vienna in 1770, seems the pioneer. Besides her opera, "Der Heimliche Bund," she published a string quartette and many pieces for the harp, upon which she was an excellent performer. Caroline Wiseneder, of Brunswick, deserves notice for her aid to the blind, for whom she started a successful music school. Her two operas and several melodramas were published after her death. Auguste Goetze, born at Weimar in 1840, grew up to success as a singer of German Lieder, and founded an opera school at Dresden. Of her operas, "Susanna168 Monfort," "Magdalena," and "Eine Heimfahrt," have been frequently performed. Elise Schmezer has composed the opera "Otto der Schütz," besides a number of songs. Thekla Griebel has had her opera, "Schön Karen," produced twice within recent years. Elise Bachmann published a melodrama, "Die Macht der Musik," also some songs and piano pieces in popular vein. Among less important works, the Countess of Ahlefeldt issued the ballet, "Telemach und Calypso," in 1794. Julie von Pfeilschifter, born in 1840, is author of the grand ballet, "Vöglein's Morgengruss" and the dramatic scena, "Agneta," which have pleased Wiesbaden audiences; also a number of piano selections and songs.

Among those who have written for the violin, Francesca Lebrun, one of the earliest, was born at Mannheim in 1756. A remarkably great singer and accomplished pianist, she won laurels in composition by her musicianly piano trios and her sonatas with violin accompaniment. Pauline Fichtner, born in 1847, became one of Liszt's pupils, and won many public triumphs as a pianist. Her works, mostly piano pieces and songs, contain two fantasies for violin and piano. Marie Hendrich-Merta, five years younger, is the author of an excellent piano trio, besides the usual song and piano169 selections. Mary Clement has written a violin sonata and shorter pieces that have won encomiums from no less a man than Max Bruch. Henrietta Heidenreich has composed a number of violin pieces, and Mathilde Heim-Brehm has done the same. The Countess Stephanie Vrabely Wurmbrand wrote a violin sonata, also several piano works and incidental music to "Die Schöne Melusine."

In the field of piano music, Emilie Belleville-Oury is worthy of mention. Born at Munich in 1808, she made that city her residence until her death in 1880. She became extremely proficient as a pianist, and won many public triumphs. In one of Robert Schumann's criticisms is an interesting comparison between her work and that of Clara Schumann. "They should not be compared," says the great critic. "They are different mistresses of different schools. The playing of Madame Belleville is technically the finer of the two; Clara's is more impassionate.... Madame Belleville is a poetess, Clara is poetry itself." The works of this virtuoso are largely made up of transcriptions and arrangements, but contain some excellent compositions of her own.

Though not credited with any composition in larger form than songs or piano pieces, Josephine Lang won a high artistic rank among the women170 composers of Germany. Born at Munich in 1815, she began her piano studies when five years old, and made progress enough to allow a public appearance in her eleventh year. Four years later Mendelssohn met her and became her teacher in counterpoint and thoroughbass. He was charmed by her gifted and poetic nature, and calls her "one of the loveliest creatures I have ever seen. She has the gift," he continues, "of composing songs, and of singing them, in a degree that I have never known before." To help support her parents, she did some teaching, and sang in the royal chapel with such success that she was named for the post of royal court singer. In 1842 she married Christian Köstlin, who obtained a law professorship at Tübingen, and there she passed fourteen happy years. The death of her husband was followed by the loss of her three sons, and she was forced once more to struggle for a living. In this later period of trial and success, she published most of her compositions. The songs, amounting to a hundred and fifty in number, are remarkable for their strong feeling and expressive power, while her piano works are stamped with originality and depth of conception. Among the latter are the great "Deutscher Siegesmarsch," two mazurkas, and an impromptu, "In the Twilight." Her eulogistic biographer calls these pieces "Real pearls among piano works."

171Delphine von Schauroth was another brilliant pianist, much praised by Schumann and excessively admired by Mendelssohn. A Sonata Brilliant and a Capriccio are among her best works. Minna Brinkmann is a voluminous writer of pieces in lighter vein. Lina Ramann has won fame by her literary work, but has published several worthy compositions also. Constanze Geiger, who appeared at Vienna as an infant prodigy when six years old, has written several piano pieces, also an Ave Maria for soprano, chorus, and organ. Marie Wieck, Clara Schumann's younger sister, has composed a few excellent piano pieces and a number of songs. Sophie, Countess of Baudissin, has published variations, études, nocturnes, and other piano works. Josephine Amann is another German piano composer. More familiar to the American public is Adele Aus Der Ohe, a pupil of Liszt and Kullak, who has established her reputation as a pianist. She has composed several piano suites and a concert étude, besides a number of successful songs. Adele Lewing is another pianist residing in America who has produced vocal and instrumental pieces.

Among other composers of songs may be mentioned Louise Reichard, whose father was Chapelmaster172 to Frederick the Great. Her works are mostly sacred in character. Marie Börner-Sandrini, who lived at Dresden before entering on her career as a famous opera singer, wrote a popular Ave Maria, besides other melodious songs. In the domain of sacred music, Louise von Vigny has done some good work. Ida Becker has won well-deserved success with her children's songs, which are inimitable in their way. Her cantata, "Die Heilige Nacht," for soloists and chorus, is often heard. Marie Hinrichs Franz, wife of the great composer, was herself a song-writer of exceptional merit, and deserves more than a passing mention.

In the field of organ music, Clotilde Kainerstorfer is the leader to-day. Her works, which are all of a high standard, consist of numerous hymns and some choral numbers, all with organ accompaniment. Marianne Stecher is another successful organist and composer, and her many fugues earn her a high rank for musicianship. Of earlier date was Judith Bachmann, who flourished at Vienna near the close of the seventeenth century. She is credited with a number of organ fugues, as well as a piano sonata.

Coming to the less usual instruments, Ottilie Heinke, who lives in Berlin, has composed two 'cello romances, besides worthy piano music. Sophie173 Seipt, of Cologne, has also published a number of 'cello pieces. Caroline Krämer became a virtuoso on the clarinet, and wrote a good many pieces for that instrument. Therese Winkel was a famous harp player of the early nineteenth century, and published three sonatas for harp and violin. Nina Eschborn has composed a number of pieces for the harp, besides songs and duets. Fanny Christ and Ida Zaubiter have become noted as zither players, and have written many compositions for that instrument.

Famous among women composers of all nations is Cécile-Louise-Stephanie Chaminade. She was born at Paris in 1861, of a family that was well endowed with musical taste. In childhood, she made the piano her favourite companion, and while other girls were devoted to their dolls, she would try to express in tones the simple emotions that moved her. There are some gifted mortals who can think in music, whose joys and sorrows translate themselves naturally into melody. Cécile Chaminade was one of these.

So earnestly did she devote her childish days to music that before the age of eight she was already able to show some attempts of her own at composition. These juvenile works, which consisted of sacred pieces, were of such interest to the composer Bizet that when he heard them he advised her parents to give her a complete musical training, and175 predicted a brilliant future for her. In spite of their fondness for the art, the parents had no inclination to see their child upon the thorny and toilsome path of a musical career. Meanwhile the young girl devoted herself to the piano with utmost ardour, and continued her efforts at composing. When at last some of her pieces were judged worthy of performance in the church at Vesinet, her parents were persuaded to let her follow her inclinations. Her father insisted, however, that her general education should not be sacrificed, and the result was several years of hard work.

Her teachers were LeCouppey in piano, Savard in harmony, counterpoint, and fugue, Marsick in violin, and Benjamin Godard in composition. Under these she made rapid progress, and, in fact, the latter part of her education consisted in playing chamber music with Marsick and Delsarte. Her own début as pianist took place when she was eighteen, and gave a chance for the performance of a few of her compositions. These were so effective that they occasioned the often-quoted remark of Ambroise Thomas,—"This is not a woman who composes, but a composer who happens to be a woman."

Her career has been one of constant progress and constant triumph. Her talents as a pianist have176 won public hearings for her in London, Berlin, Leipsic, and many other cities besides her native Paris. She has been especially in demand for the performance of her own concerto, which has been given in the Gewandhaus and London Philharmonic concerts, as well as those of Lamoureux and Colonne in Paris. Her works have become widely known, and her name is now a familiar one, not only in France, but in England, Continental Europe, and America.

Her most ambitious compositions are "Les Amazones," a lyric symphony with choruses; a one-act ballet, "La Sevillane," still in manuscript; and the grand ballet and symphonic scena entitled "Callirrhoe," successfully given at Marseilles and Lyons, and now published in many different arrangements. Her concerto for piano and orchestra has received high praise from the critics, who seem always ready to laud its refined melodic charm and graceful delicacy of sentiment. The one defect seems to be an excess of vigour and virility in certain of the later movements. Her other orchestral works consist of two suites, one of them being arranged from "Callirrhoe."

Of lesser instrumental music, she has written two successful trios. Her piano pieces are many in number, and excellent in quality. Among them177 is a group of four and eight-hand works for two pianos, as well as duets for a single instrument. Among her most important solo works are a sonata, an Étude Symphonique, a Valse Caprice, a Guitarre, an Arabesque, six Études de Concert, five Airs de Ballet, containing the well-known Scarf Dance, six Romances Sans Paroles, and six humourous pieces. She has also written a few selections for violin and piano.

It is undoubtedly her songs that have made her fame so widespread. She has published over sixty in all, nearly every one endowed with the delightful charm that is associated with her name. These songs are full of the rarest and most piquant melodic beauty, and the accompaniments are rich in colour and originality. A well-known critic writes: "Her music breathes the true spirit of romance shown in the poems that inspire it. Her themes are never commonplace or affected, and are gracefully supported by fluent, appropriate, and finely blended harmonies." Among her most recent compositions are some choral works, three of these, for orchestra in old style, being of especial interest. Her "Pardon Breton," "Noel des Marins," and "Angelus," for orchestra, are also worthy of mention, as well as her set of six "Poemes Evangeliques." She is now at work upon a three-act lyric drama.178

Augusta Mary Ann Holmes was born at Paris in 1847. Of Irish parentage, she afterward became naturalized as a Frenchwoman. Her family were much opposed to a musical career, and insisted on her giving it up. They did not approve of any artistic pursuit for her, but allowed her to take up painting as the lesser evil. Her love for music overcame all obstacles, and she soon began to appear as a child-prodigy in public and private concerts. Her early compositions took the form of songs, but when only eleven she conducted a quickstep of her own, played at Versailles by an artillery band. Her really great works, however, did not appear until many years later.

Her first opera, "Hero et Leandre," was successfully produced in 1874, and the psalm, "In Exitu," appeared at about the same time. In the next year she became a pupil of Franck, whom she considers her real master, and after that great works came thick and fast. An Andante Pastorale from an unpublished symphony met with a favourable reception. Then came the symphony "Lutece," which was second only to works of Dubois and Godard in a Paris competition. This was followed by the symphonic poem, "Pologne." Meanwhile she made another effort to win a prize with her lyric drama "Les Argonautes." Out of twenty-four votes, she179 received nine, her partisans being the best-known musicians on the jury. Next came the symphonic poem, "Irlande," the "Vision de Sainte Therese," for voice and orchestra, the symphonic ode, "Pro Patria Ludus," inspired by a painting of Puvis de Chavannes, and the great "Ode Triomphale," given at the Exposition in honour of the centenary of 1789.

The success of the Triumphal Ode was so marked that the composer's fame reached foreign lands, and the city of Florence ordered from her the cantata, "Hymne à la Paix," in celebration of the Dante festival. Her impressions of Italy are recorded in her next suite, "Au Pays Bleu," which charmed all hearers by its expressive interest. Her other choral works include the "Hymne à Apollo," and the allegorical cantata, "La Vision de la Reine." Her latest symphonic poem, "Andromede," produced a marked effect. Her last opera, "La Montagne Noire," was not especially successful, though given with Alvarez, Breval, and other great artists in the cast. The operas, "Astarte" and "Lancelot du Lac," are in manuscript.

Mlle. Holmes has composed a number of songs, all endowed with an unusual share of beauty. She writes her own words in almost all cases, as she is able while doing this to hear in a vague way180 the music which she afterward sets to them. Hers is a virile genius. "These women seem preoccupied, first of all," says one critic, "to make people forget that they are women.... Whatever Mlle. Holmes may do, or whatever she may wish, she belongs to the French school by the vigour of her harmony, her clearness, and the logic of her conception and exposition." Imbert, who has written a biographical sketch of her, says: "The talent of Augusta Holmes is absolutely virile, and nowhere in her works do you find the little affectations which too often disfigure the works of women. With her, nobility of thought and sentiment take first place. She worships the beautiful, and her Muse has sung only subjects that are worthy of being sung. She is masterly in her ease, and all the resources of orchestration are known to her."

Maria Felice Clemence de Reiset, Vicomtesse de Grandval, is another name as famous as it is extensive. Born in 1830, she showed innate taste for music, and her career was devoted to it. She received instruction from Flotow at first, doing more valuable work afterward with Saint-Saëns. For a time she was able to take lessons of Chopin. Her works include practically all forms of composition, but she has shown especial aptitude for dramatic work and church compositions.181

Of her many dramatic works that have been successfully produced, "Le Sou de Lise" appeared first, in 1859. Among the operas brought out at a later date are "Les Fiancés de Rosa," "La Comtesse Eva," "La Penitente," "Piccolino," and "Mazeppa." A lyric scene, "La Forêt," for soloists, chorus, and orchestra, met with a successful production in 1875. Among her vocal compositions are many songs, some with violin and organ accompaniments.

Her sacred music takes rank with the very best that modern writers can show. Her two masses have been frequently given at Paris. Her two oratorios, "Sainte Agnes" and "La Fille de Jaire," met with a similar favourable reception. Her Stabat Mater contains an effective "March to Calvary" and a beautiful "Juxta Crucem," and received the enthusiastic homage of the critics when first brought out. Several smaller works, for voices, organ, and piano, are no whit behind the larger compositions in musical worth. She has also written a grand overture, "Esquisses Symphoniques," a piano trio, a violin sonata, a suite for flute and piano, and many other violin and piano pieces. She deserves to rank among the foremost women composers of our time.

Jeanne Louise Farrenc was another Parisian woman who won fame by composing. Born in182 1804, her career falls in the earlier part of the nineteenth century. Pursuing the usual studies, harmony with Reicha, and piano with Hummel and Moscheles, she began to write ambitious works at an early age. Such merit did some of these works show that Schumann, who reviewed them, was at first inclined to doubt her ability to write them unaided. She deserves credit for making a remarkable collection of old clavichord and piano music, and writing a clear summary of the terms and abbreviations employed by the early musicians.

Her own compositions have been often performed, even the larger orchestral numbers. Chief among them are two symphonies and three overtures. Her chamber music includes a nonette and sextette for strings, two quintettes, several piano trios, in two of which clarinet and flute replace the usual violin, a number of sonatas and other pieces for violin and piano, several 'cello sonatas, some flute and piano pieces, and numerous piano works and songs. Her daughter, Victorine Louise, was another gifted musician, but died after a brief career, leaving a heritage of piano works and songs.

Louise Angelique Bertin, born in 1805, was one of those impatient creatures who are eager to read books before learning the alphabet. In taking up painting, she wished to start in at once with canvas183 and brush, regardless of preliminary training. In her musical studies the same tendency showed itself, and immediately on beginning her work in composition with Fétis, she commenced writing operatic airs and scenes. Apparently she was able to estimate her own talents justly, for success crowned her efforts. Her first opera, "Guy Mannering," was performed in private, but "Le Loup Garou" made a marked public success. Her "Faust," a later work, met with a like favourable reception, although "Masaniello" and "William Tell" had already taught the Paris public to be exacting. "Esmeralda" was another successful work, but "Notre Dame," written to a libretto of Victor Hugo's own arrangement, proved a failure. Mlle. Bertin won further musical fame by her string quartettes and trios, as well as her choruses and songs. She was also a poetess of some renown, and her collection of verse won a prize from the French Academy.

Pauline Viardot-Garcia was one of a remarkable musical family. Her father, Manuel Garcia, was a singer and teacher of note, and, like her elder sister, Mme. Malibran, she received the benefit of his tuition. One of her earliest memories of his singing was connected with an unexpected appearance in America, when a band of Mexican robbers, not184 content with relieving them of the proceeds of their tour in this hemisphere, added insult to injury by insisting upon hearing the great tenor sing. Pauline became renowned in opera, and, after the early death of her sister, held the foremost place on the European stage. She was able to impersonate and create rôles of the most diverse nature, ranging from the lightest of Italian heroines to the most dramatic characters of Meyerbeer. After a career of fame and honour, she left the stage and devoted herself to teaching, and it is in that period of her life that her compositions appear. Her house in Baden-Baden was the centre of attraction for a circle including not only musicians, but artists, poets, and nobility of the highest rank. There she produced her operettas, "Le Dernier Sorcier," "L'Ogre," and "Trop de Femme." At first arranged for private performance, they succeeded so well that they were given to the public. Of her other works, twelve romances for piano, twelve Russian melodies, and six pieces for violin and piano are the most important. She numbered many famous names among her pupils, and her singing exercises are of unusual value.

Her sister, Marie Felicitas, at first wife of M. Malibran, and afterward married to the violinist De Beriot, was one of the world's greatest singers,185 and her career is too well known to need description. Her fame as a composer rests on a number of attractive romances and chansonettes, of which an extensive collection was published in Paris. Louise Pauline Marie Viardot, afterward Mme. Heritte, was a daughter of Pauline Viardot, and possessed all her mother's talent for composition if not for singing. After a sojourn at the Cape of Good Hope, where her husband was consul, and a four-years' term as professor in the St. Petersburg Conservatory, she settled down to teaching and writing in Paris. Among her many works are the operas, "Lindoro" and "Bacchus Fest," and the cantatas, "Wonne des Himmels" and "Die Bayadere." Her chamber music includes four string quartettes and two trios. In the lesser forms she produced a number of songs, vocal duets, and piano pieces. Another member of this famous family, Manuel Garcia, is still living. He is a brother of Malibran and Pauline Viardot.

Gabriella Ferrari is another gifted French composer of orchestral works. She is a pupil of such men as Dubois and Gounod, and has done much in the larger forms. Among her works are a number of orchestral suites, many piano pieces and songs, and the comic opera, "Le Dernier Amour." Mme. Renaud Maury is another composer who is able to186 handle large masses of instruments. She drew attention to herself by carrying off the prize for fugal work at the Conservatoire, at a time when women were expected to take a more modest place in composition. Her "Fantasie Symphonique" and "Jeanne D'Arc" are often given before French audiences. The Marquise Haenel de Cronenthal, one of the older generation, has produced several symphonies, a number of sonatas, a string quartette, numerous piano works, and the opera, "La Nuit d'Epreuve," which won a gold medal at the Exposition of 1867. Célanie Carissan has produced the operetta, "La Jeunesse d'Haydn," and the oratorio, "Rebecca," besides other choral works and many songs and piano pieces.

The roll of operatic composers in France is long and honourable. Just as England seems the home of cantatas, and Germany of orchestral work, so France is especially devoted to opera, and her women have held their own well in this field. As far back as the seventeenth century, Elizabeth Claude de la Guerre upheld the glory of her sex by playing and improvising in a masterly fashion. One of her greatest admirers was the king, Louis XIV., himself. Besides a number of sonatas, she wrote a "Te Deum" to honour the king's recovery from illness, and a number of cantatas. Her opera,187 "Cephale et Procris," was successfully given at the Academic Royale in 1694. Another composer of the same century was Mme. Louis, whose operetta, "Fleur d'Epine," met with a good reception.

In the eighteenth century, Henriette de Beaumesnil was one of the foremost musical women in France. Endowed by nature with a fine voice, she became one of the leading artists in the Paris Grand Opera Company. When her voice failed, she took up composition, and succeeded in that also. Most popular among her many operas were "Anacreon," "Les Legislatrices," and "Les Saturnales." Emilie Candeille was the daughter of a dramatic composer, from whom she received a solid musical education. Her works include piano trios, sonatas, and songs with piano and harp, besides the operetta, "La Belle Fermière," and the comic opera, "Ida." Mlle. Duval was another grand opera singer, and author of the ballet, "Les Genies." Mlle. Kercado, of later date, produced the operetta, "La Méprise Volontaire." Lucille Grétry, daughter of the famous composer of that name, produced "Le Mariage d'Antonio" when only sixteen years, and followed it up with "Toinette et Louis." Her career was cut short in her twenty-fourth year by an untimely death.

Edme Sophie Gail-Garre, who flourished at the188 beginning of the nineteenth century, won some renown by her very popular songs and piano pieces, but was known chiefly by her successful operas. Among these were "Les Deux Jaloux," "Mlle. de Launay," "La Méprise," and "La Serenade." Mlle. Guenin, another youthful aspirant for fame, produced "Daphnis et Amanthée" in her seventeenth year. Louise Puget wrote romances and chansons that were remarkably pretty and popular, if not very ambitious, and produced the operettas, "Le Mauvais Oeil" and "La Veilleuse," besides the opera, "Beaucoup de Bruit pour Rien." Helene Santa Colona-Sourget, author of some beautiful songs and a string trio, produced a one-act opera, "L'Image," in 1864.

Pauline Thys is a writer who has won considerable dramatic fame. She has published some songs, but has devoted herself almost wholly to the stage. Among her successful operettas are "La Pomme de Turquie" and "La Perruque du Bailli." Her comic operas have been very well received, and include such favourites in their time as "Le Pays de Cosagne," "Le Cabaret du Pot-Cassé," "Le Fruit Vert," and "Le Mariage de Tabarin." She has also composed the lyric drama, "Judith." Comtesse Anais de Perrière-Pilte (Anais Marcelli) produced several successful operas and operettas, among them189 "Le Sorcier" and "Les Vacances de l'Amour." The Baroness de Maistre wrote a number of worthy religious works, among them an excellent "Stabat Mater." Of her operas, "Les Roussalkas" met with a success when produced in Brussels. Marguerite Olagnier is a composer whose productions show real worth. Her "Sais," performed in 1881, contained many beautiful numbers. She has written another opera, "Le Persan."

Marie de Pierpont was a talented writer for the organ, as well as an excellent performer on that instrument. She entered the operatic field with a work entitled "Le Triomphe du Cœur," which is reckoned her best production. The Baroness Durand de Fortmague was successful as an amateur, and her "Bianco Torello" and "Folies d'Amour" have been frequently given. Mlle. de Sainte-Croix has written a number of successful one-act operettas, which have been well received in the Paris theatres. Mme. Amélie Perronet has won laurels in the same field, and has written some popular chansonettes. Charlotte Jacques rests her fame on a single work, "La Veille." Mlle. Gignoux has directed her talents to the lyric drama, "La Vision de Jeanne d'Arc" being her most notable work. Hermine Dejazet is another operetta composer. Mme. Gallois is responsible for several ballets, besides songs190 and piano works, while Hedwige Chrétien-Genaro, a professor at the Conservatoire and a musician of real worth, won much success with her "Ballet Oriental."

In the domain of choral music, Mme. Delaval, a famous harpist of the eighteenth century, produced a cantata depicting the farewell of the unfortunate Louis XVI. to his people, which met with much success, but was naturally not a favourite in revolutionary France. She was also the author of much good harp music and many songs. Marie Sophie Gay, born at Paris in 1776, is credited with several cantatas, besides a good deal of piano music. Marie Anne Quinault was another eighteenth century composer who devoted her talents to the writing of motets and other church music. The Comtesse de Saint-Didier, born in 1790, was an amateur whose cantata, "Il Est Rendu," met with some success at Paris. In later times, Mme. Helene Robert-Mazel, an excellent pianist, produced the cantata, "Le Jugement Dernier," besides a number of interesting songs and a valuable collection of children's vocal music. Cécile Derheimer was another gifted composer who wrote a number of masses and other religious music, while Mme. Alphonse de Neuville, widow of the well-known painter, has composed a worthy mass, besides violin191 works and songs. These names are enough to prove that French women could equal their English sisters in this field, if the national taste demanded it of them.

With those who have written concertos should be classed Rosa La Roche, who lived in the latter half of the eighteenth century, and published a number of sonatas besides a successful piece for piano and orchestra. Mlle. Lechantre, of the same period, composed a work that was only a concerto by courtesy, for her orchestra consisted of two violins, two oboes, viola, and double-bass. In the nineteenth century, Mme. Marie Jaell, born Trautermann in 1846, took a position of some importance. She became a successful pianist, winning prizes at the Conservatoire, and publishing a new method of piano teaching that roused widespread attention and comment. Her compositions include a piano concerto, a piano quartette, and a number of excellent smaller works, such as an impromptu, two meditations, six petits morceaux, and some valses for two pianos.

Among violin writers, Mlle. Brisson, who flourished in the early part of the last century, produced a number of pieces for that instrument with piano, as well as some harp and piano music. Virginie du Verger was the author of three duets for violin192 and piano, besides a piano sonata and some études. In the field of piano music, the earliest name is that of the Marquise de la Misangere, who was born in 1693. Her ability as a performer on the clavichord was something remarkable, and she left behind her a number of works for her instrument. At the end of the eighteenth century, Mme. Helene Montgeroult held a prominent position as teacher in the conservatory and publisher of sonatas and other piano pieces.

In the early years of the nineteenth century, Mme. Marie Bigot won a great reputation by her playing. Her ability to read at sight was unusually marked, and she played the Sonata Appasionata of Beethoven from his manuscript in a way that astonished and delighted the composer. She did much to introduce Beethoven's piano works to Parisian audiences. Among her own compositions are many excellent piano pieces. Camille Marie Pleyel was another fine Parisian pianist, and a pupil of Moscheles and other great masters. Schumann gave high praise to her performances. She, too, published a number of piano works. Louise Massart, who succeeded Mme. Farrenc as a Conservatoire professor, was another piano composer of note. Among contemporary pianist-composers, Berthe Marx takes high rank. She won prizes and medals193 at an early age, and became famous through many concert tours, partly alone and partly in company with the violinist Sarasate. Her works include a number of excellent display pieces. She is now Mme. Otto Goldschmidt. Two other brilliant performers and writers for the piano are Charlotte Tardieu de Malleville and Helene Collin.

Louise la Hye deserves mention with the organ writers. She was a grandniece of the great Jean Jacques Rousseau, and flourished in the first part of last century. She won her laurels early, being cut off by an untimely death when only twenty-eight. She had already attained a professorship of harmony in the Conservatoire, and published many valuable organ works, besides pieces for piano and other instruments. Several masses by her remained in manuscript.

Among the song composers of the eighteenth century belongs Mme. de Travenet, whose romances and chansons, with piano or harp, became very popular. Pauline Duchambge, of later date, won great success in a similar manner. Hortense, Queen of Holland (1783-1837), published an album of her own songs at Paris. Mlle. Molinos-Lafitte is credited with a number of songs, which form another Parisian collection. In connection with singing, the excellent teaching work of Mme. Marchesi has been194 supplemented by the publication of numerous sets of admirable vocalises from her pen. In the realm of harp playing, the Comtesse de Genlis became noted in the eighteenth century, and published many compositions for the instrument. Marie Pollet, somewhat later in point of time, wrote a number of harp pieces, and played them in her many concert tours. Theresa Demar was another celebrated harpist and harp composer.

If the term America be applied, as is often the case, only to the United States, then the list of its women composers will still be found to include practically all who have done work in this line in the Western hemisphere. By far the larger part of these women are living now, for our musical growth has taken place in recent years. The record is already a worthy one, and will become still more extensive in the near future.

At the head of the list stands Mrs. H. H. A. Beach, the one great name to be found in our country. She was born in Henniker, N. H., on September 5, 1867, her maiden name being Amy Marcy Cheney. She is descended from one of the oldest New England families, and her middle name indicates her relationship to the Marcy line, which includes the famous cabinet officer, William L. Marcy.

Mrs. Beach's love of music, which she inherited196 from her mother's family, began to show itself almost at once. From the time when she was only a year old, she began to amaze her family and their friends by the most astonishing musical feats. She proved herself possessed of absolute pitch; she memorized dozens of tunes; she listened for hours at a time to violin music, while pieces in minor keys caused her such grief that they were employed by her parents in place of punishments. At the age of two she was given a photographic sitting, and at the critical moment she electrified the group about her by suddenly singing Handel's "See, the conquering hero comes." The photographer, who had been rehearsing that work for the first peace jubilee, was astounded to find that she gave it with the most perfect accuracy. Her power of memory exerted itself in other fields, and almost as soon as she learned to read she was able to recite long and difficult selections. She also showed a marked ability to improvise melodies and sing an accompanying part to any given theme. Her active mind associated a certain definite colour with each musical key, a habit which continues to the present time.

At the age of four she succeeded in obtaining permission to touch the piano, although she was so small that she had to improvise a pedestal in order to reach the keys. She soon learned many197 pieces, and began to compose little waltzes of her own. One of these was thought out wholly without the piano, and played correctly three months afterward. She read from printed notes before she knew their names, and found no trouble in making transpositions at will. At six she insisted on having regular lessons, which were begun by her mother, and continued for two years at home. During that period she learned many difficult works, including études by Heller and Czerny, some Chopin valses, and various movements of the Beethoven sonatas, including the whole of the first one. At this time also she grew interested in the works of Bach, and learned to understand and appreciate the beauty of the interweaving voices in a fugue.

At the age of eight, her parents took her to Boston to pursue her general education. The musical authorities who heard her play insisted that she was able to enter any one of the great European conservatories, but with due regard to her health and her other studies, her parents wisely decided not to let her go. She was sent to Mr. W. L. Whittemore's private school, where she manifested all her usual quickness of attainment. Her piano work was greatly aided by her quick ear and accurate memory, and she was able, for example, to reproduce a Beethoven sonata without notes, merely198 after hearing a fellow pupil practise it. Another use to which she put this accomplishment was the collection of bird songs, of which she now possesses a complete volume. Her skill in this direction was employed by ornithologists in obtaining the notes sung by the California larks.

Her more serious musical education was pursued under Mr. Ernst Perabo at first, and afterward under Junius W. Hill, of Wellesley College, and Carl Baermann. Under Professor Hill she took a single course of harmony, but in all the important subjects of counterpoint, fugue, musical form, and instrumentation, she carried on her work entirely alone. Among the tasks she set for herself was the translation of the books on orchestration by Berlioz and Gevaert. Another consisted in memorizing Bach fugues and rewriting them with a voice on each staff.

She made her Boston début as a pianist in 1883, at the age of sixteen, playing a Moscheles concerto and a Chopin rondo. Her success was instantaneous, and in the same season she gave several recitals with similar result. In the next year she played a Chopin concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and a Mendelssohn work with the Thomas Orchestra. Since then she has appeared constantly in all of our large cities, often devoting whole programmes199 to her own works. At one of the Symphony concerts she brought out her own concerto. In December, 1885, she married Doctor Beach, and has since then made Boston her permanent home.

The first performances of her large works have often been events of importance. In 1892, when she brought out her mass in E flat at the Handel and Haydn concerts, she was on the programme for the piano part of Beethoven's Choral Fantasie, and the ovation she received on her appearance will not soon be forgotten by those present. Her "Jubilate" cantata was written for the dedication of the women's building at the Chicago Exposition, and scored a great success there. During the fair, she played for the first time her romance for violin and piano, in conjunction with Miss Maud Powell. A violin sonata, which she composed later and played with Mr. Franz Kneisel, has become a favourite with the most famous artists in Paris, Berlin, London, and other great musical centres. The same popularity and favourable mention have been accorded to her piano pieces and songs, the Italian audiences especially becoming enthusiastic over some of the latter.

Her Gaelic Symphony, built on real Gaelic themes, was another ambitious work. It was first given at Boston in 1896, and since then has gone200 the rounds of all the great American cities. Among her other large works are three cantatas, with orchestral accompaniment that can be reduced to dimensions suitable for piano. They are "The Rose of Avontown," for female voices, "The Minstrel and the King," for male chorus and soloists, and "Sylvania," a wedding cantata recently published. Another vocal work of great merit is an a capella motet, while among her earlier compositions is the scena for contralto and orchestra, entitled "Eilende Wolken," on a text from Schiller's "Maria Stuart."

Mrs. Beach's piano works consist of a cadenza to Beethoven's C minor concerto, a valse-caprice, a ballade, four sketches, a "Bal Masque" Waltz, a Children's Carnival and Children's Album, her concerto in C sharp minor, a transcription of Richard Strauss's "Serenade," five pieces (Barcarolle, Menuet Italien, Danse des Fleurs, Scottish Legend, Gavotte Fantastique), and a set of six duets entitled "Summer Dreams." For violin and piano, besides the two works already mentioned, are three pieces, "La Captive" (G string), "Berceuse," and "Mazurka," all three being arranged for 'cello and piano also. Her vocal works include more than sixty songs, most of which are well known to American music lovers. Some are provided with violin obligato, while others have orchestral accompaniments.201 There are a number of part-songs for different combinations of voices, and several sacred selections for various occasions. Among her songs the favourites are "Fairy Lullaby," "Ecstasy," "Thy Beauty," "Scottish Cradle Song," "Elle et Moi," "Spring," "Hymn of Trust," some sets of Shakespeare, Browning, and Burns poems, and many others,—in fact, practically the entire list.

Margaret Ruthven Lang, another of Boston's gifted musical women, was born November 27, 1867. The name of her father, Mr. B. J. Lang, is familiar to all Americans who can claim to know anything of music. Her mother was an exquisite amateur singer, and in the musical atmosphere of the family the daughter's talents have had every opportunity to develop. She commenced her piano study under a pupil of her father's and continued it under paternal direction. She took up violin with Louis Schmidt in Boston, and carried it on with Drechsler and Abel in Munich, where she also began composition with Victor Gluth. After her return she continued her work for a time with Prof. John K. Paine and J. C. D. Parker, finishing her orchestration with George W. Chadwick. Her own persistent study has been of great advantage to her.

She began composing at the age of twelve, numbering among her early works several songs and202 a movement of a piano quintette. Her efforts in larger forms have been unusually well received. Her "Dramatic Overture" was given by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1893, and in the same year Theodore Thomas performed her overture, "Witichis." Still another overture, "Totila," is in manuscript. Among other works are three orchestral arias, "Sappho's Prayer to Aphrodite," for alto; "Armida," for soprano; and the yet unperformed "Phœbus," for baritone. An orchestral ballade won much success in Baltimore in 1901. She has also written an orchestral cantata, a string quartette, and several works for violin and piano.

Miss Lang has published a number of successful part-songs for men's, women's, and mixed voices. Of her fifty or more songs, all are more or less widely known. The favourites among them seem to be "My Lady Jacqueminot," "Meg Merrilies," "Deserted," "Eros," and the well-known sets, "Five Norman Songs," "Six Scotch Songs," "Three Songs of the Night," and "Three Songs of the East." Her piano music is also excellent, among the best examples being the Rhapsody, the Meditation, a poetic revery, the charming Spring Idyll, and her early suite, entitled "Petit Roman."

Clara Kathleen Barnett, now Mrs. Rogers, is also a resident of Boston. Born in England, she203 received her earliest musical education from her parents. They were of a talented family, for her grandfather was the famous song-writer, Robert Lindley. In 1856 she was sent to the Leipsic Conservatory, studying piano with Moscheles, ensemble playing with David and Rietz, and harmony with Richter. Her singing, by which she first became famous, was begun with Goetze and finished at Berlin under Frau Zimmermann. Under the name of Clara Doria, she appeared with success in many Italian cities, and finally came to America, where she married and settled in Boston. Her present work consists of teaching and composing. In the former field, her book, "The Philosophy of Singing," contains much new and valuable material. Among her compositions is first of all a string quartette of excellent workmanship. There are also sonatas for violin and for 'cello with piano, and a piano scherzo. Her songs are many in number and excellent in quality. Among them are two sets of Browning Songs, six Folk Songs, and such favourites as "The Rose and the Lily," "Clover Blossoms," "Confession," "At Break of Day," and many others.

In the front rank of American pianists is Julia Rivé-King. A native of Cincinnati, she began her musical education under William Mason and S. B.204 Mills, finishing abroad with Reinecke and Liszt. At her début, in Leipsic, she scored a great success, and since then has been steadily before the public. Her compositions are mostly for piano, including some excellent Liszt and Scarlatti transcriptions. Among her own works are a Polonaise Héroïque, Polka Caprice, Gems of Scotland, and many other popular numbers.

Another pianist well known to American audiences is Mme. Helen Hopekirk Wilson. Although her birthplace and home are in England, she has spent so much time in this country that she may well be regarded as belonging to it. She, too, was a pupil of the Leipsic Conservatory, finishing with Leschetizky, and making a successful début with the Leipsic Gewandhaus orchestra in 1878. She has shown ability in the larger forms, her own concerto being produced in a Henschel concert at Edinburgh. She has several orchestral works still in manuscript, as well as a violin sonata. Her many songs and piano works make a list as long as it is honourable.

Several of the younger American women are beginning to make efforts in orchestral work. Clara Korn, a pupil of Bruno Klein, is responsible for two suites for orchestra, as well as one for violin, and various piano pieces and songs. Grace Marckwald has also tried her hand in the larger forms. Edna Rosalind Park, a native of Boston, now residing in New York, has shown decided talent in the songs she has published, and has several important works in manuscript. Margaret Williams, a Baltimore student who was born in Tennessee, produced a concert overture at one of the Peabody Symphony Concerts, and has also composed the words and music for a five-act opera, entitled "Columbus." Eliza Woods, another student at the same place, has written a full manuscript score for an overture, as well as a double fugue, a sonata, and a number of songs. Edith Noyes Porter, of Boston, is also at work on some extensive compositions, her published works to date being chiefly songs.

205In the operatic field, Emma Steiner stands at the head. Born at Baltimore, she showed a taste for music at an early age, and was able to read and write notes when only seven. Her parents objected to a musical career for her, but she continued her practice, and earned money for further study by writing waltzes and other popular dance music. She became proficient in making orchestral arrangements, and has been eminently successful as a leader of many large New York organizations. Among her operettas are "The Alchemist," also a version of the old French romance, "Fleurette," and an206 adaptation from Tennyson, called "Day Dreams." She is also the author of many songs.

Lillie Mahon Siegfried, of Buffalo, has also produced an operetta, besides the song, "The Beautiful Land of Nod," and several other songs and lullabies. Miss Estabrook has over forty songs to her credit, besides the operetta, "The Tournament." Mrs. John Orth has composed a children's operetta, also a number of simple songs and piano works for beginners. Laura Sedgwick Collins, who has already won a high rank, wrote the music to "Pierrot," besides many excellent songs and violin works.

In chamber music, Marguerite Melville has produced some worthy works. Among them is a remarkably good piano quintette, while she has also written a sonata and a romanza for violin and piano, besides several beautiful songs. Alicia Van Buren, also author of a number of worthy songs, has published a string quartette with Breitkopf and Härtel. Alice Locke Pitman, now Mrs. Wesley, has written several violin works, besides a number of songs. Mary Knight Wood, another gifted member of the new generation, studied with Arthur Foote and B. J. Lang. She has already produced a piano trio, and her songs, such as "Ashes of Roses," "Heartsease," "Autumn," and so forth, are imbued with207 the most exquisite refinement. Marie von Hammer and Laura Danziger have written pieces for the 'cello, the latter supplementing this work by a number of piano compositions.

Organ music is well represented by the work of Helen Josephine Andrus, of Poughkeepsie. She is a graduate of Vassar, where she won a degree by her musical studies. Her compositions include several organ pieces and a cantata for organ and strings, also anthems and various church music, as well as piano works and songs. Clara Rees is another organist who has produced a number of compositions. Lucina Jewell, a New England Conservatory graduate, is the author of an introduction and fugue for organ, besides some effective songs and other works. Faustina Hasse Hodges was another able organist who wrote church music.

Helen Hood is one of America's few really gifted musical women. Boston has been her home and the scene of her chief work, although she has travelled abroad, and studied for two years with Moszkowski. Endowed with absolute pitch, she has composed from her earliest years, and her music won for her a medal and diploma at the Chicago Exposition. Her most important work is a piano trio, while her two violin suites are also made of excellent material.208

Mrs. Jessie L. Gaynor has won an enviable position for herself, chiefly as a composer of children's songs. Her work is marked by bright and pleasing rhythms, excellent discretion in the proper choice of harmony, and a fluent ease that makes her productions unusually singable. It is not given to many composers to be able to make any real appeal to younger hearers, but Mrs. Gaynor is possessed of the sympathetic insight that enables her to win the utmost popularity with them. Her work is not confined to this vein, but includes some more ambitious songs for older performers, and even vocal quartettes.

Eleanor Smith is another song writer who believes that children should be given the best of music, and not allowed to listen wholly to the popular rag-time tunes of the day. Her position as music teacher in the Cook County Normal School has enabled her to put her ideas in practice, and her songs for boys are delightful bits of worthy music. She, too, has done more ambitious work, such as a Rossetti Christmas Carol, the contralto solo, "The Quest," eight settings of Stevenson's poems, the Wedding Music for eight voices, piano, and organ, and a cantata, "The Golden Asp."

Mrs. C. Merrick, who publishes her works over209 the name of Edgar Thorn, is another talented woman who displays great gifts in small forms. Her "Amourette," for piano, has often figured on concert programmes. In her two collections, "Forgotten Fairy Tales" and "Six Fancies," many of the numbers show a rare imaginative charm. The same composer has produced several effective male choruses, which have been sung by the Mendelssohn Glee Club and other organizations.

Among other song-writers, Mildred Hill, of Louisville, has been able to preserve the real Southern flavour in some of her works,—a result that is seldom attained, in spite of the countless efforts in this direction. She, too, has insisted in putting good music into her children's songs. Mrs. Philip Hale, a resident of Boston, has produced a number of songs and piano works, the latter under the pseudonym of Victor René. Stella Prince Stocker is another well-known song-writer. Mrs. Theodore Sutro, a pupil of Dudley Buck, has also composed songs, besides piano works and a four-voiced fugue. Louise Tunison is another song composer well worthy of mention, while Adeline Train has produced some solos of remarkable delicacy. Helen Tretbar, famous as a writer and translator of musical works, has tried her hand at songs also. Another210 literary song-composer is Fanny Raymond Ritter. A prominent figure in the musical world to-day is Josephine Gro, who writes songs and piano pieces, and is the author of many popular dances.

Though not as prolific of women composers as its musical reputation might indicate, Italy has still produced some famous names. The women of the earlier schools of contrapuntal work have already been mentioned. Francesca Caccini was an exponent of the first growth of opera. After her comes a gap, and we find no women at work during the time of Scarlatti, for example, and few in the era when the early conventional opera saw its palmy days in the hands of Cimarosa and his compeers. A number flourished at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and now that Italy is experiencing a musical regeneration, the women are still present in the field.

One of the foremost of them to-day is the Countess Gilda Ruta. She was born at Naples, and was the daughter of a musician of some note, in fact, he became one of her best teachers. Among others212 with whom she studied was the opera composer, Mercadante, whose long career extended well into the last century. She became a pianist of great renown, but won her laurels more in the field of composition. Her opera, "The Fire-Worshippers," is a worthy example of its school. Her orchestral ability showed itself also in the form of a concerto for piano, while among her other works are a number of songs and a good deal of instrumental music.

Eva Dell' Aqua is another Italian woman who has won a high position by her works. She did not inherit the taste directly, for her father was not a musician, but a painter. He has made Brussels his home, and there his talented daughter has brought forth her compositions. Her songs are widely known, and show sterling merit. In more ambitious vein is her operetta, "La Bachelette," which was given with unusual success in the Brussels theatres. Another work for the stage is the comic opera, "Tambour Battant."

Carlotta Ferrari is undoubtedly the greatest of the Italian women composers. Born at Lodi in 1837, she soon began her musical studies, completing them with the best masters of the Milan Conservatory. When she tried to enter the lists in dramatic work, she found the theatre managers unwilling to give her any encouragement because of213 her sex. Feeling sure of her ability, however, she was brave enough to hire a theatre, and produce her opera, "Ugo," at her own expense. The result justified her hopes, for the work scored an entire success. Since that time she has had no trouble in dealing with the managers, who may well feel ashamed of their early fears. Her later operas, "Sofia" and "Eleonora d'Aborea," were as warmly received as her first attempt.

Her work is by no means limited to the stage. She has produced an excellent mass, which was written for the cathedral of her native town. The impression made by this work was so favourable that she received two commissions from the Turin authorities, at later times, one for a requiem and the other for a cantata. She is said to be an absolute master of canon, or the imitation of one part by another. Among her smaller works are two sets of these canons for three voices and piano.

One of the earlier composers was Maria Teresa Agnesi, who flourished in the eighteenth century. Like many of her sex, she was a pianist as well as a composer. She worked in the larger forms, and her four operas met with decided success in many cities of her operatic land. Besides operas, she produced several cantatas and other choral works, and214 a number of concertos, sonatas, and pieces for the piano.

Another eighteenth century celebrity was Maddalena Sirmen, who won fame as one of the great Italian school of violinists. She was a pupil of the renowned Tartini, and held her own with the great performers of her time. Her works contain a number of violin concertos and a set of six trios for two violins and a 'cello, besides many smaller pieces. Most of these were wholly successful in performance.

Maria Andreozzi, Marquise de Bottini, lived in the early part of the nineteenth century. Her works all show great merit, and cover a wide range in the matter of form. They include an opera, a requiem, a Stabat Mater, an orchestral Magnificat, the cantata "St. Cecile," another choral cantata, a number of concertos for piano, several overtures, and various compositions for voice, harp, and piano.

It is only natural to find opera the most popular form for ambitious Italian composers to use in striving for public favour. Where each little town and village had its own opera-house, there was an opportunity for the public to become accustomed to this form, while other works stood less chance of production and brought less revenue to the composer.215

As early as 1764 we find the ballet music to the opera "Dario," published by Signora Bartalotti. In the next century, Ursula Asperi leads in point of time, her first opera having been given in 1827. She was conductor for a year at one of the Florentine theatres, and filled the post with admirable skill. Carolina Uccelli produced "Saul" in 1830, following it up with "Emma di Resburgo." Teresa Seneke obtained a Roman hearing for her opera, "Le Due Amichi," and published also a quantity of songs and piano music. Adolfa Galloni composed the opera, "Le Quattra Rustici," besides instrumental and vocal music. Signora Casella was another operatic composer, her "Cristoforo Colombo" having been produced at Nice in 1865. Teresa Guidi is the author of numerous operas of our own day, while the Countess Ida Correr, of Padua, has witnessed frequent performances of her "Gondoliera."

Of the many women working in the smaller forms, Virginia Mariani has won prominence at present, not only by her songs and piano music, but by her cantata, "The Apotheosis of Rossini." Teresa Milanollo, a celebrated violinist of the past century, published a number of compositions for her instrument, besides various works for piano. Among other piano composers in Italy during the216 nineteenth century may be mentioned Teresa de Blasis, Natalie Bertini, Eugenia Appiani, Bertha Frugoni, Clary Zentner, and Adele Branca Mussini.

Onestina Ricotti has tried her hand at songs, as well as publishing piano works. Teresa Bertinotti, herself a famous singer, was the composer of many popular songs and arias. Angelica Catalani was another example of the combination of singer and composer, while Marietta Brambilla added teaching to her other accomplishments. Maria Rosa Coccia was a celebrity of the preceding century, and won great fame by her youthful accomplishments in counterpoint, besides composing much church music. Mariana Creti gained her renown as a player on the harp and composer for that instrument.

The Netherlands has also its quota of musical women. In the early part of the last century, Mlle. Broes, a native of Amsterdam, won an enviable position as a pianist, and composed a number of pieces for her instrument, including dances, rondos, and variations. In the next generation, Madeleine Graever, of the same place, pursued a similar career. She made many successful tours in the usual European countries, and spent a year in New York at the beginning of the Civil War. On her return from this country, she became court pianist to the Queen217 of Belgium. Her works include several display pieces for piano. The Baroness van der Lund has also published a number of piano works.

Among the contemporary composers, one of the best is Catherine van Rennes. Her work consists chiefly of songs, a form in which she is eminently successful. Among those she has published are a set of five two-part songs, entitled "Lentetever," a collection of six two-part songs for children, and a set of solos for the same performers under the title of "Jong Holland." She shows a mastery of style, and an ability to get just the effect that she wishes. Her works are attractive and singable without ever becoming overswollen or bombastic.

Cornelia van Osterzee has won her way to the highest position by her work in the larger forms. Among her best productions are two symphonic poems from the "Idyls of the King," entitled "Elaine's Death" and "Geraint's Bridal Journey." These were performed with great success at one of the recent Berlin Philharmonic Concerts. Her cantatas show unusual breadth of style, and their largeness of spirit wins them great favour. Mlle. Osterzee has been honoured for her work by receiving the decoration of the Order of Orange-Nassau.

Hendrika van Tussenbroek is another composer who devotes herself chiefly to songs. Like Mlle.218 van Rennes, she is a native of Utrecht. Her works include many songs and vocal duets, of which "Meidoorn," a collection of children's songs, deserves especial mention. She wrote the words and music for a child's operetta, "Three Little Lute Players," which was performed three times and aroused much enthusiasm.

In Belgium, the Countess de Lannoy won her laurels in the eighteenth century. Her work took the form of ballads and romances, and she wrote also a sonata and a number of other instrumental pieces. Among the Belgian musical women of to-day, Juliette Folville stands in the front rank. Born as late as 1870, at Liege, she became an excellent violinist as well as composer, and in all probability has a long career still before her. Most important among her works is a set of several orchestral suites, while a violin concerto and other pieces are more in line with her efforts as a performer. Her opera, "Atala," met with considerable success when given at Lille in 1892.

In Denmark, Emma Dahl flourished as a singer and composer during the middle of the last century, and published many melodious songs in her own and the Scandinavian countries. Valborg Aulin is a more recent writer of songs, of which she has issued a respectable number. Her choral work219 is of excellent quality, and has enabled her to carry off more than one prize in musical competitions. Harriet Cuman, of Copenhagen, is an excellent pianist, being reckoned as one of the greatest performers of the present. Her works consist chiefly of pieces for her instrument. Sophie Dedekam is a composer of songs, of which several sets have been published. Elizabeth Meyer is another successful song-writer. She does not confine herself to this form, however, but has produced many piano works. Her cantata, for soloists, chorus, and piano, won first prize in a recent Danish competition.

Sweden can boast of several women composers, of whom at least two are really famous. Among those working in the smaller forms is Caia Aarup, now residing in America. She is the author of a number of pleasing songs and piano compositions. Amanda Maier, known also under her married name of Röntgen, has composed many worthy pieces for the violin, among them being a sonata and an interesting set of Swedish Dances. Another violin composer is Miss Lago, who has published songs and piano pieces as well as violin works, and has won a prize at Copenhagen with a piano cantata. Helen Munktell has produced songs and piano pieces, and has entered another field with her one-act opera, "In Florence." Hilda Thegerstrom is responsible220 for some very melodious songs and piano pieces, published in Germany as well as in her native land.

One of Sweden's most gifted women is Elfrida Andrée. Born in 1841, she soon devoted herself to musical studies, and took up the career of organist, so often a thankless one. She plays at present in the cathedral at Gothenburg. Her works include many different forms, even the symphonic. Her organ symphony is especially noteworthy, and all her orchestral works show decided talent. Her orchestral cantata, "Siegfried," is another effective composition. For chamber music she has written a quintette for piano, two violins, viola, and 'cello, also another quintette for strings that won a prize in competition. At a recent Brussels musical congress, she took first prize among no less than seventy-eight competitors. She is the author of many smaller works for organ, voice, and piano.

In Ingeborg von Bronsart is found one of the few really great women composers. Born at St. Petersburg in 1840, she is classed as Swedish because her parents were not citizens of Russia, but remained subjects of Sweden. Her mother was a Finn, but her father's native place was Stockholm. Ingeborg's earliest musical impressions came from the violin playing of her mother, done wholly by ear, from her father's flute playing, and from the singing of the touching Swedish folk songs by the housekeeper. When her elder sister began regular study, Ingeborg was considered too young for it, but begged so hard that she was allowed to take lessons too. At the very first one, the teacher noticed her great talent, and in a few months she was far in advance of her sister. A year later, at the age of eight, Ingeborg began to compose little melodies and dances, and her father was moved to seek a good master for her.

221He made a fortunate choice in the famous amateur, Nicholas von Martinoff, for Ingeborg became not only his pupil but a welcome guest at the house of his family. With them she was able to hear the best of the operas and other music afforded by the imperial city, and the summers passed by her at their estate enabled her to grow strong by riding, swimming, and other outdoor exercise.

When eleven years old, Ingeborg began harmony with the composer Decker. She progressed quickly, and in her first concert, given a year later, was able to present creditable work of her own. Her success was decisive, and critics and public united in foretelling her great future. From that time on she gave annual concerts with orchestra, meeting growing favour. Meanwhile her composition was not neglected; beginning by publishing three études,222 a tarantelle, and a nocturne for piano, she continued with sonatas, fugues, and songs. She won the interest of the musical circles, including Rubinstein, and through Von Martinoff she became the pet of the Russian aristocracy. When that protector was called away by the Crimean War, he left her in the care of Adolf Henselt, and after two years with the new master, she was sent by him to finish her studies under Liszt, then long famous as leader of the gifted musical circle of Weimar.

When she came to him, an eighteen-year-old girl, endowed with all the fair beauty of her northern land, she gave him as proof of her proficiency some of her piano fugues. The experienced master rather doubted if the charming apparition before him could produce such an intricate work as a fugue without receiving aid, so he gave her a new theme and requested her to write another fugue upon it. Nothing daunted, she started at once, and, in a short while, she handed him the manuscript. He played it through, and acknowledged its merit with the remark, "Well, you don't look at all like it." Instantly came the reply, "I am very glad I don't look like a fugue." Ingeborg became one of his few chosen favourites, and soon all Weimar worshipped her as St. Petersburg had done before.

With Liszt she remained two years, devoting herself223 chiefly to piano, and composing a sonata only as a diversion. She speaks warmly in praise of the great tone-poet's influence. "His guidance," she says, "prevented me from being one-sided in art, and the example of his wonderful nature taught me to seek and absorb the beautiful in music everywhere, no matter what school its composer belonged to." While under Liszt's care, she appeared at court, and made successful débuts in Dresden, Paris, and the Leipsic Gewandhaus. Under Liszt also was Hans von Bronsart, who had known Ingeborg in St. Petersburg, and who now was fortunate enough to win her love and become her husband.

The next few years were devoted to performing, and numerous tours brought equally numerous triumphs. Composition was not neglected, and a piano concerto of fair success was the result of this period. At this time her dramatic efforts began, and the three-act opera, "Die Göttin von Sais," was the first result. The music of this work was excellent, but the libretto lacked action, and no stage performance was ever given.

Composing soon became her life-work, for her husband was appointed Intendant of the Hanover Court Theatre, and wives of Prussian officials were forbidden to appear in public, except on especial occasions. Her works began to multiply; German224 and Russian songs, piano pieces and violin works, followed one another in quick succession. The return of the troops from the Franco-Prussian War, with her husband as officer among them, brought forth three patriotic songs, two male choruses, and the Kaiser Wilhelm March for orchestra, performed at a court festival of rejoicing.

Her second operatic attempt was a setting of Goethe's "Jery und Bately," which met with deserved success. The music is of choice quality throughout, according to the criticism of Richard Pohl, and the dramatic climax is excellently worked up by the fact that each successive number is purposely made more effective than the one preceding it. The same power and beauty of expression shows itself in her later songs, written mostly for the poems of Bodenstedt. These are in many cases well able to stand the test of comparison with the best of the German Lieder. A number of pieces for 'cello and piano are of equal value, as are also her violin works. Her last opera, "Konig Hiarne," suffers again from a weak libretto, but is made of worthy musical material. It was rated as a successful work, but some of the wiser critics doubt if its power of melodic expression can wholly atone for the lack of certain essentially dramatic qualities.

In 1887 the Hanover post was exchanged for a225 similar one at Weimar. There her husband performed excellent service in keeping alive the traditions of Liszt and his followers. After eight years of work, Von Bronsart retired from public duty. A short period of travel followed, after which the musical pair settled down to a life of quiet at Munich. There, too, lives the daughter of the family, who is said to have inherited a full share of the musical ability shown by her parents.

Among the composers of Norway, Mme. Betty Holmberg has devoted herself to the violin, publishing an excellent suite and other compositions for it. Magda Bugge, who has made America her home, is the author of many piano pieces and songs. The most famous Norwegian woman composer, however, is Agathe Backer-Gröndahl. Born in 1847, she received a thorough musical training, counting among her teachers Kjerulf, Kullak, Von Bülow, and Liszt. Her work has won her many honours, including the royal gold medal of Sweden. Her compositions are not many in number, but all of them show the most delightful freshness and originality. Like her great fellow countryman, Grieg, she aims to give her music a distinctive style of its own, and not make it a mere imitation of the usual models. Her andante for piano and orchestra and her orchestral scherzo are excellent226 works, which meet with frequent performance, while her suite is another example of striking beauty. Her piano works, which include études, fantasies, sketches, and humoreskes, are full of the same characteristic charm, while her songs display exquisite poetic feeling.

Bohemia and Hungary, though politically parts of the Germanic nations, may well be classed as separate from them in matters of art. Their peoples are different racially, and their national music, especially in the latter case, has a distinctive character of its own. Smetana and Dvorak are the most famous types of the German dependency, while the music of the Austrian province partakes of the wild gipsy flavour that is so well reflected in some of Schubert's works.

One of the earliest Bohemian women composers was Veronica Cianchettini. She came of a musical family, for she was one of the sisters of Dussek, whose wife and daughter have already been mentioned in connection with England's composers. Like her brother, she became a pianist of high rank, and settled in London. Her works include a number of piano concertos, sonatas, and other lesser pieces.

Elise Barth was a famous Bohemian pianist of the last century. She, too, published many piano227 compositions. Another celebrated performer was Auguste Auspitz, one of Smetana's best pupils. She produced many songs and piano works, and would have done greater work but for her death at the age of thirty-five. Mathilde Ringelsberg devoted herself to lighter compositions, and wrote many popular dances. Wilhelmine Clausz, besides being one of the best women pianists of to-day, has composed a few pieces for her instrument, and has done much excellent editing and arranging. Anna Schimon, who studied with Halévy, won renown as a singer and teacher. She has published many vocal works, and has two operas in manuscript. Rosa Bleitner, a teacher at the Prague Conservatory, has published several sets of songs, also a very effective funeral march.

Among Hungarian composers, Ludmilla Gizycka, now living at Vienna, has published a number of successful songs and piano pieces, among them an interesting set of Polish melodies. Marie de Kohary, another pianist-composer, has written a set of sonatas and various other piano works. Mme. D'Hovorst has published a sonata for two pianos and various other works. Henrietta Vorwerk has received much praise for her piano pieces and songs, while Anna Zichy Stubenberg is another prolific worker in the same field.228

Poland, though divided among the nations, can boast a few women composers. In the eighteenth century, the Countess Clementine Grabowska wrote a number of piano pieces, among them a set of effective polonaises. Marie Szymanowska, born in 1790, was a pupil of John Field, and became one of the leading pianists of her time. Her fame was largely increased by the poet Goethe, who made her one of the many idols of his vagrant affections. He spoke of her playing in the highest terms, placing her above Hummel. But the verdict of Mendelssohn is probably more accurate: "Those who rate her so high," he says, "think more of her pretty face than of her not pretty playing." Her works consist chiefly of display pieces for the piano, a set of twelve concert études receiving high praise from Schumann.

Julie von Baroni-Cavalcabo, who flourished in the last century, was another brilliant pianist, numbering among her teachers one of Mozart's sons. She seems to have won the esteem of Schumann, who dedicated his humoreske to her, and gave high praise to many of her works. According to his reviews, her Second Caprice is "fresh and rhythmical, full of life and vivacity and delicate workmanship;" her fantasie, "Adieu et Retour," has two movements that are "highly original, characteristic, and229 scarcely offering a weak point for attack;" while her waltzes are spoken of as almost the best that appeared in their time at Vienna. Besides her many piano pieces, she published some excellent songs.

Adele Kletzinsky has published some violin works and other concerted music, as well as the usual amount of songs and piano pieces. Nathalie Janotha has become familiar to American audiences as a pianist. She was a pupil of Clara Schumann and Woldemar Bargiel, and has won honours and diplomas in many European cities. Her works consist of piano selections and songs. Pauline Fechner is another renowned Polish pianist who has published many pieces for her instrument. The Countess Margit Sztaray has done some work for voice and organ. Thekla Badarczewska, who lived and died at Warsaw, is known widely, if not always favourably, by her "Maiden's Prayer" for piano.

In Russia, the Grand Duchess Alexandra Josephowna has written some ambitious church music, including several psalms for soloists, chorus, and orchestra. She has also produced some piano duets. The Grand Duchess Olga is another royal Russian composer, whose "Parademarsch" for orchestra has been published at Berlin. Another orchestral composer is Theodosia de Tschitscherin, whose Grand Festival March was performed at a coronation230 anniversary. The Countess Olga Janina, one of Liszt's pupils, is at present a teacher and pianist at Paris, where she has published a considerable amount of piano music. Marie Duport is another Russian piano composer. The Countess Stephanie Komorowska is responsible for several songs, piano sonatas, and other works. Mme. Rudersdorff, well known in later life as a teacher in Boston, was the author of several successful songs. Olga von Radecki is another noted Russian musician, who has made Boston her home, and also a writer of worthy vocal music. Mlle. Alexandrowna, of St. Petersburg, became famous as a singer a few decades ago, and published some excellent songs. Mme. Serov was another Russian woman of great musical talent.

Among the less extensive countries, Switzerland is represented by Anna Cerrini de Monte-Varchi, who is the composer of many pretty piano works, Isabella Angela Colbran, the eminent Spanish contralto, was born at Madrid in 1785. She became the wife of Rossini, and created some important rôles in those of his earlier operas which were written for her. Her own compositions consist of songs and other vocal works. A Spanish singer of more recent times is Rosaria Zapater, who was born in 1840. She became famous in literature as well as music, her poems being rated highly, while her231 libretto to the opera, "Gli Amante di Teruele," is ranked as one of the best ever written. She has published a number of songs, besides an excellent vocal method and piano instruction book.

Teresa Carreño, so well known in Europe and America, is a native of Venezuela, being born at Caracas in 1853. Her career has been as varied as it is successful, and her studies, as well as her triumphs, were witnessed by many countries. Her father, at one time Minister of Finance, was himself a musician, and when only fourteen composed a mass that was given in the cathedral. A skilful violinist, he understood the piano also, and gave his daughter lessons from her seventh year on. Driven from the country by civil war, he determined to have Teresa turn her musical talents to account.

As an eight-year-old prodigy, she met with an enthusiastic reception in New York, where she aroused the interest and became the pupil of Louis Gottschalk. At twelve she was taken to Paris, where she absorbed the traditions of Chopin from his pupils. There, too, she played for Liszt, who grew deeply interested in her, and wished her for a pupil. As her father's affairs did not permit this, the great teacher left her with the excellent advice to give her own individuality free play, and not become a mere imitator of some other performer.232 This she certainly followed, for her strong and fiery style of playing has carried away countless audiences, and in later years her combination of poetic feeling with impassioned power placed her in the front rank of the world's pianists.

Soon after this meeting, she began to devote herself to singing, with such rapid progress that she became able to appear with such an artist as Tietjens. For many years she made this her chief work, but at last her innate love for the piano brought her back to it. In 1885 she was forced to exert her talents in still another direction,—that of conducting. Being given the task of creating a national opera company in Caracas, she engaged her artists in America and Italy, and took them to her native city only to find the revolutionists in the most bitter and active opposition against all government enterprises. Her undertaking was no exception, and her leader, being terrorized by physical threats, gave up his post with a feigned excuse of sickness. Rather than let the matter drop, Carreño herself took the baton, and carried the season to a successful close.

Her compositions have given her high rank in still another field. The best work is perhaps a string quartette, which met with a warm welcome at the Leipsic Gewandhaus concerts. This, with an unpublished serenade for strings, gives proof of her ability in fairly large forms. Her hymn for the Bolivar centennial has become the national song of Venezuela. Her set of little waltzes, written for her daughter, Teresita, show the most delicious grace, while her Venezuelan Dances are full of interest. Among her other works, all for piano, are waltzes, fantasies, caprices, études, a ballade, a scherzo, a reverie and barcarolle, and a song without words. Her long career as pianist has made her so familiar in that light that few think of her as a composer, but her creative work as well as her ability as a performer must win her respect throughout the musical world.233

The question of allowing women to compose, if they wish to do so, is hardly one that needs any extended debate. Yet it is only in the last few decades that woman's inalienable right to compose has been fully established. The trials of Carlotta Ferrari in getting her first opera performed are an example in point. The opposition of Mendelssohn to the publication by his sister of even a few minor works is another instance of the attitude formerly taken by even the greatest composers. The life of Chaminade affords still another case of this opposition. When Rubinstein heard a few of her early compositions, upon which he was asked to pass an opinion, he could not gainsay their excellence, but insisted on adding that he thought women ought not to compose. The time has gone by when men need fear that they will have to do the sewing if their wives devote themselves to higher pursuits.235 The cases of Clara Schumann, Alice Mary Smith (Mrs. Meadows-White), and Ingeborg von Bronsart afford ample proof, to say nothing of our own Mrs. Beach.

Whether women are in any way handicapped by the constitution of their sex is a point that is still undecided. It would seem that composition demanded no great physical strength, and no one will deny that women often possess the requisite mental breadth. The average sweet girl graduate of the conservatories, who is made up chiefly of sentiment, and hates mathematics, will hardly make a very deep mark in any art. But there are many who do earnest work, and who lead lives of activity and production that afford them equal rank with the men in this respect. Augusta Holmes may be cited in illustration.

It is often claimed that women study music merely as an accomplishment, with the object of pleasing friends and relatives by their performances. This horrible accusation the writer can attempt neither to palliate nor to deny. But why should it be denied? If music is to be regarded as one of the feminine accomplishments, why should this debar the more earnest students from doing more earnest work? The very fact that all cultivated women are expected to know something of music236 ought to result in a better chance for the discovery of woman's talent in composition.

But there are some, even among the women composers themselves, who admit that in many cases the matter of sex is a drawback. Liza Lehmann speaks in very definite terms on this subject. "If I were asked," she says, "in what form of composition women are best fitted to write, I should say that I hope they will win in all forms. But there is this important thing to remember: We have not the muscle and strength that men have to resist fatigue. We do things, but we pay the penalty of nervous strain. When people say that women are equal to men, I always feel that physically they are not fitted to run the same race. If they accomplish things, they pay up for it. It is sad, but it is true." Yet probably few of the noted women composers will subscribe to this opinion.

As yet there has been no woman composer of the very first rank, comparable to the tonal giants among men. But in explanation of this is the fact that women have not been generally at work in this field until the last century, while men have had considerably more time. And after all, there are not so many really great men among the composers. The tonal giants, the world-famous men, whose music rises above the fashion of their time, and237 lives through changing epochs and changing tastes, may almost be counted on the fingers of the hands. If no woman has yet become prima inter pares, there are many whose work equals that of the lesser men, whose names are remembered as forming the different schools of composition.

Whether woman's work will always be distinctive from men's in character, time alone can decide. The present writer is inclined to believe that the difference will be a permanent one,—that even in the larger forms, woman's work in music will always show more of delicate grace and refinement than man's, and will be to some extent lacking in the broader effects of strong feeling. As an example we may cite the works of Chaminade, which hold the very highest rank in their class. Her songs are among the most delightful in the world to-day, yet they charm by delicacy rather than strength, and are different from, if not inferior to, the creations of a Jensen or a Graedener, to say nothing of the more dramatic works of Schumann or Schubert. Of course there will be cases where the two sexes will meet on common ground, and the exquisite beauty of a Franz may some day find its equal in the work of the other sex, but whether women will excel naturally in the more virile vein of238 Bruch's cantatas, for instance, is open to grave doubt.

Taking the work of women as a whole, there are worthy examples of all the large forms to be found among their compositions. In the field of orchestral work, including symphonies, symphonic poems, overtures, and suites, we find such names as Augusta Holmes, Chaminade, Louisa Lebeau, Emilie Mayer, Mme. Farrenc, Comtesse de Grandval, Elfrida Andrée, Edith Chamberlayne, Mrs. Meadows-White, Aline Hundt, Oliveria Prescott, and in our own country Mrs. Beach and Miss Lang; and the list is but a partial one at that. The recent success of "Der Wald," to mention only one case, proves that women may safely attempt the highest form of opera. This work, although it has a drawback in the shape of a confused libretto, is to be retained permanently on the Covent Garden repertoire in London. In oratorio, a worthy place must be accorded to the works of Mme. Grandval, Célanie Carissan, Mrs. Bartholomew, and Rosalind Ellicott. Among women composers of successful masses may be reckoned Mrs. Beach, Mme. Grandval, Mary Carmichael, and Maude Valerie White. In other directions women have more than held their own, and their work shows excellence, in quality as well as quantity, in cantatas, string quartettes,239 and other chamber music, violin sonatas, and even in large concertos. The list of women who have written piano music and songs extends to ample proportions.

Who is the greatest woman composer? It is hard to say, for not all have worked in the same direction. In our own country, Mrs. Beach holds the foremost position at present, with Miss Lang a good second. In England, Mrs. Meadows-White is assigned first place,[8] with Ethel Smyth mentioned next in order. Agnes Zimmermann and Dora Bright receive high praise for their chamber music, while Rosalind Ellicott, Amy E. Horrocks, Edith Swepstone, and Ethel Boyce have been chosen to represent the larger vocal forms. Among song composers are cited Maude Valerie White, Florence Gilbert, Frances Allitsen, Florence Aylward, Liza Lehmann, and Katharine Ramsay. Guy d'Hardelot is probably classed with the French writers. Ethel Barns is included because of her excellent violin compositions, as well as her admirable performance on that instrument.

In Germany, the works of Louisa Lebeau would seem to place her in the front rank, but many musicians consider them somewhat artificial. For240 many years Clara Schumann has been cited as the leader among women, but it is a question if she can hold that position now. Ingeborg von Bronsart is given the very highest praise by those who know her work best. In Italy, Eva dell' Aqua and Gilda Ruta seem leaders, while Carlotta Ferrari must be included in the front rank. In older times, too, Francesca Caccini must not be forgotten. Elfrida Andrée, of Sweden, is another composer of high rank. But when all is said and done, it seems at present as if the palm must be awarded to France, with Augusta Holmes and Cécile Chaminade as rival claimants.

Bearing in mind the fact that woman's greatest activity has been limited to the most recent period, it may be well to inquire what the present tendencies are in the world of music. On this point, Robert Franz, in a recent letter, speaks with decided conviction. He believes that the art proceeds in a cycle, and that music began with the smaller forms, and is destined to end with them. In his own compositions, he gave expression to this conviction, for he worked wholly in the Lied form. After Beethoven, he said symphonic form could proceed no higher. While the world would not willingly dispense with the orchestral works of Schumann and Mendelssohn (Wagner's efforts being in a separate241 field), there seems much truth in the idea thus advanced. Few men of to-day are successful in the largest forms, and the demand for short works in literature seems to have aroused a similar feeling in the musical world. Yet we may only be passing through a period of temporary eclipse, for already the new note of triumph sounds loud and clear from Russia. It may well be that in a more inspired epoch than the immediate present, woman will rise to a higher level than she has already reached.

It would not be fair to take leave of the women without mentioning their work in still another line,—that of musical literature. The list of women who have done work in this direction is fairly extensive, but the number of great names on it is comparatively small. The foremost name is perhaps that of Lina Ramann. In 1858 she began the most important work of her life by opening a normal school for teachers. Her writings have been numerous and valuable. They include several volumes on piano technique and practice, an important "Life of Liszt," a number of works on the musical education of children, many essays, and biographies of Bach and Handel.

Many of the women fall into the bad habit of imbuing all their work with a romantic tinge of exaggerated sentiment. One example of this fault242 is Elise Polko, some of whose sketches are very pretty reading, but almost wholly misleading to the new student. Even Marie Lipsius, who published a series of excellent biographical sketches under the pseudonym of La Mara, is not entirely free from this defect.

In France, Mme. Audley has written some good biographies, notably the lives of Beethoven and Schubert and some articles on Bellini. Across the Channel, Constance Bach has done some successful work in editing the letters of Liszt and Von Bülow. Two English women, Mrs. F. J. Hughes and Mary Maxwell Campbell, have entered the speculative field by trying to draw analogies between harmonies and colours, but this theory can never have any real basis in scientific fact. In America, the work of Helen Tretbar and Fanny Raymond Ritter is well known. Mrs. Mary Jones has devoted her energies to a book on the musical education of the blind, but the best work in this direction is that of Caroline Wiseneder in Germany.

In closing, it may not be amiss to express the wish that the compositions of women composers could be heard more frequently than they are at present. There is no doubt that some of our quartette clubs would find much to interest themselves and their audiences among the works of the famous243 musical women. According to Nero, music unheard is valueless, and all musicians would rejoice to see the fullest possible value thus placed, by frequent performance, upon Woman's Work in Music.

THE END

I. BRITISH COMPOSERS

Abrams, Harriet. Songs.
Allitsen, Frances. Songs.
Ames, Mrs. Henry. Songs.
Andrews, Mrs. John H. Songs.
Arkwright, Mrs. Robert. Songs.
Armstrong, Annie. Songs.
Austen, Augusta A. Songs.
Aylward, Florence. Songs.

Bach, Constance. Songs.
Barker, Laura W. Cantatas, Violin, Songs.
Barnard, Mrs. Charles. Songs.
Barnett, Emma. Piano, Songs.
Bartholomew, Ann Shepard. Oratorio, Cantatas, Hymns, Songs.
Binfield, Hannah R. Organ, Harp.
Bisset, Elizabeth Anne. Harp.
Borton, Alice. Orchestra, Piano, Songs.
Boyce, Ethel Mary. Orchestra, Cantatas, Violin, Piano, Songs.
Bright, Dora. Concertos, Piano, Quartet, Violin, Flute, Songs.
Broadwood, Lucy E. Songs.
Buckley, Mrs. Olivia. Piano, Harp.

Campbell, Mary M. Songs.
Cantello, Annie. Piano.
Carmichael, Mary G. Mass, Operetta, Piano, Songs.
Cartwright, Mrs. Robert. Songs.
Casson, Miss. Songs.
Chamberlayne, Edith A. Symphonies, Opera, Sextet, Violin, Organ, Piano, Harp, Songs.
Chazal, Mrs. Overture, Organ, Violin, Piano.
Clarke, Jane. Hymns.
Cole, Charlotte. Songs.
Collett, Sophia D. Sacred Songs.
Cook, Eliza. Songs.
Cooke, Edith. Songs.
Crament, Maude. Songs.

Davies, Llewela. Orchestra, String Quartet, Violin, Songs.
Davis, Marianne. Songs.
Dick, Edith A. Piano, Songs.
Dickson, Ellen. Songs.
Dufferin, Lady Helen Selina. Songs.
Dussek, Sophia. Piano, Harp.

Eaton, Frances. Cantata.
Ellicott, Rosalind F. Overtures, Cantatas, String Quartet, Trios, Piano, Songs.

Fare, Florence. Dances.
Flower, Eliza. Hymns.
Fortey, Mary C. Songs.
Fowles, Margaret F. Hymns, Songs.
Fricker, Anne. Songs.

Gabriel, Mary Ann Virginia. Cantatas, Operettas, Piano, Songs.
Gade, Margaret. Songs.
Gibson, Louisa. Songs.
Gilbert, Florence. Songs.
Goddard, Arabella. Piano.
Goodeve, Mrs. Arthur. Songs.
Goodwin, Amina B. Piano.
Gray, Louisa. Operetta, Songs.
Greene, Edith. Symphony, Violin, Piano.
Groom, Mrs. Songs.
Guest, Jeanne M. Concertos, Cantata, Organ, Piano.
Gyde, Margaret. Violin, Organ, Piano, Songs.

Hardelot, Guy d'. Songs.
Harland, Lizzie. Cantatas, Piano, Songs.
Harraden, Ethel. Operettas, Cantata, Violin, Songs.
Harrison, Annie F. Operettas, Songs.
Heale, Miss. Cantatas, Violin, Piano, Songs.
Holland, Caroline. Cantatas, Songs.
Horrocks, Amy E. Orchestra, Cantatas, Violin, 'Cello, Piano, Songs.
Hudson, Mary. Hymns.
Hunter, Mrs. John. Songs.

Inverarity, Eliza. Ballads.

Jordan, Mrs. Songs.

Kemble, Adelaide. Songs.
Kerr, Mrs. Alexander. Songs.

Lawrence, Emily M. Violin, Piano, Songs.
Lehmann, Liza. Songs.
Lehmann, Mrs. Rudolph. Songs.
"Lindsay" (Mrs. Bliss). Ballads.
Linwood, Mary., Oratorio, Operas, Songs.
Loder, Kate F. Opera, Overture, String Quartets, Trio, Violin, Organ, Piano, Songs.
Lowthian, Caroline. Dances, Songs.

Macironi, Clara A. Violin, Songs.
MacKinlay, Mrs. Songs.
Marshall, Mrs. Julian. Orchestra, Operetta, Songs.
Mary, Queen of Scots. Songs.
Masson, Elizabeth. Songs.
May, Florence. Piano, Songs.
Millar, Marian. Cantata, Songs.
Moncrieff, Mrs. L. Songs.
Moody, Marie. Overtures, Piano.
Morgan, Lady. Operetta.
Morison, Christina W. Opera, Piano, Songs.
Moseley, Caroline C. Violin, 'Cello, Songs.
Mounsey, Elizabeth. Organ, Piano, Songs.
Mundella, Emma. Oratorio, Piano, Songs.

Needham, Alicia A. Songs.
Newcombe, Georgianne. Songs.
Newton, Mrs. Alex. Piano, Songs.
Norton, Mrs. Caroline. Songs.
Nunn, Elizabeth. Mass, Songs.

Ockleston, Kate. Piano, Songs.
Okey, Maggie. Violin, Piano.
Oldham, Emily. Songs.
O'Leary, Mrs. A. Songs.
Oliver, Mary. Violin, Piano.
Orger, Caroline. Concerto, Trios, 'Cello, Piano, Songs.
Ostlere, May. Dances, Songs.

Parke, Maria H. Concerto, Violin, Piano, Songs.
Parkyns, Mrs. Beatrice. Violin, Songs.
Patterson, Annie W. Cantatas, Songs.
Patti, Adelina. Songs.
Philp, Elizabeth. Songs.
Prescott, Oliveria L. Symphonies, Overtures, String Quartets, Concerto, Cantata, Songs.

Radnor, Countess of. Hymns, Songs.
Ralph, Kate. Violin, Piano.
Ramsay, Lady. Cantata, Songs.
Rawlinson, Angela. Operetta.
Riego, Teresa del. Songs.
Robinson, Mrs. Joseph. Cantata, Songs.
Roeckel, Jane J. Piano, Songs.

Saffery, Eliza. Songs.
Sainton-Dolby, Charlotte. Cantatas, Songs.
Sale, Sophia. Hymns.
Sanders, Alma. String Quartet, Trio, Violin, Piano.
Schirmacher, Dora. Piano, Songs.
Scott, Lady Jane. Songs.
Sherrington, Grace. Songs.
Sherrington, Helena L. Songs.
Skinner, Florence M. Operas.
Smart, Harriet A. Hymns.
Smith, Alice M. Symphonies, Overtures, Clarinet, Concerto, Quartets, Cantatas, Songs.
Smyth, Ethel M. Orchestra, Mass, Opera, Quintet, Violin, Songs.
Stirling, Elizabeth. Orchestra, Organ, Piano, Songs.
Swepstone, Edith. Orchestra, String Quartet, Cantatas, Piano, Songs.
Synge, Mary H. Piano, Songs.

Taite, Annie. Trio, Piano, Songs.
Temple, Hope. Operetta, Songs.
Tennyson, Lady. Songs.
Thomas, Adelaide L. Hymns.
Thompson, Alexandra. Cantata, Songs.
Troup, Emily J. Violin, Piano, Songs.

Valentine, Ann. Violin.

Wainwright, Harriet. Songs.
Wakefield, Augusta M. Songs.
Walter, Ida. Opera, Songs.
Ward, Kate L. Songs.
Weldon, Georgina. Songs.
Wensley, Frances F. Songs.
Westrop, Kate. Organ, Songs.
White, Maude V. Songs.
Wilson, Mrs. C. B. Songs.
Woolf, Sophia J. Opera, Piano, Songs.
Worgan, Marie. Songs.
Wright, Ellen. Songs.
Wurm, Marie. Overtures, Concerto, String Quartet, Violin, 'Cello, Piano, Songs.

Young, Harriet M. Operettas, Songs.

Zimmermann, Agnes. Violin, 'Cello, Piano, Songs.

II. GERMAN COMPOSERS

Adelung, Olga. Zither.
Ahlefeldt, Countess of. Ballet.
Amalia, Anna, Duchess. Melodrama.
Amalie, Princess. Operas.
Amann, Josephine. Piano.
Amersfoodt-Dyk, Hermine. Cantata.
Anna Amalie, Princess. Cantata, Organ.
Arnim, Bettina von. Songs.
Asmussen, Emma. Piano.
Aubigney, Nina d'. Songs.
Augusta, Empress. Ballet, Marches, Songs.
Aus der Ohe, Adele. Piano, Songs.

Bachmann, Elise. Melodrama, Piano, Songs.
Bachmann, Judith. Organ.
Baer, Louisa. Songs.
Batta, Clementine. Anthem.
Baudissin, Sophie. Piano.
Bauer, Catharina. Piano.
Bauer, Charlotte. Piano, Songs.
Baum, Katharine. Songs.
Bayer, A. Piano, Songs.
Beatrice, Princess. March, Songs.
Becker, Ida. Cantata, Songs.
Behr, Louise. Songs.
Belleville-Oury, Emelie. Piano.
Benfey-Schuppe, Anna. Overture, String Quartets.
Bernouilly, Agnes. Orchestra, Piano, Songs.
Biehler, Ludmilla. Piano.
Blahetka, Leopoldine. Concertos, String and Piano Quartets, Trios, Violin, 'Cello, Flute, Operetta, Piano, Songs.
Blauhuth, Jenny. Piano.
Boerner-Sandrini, Marie. Songs.
Boesenhoenig, Josepha. Piano.
Botiano, Helene von. Piano.
Bovet, Hermine. Piano, Songs.
Brandenstein, Charlotte von. Violin, Piano.
Brandhurst, Elise. Piano, Songs.
Brinkmann, Minna. Piano.
Bronsart, Ingeborg von. Concerto, Operas, Violin, 'Cello, Piano, Songs.
Brucken, Emilie. Piano, Songs.
Bruckenthal, Baroness. Mass, Violin, 'Cello, Piano, Songs.
Buelow, Charlotte von. Songs.
Buttenstein, Constanze von. Piano, Arias.

Charlotte, Princess. Marches, Songs.
Christ, Fanny. Zither.
Cibbini, Katherina. Piano.
Clement, Mary. Violin, Piano, Songs.
Damcke, Louise. Piano.
Decker, Pauline von. Songs.
Dietrich, Amalia. Piano, Songs.
Dreifuss, Henrietta. Songs.
Drieburg, Louise von. Songs.

Erdmannsdoerfer, Pauline. Violin, Piano, Songs.
Eschborn, Nina. Songs, Harp.

Fahrbach, Henrietta. Songs, Piano.
Faist, Clara. Songs.
Felsenthal, Amalie. Piano, Songs.
Frankel, Gisela. Piano.

Gaschin, Fanny. Piano.
Geiger, Constanze. Opera, Piano, Songs.
Goerres, Maria V. Songs, Piano.
Goetze, Auguste. Operas, Songs.
Gollenhofer, Josepha. Opera, String Quartet, Harp.
Gossler, Clara von. Piano, Songs.
Grab, Isabella von. Piano.
Griebel, Thekla. Opera.

Haas, Maria. Piano, Songs.
Hambrock, Mathilde. Violin, Piano, Songs.
Heidenreich, Henrietta. Violin.
Heim-Brehm, Mathilde. Violin.
Heinke, Ottilie. 'Cello, Piano.
Heinsius, Clara. Songs.
Heitmann, Mathilde. Songs.
Heller, Ottilie. Piano, Songs.
Hendrich-Merta, Marie. Trio, Piano, Songs.
Henn, Angelica. Mass, Opera, Piano, Songs.
Hensel, Fanny. Trio, Songs, Piano.
Hertz, Hedwig. Songs, Piano.
Herzogenberg, Elizabeth. Piano.
Hinrichs, Marie. Songs.
Hundt, Aline. Symphony, Orchestra, Violin, Piano, Songs.

Japha, Louise. String Quartets, Songs, Piano.

Kainerstorfer, Clotilde. Organ.
Kalkhöf, Laura von. Violin, Piano.
Kanzler, Josephine. Piano Quartets, Piano Songs.
Kauth, Mme. Concerto, Piano.
Kern, Louise. Violin and Organ.
Kinkel, Johanna. Operetta, Piano, Songs.
Klenze, Irene von. Songs.
König, Marie. Piano, Songs.
Könneritz, Minna von. Piano, Songs.
Krähmer, Caroline. Clarinet.
Kralike, Mathilde von. Trio.
Kurzböck, Magdalene von. Piano, Songs.

Lang, Josephine. Songs, Piano.
Laszlo, Anna von. Violin, 'Cello.
Leavitt, Josephina. Piano, Songs.
Lebeau, Louisa Adolpha. Overtures, Concerto, Oratorios, Cantata, String Quartets, Trios, Violin, Piano, Songs.
Lebrun, Francesca. Trios, Piano.
Lemcke, Anna. Piano, Songs.
Lewing, Adele. Piano, Songs.
Liebmann, Helene. Piano Quartets, Trios, Violin, 'Cello, Piano.
Lilien, Baroness. Piano.
Loewe, Augusta. Songs.
Ludwig, Rosa. Piano.

Mampe, Emma. Songs.
Mannkopf, Adolphine. Songs.
Maria Antonia, Duchess. Operas.
Maria Charlotte Amalia, Duchess. Symphony, Songs.
Maria Paulowna, Duchess. Piano.
Marie Elizabeth, Princess. Orchestra, Violin, Clarinet, Piano.
Martinez, Marianne. Overtures, Symphonies, Concertos, Oratorios, Mass, Motets, Piano.
Mayer, Emelie. Symphonies, Overtures, String Quartets, etc., Trios, Operetta, Violin, Piano, Songs.
Mier, Anna von. Songs.
Molique, Caroline. Violin, Songs.
Molitor, Frederike. Piano, Songs.
Momy, Valerie. Piano.
Müller, Elise. Songs.

Naeser, Martha. Piano, Songs.
Nathusius, Marie. Songs.
Neumann, Elizabeth. Piano.
Niederstetter, Emilie. Piano.

Olivier, Charlotte. Piano.

Paradies, Maria Theresa von. Operas, Cantatas, Trio, Piano, Songs.
Peschka, Minna. Songs.
Pessiak, Anna. Masses, Piano, Songs.
Pfeilschifter, Julie von. Ballet, Piano, Songs.
Plitt, Agathe. Cantatas, Motets.
Polko, Elise. Songs, Piano.

Ramann, Lina. Piano.
Reichard, Louise. Songs.
Richter, Pauline. Piano, Songs.
Rossow, Helene von. Songs.
Rothschild, Baroness. Songs.
Ruttenstein, Baroness. Songs.

Sabinin, Martha von. Piano, Songs.
Saligny, Clara. Piano.
Sawath, Caroline. Piano.
Schaden, Nanette von. Concertos, Songs.
Schaeffer, Theresa. Overture, Piano, Songs.
Schauroth, Delphine von. Songs.
Schlick, Elise. Songs.
Schmezer, Elise. Opera, Songs.
Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Malvina. Songs.
Scholl, Amalie. Songs.
Schroeter, Corona E. Songs.
Schubert, Georgine. Songs.
Schumann, Clara. Concerto, Trio, Piano, Songs.
Schwertzell, Wilhelmine. Songs.
Screinzer, Frl. Piano, Songs.
Seipt, Sophie. 'Cello.
Sick, Anna. Piano, Songs.
Sporleder, Charlotte. Violin, Piano.
Stecher, Marianne. Organ.
Stollewerck, Nina von. Symphonies, Piano, Songs.

Tschierschky, Wilhelmine. Songs.
Tyrell, Agnes. Symphony, Overtures, Piano.

Veltheim, Charlotte. Piano, Songs.
Vespermann, Marie. Piano.
Vigny, Louise von. Songs.

Waldburg, Julie von. Piano, Songs.
Wichern, Caroline. Songs.
Wickerhauser, Natalie. Piano, Songs.
Wieck, Marie. Piano, Songs.
Winkel, Therese. Harp and Violin.
Wiseneder, Caroline. Operas, Songs.
Wurmbrand, Stephanie. Concerto, Violin, Piano.

Zaubiter, Ida. Zither.
Zittelmann, Helene. Piano, Songs.
Zumsteeg, Emilie. Overture.

III. FRENCH COMPOSERS

Arago, Victoria. Songs.

Bawr, Comtesse de. Songs.
Beaumesnil, Henrietta. Operas.
Bertin, Louise A. Operas, String Quartets, Trios, Songs.
Bigot, Marie. Piano.
Bourges, Clementine de. Instrumental.
Brillon de Jouy, Mme. Piano.
Brisson, Mlle. Violin, Harp, Piano.

Candeille, Emilie. Operas, Trios, Piano, Songs.
Carissan, Célanie. Operas, Oratorio.
Caroline, Mlle. Opera.
Chaminade, Cécile. Suites, Concerto, Trios, Violin, Piano Songs.
Chouquet, Louise. Piano.
Chrétien-Genaro, Hedwige, Ballet.
Cinti-Damoureau, Laura. Songs.
Collin, Helene. Piano.

Dejazet, Hermine. Operetta.
Delaval, Mme. Harp, Songs.
Demar, Theresa. Harp.
Derheimer, Cécile. Masses, Organ.
Duchambge, Pauline. Songs.
Duhan, Mme. Piano.
Durand de Fortmague, Baronne. Operas.
Duval, Mlle. Ballet.

Fabre, Marie. Piano.
Farrenc, Mme. Jeanne. Symphonies, Overtures, Chamber Music, Violin, 'Cello, Piano, Flute.
Farrenc, Victorine. Piano, Songs.
Ferrari, Gabriella. Orchestra, Opera, Piano, Songs.

Gail-Garre, Edme Sophie. Operas, Piano, Songs.
Gallois, Mme. Ballets, Piano, Songs.
Gay, Marie S. Cantatas, Piano.
Genlis, Comtesse. Harp.
Gignoux, Mlle. Opera.
Gougelet, Mme. Piano.
Grandval, Maria de. Overture, Suite, Operas, Masses, Trios, Violin, Flute, Piano, Songs.
Grétry, Lucille. Operas.
Guenin, Mlle. Opera.

Haenel de Cronenthal, Marquise. Symphonies, String Quartet, Opera, Piano.
Heritte, Mme. Louise. Operas, Cantatas, Quartets, Piano, Songs.
Holmes, Augusta. Suites, Operas, Cantatas, Songs.
Hortense, Queen. Songs,

Jacques, Charlotte. Operetta.
Jaell, Marie. Concerto, Piano Quartet, Piano.

Kercado, Mlle. Operetta.

Laguerre, Elizabeth. Opera, Cantatas, Piano.
La Hye, Louise G. Opera, Organ, Piano, Songs.
La Roche, Rosa. Concerto, Piano.
Lechantre, Mlle. Operetta, Songs.
Louis, Mme. Operetta, Songs.

Maistre, Baronne. Operas, Stabat Mater.
Malibran, Maria. Songs.
Marchesi, Mathilde. Vocalises.
Marx, Berthe. Piano.
Massart, Louise. Piano.
Maury, Mme. Orchestra.
Mizangere, Marquise. Clavichord.
Molinos-Lafitte, Mlle. Songs.
Montgeroult, Mme. Helene. Piano, Songs.

Neuville, Mme. Alphonse de. Mass, Violin, Songs.

Papot, Marie. Vocalises.
Perrière-Pilte, Comtesse. Operas.
Perronet, Amélie. Operettas.
Pierpont, Marie de. Opera, Organ, Piano, Songs.
Pleyel, Camille. Piano.
Pollet, Marie. Harp.
Pouillau, Mlle. Piano.
Puget, Louisa. Operas, Songs.

Quinault, Marie. Motets.

Robert-Mazel, Helene. Songs.

Saint-Didier. Comtesse. Cantata.
Sainte-Croix, Mlle. Operas.
Santa Coloma-Sourget, Eugenie. Opera, Trio, Songs.

Tardieu, Charlotte. Piano.
Thys, Pauline. Operas, Songs.
Tonel, Leonie. Piano.
Travenet, Mme. Songs.

Verger, Virginie. Violin, Piano.
Viardot-Garcia, Pauline. Operettas, Piano, Songs.

IV. AMERICAN COMPOSERS

Abbott, Jane B. Songs.
Adams, Mrs. C. Piano.
Andrus, Helen J. Cantata, Organ, Piano, Songs.
Atherton, Grace. Songs.

Ball, Mrs. I. W. Piano, Songs.
Barnes, Bertha L. Piano.
Beach, Mrs. H. H. A. Symphony, Mass, Cantatas, Violin, Piano, Songs.
Bernard, Caroline R. Songs.
Black, Jennie P. Songs.
Bond, Mrs. C. J. Piano, Songs.

Cammack, Amelia. Piano, Songs.
Cappiani, Louisa. Songs.
Chickering, Mrs. C. F. Songs.
Chittenden, Kate. Piano.
Coates, Kathleen. Piano.
Collinet, Clara. Songs.
Collins, Laura S. Orchestra, Violin, Songs.
Coombs, Mary W. Songs.
Crane, Helen C. Piano.
Crowninshield, Mary B. Songs.
Crumb, Berenice. Songs.

Danziger, Laura. Piano, 'Cello.
Diller, Angela. Piano, Songs.
Donalds, Belle. Piano, Songs.
Draper, Mrs. J. T. Sacred, Songs.

Estabrook, Miss G. Operetta, Songs.
Eversole, Rose M. Songs.

Gates, Alice A. Songs.
Gaynor, Jessie L. Piano, Songs.
Griswold, Gertrude. Songs.
Gro, Josephine. Piano, Songs.

Hale, Mrs. Irene. Songs.
Hammer, Marie von. 'Cello, Piano, Songs.
Hardy, Mrs. C. S. Songs.
Heckscher, Celeste. Piano, Songs.
Hill, Mildred J. Songs.
Hodges, Faustina Hasse. Piano, Songs.
Hood, Helen. Trio, Violin, Piano, Songs.
Hopekirk, Mrs. Helen. Concerto, Piano, Songs.

Jewell, Althea G. Songs.
Jewell, Lucina. Organ, Songs.
Joyce, Florence B. Songs.
Knapp, Mrs. J. F. Songs.
Knowlton, Fanny S. Songs.
Korn, Clara D. Orchestra, Violin, Songs.

Lamson, Georgie. Songs.
Lang, Margaret Ruthven. Overtures, Violin, Piano, Songs.
Lemmel, Helen H. Songs.
Mackenzie, Grace. Songs.
Maeder, Emily P. Songs.
Marckwald, Grace. Orchestra, Piano, Songs.
Mayhew, Grace. Songs.
Melville, Marguerite. Piano Quintet, Violin, Songs.
Merrick, Mrs. C. Piano, Songs.
Metzler, Bertha. Piano, Songs.
Moulton, Mrs. C. Songs.
Murio-Celli, Adelina. Piano, Songs.
Noyes-Porter, Edith R. Piano, Songs.

Olcott, Grace. Songs.
Orth, Mrs. L. E. Operetta, Piano, Songs.
Osgood, Marion. Piano, Songs.
Owen, Anita. Piano, Songs.

Parcello, Marie. Songs.
Park, Edna R. Songs.
Pease, Jessie L. Songs.
Pitman, Alice L. Violin, Songs.
Pitt, Emma. Songs.
Porter, Mrs. David. Songs.
Powell, Mrs. W. Songs.

Ralston, Marion. Piano, Songs.
Raymond, Emma M. Songs.
Rees, Clara H. Piano, Songs.
Richardson, Jennie V. Piano.
Ring, Claire. Piano.
Ritter, Fannie R. Songs.
Rivé-King, Julia. Piano.
Roberts, Nellie W. Songs.
Rogers, Mrs. Clara K. String Quartet, Violin, 'Cello, Piano, Songs.
Ronalds, Mrs. Belle. Songs.
Root, Grace W. Songs.
Runcie, Constance L. Organ, Songs.

Salter, Mary T. Songs.
Sargent, Cora D. Songs.
Sawyer, Hattie P. Songs.
Schuyler, Georgina. Songs.
Scott, Clara H. Songs.
Siegfried, Lillie M. Songs.
Simmons, Kate. Dances.
Skelton, Mrs. Nellie B. Piano, Songs.
Skinner, Mrs. Fanny L. Songs.
Smith, Eleanor. Songs.
Smith, Mrs. G. Piano, Songs.
Smith, Gertrude. Songs.
Smith, May F. Songs.
Smith, Nettie P. Songs.
Smith, Rosalie B. Songs.
Sneed, Anna. Songs.
Spencer, Fanny M. Songs, Hymns.
St. John, Georgie B. Songs.
Stair, Patty. Piano, Songs.
Steiner, Emma. Operettas, Songs.
Stewart, Annie M. Songs.
Stocker, Mrs. Stella P. Songs.
Sutro, Mrs. Theo. Piano, Songs.
Swift, Mrs. G. H. Songs.

Taylor, Mrs. A. H. Songs.
Thurber, Nettie C. Songs.
Torry, Jane S. Piano, Songs.
Townsend, Marie. Songs.
Train, Adeline. Songs.
Tretbar, Helen. Songs.
Tunison, Louise. Songs.

Van Buren, Alicia. String Quartet, Songs.
Vanderpoel, Kate. Songs.
Vannah, Kate. Piano, Songs.
Venth, Mrs. L. K. Piano.

Walker, Ida. Piano, Songs.
White, Emma C. Piano, Songs.
Williams, Margaret. Overture.
Wills, Harriet B. Songs.
Wood, Mrs. George. Songs.
Wood, Mary Knight. Trio, Songs.
Woodhull, Mary G. Songs.
Woods, Eliza. Piano, Songs.
Woodstock, Mattie. Songs.
Worth, Adelaide. Songs.

Young, Mrs. Corinne. Songs.
Young, Eliza M. Piano, Songs.

Zeissler, Fanny Bloomfield. Piano.

A
Aarup, Caia, 219.
Agnesi, Maria, 213.
Ahlefeldt, Countess of, 168.
Alcæus, 25.
Alcman, 27.
Aleotti, Vittoria, 64.
Alexandra, Grand Duchess, 229.
Alexandrian Romances, 48.
Alexandrowna, Mlle., 230.
Alfonso X., 59.
Allitsen, Frances, 148, 239.
Amalia Anna, Duchess, 155.
Amalie, Princess, 155.
Amaneius des Escas, 55.
Amann, Josephine, 171.
Amenhotep IV., 18.
Amersfoodt-Dyk, Hermine, 167.
Amos, 20.
Andrée, Elfrida, 220, 238, 240.
Andreozzi, Maria, 214.
Andrus, Helen J., 207.
Anna Amalie, Princess, 154.
Apollonius Rhodius, 24.
Appiani, Eugenia, 216.
Aqua, Eva dell', 212, 240.
Arthurian Romances, 48.
Asch, 95.
Aspasia, 29.
Asperi, Ursula, 215.
Assandra, Catterina, 65.
Athelstan, 36.
Aubade, 47.
Audley, Mme., 242.
Augusta, Empress, 155.
Aulin, Valborg, 218.
Aus Der Ohe, Adele, 171.
Auspitz, Auguste, 227.
Austen, Augusta, 134.
Aylward, Florence, 239.


B

Bach, Anna Magdalena, 69, 70.
Bach, Constance, 242.
Bach, John Sebastian, 61, 67-71, 241.
Bach, Maria Barbara, 68, 69.
Bachmann, Elise, 168.
Bachmann, Judith, 172.
Backer-Gröndahl, Agathe, 225.
Badarczewska, Thekla, 229.
Baglioncella, Francesca, 64.
Ballad, 47.
Barezzi, Margherita, 85.
Bariona, Madelka, 66.
Barker, Laura Wilson, 144.
Barnard, Mrs. Charles, 135.
Barns, Ethel, 145, 239.
Baroni, Julie von, 228.
Bartalotti, Signora, 215.
Barth, Elise, 226.
Bartholomew, Mrs., 134, 238.
Batta, Clementine, 166.
Baudissin, Countess of, 171.
Beach, Mrs. H. H. A., 195-201, 235, 238, 239.
Beatrice, Princess, 156.
Beaumesnil, Henriette de, 187.
Becker, Ida, 172.
Beethoven, Ludwig von, 107, 111, 116-123, 240.
Belleville-Oury, Emilie, 169.
Benfey-Schuppe, Anna, 162.
Berlioz, Hector, 81-84.
Bernard de Ventadour, 51.
Bernouilly, Agnes, 162.
Bertin, Louise, 182, 183.
Bertini, Natalie, 216.
Bertinotti, Teresa, 216.
Bigot, Marie, 192.
Binfield, Hannah, 135.
Bisset, Elizabeth, 135.
Blahetka, Leopoldine, 160.
Blasis, Teresa di, 216.
Bleitner, Rosa, 227.
Börner-Sandrini, Marie, 172.
Borton, Alice, 139.
Bourges, Clementine de, 66.
Boyce, Ethel Mary, 143, 239.
Brambilla, Marietta, 216.
Brandt, Caroline, 78-80.
Brentano, Bettina von, 121.
Breuning, Eleonora von, 119.
Bright, Dora, 138, 239.
Brinkmann, Minna, 171.
Brisson, Mlle., 191.
Broes, Mlle., 216.
Bronsart, Ingeborg von, 220-225, 234, 240.
Bruch, Max, 237.
Bruckenthal, Baroness von, 166.
Brunswick, Therese von, 121.
Bugge, Magda, 225.
Buttenstein, Constance, 163.
Buxtehude, 111.


C

Caccini, Francesca, 64, 211, 240.
Calegari, Cornelia, 65.
Candeille, Emilie, 187.
Carissan, Célanie, 186, 238.
Carlovingian Romances, 48.
Carmichael, Mary Grant, 141, 238.
Carreño, Teresa, 231-233.
Casella, Signora, 215.
Casida, 46.
Casulana, Maddalena, 63.
Catalani, Angelica, 216.
Cecilia, St., 211.
Celtic Music, 37.
Chamberlayne, Edith A., 139, 238.
Chaminade, Cécile, 174-177, 234, 237, 238, 240.
Chanson, 47.
Charlotte, Princess, 156.
Chazal, Mrs., 133.
Cherubini, 81.
Chinese Music, 31-34.
Chivalry, 37.
Chopin, Frederic, 97, 98, 128-130.
Chrétien de Troyes, 48.
Chrétien-Genaro, Hedwige, 189.
Chrishna, 13, 14.
Christ, Fanny, 173.
Chrysostom, 36.
Cianchettini, Veronica, 226.
Claribel, 135.
Clarke, Jane, 133.
Clausz, Wilhelmine, 227.
Clement, Mary, 169.
Coccia, Maria Rosa, 216.
Colbran, Angela, 230.
Collin, Helene, 193.
Collins, Laura Sedgwick, 206.
Colona-Sourget, Helene Santa, 188.
Contention, 46.
Cooke, Edith, 152.
Corinna, 28.
Correr, Ida, 215.
Courts of Love, 52-55.
Cozzolani, Margarita, 65.
Creti, Mariana, 216.
Cronenthal, Marquise de, 186.
Cuman, Harriet, 219.


D

Dahl, Emma, 218.
Dances, Ancient, 17, 21, 31.
Danziger, Laura, 207.
David, King, 20.
Davies, Llewela, 153.
Deborah, 21.
Dedekam, Sophie, 219.
Dejazet, Hermine, 189.
Delaval, Mme., 190.
Demar, Therese, 194.
Derheimer, Cécile, 190.
D'Hardelot, Guy, 149.
D'Hovorst, Mme., 227.
Dickson, Ellen, 135.
Discord, 47.
Dolores, 135.
Don Pedro, 60.
Doria, Clara, 203.
Duchambge, Pauline, 193.
Ducré, Pierre, 84.
Dufferin, Lady, 152.
Duport, Marie, 230.
Du Rollet, 114, 115.
Dussek, Olivia, 135.
Duval, Mlle., 187.


E

Egyptian Music, 16-19.
Eleanor of Aquitaine, 50, 51, 52.
Ellicott, Rosalind, 140, 238, 239.
Erard, Sebastian, 135.
Erdödy, Countess, 120.
Ertmann, Baroness, 120.
Eschborn, Nina, 173.
Essenhamens, 42, 55.
Estabrook, Miss, 206.
Esterhazy, Caroline von, 124, 125.
Esterhazy, Prince, 72.
Ethelbert, 35.


F

Farrenc, Jeanne Louise, 181, 238.
Farrenc, Victorine, 182.
Fechner, Pauline, 229.
Feminine Tones, 32.
Ferrari, Carlotta, 212, 213, 234, 240.
Ferrari, Gabriella, 185.
Fichtner, Pauline, 168.
Foang-Hoang, 32.
Folville, Juliette, 218.
Fortmague, Baronne de, 189.
Franz, Maria Hinrichs, 172.
Franz, Robert, 104, 237, 240.
Frederick Barbarossa, 38.
Frederick the Great, 154.
Fricken, Ernestine von, 94.
Frugoni, Bertha, 216.


G

Gabriel, Virginia, 136.
Gaelic Music, 37.
Gail-Garre, Edme Sophie, 187.
Gallois, Mme., 189.
Galloni, Adolfa, 215.
Gay, Marie Sophie, 190.
Gaynor, Mrs. Jessie L., 208.
Geiger, Constance, 171.
Geishas, 34.
Genlis, Comtesse de, 194.
Gignoux, Mlle., 189.
Gilbert, Florence, 151, 239.
Giucciardi, Countess, 120.
Gizycka, Ludmilla, 227.
Gladkowska, Constantia, 129.
Glee-Maidens, 57.
Gluck, Christoph W., 113-116.
Goddard, Arabella, 146.
Goetze, Augusta, 167.
Goodwin, Amina Beatrice, 146.
Gottfried von Strassburg, 40.
Grabowska, Countess, 228.
Graever, Madeleine, 216.
Grandval, Vicomtesse de, 180, 181, 238.
Gray, Louisa, 142.
Greek Music, 22-30.
Greene, Edith, 138.
Grétry, Lucille, 187.
Griebel, Thekla, 168.
Grieg, Eduard Hagerup, 88.
Gro, Josephine, 210.
Guenin, Mlle., 188.
Guerre, Elizabeth de la, 186.
Guest, Jeanne Marie, 133.
Guidi, Teresa, 215.
Gyde, Margaret, 144.


H

Habakkuk, 20.
Hale, Mrs. Philip, 209.
Hammer, Marie von, 207.
Handel, Georg F., 111-113, 241.
Harland, Lizzie, 143.
Harraden, Ethel, 141.
Harrison, Annie F., 142.
Haydn, Franz Josef, 71-75.
Haydn, Frau, 71-73.
Heale, Miss, 143.
Hebrew Music, 19-22.
Heidenreich, Henrietta, 169.
Heim-Brehm, Mathilde, 169.
Heinke, Ottilie, 172.
Heinrich von Meissen, 43.
Heinrich von Veldig, 38.
Hendrich-Merta, Marie, 168.
Henn, Angelica, 166.
Hensel, Wilhelm, 126.
Herder, 21.
Héritte-Viardot, Pauline, 185.
Hetæræ, 29.
Hill, Mildred, 209.
Hindoo Music, 12-16.
Hoang-Ti, 31.
Hodges, Faustina Hasse, 207.
Holland, Caroline, 143.
Holmberg, Betty, 225.
Holmes, Augusta, 178-180, 235, 238, 240.
Homer, 22, 24.
Hood, Helen, 207.
Hopekirk-Wilson, Mme., 204.
Horrocks, Amy Elsie, 138, 239.
Hortense, Queen, 193.
Hundt, Aline, 162, 238.


I

Isaiah, 20.


J

Jacques, Charlotte, 189.
Jaell, Mme. Marie, 191.
Janina, Countess Olga, 230.
Janotha, Nathalie, 229.
Japanese Music, 34.
Jeanrenaud, Cécile, 128.
Jewell, Lucina, 207.
Jongleurs, 39, 56, 62.
Jordan, Mrs., 136.


K

Kainerstorfer, Clotilde, 172.
Kanzler, Josephine, 165.
Keeners, 20.
Keglevics, Babette de, 120.
Kercado, Mlle., 187.
Kern, Louise, 166.
Kinkel, Johanna, 167.
Kletzinsky, Adele, 229.
Kohary, Marie de, 227.
Komorowska, Stephanie, 230.
Korn, Clara, 204.
Krämer, Caroline, 173.
Kralike, Mathilde von, 166.


L

Lacerda, Bernarda de, 66.
Lago, Miss, 219.
La Hye, Louise, 193.
Lamia, 29.
Lang, Josephine, 169.
Lang, Margaret Ruthven, 201, 202.
Langhans, Louise, 166.
Lannoy, Comtesse de, 218.
La Roche, Rosa, 191.
Lawrence, Emily, 143.
Lebeau, Louisa Adolpha, 164, 165, 238, 239.
Lebrun, Francesca, 168.
Lechantre, Mlle., 191.
Lehmann, Liza, 146, 147, 236, 239.
Lehmann, Mrs. Rudolph, 147.
Leucadian Rock, 26.
Lewing, Adele, 171.
Ling-Lun, 32.
Linwood, Mary, 132.
Lipsius, Marie, 242.
Liszt, Franz, 103, 241.
Loder, Kate Fanny, 136.
Louis VII., 50.
Louis, Mme., 187.
Ludwig of Bavaria, 87.
Lund, Baroness van der, 216.


M

Macironi, Clara Angela, 151.
Maier, Amanda, 219.
Maistre, Baronne de, 189.
Malibran, Mme., 184.
Malleville, Charlotte de, 193.
Maneros, 17.
Map, Walter, 48.
Marchesi, Mme., 193.
Marckwald, Grace, 204.
Maria Antonia, 155.
Maria Charlotte Amalia, 155.
Maria Theresa, 113.
Mariani, Virginia, 215.
Marie Antoinette, 114-116.
Marie de France, 58.
Marie Elizabeth, Princess, 156.
Marshall, Mrs. Julian, 138.
Martinez, Marianne, 158.
Marx, Berthe, 192.
Mary, Queen of Scots, 67.
Massart, Louise, 192.
Massenet, Jules, 130.
Mastersingers, 62, 63.
Mattheson, 111.
Maury, Mme., 185.
Mayer, Emilie, 161, 238, 239.
Meadows-White, Mrs., 235, 238.
Melville, Marguerite, 206.
Mendelssohn, Fanny, 125-128.
Mendelssohn, Felix, 101, 107, 125, 128, 134, 170, 240.
Merrick, Mrs. C., 208.
Meyer, Elizabeth, 219.
Milanollo, Teresa, 215.
Millar, Marian, 134.
Minnesingers, 38-44, 62.
Miriam, 21.
Misangere, Marquise de la, 192.
Molinos-Lafitte, Mlle., 193.
Monte-Varchi, Anna de, 230.
Montgeroult, Mme., 192.
Morgan, Lady, 152.
Morison, Christina, 152.
Moscheles, Ignaz, 118.
Moseley, Caroline Carr, 144.
Moses, 21.
Mounsey, Elizabeth, 134.
Mozart, W. A., 74-78.
Müller, Josepha, 167.
Mundella, Emma, 135.
Munktell, Helen, 219.
Muses, 22-23.
Mussini, Adele, 216.
Myrtis, 28.


N

Needham, Alicia Adelaide, 152.
Nero, 243.
Neuville, Mme. de, 190.
Novel, 47.
Nunn, Elizabeth, 135.


O

Okey, Maggie, 144.
Olagnier, Marguerite, 189.
Olga, Grand Duchess, 229.
Oliver, Kate, 144.
Orger, Caroline, 136.
Orpheus, 24.
Orth, Mrs. John, 206.
Osiris, 16, 17.
Osterzee, Cornelia van, 217.


P

Paganini, 83.
Paradies, Maria Theresa von, 156-158.
Park, Edna Rosalind, 205.
Parke, Maria, 132.
Parkyns, Mrs. Beatrice, 144
Pastorelle, 47.
Patti, Adelina, 152.
Pericles, 27, 29.
Perrière-Pilte, Comtesse, 188.
Perronet, Amélie, 189.
Pessiak-Schmerling, Anna, 167.
Petrarch, 51.
Pfeilschifter, Julie von, 168.
Phaon, 25.
Piccini, 115.
Pierpont, Marie de, 189.
Pindar, 28.
Pitman, Alice Locke, 206.
Planer, Minna, 86-88.
Planh, 46.
Plautus, 31.
Pleyel, Camille, 192.
Plitt, Agathe, 167.
Polko, Elise, 242.
Pollet, Marie, 194.
Polzelli, Luigia, 74.
Porter, Edith Noyes, 205.
Prescott, Oliveria L., 138, 238.
Provence, 44, 45.
Puget, Louise, 188.
Pythagoras, 29.


Q

Quinault, Marie Anne, 190.


R

Radecki, Olga von, 230.
Ralph, Kate, 144.
Ramann, Lina, 171, 241.
Ramsay, Katharine, 152, 239.
Recio, Mlle., 83.
Rees, Clara, 207.
Reichard, Louise, 171.
René, Victor, 209.
Rennes, Catherine van, 217.
Rhodes, Mrs., 149.
Ricotti, Onestina, 216.
Ringelsberg, Mathilde, 227.
Ritter, Fanny Raymond, 210, 242.
Riquier, Guirant, 59.
Rivé-King, Julia, 203.
Robert-Mazel, Mme., 190.
Rogers, Clara Kathleen, 202, 203.
Roman Music, 30, 31.
Romance, 48.
Rudersdorff, Mme., 230.
Rüdiger of Manesse, 38.
Ruta, Gilda, 211, 240.


S

Sachs, Hans, 62.
Saint-Didier, Comtesse de, 190.
Sainte-Croix, Mlle, de, 189.
Sainton-Dolby, Charlotte, 136.
Salic Law, 35.
Samson, 20.
Sand, George, 129, 130.
Sanders, Alma, 144.
Sanderson, Sibyl, 130.
Sappho, 25, 26, 27.
Saracen Music, 45.
Schaden, Nanette von, 163.
Schaeffer, Theresa, 163.
Schauroth, Delphine von, 171.
Scheidler, Dorette, 80.
Schimon, Anna, 227.
Schirmacher, Dora, 146.
Schmezer, Elise, 168.
Schröter, Mrs., 74.
Schubert, Franz Peter, 101, 104, 107, 111, 123-125, 237.
Schumann, Clara, 90-110, 169, 234, 240.
Schumann, Robert, 90-107, 169, 237, 240.
Scott, Lady, 136.
Seebald, Amalia, 122.
Seipt, Sophie, 173.
Seneke, Teresa, 215.
Serenade, 47.
Serov, Mme., 230.
Siegfried, Lillie Mahon, 206.
Sirens, 23, 24, 25.
Sirmen, Maddalena, 214.
Sirvente, 47.
Sixtine, 47.
Skinner, Florence M., 142.
Smith, Alice Mary, 137, 234.
Smith, Eleanor, 208.
Smithson, Harriet, 81, 83.
Smyth, Ethel M., 140, 239.
Socrates, 26.
Solomon's Song, 20.
Solon, 27.
Sonnet, 47.
Spohr, Ludwig, 80, 97, 109, 134.
Stecher, Marianne, 172.
Steiner, Emma, 205.
Stirling, Elizabeth, 133.
Stocker, Stella Prince, 209.
Stollewerck, Nina von, 163.
Strauss, Mme. Richard, 88.
Strozzi, Barbara, 65.
Stubenberg, Anna, 227.
Sutro, Mrs. Theodore, 209.
Swepstone, Edith, 139, 239.
Symphonie Fantastique, 81-83.
Sztaray, Countess, 229.
Szymanowska, Marie, 228.


T

Tannhäuser, 41.
Temple, Hope, 152.
Tennyson, Lady, 152.
Tenson, 46.
Terence, 31.
Tesi, Vittoria, 112.
Thegerstrom, Hilda, 219.
Thorn, Edgar, 209.
Thys, Pauline, 188.
Tournament, 47.
Train, Adeline, 209.
Travenet, Mme. de, 193.
Tretbar, Helen, 209, 242.
Troubadours, 38, 39, 44-56, 59, 60.
Troup, Emily J., 144.
Trouvères, 47, 48.
Tschitscherin, Theodosia de, 229.
Tunison, Louise, 209.
Tussenbroek, Hendrika van, 217.
Tyrell, Agnes, 163.


U

Uccelli, Caroline, 215.

Ulrich von Lichtenstein, 43.
Ulysses, 24.


V

Valentine, Ann, 133.
Van Buren, Alicia, 206.
Verdi, Giuseppe, 84-85.
Verger, Virginie du, 191.
Verse, 47.
Vezzana, Lucretia, 65.
Viardot-Garcia, Pauline, 183, 184.
Vidal, Pierre, 43.
Vigny, Louise von, 172.
Vizzani, Orsina, 64.
Vorwerk, Henrietta, 227.


W

Wace, Robert, 48.
Wacht-Lieder, 40.
Wagner, Cosima, 88.
Wagner, Richard, 85-88, 240.
Walter, Ida, 142.
Walther von der Vogelweide, 41.
Ward, Kate Lucy, 152.
Wartburg, 41.
Weber, Aloysia, 75.
Weber, Carl Maria von, 78-80.
Weber, Constance, 75, 77.
Westrop, Kate, 144.
White, Maude Valerie, 150, 238, 239.
Wieck, Clara, 90-102, 106.
Wieck, Friedrich, 91, 102.
Wieck, Marie, 91-171.
William of Poitou, 50.
Williams, Margaret, 205.
Willman, Magdalena, 119.
Winkel, Therese, 173.
Wiseneder, Caroline, 167, 242.
Wodzinski, Marie, 129.
Wolfram von Eschenbach, 40.
Wood, Mary Knight, 206.
Woods, Eliza, 205.
Woolf, Sophia, 136.
Wurm, Marie, 140.
Wurmbrand, Countess, 169.


Y

Young, Harriet Maitland, 141.


Z

Zapater, Rosaria, 230.
Zaubiter, Ida, 173.
Zentner, Clary, 216.
Zimmermann, Agnes, 145, 239.
Zumsteeg, Emilie, 159.