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Kane 1 Tradition and Innovation: The Lives and Music of Women Composers The vast majority of research and teaching centered on composers throughout history has focused on “The Greats” of music, male composers such as Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart, to name a few. Until recently, comparatively little attention was given to women composers. Thanks to the recent study of gender in music and the work of scholars such as Susan McClary and Suzanne Cusick, musicology is fast becoming a field that aims to correct the hundreds of years of neglect that women composers have faced.1 It is extremely encouraging to see the field of musicology strongly recognize the legitimacy of women composers in more recent scholarship. Feminist scholars thus far have tended to highlight the achievements of those women composers that can be easily seen as musical heroines: composers who broke the social boundaries set for women. Scholars, performers, and all types of musicians frequently emphasize the radical work of composers such as Ethel Smyth, Hildegard von Bingen, or Barbara Strozzi, and the examples of their extraordinary lives for their respective time periods. This sort of study is extremely important, and my intent is not to discount this crucial perspective within musicology. Yet, as women establish their place within the musical canon, it is entirely appropriate and necessary to develop a more critical viewpoint on the lives of 1 For more information on the writings of Cusick and McClary, see articles such as Suzanne G. Cusick, “Feminist Theory, Music Theory, and the Mind/Body Problem,” Perspectives of New Music. 32, no. 1 (1994): 8-27. Cusick, “Eve…Blowing in Our Ears”? Toward a History of Music Scholarship on Women in the Twentieth Century,” Women & Music. 5, (2001): 125-139. Susan McClary, Feminine Endings: Music, Gender, and Sexuality. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1991. Kane 2 women, and also to emphasize not just their nontraditional traits but those qualities about their lives and work that can be considered traditional. The very nature of a woman as a composer already breaks many social boundaries; Marcia Citron explains in Gender and the Musical Canon that the act of becoming a female composer itself was considered rebellious.2 Yet careful study reveals that even our most celebrated female composers still struggled with societal pressure. Until now, research has most often put the emphasis of study on the areas of each woman’s life that have clearly transcended established social norms. Comparatively little emphasis has been placed on those areas from each female composer’s life and music that in fact followed accepted social norms of their time. While it is inarguably true that some women lean more toward a life of either tradition or breaking boundaries, I argue that the current approach does not give the entire picture of what it has meant historically, and still means today, to be a woman composer. By exploring the lives and work of many different women, I aim to create a series of case studies that reveal the perpetually shifting nature of the influence of societal pressure on many women composers. Women cannot be neatly boxed into the inflexible, strictly traditional or nontraditional mentality that categorizes the work and actions of women as either one or the other. Through my study I hope to reveal that in many instances women portray qualities that are both traditional and nontraditional, and that it is in fact this grey 2 Marcia J. Citron, Gender and the Musical Canon (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 44. Kane 3 area of categorization that helps us to pinpoint the difficulties and triumphs of the woman composer throughout history. Societal Expectations Before listing specific examples, it is important to understand the pressures that women may have faced on a daily basis and how these forces may have affected their musical lives. The relationship between music and femininity has always been less than smooth; since ancient times, people have questioned the role of women in music. The exclusion from participation in music that women faced prior to the nineteenth century, and even post-nineteenth century as a result of this longstanding tradition, is largely based on the teachings of religion. Both women and music have long been tied together and regarded as a danger to man’s ability to remain in control and focus on the divine. Though originally women sang as part of worship, as the teachings of the church became more widespread often the male leaders of the church retained all of the music rights and the music that women created was confined to convents, creating work that we know best today through women such as Hildegard von Bingen.3 Somewhat later, in early modern England, women faced deep-rooted beliefs regarding the inferiority of women from the church itself. Linda Phyllis Austern states in “‘Alluring the Auditorie to Effeminacie’: Music and the Idea of the Feminine in Early Modern England”: 3 Information on early church music in relation to women, and particularly Hildegard von Bingen, can be found in Jane Bowers, and Judith Tick, ed., Women Making Music (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1986), 25-30. Information on women and the church can also be found in Karin Pendle, ed., Women & Music: A History (Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1991), 18-21. Information on Hildegard von Bingen in this source can be found on pages 23-25. Kane 4 As the Puritan re-emphasis on biblical literalism and the patriarchal wisdom of the Church fathers increasingly permeated every aspect of English culture from the accession of Elizabeth I onwards, Woman's place became especially subordinate to Man's; her sphere of existence was unquestionably domestic, spousal, maternal, inspirational and decorative, according to the most eminent ancient and modern authorities. The few exceptional women of the highest social classes who stepped outside this naturally ordained position did so only through the denial of normal femininity and at the risk of public and private censure.4 Austern demonstrates the extreme difficulty that women would face for centuries as composers who had “stepped outside their naturally ordained position.” Karin Pendle summarizes these challenges regarding women and religion further in Women & Music: A History. Pendle explains that prior to 1600, women had little opportunity to learn music because the center for all musical learning and performance was the church. Because it was not originally deemed appropriate for women to take part in musical activity, women had very limited musical training or opportunity for performance.5 This lack of opportunity was due to overarching viewpoints about women that were deeply centered within church teachings and leaked their way into common thought. Austern clarifies Linda Phyllis Austern, “’Alluring the Auditorie to Effeminacie’: Music and the Idea of the Feminine in Early Modern England,” in Music & Letters, 74, 3 (1993): 344. 5 The information in this paragraph, as well as in the following section detailing the history of societal pressures on women, is derived largely from Karen Pendle’s book Women & Music: A History: 3-122. Information that comes from another source will be specified in other footnotes; otherwise, it can be assumed that the information is paraphrased from Pendle. 4 Kane 5 this even further by explaining assumptions regarding women during the early modern era: To such didactic and practical writers as John Knox and Joseph Swetnam, women were associated by nature with sin, with the dark, uncontrollable side of sensuality and with the loss of paradise. They were to remain passive, silent, publicly invisible, and guided by men in all aspects of their lives, for though they lacked intellectual and spiritual substance, the beauty of their bodies and the persuasive rhetoric of their uncontrolled speech could invert the natural order and lead to moral destruction.6 The notion of women’s subordination was often perpetuated through biblical literature as well. As clergyman Knox explains, “woman in her greatest perfection was made to serve and obey man, not to rule and co[m]mand him: As Saint Paule doth reason in these words: Man is not of woman but the woma[n] of the man..."7 It is also important to note that as negative feelings about women were continued by church teachings, so were negative ideas about music. Just as women were unwelcome in the early church, music was similarly regarded with caution. As with women, music was thought to distract men away from purity and the divine. Austern explains, “at the very least, like the companionship of a woman, it proved a waste of time and a distraction from the true increase of wisdom, direct knowledge of God or other manly pursuits."8 The intertwining of Austern, “Alluring the Auditorie to Effeminacie’” 346. Ibid, 346. 8 Ibid, 347. 6 7 Kane 6 femininity with music during this time only served to heighten the negativity with which both were received. According to Pendle, as the role of music in the church slowly increased and people became more accepting of music within the church, likewise the restrictions on women as composers and performers relaxed. This is not to say that women saw an end to the challenges that they faced; rather they began to see small opportunities amid a much larger misogynist mentality. Although women were still expected to be passive and silent, they began to be allowed to practice music solely as performers in the home. Music often became a family affair, and when it was performed it was done as part of family entertainment for guests or as court musicians. Eventually, women began to perform on instruments thought of as feminine. Most commonly, these were the voice and harpsichord and later, the piano.9 Austern also explains that women were eventually allowed to listen to “sweet music” that was played on instruments such as the lute and cittern.10 Women began to play harp and violin, and Pendle explains that as male dominated public performance started to make room for women, eventually it became relatively commonplace for women to perform in operas. Although women became performers, Pendle points out that, with the exception of opera, they did not often get paid for any performing that they did.11 9 More information on the gendering of instruments can be found in the Introduction of Carol Neuls-Bates, ed., Women in Music: An Anthology of Source Readings from the Middle Ages to the Present, rev. ed. (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1996), xi-xv. 10 Austern, “’Alluring the Auditorie to Effeminacie,’” 351. 11 More information regarding women and singing careers through opera can be found in Pendle, ed., Women & Music: A History, 114-16. Information on other careers during the romantic period in particular can be found in pp. 114-122, and for earlier information, see pp. 37-39. Kane 7 By the nineteenth century, it became more commonplace for women to compose. Prior to this time, a handful of female composers, including Francesca Caccini, Barbara Strozzi, and Elisabeth Claude-Jacquet de la Guerre, had made a significant mark in the musical canon. As opportunities for female musicians increased, so did the number of women who were successfully able to leave their mark. Their compositional activity still met many challenges as women composers were still in the minority. Much of what women wrote was meant for or created from their own performance experiences, which generally consisted of home performances. During the nineteenth century this meant that women were expected to compose chiefly songs for voice or piano. Occasionally, women wrote chamber works and mixed ensembles, but there were other genres that were rarely touched by women. Larger genres, including opera and orchestral works, were considered inappropriate, in addition to a challenge for a woman who had limited performance opportunities and could not play in a professional orchestra. Any instruments that were thought inappropriate for women due to their sexual connotations were also generally not included in the compositional works of women.12 Although today women compose in many different genres and have become a much more permanent fixture in the world of music, they still face many of these challenges because they bear very deep roots throughout history.13 As Bowers and Tick explain in Women Making Music: 12 It was thought that instruments that had to be played in the mouth or larger instruments such as cello created sexual connotations that were inappropriate for women. For more information on socially acceptable instruments and genres for women, please see Pendle’s Women and Music: A History, especially pgs. 17-18 and 89-91, as well as the introduction to Bowers & Tick’s Women Making Music, 3-10. 13 For more information on the performance opportunities of women throughout history, see Bowers, ed., Women Making Music, 3-10 ,90-109, 349-69. Kane 8 We have yet to recover from the ensuing onslaught of graphic imagery in which this piece was labeled masculine, that one feminine; this aspect of theory declared appropriate for men, that for women; this instrument deemed suitable for the lady, that for the gentleman. Many women fell into line. By turning out parlor songs and other kinds of sentimental music, they fulfilled social expectations about their proper role as composers.14 Parents were extremely influential on the lives of a woman composer. Because society relied so heavily on the father as the patriarch, it was largely up to him to decide what kind of education his daughter would receive. For this reason, inevitably whether or not a woman was formally trained in music relied heavily on whether or not her father believed that it was an acceptable activity for a female. In related circumstances, social class was a major indicator of whether a woman would be trained as a musician. Young women that were born into wealth were much more likely to receive formal musical training than those that were not, which greatly decreased the amount of women trained as performers and especially as composers.15 In a patriarchal society, marriage was often more of a hindrance than a help to a woman’s musical career. Marriage has undergone many social changes through the centuries, but historically, the main goal of marriage was to produce 14 15 Ibid., 9. Ibid., 5. Kane 9 children and maintain the family line.16 There are many other social connotations that go along with marital expectations; in European Sexualities, 1400-1800, Katherine Crawford explains the deeply interwoven complexities that went along with marriage, including marrying for social status. Marriages were often made strictly based on the advantages that it would create through wealth and social status.17 This resulted in many marriages arranged either through the families of the man and the woman, or through a deal worked out between the man and the family of the woman, who was usually still in her teens.18 Regardless of the reasoning, women generally became housewives. Once a woman married, her own needs became subordinate to her husband’s because he was considered the head of the family. If there was any type of family problem, it was the woman that the family looked to in order to maintain the balance. In the uncommon instance that both husband and wife had jobs, the man’s would take precedence over the woman’s.19 Though the man was considered the head of every household, women were often considered the moral force that held the family together. This thinking occurred especially during the nineteenth century, when the belief surfaced that women could take a proactive role in the moral well-being of their families, and particularly their husbands, simply by being a good wife. Scott Martin refers to this ideal as the “feminine influence,” in which women could keep their husbands 16 For more information on this topic, see Lawrence Stone, The Family, Sex and Marriage in England, 1500-1800 (New York: Harper & Row, 1977), 11-54. http://www.jstor.org/ (accessed April 10, 2007). 17 More information on marriage and social standing can be found in Katherine Crawford, European Sexualities, 1400-1800, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 11-55. 18 Ibid. 19 Jill Halstead, The Woman Composer (Brookfield: Ashgate, 1997), 87-90. Kane 10 from engaging in “sinful” activities simply by displaying their feminine characteristics. Martin lists these as “religiosity, morality, compassion, and propriety.”20 Perhaps the most powerful of all social roles for the female is the role of the woman as mother. The issue of motherhood presents several challenges for the female composer. Jill Halstead summarizes this predicament clearly by including a quote from Time magazine in her book The Woman Composer: “Men compose symphonies, women compose babies.”21 This was the case for many female composers. With very little help, child rearing severely cut into the time in their day, and they were left to care for their families rather than compose. Halstead explains that any education or training a woman received ended when she became pregnant. Many gifted female composers stopped their work altogether once they started a family in order to devote their time to the care of their families. This is one reason that many women have much smaller quantities of published music compared to men. Marcia Citron explains the difference between what was acceptable for males and females in the musical world:22 Creation, which involves the mind, is reserved for male activity; procreation, which involves giving birth, is applied to women. Labor refers to man’s production, to woman’s reproduction. Conceiving for males is mental and takes place in the head; conceiving for females is physical and takes place in the womb. Scott C. Martin, “’A Star That Gathers Lustre from the Gloom of Night’: Wives, Marriage, and Gender in the Early-Nineteenth-Century Temperance Reform,” Journal of Family History 29, 3 (2004): 275. 21 Halstead, The Woman Composer, 67. 22 Citron, Gender and the Musical Canon, 45. 20 Kane 11 One of the factors commonly considered in measuring the success of a composer is their ability to publish their works. Though men have clearly been well represented in this category, women have had comparatively small quantities of music published, which is one of many reasons that they have become so underrepresented in the musical canon. The first publications of women’s compositions appeared in Venice in 1566, and the majority of musical publications for a significant time period after were of women creating a few amateur pieces, as opposed to a substantial quantity of serious music.23 This situation has many causes, but one of the main reasons it exists lies in the ideal of the woman as private versus the man as public. This theory stems back centuries, and has a profound effect on the way women participate in the musical world in every area, including performance careers as well as composing. In the situation of publication, women have been historically kept out of publishing for public use because it was deemed inappropriate. Elisabeth Claude-Jacquet de la Guerre The factors that deterred women from writing music are in fact too numerous to describe completely within the confines of just one paper, and are also varied by region of the world and time period. In this particular paper, I have instead taken the social expectations described and used them in a case study of different women, starting with Elisabeth Claude-Jacquet de la Guerre. Jacquet de la Guerre is an early example of the common expectations for women musicians and composers. Her actual birth date remains debatable, but it is generally 23 Bowers, ed., Women Making Music, 5. Kane 12 believed that she was born around 1664 into a family that Carol Henry Bates calls a “dynasty of harpsichord builders.”24 It was apparent very early on that Elisabeth had an extraordinary talent, and her father immediately resolved to teach her to play harpsichord. Her talent led her to start a lifelong relationship with King Louis XIV at the age of five when she played for him for the first time.25 The King became enthralled with the young girl, and from that point on fortune smiled upon young Elisabeth as he watched after her musical training and career for the rest of her life. News of the young girl wonder spread fast, and it was said of Jacquet de la Guerre: She sings at sight the most difficult music. She accompanies herself, and accompanies others who wish to sing, at the harpsichord, which she plays in a manner which cannot be imitated. She composes pieces, and plays them in all the keys asked of her. I have told you that for four years she has been appearing with these extraordinary qualities, and she still is only ten years old.26 Elisabeth became known throughout the royal court and the larger French musical world and had the rare distinction of being immensely popular during her own lifetime. She became somewhat of a legend, especially as a woman harpsichordist, and was known as an incredible improvisatory player, which was highly valued during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Her popularity Carol Henry Bates, “The Instrumental Music of Elizabeth-Claude Jacquet De La Guerre” (Ph.D. diss, Indiana University, 1978), 2. 25 It is for this reason that Elisabeth Claude-Jacquet de la Guerre’s birth date is debated. According to Edith Boroff, Elisabeth’s father probably pushed the date of her birth back to 1665 so that playing for the King at a young age would seem more impressive. See Edith Borroff, An Introduction to Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet De La Guerre (Brooklyn: Institute of Medieval Music, 1966), 6. 26 Ibid. 24 Kane 13 with the King caused her career both as a performer and a composer to blossom, as it was King Louis XIV that paid for her first composition lessons. 27 He also arranged a court appointment for her from a young age with Madame de Montespan, whose nurse made it her mission to educate Elisabeth and many other women. Jacquet de la Guerre, largely because of her position, but also because of her talent, was able centuries before many other women to compose in genres outside of the typically acceptable female genres. She wrote cantatas and trio sonatas that were favorably compared with those of her male contemporaries, François Couperin and Jean-Baptiste Lully. At the request of the King, she also ventured into opera. These works were often performed for the King, who praised them highly.28 It would appear from Jacquet de la Guerre’s successes that she surpassed all societal expectations for women, and in many ways this is absolutely clear. However, her life in the public eye and in the courts adds an interesting dimension to the idea of the woman composer as a novelty. Indeed, Jacquet de la Guerre’s success is largely dependent on the fact that she had exceptional talent regardless of her sex. However, although she was popular during her time, she was never treated as just a composer – she was always a woman composer. The fact that she was well represented in Parnasse françois by Titon du Tillet was no small feat, but at the end of her section he states “One can say that never had a person of her sex such [great] talents as she for the composition of music, and for the admirable 27 28 Bates, “The Instrumental Music of Elizabeth-Claude Jacquet De La Guerre,” 4. Ibid. Kane 14 manner in which she performed it at the Harpsichord and on the Organ,”29 thereby once again demonstrating the large role that her gender played in her career. The fact that Elisabeth Claude-Jacquet de la Guerre could measure up to her male contemporaries was clearly a source of fascination to all those who knew her. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel Elisabeth Claude Jacquet de la Guerre’s upbringing as one of a long line of talented musicians undoubtedly contributed to her success as a composer and performer. However, not every woman who grew up in a musical family yielded quite the same results; sometimes societal expectations were too great for women with talent to overcome. Perhaps the most concrete example of a woman composer that struggled with societal pressure particularly within the confines of her family life was Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847). The older sister of Felix Mendelssohn, Fanny grew up in a privileged and musical household. Although she is well-known today as a prolific composer particularly of piano works, her life also exemplifies that of a traditional early nineteenth-century woman in many ways. Fanny and her brother were musically trained together from the time that they were little. This fact alone makes her stand out as an exception to the societal norm for women. There is much evidence to suggest that in both piano performance and composition, Fanny was every bit as talented as her brother, and indeed, her family was well aware of this fact. However, it was this very talent that caused Fanny to struggle throughout her life between her love 29 Carol Henry Bates, "The Instrumental Music of Elizabeth-Claude Jacquet De La Guerre" (Ph.D Dissertation, Indiana University, 1978), 20. Kane 15 of music and composition and her “proper” upbringing and attachment to her family. Despite the advantage of having been well trained, as a woman her family had an inestimable influence on her compositional career. As the many upper class guests that frequented the household became fascinated with her talent, Hensel’s family soon became concerned with the amount of attention that she received from her musicianship. A traditional family, they advised her to stay away from public performances and publication because a woman during the nineteenth century was expected to keep a strictly domestic role. In a letter from her father, Fanny receives advice on proper female behavior, “You must become more steady and collected, and prepare more earnestly and eagerly for your real calling, the only calling of a young woman – I mean the state of a housewife.”30 During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, women were praised for learning to play the piano and sing for the entertainment of the household; however, they were highly discouraged from performing any of their compositions outside the home. Many women resorted to parlor music, which was meant for amateur musicians and provided a main source of entertainment for the household and any houseguests that may be present. When performing her famous Sunday Musicales in the Mendelssohn family living room, Fanny played her compositions in parlor music style. Though her family recognized her equal talent to her brother, they made Fanny’s place in the home very clear. Her father writes: “Four Composers: Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel,” in Women in Music, ed. Carol Neuls-Bates (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1996): 144. 30 Kane 16 Music has become his profession, whilst for you it can and must only an ornament, never the root of your being and doing. We may therefore pardon some ambition and desire to be acknowledged in a pursuit which appears very important to him, because he feels a vocation for it, whilst it does you credit that you have always shown yourself good and sensible that you might, in his place, have merited equal approval. Remain true to these sentiments and to this line of conduct; they are feminine, and only what is truly feminine is an ornament to your sex.31 Marcia Citron points out that Fanny’s constant comparison with her brother as a promising male composer undoubtedly affected her confidence in her work. Citron describes this as a feeling of “Other,” which caused Hensel to question her own abilities because of her gender. 32 Fanny’s career was further stifled by her family’s opinions on publications. Though she was a prolific composer particularly of piano works, it took Fanny some time to become published because she, like her family, was also concerned about her feminine image. Her first publications were even under her brother’s name so as not to reveal her true feminine identity. Her brother writes in a letter to their mother, “She is too much all that a woman should be for this. She regulates her house, and neither thinks of the public nor of the musical world, nor even of music at all, until her first duties are fulfilled. Publishing would only disturb her in these, and I cannot say that I approve of it.”33 31 Ibid, 144. Citron, Gender and the Musical Canon, 54-57. 33 “Four Composers: Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel.” In Women in Music,ed. Neuls-Bates, 149. 32 Kane 17 Citron explains this mentality as a perpetuation of the patriarchal society, both because it kept Hensel out of the public eye, and because it conveyed a sense of protection on the part of Felix, which also stems from the patriarchal mentality that men are the protectors and women are to be protected. 34 Fanny perpetuates this mentality herself. In a letter to her friend discussing the idea of publications, she states, If nobody ever offers an opinion, or takes the slightest interest in one’s productions, one loses in time not only all pleasure in them, but all power of judging their value. Felix, who is alone a sufficient public for me, is so seldom here that he cannot help me much, and thus I am thrown back on myself.35 In other letters to Felix, she explains that she would “cease being a musician tomorrow if you thought I wasn’t good at that any longer.”36 This mentality clearly displays a dependence on her brother, and a lack of confidence in her own work and opinions. Lili Boulanger Although Hensel was limited by her family in compositional genres and performance venues, ironically her success as a composer in parlor music was largely a result of the wealthy circumstances of her family. Because Hensel was brought up in a well-off household, she was able to receive training and spend her 34 Citron, Gender and the Musical Canon, 110. “Four Composers: Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel.” In Women in Music,ed. Carol Neuls-Bates, 148. 36 Marcia J. Citron. “Mendelssohn, Fanny,” Grove Music Online. http://www.grovemusic.com, (accessed April 30, 2007). 35 Kane 18 life in the inner circles of music. This was also the case for Lili Boulanger (18931918), although her unique circumstances allowed her to devote far more time to her compositional endeavors than to family or social obligations. Though Boulanger lived just twenty-four years, her life is full of remarkable accomplishments. Much of Boulanger’s life and music was shaped by her lifelong chronic illness that often hindered both her ability to fulfill her social obligations and her ability to compose. However, at the same time this illness allowed her to forgo marriage and devote time to her musical profession. This situation creates a unique bridge between the traditional and the progressive and is a key factor in her ability to surpass the limitations that Hensel endured as a woman composer. Born into a very musically talented and wealthy family, Lili Boulanger had advantages from the time that she was born that many other women did not share. The Boulangers did not hold back their children to conform to societal norms, but encouraged all of them to become successful musicians, including Lili’s sister Nadia Boulanger. Though both girls were exposed to serious musical training, particularly in Lili Boulanger’s younger years because she was so sick, much of her training conveniently came from her own family. Boulanger would frequently attend classes and learn from her sister Nadia, and there was much to be gained from advice from the Boulangers’ father, a Prix de Rome prize winner37. 37 Information on the musical talents and upbringing of the Boulanger family can be found in Leonie Rosenstiel, The Life and Works of Lili Boulanger (Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1978), 19-29. Kane 19 Illness played a key part in all aspects of Lili Boulanger’s life, but also affected her success as a female composer in an interesting way. Though the exact cause of this illness is unknown, many sources speculate that it was intestinal tuberculosis, or possibly Crohn’s Disease38. It was clear from the time that she was young that she would need to be dependent on the care of her family for her entire life. The way that Boulanger’s family treated the situation, however, created a window for success. Her mother in particular encouraged her to find something that she loved to do and wanted to be good at. Boulanger chose composition, and from that point on began to seriously devote her time to the profession. It was immediately clear that she had a natural musical gift; although when she was very little she showed only a passing interest in it, once she set her mind to become successful Boulanger showed talent in all areas of music. The instruments on which she was proficient include piano, violin, cello, and harp. Her talent on piano in particular advanced her compositional career, as well as impressed several of the important connections that frequented the Boulanger residence. The culmination of her compositional efforts came on July 5th, 1913 when at the age of just nineteen Lili Boulanger became the first woman to win the coveted Prix de Rome. The prize was the result of her cantata Faust et Hélène. In addition to this enormous accomplishment for her compositional career and for Annegret Fauser believes it was intestinal tuberculosis in “Lili Boulanger,” Grove Music Online, http://www.grovemusic.com, (accessed February 14, 2007), but Diane Peacock Jezic believes it was Crohn’s Disease. Diane Peacock Jezic, Women Composers: The Lost Tradition Found (New York: The Feminist Press, 1988), 144. 38 Kane 20 her gender, Boulanger again broke the gender mold by signing a publishing contract with Ricordi, a renowned company during the time39. Still, although Boulanger’s short life brought with it the breaking of many major gender boundaries, even she in some ways fit the roles of a traditional woman. She was known by many to have been a very devout Catholic.40 Her closest friends and family often described her as quiet and reserved, yet steadfast in her faith. Boulanger’s list of published works reveal this devotion, and reveal a gender stereotype of women as the devout centers of the family. Many of her works were settings of Bible verses, cantatas, and religious songs. Interestingly enough, Lili Boulanger’s more traditional moments may actually be defined in her most untraditional accomplishment: the Prix de Rome. Annegret Fauser argues in her article “La Guerre en Dentelles: Women and the “Prix de Rome” in French Cultural Politics” that Boulanger winning on talent alone would never have been enough, and she was very aware of this. Because of this situation, she consciously portrayed herself as what Fauser likes to call the “child genius”: naturally brilliant, but young and dependent on her family for support. Contemporary reports of Boulanger’s behavior at the competition revealed her demeanor as traditionally ‘feminine’: "Her modest and simple bearing, her gaze cast down on the score, her immobility during the performance...she did not allow herself even once to beat time or indicate a 39 Information in this paragraph and subsequent details regarding pieces found in Rosenstiel, The Life and Works of Lili Boulanger, 137-202. 40 Ibid., 133. Kane 21 nuance – all this contributed to her cause."41 It is clear that whatever her intentions were, Boulanger portrayal of herself as a young girl that was still dependent on her family appeared much less threatening to the males dominating the music field during the time. This could very well have contributed to her success as the first woman to win the Prix de Rome where others had failed: when viewed as a demure young girl and not a strong compositional force, she was more inclined to be judged with a blind eye. Despite the image that Boulanger portrayed to her public, her natural talent for music is indisputable. Though she was young, she showed a mature understanding of composition and of music, and this is evidenced in her work. She portrayed this talent even in the face of many physical challenges, which makes her work even more extraordinary. Boulanger’s Nocturne, written in 1911 at the young age of 18, reveals her natural talent for composition and musicianship even early on. The piece is relatively short, but it is clear that Boulanger was experimenting with impressionistic harmonies.42 Originally written for flute, the piece was at some point before publication changed to violin. Boulanger uses her natural intuition for the piece to create harmonies under a beautiful melody, and reveals her gift for the art.43 Upon her death, Nocturne became a favorite to be performed in the many concerts given in her memory. Annegret Fauser, “”La Guerre En Dentelles”: Women and the “Prix De Rome” In French Cultural Politics,” Journal of the American Musicological Society 51, 1 (1998): 126. http://www.jstor.org/ (accessed October 2007). 42 Rosenstiel, The Life and Works of Lili Boulanger, 138-39. 43 Ibid. 41 Kane 22 The music community’s response to Lili Boulanger’s death at twenty-four reveals her deep impact through composition.44 The life of Lili Boulanger invites interesting comparisons to Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel because each woman’s upbringing and family status gave her the tools to be a successful woman composer. However, it can also be said that her natural talent was fostered in part because she was viewed as something of a novelty. In this way, she is most similar to Jacquet de la Guerre. While the mentality of the young composer as a novelty was certainly present during the nineteenth century, it was even more so in seventeenth- and eighteenth- century France. Jacquet de la Guerre shared many of the same circumstances as Lili Boulanger; she was born into an extremely musical and well-known family, and her natural talent drew fascination from an early age. Even more than Boulanger, Jacquet de la Guerre knew how to take the double-edged sword of being a woman composer and use it to her advantage to build an extremely successful career. As the example of Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel attests, in-home music was for a long period of time the only truly acceptable form of music for a woman. Because it was so popular especially during the nineteenth century, women often wrote music that was playable by amateurs and sent it to magazines such as Godey’s Lady’s Book, which kept women up-to-date on the fashions of the time. Many of these women were housewives and young ladies living under their family’s care, and never sought any other musical training or recognition. Some women, such as Hensel, also composed in other genres and became famous for 44 Ibid. Kane 23 both. Another of these women that bridged the gap between popular in-home music and larger genres in a very unique manner is Cécile Chaminade. Cécile Chaminade Chaminade (1857-1944) grew up in a more traditional household, just as Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel did. It is interesting to note that throughout her life she often listed her date of birth as 1861 in order to preserve a more youthful image45 which, as a woman during the nineteenth century, was highly valued. In fact, this is one aspect of traditional feminine expectations that still persists today. Chaminade learned piano from her mother, and because her father would not allow her to attend the Paris Conservatoire, Chaminade studied privately with a few of its professors. Though she experimented in other genres, she is best known for her melodies and character songs, which were created to be played within the home or at small recitals. Her first performance of her works occurred in her own home, and it was not until 1880 that she performed her first public recital46. Chaminade did in fact achieve some success as a composer of larger works during a time period in which women were looked down upon for attempting these genres. She composed a ballet, an opera comique, and a few orchestral pieces. Concertino for flute and orchestra is perhaps her most famous work and was actually commissioned by the Paris Conservatoire, which was a 45 Marcia J. Citron, Cécile Chaminade: A Bio-Bibliography (New York: Greenwood Press, 1988), 3. 46 For a list of recital performances of her work, see Citron, Cécile Chaminade: A BioBibliography, 5-8. Kane 24 rarity for women composers. Though some of her more large scale compositions, including her opera comique La Sevillane, were not performed except in a private recital at her home, others were premiered in America and London. Marcia Citron states of Chaminade’s choice to premiere her opera comique within her home, "Perhaps Chaminade was fearful of pursuing a public performance because of the fiasco of Carmen, and also because she sensed that as a woman she would encounter greater obstacles in obtaining a performance and in achieving a success."47 It is clear that Chaminade demonstrated with her premiere of her opera comique a simultaneous breaking of and adhering to social boundaries, and this balance permeated much of her life. In 1901 she entered marriage with LouisMathieu Carbonel, a music publisher twenty years her senior. While on the surface it appears that the marriage fits neatly into Chaminade’s expected duties as a woman, in fact the marriage has a nontraditional twist. The match was made against her family’s wishes. The two were married, but pursued only a platonic relationship and spent much of their time in separate houses.48 There is much speculation as to why the marriage came to pass, but regardless of the reasons surrounding the union it is clear that Chaminade portrays conflicted views about marriage and its impact on her own life. Unfortunately, her husband died only a few years later after a long illness, and during this time she spent much of her time nursing his health and not composing. In her later 47 48 Citron, Cécile Chaminade: A Bio-Bibliography, 6. Ibid., 13-14. Kane 25 years, Chaminade clearly struggles with the institution of marriage and displays a frustration that undoubtedly stems from her own experience. She states: Marriage must adapt itself to one's career. With a man it is all arranged and expected. If the woman is the artist it upsets the standards, the conventions, the usual arrangements and, usually, it ruins the woman's art... Tho' I have been married and am a widow now, I feel that it is difficult to reconcile the domestic life with the artistic. A woman should choose one or the other.49 In another interview, she goes on to say, "[The artist] must have freedom, not restraint, she must receive aid, not selfish, jealous exactions and complaints. When a woman of talent marries a man who appreciates that side of her, such a marriage may be ideally happy for both."50 By far the most interesting mix between traditional and nontraditional behavior for Chaminade comes from her parlor music production. It would be easy to say that in producing such a large amount of parlor music, Chaminade was following what was traditionally expected of her as a woman. However, her extreme popularity and promotion through traditional ladies’ magazines make this part of her life far more ambiguous in terms of traditional expectations. She produced hundreds of piano and vocal works, and this fact alone is uncommon for a woman. However, many of them were published because they would sell. Chaminade’s popularity especially among women was somewhat of a phenomenon during her time. Chaminade Salons were formed by her admirers, in 49 50 Ibid., 14. Ibid., 15. Kane 26 which young ladies got together to perform her chamber music and works by other composers with similar qualities. Magazines in America such as The Ladies Home Journal and Century Magazine published her work and she made a considerable amount of money as a result51. Despite, or perhaps because of, her popularity as a composer of parlor music, Chaminade had a hard time being taken seriously as a composer. This was largely due to the fact that she was a woman. When premiering her larger works, she received mixed reviews. She was criticized for writing works in genres considered too masculine to be proper, but also critiqued for writing music that was too dainty to be taken seriously. Such critiques reveal the sexist nature of the reviewer: "[Her music] has a certain feminine daintiness and grace, but it is amazingly superficial and wanting in variety...But on the whole this concert confirmed the conviction held by many that while women may someday vote, they will never learn to compose anything worth while. All of them seem superficial when they write music..."52 Critiques such as these undoubtedly helped Chaminade to fully understand the deep gender bias that made her professional life so difficult. It also created a clear hope for the woman of the future. She says: I do not believe that the few women who have achieved greatness in creative work are the exception, but I think that life has been hard on women; it has not given them opportunity; it has not made them convincing... Woman has not been considered a working force in the 51 For more on Chaminade as an American phenomenon, please see Citron, Cécile Chaminade: A Bio-Bibliography, 14-15. 52 Citron, Cécile Chaminade: A Bio-Bibliography, 24. Kane 27 world and the work that her sex and conditions impose upon her has not been so adjusted as to give her a little fuller scope for the development of her best self. She has been handicapped, and only the few, though force of circumstances or inherent strength, have been able to get the better of that handicap. There is no sex in art. Genius is an independent quality. The woman of the future, with her broader outlook, her greater opportunities, will go far, I believe, in creative work of every description.53 Amy Marcy Cheney Beach Chaminade’s unique ability to create a nontraditional musical career out of more traditional genres makes her exceptional. As for her family life, however, she joins the ranks of many other women composers in the struggle to balance duties as a wife and a composer. Another of these women who attempted to achieve this balance was Amy Beach. In many ways, Beach (1867-1944) can be considered completely nontraditional. Beach’s family recognized her talent from an early age, and her mother became an advocate for her daughter’s success as a musician. Beach became a well-known piano prodigy as well as an extremely competent composer. Unlike Hensel’s confinement to home performances, Beach was known for her piano concert tours and spent much of her time performing in public. This balance between composition and performance was a constantly changing for Beach; she was highly regarded in both areas, and different periods of her life reveal different focuses on each. However, because she performed outside the home, it was much easier for Amy Beach to promote and perform her 53 Ibid. Kane 28 own works than it was for many of the previously mentioned women. These tours helped her to gain a large amount of popularity as a composer. Beach is often regarded today as the forerunner of modern American women composers. While many women rarely ventured from the socially acceptable female genres, Beach composed in a larger variety of genres than any of the previously mentioned women. She wrote, in addition to the more traditional art songs and chamber works, a mass with orchestra, choral works, a symphony, and an opera. The fact that the public considered Beach a significant composer during her lifetime was no small feat, especially for a woman. Beach’s long list of accomplishments includes an honorary Master of Arts degree and countless recitals and concerts given in recognition of her. Later in her life, she spent her time performing, with her summers as a Fellow-in-Residence at the MacDowell Colony. She also headed organizations such as Music Teachers National Association, and became somewhat of an icon for aspiring female American composers. In a true testament to her ability to transcend gender boundaries, she received good press from critics such as Dr. Ferdinand Pfohl: “"One need only to mention the names of Amelie Nikisch and Amy Beach in order to refute the foolish prejudices concerning women-composers."54 Still, although some aspects of Beach’s life broke the boundaries of societal expectations for women, many more fall into the category of traditional female roles. Beach married Dr. Henry Harris Aubrey Beach in 1885 when she was just 18 and he was 43 – eighth months older than Amy’s father. Dr. Beach 54 Quoted in Jeanell Wise Brown, Amy Beach and Her Chamber Music: Biography, Documents, Style (Metuchen: The Scarecrow Press, 1994), 56. Kane 29 recognized and appreciated Amy’s talent, and she was still encouraged to compose, but this was somewhat of a trade off; Beach’s husband asked her to stop performing and instead focus on her composition.55 Though Amy’s success as a musician until that point had been as a performer, she willingly gave up this aspect until her husband died in 1910, when she returned to the piano tours. Because it was her husband that influenced Amy’s decision to turn from performance and focus on composition, it can be stated that the bulk of Beach’s compositional career stemmed from following the traditional role of an obedient wife. There are many indications that Beach was devoted to her husband; many of her compositions are not signed in her name, but in a more proper Mrs. H.H.A. Beach, as was traditional practice for the time. In addition to giving up performing, Amy Beach agreed to decline or give up money that she made from her occasional performances because her husband firmly believed that he should be the financial head of the household. Adrienne Fried Block also states that “Along with her marriage vows, Amy Beach made a number of agreements with her husband to live according to his status, that is, function as a society matron and patron to the arts. She agreed never to teach piano, an activity widely associated with women.”56 Amy often took the role of hostess wife, creating dinner parties and providing parlor music for in home entertainment, much like Hensel. For more information on the marriage of Henry and Amy Beach and it’s effects on her career, please see Adrienne Fried Block, Amy Beach: Passionate Victorian (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 47-53. 56 Ibid., 47. 55 Kane 30 Dr. Beach did not only control his wife’s performing schedule; as the provider for the family, he was in a position to direct the path of her compositional career. Though Dr. Beach was an amateur musician, he became one of his wife’s biggest critics. Amy says of her husband’s role in her compositions, “Very often he and I would discuss works as I was preparing them. He might differ as to certain expressions and so would my mother, with the result that I had two critics before facing a professional critic. And Dr. Beach would be very impartial and hard-boiled.” 57 In addition to being a devoted wife, Beach was also a devoted Christian. Several sources describe her dedication to her faith. Many scholars have made note of Beach’s moral and lady-like persona. Adrienne Fried Block writes: Still in her teens and without ever having left her mother's careful oversight, she went typically from her parents' control to that of her husband. It is clear that she never had autonomy, nor did she make a habit of challenging authority; what is not clear is whether she wanted to do so. The religious training that she had from her mother, which stressed humility, docility, and submission to the will of parents and God, tended to discourage rebellious behavior.58 Block’s description is significant because it portrays Beach as a woman who fit into a stereotypical gender role of the time. In her devout religion and devotion to her husband and family, she emulated society’s traditional views of women during the nineteenth century regarding the “feminine influence.” There 57 58 Ibid., 48. Ibid., 50. Kane 31 is even evidence that Beach carried herself as a traditional lady in all public affairs. A review of her “Gaelic Symphony” reveals praise at her feminine and docile demeanor and simultaneously acknowledges her as a wife; the author writes as his closing statement, “Mrs. Beach, who was applauded heartily, acknowledged the tribute of the audience modestly.”59 The dichotomy of Beach’s life as a traditional and nontraditional woman makes her compositions particularly revealing. One example includes her String Quartet, Opus 89, written in January of 1921. Though the piece is written as a chamber work, which was a favorite genre of Beach’s as well as a more acceptable one for a woman, in many ways it defies not just gender boundaries, but the societal norm for any American composer of her time. In the beginning of the twentieth century, it was considered avant-garde to compose using extended techniques and harmonies. While many of her colleagues were experimenting with atonality, Beach refused to conform. Having never been formally trained, she used her own intuition and preferences for her pieces, and the results are a more conservative romantic style.60 In this way, Beach defied the musical trend of the time and forged her own path. The String Quartet is also an interesting study in the ways in which Beach created form. Though the piece is split up into three sections, it is clearly marked as being only one movement. This shows a clear separation from the more traditional multi-movement movement string quartets. More important, however, were her compositional influences for the piece. Beach created her quartet out of 59 60 “A Corollary to the Question: Sexual Aesthetics in Music Criticism.” In Women in Music, 224. Brown, Amy Beach and Her Chamber Music: Biography, Documents, Style, 105. Kane 32 several Inuit folk songs, which she dispersed throughout the work.61 These songs not only stretch her typically romantic style, but place her in line with her more well-known male counterparts who were pursuing a nationalistic musical idiom. At this time, many of her male contemporaries were becoming well known for creating a “national musical style” that included created Native American tunes. In fact, this is one of several of Beach’s works in the later part of her life that reflected the influence of folk music, and shows her to be a progressive thinker and innovative composer. The most notable performance of the String Quartet occurred in 1942 for a two-day concert event given in celebration of Amy Beach’s 75th Birthday. The piece was played in the Phillips Memorial Gallery in Washington, D.C., and served to promote her work. Critics raved about the concert and Beach’s style of composition. One critic stated after listening to the concert in which the quartet was performed, Her music very personal and underivative because she was self-taught in composition...This independence in education was matched by her detachment from the musical fashions of the day. She has always been a romantic in the best sense of the word - a devotee of beauty and a follower of the gleam... Her music has a timelessness that should make it enduring.62 This extremely positive critique is quite unlike criticism given to countless other women composers who either went unrecognized or were patronized for their For more details on Beach’s String Quartet, Op. 89, see James R. Briscoe, ed., Historical Anthology of Music by Women (Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1987), 158-60. 62 Brown, Amy Beach and Her Chamber Music, 105. 61 Kane 33 accomplishments during their own lifetime, and it is a testament to her popularity and success as a composer. Though many of Beach’s compositions stretch gender boundaries, she also created compositions that fit the traditional mold. “Fairy Lullaby,” Op. 37, No. 3, was written by Beach in 1897, and is one example of a song that portrays stereotypically feminine subject matter. Beach herself never had children, though she mentioned regretting the decision, which could possibly be attributed to her husband.63 Still, this particular piece is a relatively simple lullaby that implies a nurturing and mothering undertone. The text is written by Shakespeare, but the excerpt is not complicated, suggesting that it could easily be actually sung to a young child. Written in 3/8 time, the combination of piano rolled eighth notes and a lilting melody are quite simple and eloquent – two aspects that can be considered stereotypically feminine. The dynamic markings get increasingly softer, until the final “sempre pianissimo quanto possible,”64 suggesting the ending of an actual lullaby. Furthermore, it is written in a traditionally feminine instrumentation of piano and voice. In writing music such as “Fairy Lullaby,” Beach uses the theme of motherhood that many other female composers also used. English composer Rebecca Clarke, who is discussed in upcoming sections, wrote several lullabies and pieces that include children as their primary lyrical focus. Though many of these composers are considered leaders of their field and their gender, songs such as “Fairy Lullabies” prove that in some ways, they were still heavily influenced 63 Block, Amy Beach: Passionate Victorian, 156. Amy Beach, "Fairy Lullaby, Op. 37 No. 3," in The First Solos: Songs by Women Composers, ed. Randi Marrazzo (Bryn Mawr: Hildegard Publishing Company, 2000). 64 Kane 34 by the social values of their generation. The presence of songs such as these clearly portrays the value of motherhood for many prominent women composers. Clara Schumann While Beach and Clarke wrote about family in terms of motherhood, this was not the only family-related theme that was present among female composers. Perhaps one of the most well-known female composers is Clara Schumann (18191896). Her life is not easily defined as either “traditional” or “progressive” because in many ways, it is both. Schumann’s life has some of the same themes that we have seen in other women already, including composing in traditional genres and a career complicated by marriage. Most importantly, perhaps more than any of the women discussed previously Schumann walked a fine line between tradition and nontradition throughout her life. In comparison with other women studied thus far, Schumann is somewhat of a celebrity. Her fame is, as it was with Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, largely a product of her upbringing and social position. Schumann was born Clara Wieck into a wealthy family, and her father took a strong interest in his daughter’s success as a pianist and composer. This fact alone is extremely rare, and made all the difference in Clara’s success. Her father assumed the equivalent of a manager role for his daughter, and from an early age she was well-trained as a musician. As she started to compose, her works were praised by many of her male Kane 35 contemporaries, including Liszt, Chopin, and Mendelssohn.65 This exposure to the other major composers of her time was extremely beneficial to her success. Clara Schumann also receives much recognition today because of her famous marriage to composer Robert Schumann. It is this union that sparks the opposing forces in Schumann’s life and provides an excellent study in the dichotomy between traditional and nontraditional roles. Unlike many husbands in a patriarchal society, Robert Schumann was very supportive of Clara’s career goals. The two collaborated often on performance and composition projects, and learned from each other. In fact, it was Robert that pushed Clara to publish many of her pieces; this was very uncommon for the typical household. Yet, at the same time that the union was not traditional, it was also extremely traditional. Lynn Abrams describes the institution of marriage in nineteenth-century Germany as very sacred.66 Abrams also proposes that marriage was a “community affair;” secrets of the family, particularly in wealthier areas, were in actuality no secret at all. The union of Clara and Robert Schumann fits very nicely into this description. The two were extremely serious about their relationship, and in fact lived their marriage very much in the musical limelight. In many ways, Clara assumed the role of the dedicated wife and mother. Robert and Clara had six children, whose upbringing Clara continually worried about. Many sources portray her as very conflicted about how her successful musical career, which included piano tours with extended time away from home, affected the upbringing of her children. 65 Briscoe, ed., Historical Anthology of Music by Women, 48. Lynn Abrams, “Concubinage, Cohabitation and the Law: Class and Gender Relations in Nineteenth Century Germany,” Gender & History 5, 1 (1993): 81-100. 66 Kane 36 Many of the pieces written by both Clara and Robert Schumann serve as a window into their famous relationship. The couple’s Liebesfrühlinglieder raises many important observations about how the two interacted and worked together, as well as how Clara was affected by social expectations at the time. The first published copy of the set was a birthday gift for Clara and would be their only collaborative work. It is notable that the original publication of this piece did not identify the composer of each song in the cycle. While some sources say that this was a conscious effort on the part of Robert Schumann because he did not want the pieces to be judged on the basis of gender,67 I would argue the possibility that the decision was more complicated, and could be a combination of an effort to avoid gender judgment as well as a way to coax Clara into publishing works with which she may not have been confident. Marcia Citron offers another explanation by pointing out that Clara’s insecurity about her own compositional skills as a result of the common conceptions about composers of her gender could have influenced the decision to hide the composer of each song in the cycle.68 Regardless of their intentions, the piece portrays the traditional nineteenth-century bond of marriage in a very public way. Set to poetry by Friedrich Rückert, Clara’s contributions to the work express through their texts tender love and dedication to her husband. Yet, while the premise for writing such a piece celebrates more traditional female roles, much of the text of Clara’s contributions to Liebesfrühlinglieder actually suggest nontraditional views. Most notable in this area is her “Liebst du Melinda Boyd, “Gendered Voices: The Liebesfrühling Lieder of Robert and Clara Schumann,” 19th-Century Music, 23, 2, (1999): 47-48. 68 Citron, Gender and the Musical Canon, 56-57. 67 Kane 37 um Schönheit,” which displays text that expresses the need to be valued for the self and not for superficial reasons that were in fact often used during the nineteenth century. The text reads: If you love me for beauty O love not me! Love the sun, It has golden hair. If you love me for youth. Oh love not me! Love the spring, That’s young every year. If you love me for treasure, O love not me! Love the mermaid, Who has many pearls. If you love me for love, Oh yes, love me! Love me always, I love you forever.69 While much of this text could be read to prove that Schumann indeed had progressive ideas about how women should be treated, I would argue that ultimately text such as this, and particularly the last line, still portrays a public 69 Boyd, “Gendered Voices: The Liebesfrühling Lieder of Robert and Clara Schumann,” 159-60. Kane 38 affirmation of her love for her husband, and a faithfulness compliant with nineteenth-century ideals regarding the sacred and powerful nature of marriage. Text translations to other parts of Clara’s contributions to the Liebesfrühlinglieder reveal a more direct connection to Clara as a more submissive wife, and portray a stereotypical sense of nineteenth-century love. In “Er ist gekommen in Sturm und Regen,” her lyrics state, “He came/In storm and rain,/Boldly he took/My heart.”70 In some ways another song, “Warum willst du andre fragen,” suggests not only the stereotypical connection of love, but also the idea of the woman as the moral center. The first and second stanzas of this song state: Why do you want to ask others Who aren’t truthful with you? Believe nothing except what These two eyes tell you. Don’t believe strangers, Don’t believe your own delusions; Don’t interpret my actions either, But just look into my eyes.71 In addition to the perpetuation of the woman as the moral center of the relationship, the lyrics to this song also end with an affirmation of love, as does every one of Clara’s contributions to the cycle. 70 71 Boyd, “Gendered Voices,” 159. Ibid. Kane 39 Liebesfrühlinglieder is one example of a mix of gender roles that the Schumanns portrayed throughout their relationship. One of the reasons that the Schumanns are particularly interesting is that both were acutely aware of the presence of gender differences in their work as professional musicians. In frustration with the challenges of her gender, Clara writes, “I once thought that I possessed creative talent, but I have given up on this idea; a woman must not desire to compose – not one has been able to do it, and why should I expect to? It would be arrogance.”72 Robert acknowledges her difficulty in keeping up with her career as well by stating, “but children, and a husband who is always living in the realms of the imagination, do not go well with composition. She cannot work at it regularly, and I am often disturbed to think how many tender ideas are lost because she cannot work them out.”73 Entries in her diary reveal that Clara considered the presence of a “feminine” quality in her music to be a negative quality in her compositions. She writes of one of her compositions, “Of course, it is only a woman’s work, which is always lacking in force, and here and there in invention.”74 Despite Robert’s frequent support of her publications, Clara compares herself to his publications with a lack of confidence. She writes, “I received the printed copies of my trio today; but I did not care for it particularly, after Robert’s D minor [no. 1, Op. 63], it sounded effeminate and sentimental.75” This feeling of subordination to her “Four Composers: Clara Schumann.” In Women in Music, 154. Ibid. 74 Ibid, 155. 75 Ibid. 72 73 Kane 40 husband reveals the pressures of being a traditional woman even in the face of so much success as a composer. Rebecca Clarke Just as both Clara Schumann and Amy Beach created a career first out of public performance, and then composition, English composer Rebecca Clarke’s biographical story is similar. She too was part of the small community of women to make a successful life as a performer, though her instrument of choice was the slightly less traditionally feminine viola. In performance, Clarke (1886-1979) charted virtually unknown territory for women, as she was one of the first women to play professionally in an orchestra. In composition as well, Clarke became one of the few selected to study at the Royal College of Music. Though disagreements in the family, and particularly with her father, forced her to leave the school, she still made her mark as the first woman to ever study with her teacher. Unfortunately, even though she was incredibly successful as a woman during her time period, there is still much that remains unknown about Clarke’s life, and consequently, very few works have been published.76 Liane Curtis has done much work on Rebecca Clarke and it is clear that she is a mix of traditional and nontraditional gender roles. Clarke’s connection to tradition comes not directly from the events of her life, but more from the attitudes that she developed over time, which shows that she was not completely unscathed by societal expectations despite her drive and independence. Although 76 Much of the information in this paragraph and section on Rebecca Clarke can be attributed to Liane Curtis, “A Case of Identity”, The Musical Times 137, 1839 (1996): 15-21. http://www.jstor.org (accessed June 2007). Kane 41 Clarke was clearly a very talented composer and musician, she lacked the necessary confidence in her compositional skills. Curtis recounts many instances in which Clarke belittled her own work on account of her gender. When explaining her training with her highly esteemed and selective teacher, Clarke says, “That I was the only woman student that he had accepted was a source of great pride to me, though I know full well that I never fully deserved it.”77 Even when she tied with Ernest Bloch for a competition funded by Elisabeth Sprague Coolidge, Clarke refused to believe that she deserved the success as a woman. This doubt clearly comes at least partially from society’s traditional ideals and the difficulty Clarke had in finding her place among them. She states of her own work, And when I had that one little whiff of success that I've had in my life, with the Viola Sonata, the rumour went around, I hear, that I hadn't written the stuff myself, that someone had done it for me... I had a [press] clipping once that said that I didn't exist, there wasn't any such person as Rebecca Clarke, that it was a pseudonym...for Ernest Bloch!...I thought to myself what a funny idea that when he writes his very much lesser works that he should take the pseudonym of a girl...78 It is also interesting to note that Clarke’s own identity was several times hidden when publishing her work. Clarke occasionally used the name “Anthony Trent” when creating a new work for a brief period of time. The hope, as Liane Curtis explains it, was to attract less attention and not to be seen as a woman composer. 77 78 Ibid, 17. Ibid.: 13. Kane 42 Instead, the music that she published as Trent attracted more attention, and eventually led to Clarke’s realization of the unfair treatment of women musicians. Clarke lived during an important time in England for women’s suffrage. Her reaction to this movement gives us perhaps one of the clearest clues to her connection to tradition, particularly during her early career. Though Clarke is said to have believed in the movement, she never became directly involved or voiced her opinion until the last years of her life79. In fact, Curtis directly contrasts her to the more boisterous and politically motivated Ethel Smyth, discussed later in this paper. Rebecca Clarke is known for her solo and small ensemble pieces, and her “Infant Joy” and “Cradle Song” fall into these categories as they are meant for solo voice and piano. Like Amy Beach’s “Fairy Lullaby,” these pieces also center on the feminine theme of motherhood. Clarke, however, uses much more jarring harmonies than Amy Beach’s simple and sweet lullaby. It is interesting to note, however, that despite the fact that these pieces both portray a more traditional side to Clarke, they also do not reflect her private life. Clarke, just like Beach, did not have children. Clarke’s situation broke societal boundaries; she did not marry until she was fifty-eight years old.80 Ethel Smyth Though Clarke became involved much later in life with the ideals associated with the Women’s Suffrage movement, no one discussed in this paper 79 80 Ibid.: 16-17. Ibid.: 20-21. Kane 43 can compare to the boldness with which Ethel Smyth faced the world of gender issues. English writer Thomas Becon once wrote, “For there is nothinge that doth so much commend, avaunce, set forthe, adourne, decke, trim, and garnish a maid as silence.”81 Keeping this ideal of English women in mind, it becomes even more incredible to study the life of Ethel Smyth. While up until this point, all of the women I have discussed have been influenced to varying degrees by societal norms, Ethel Smyth stands out as a woman who did everything in her power to break those boundaries in her own career. Though Smyth’s actual musical style stems from some aspects of tradition, as a woman composer during her time she lived unashamed of her gender and had an outspoken and boisterous character. Dame Ethel Smyth (1858-1944) was born to a middle class family, and her father served as a major-general for the British army. Unlike the Boulangers or the Mendelssohns, Smyth came from an average family that was not overtly musical. In fact, only her mother possessed any musical talent, and was an amateur pianist and singer. This made training in composition difficult for Smyth, as it became impossible to get her father to agree to something that he deemed so improper. Smyth says of her father’s opinion of her interest in composition, “We knew no artists, and to him the word simply meant people who are out to break the Ten Commandments. It is no exaggeration to say that the life I proposed to lead seemed to him equivalent to going on the streets.”82 Had Smyth been a completely traditional woman, she would have obeyed her father’s wishes and likely only played piano and composed in the home. 81 82 Austern, “’Alluring the Auditorie to Effeminacie,’” 346. “Four Composers: Ethel Smyth.” In Women in Music, 157. Kane 44 However, Smyth was extremely strong-willed, and instead left her house after a long argument with her father to study composition in Germany at the Leipzig Conservatory. Thus began the start of a long career filled with fights against social norms. Though Smyth began with the smaller genres of music, including solos and chamber music, that were generally thought of as more appropriate for a woman, she soon advanced to larger genres, including opera. This was a genre largely untouched by women, and required a great deal of confidence and determination in which to succeed. Today, Smyth’s two most well-known operas are The Wreckers and The Boatswain’s Mate. Smyth was acutely aware of the challenges facing her gender, and talked of them frequently. Not only did she recognize the prejudices that faced her, she was firmly resolved to resist them at all costs. She writes in a letter to her mother while studying composition in Germany, Every day I become more and more convinced of the truth of my old axiom, that why no women have become composers is because they have married, and then, very properly, made their husbands and children the first consideration. So even if I were to fall desperately in love with BRAHMS and he were to propose to me, I should say no!”83 Smyth’s resolve to stay unmarried turned even more progressive later in her personal life as she struggled with her sexuality84 and it is believed that she was romantically involved in a lesbian relationship with Emmeline Pankhurst.85 83 Ibid, 165. Pendle, ed., Women & Music: A History, 138. For more on Smyth’s struggle with sexuality, please read Kathleen A. Abromeit, “Ethel Smyth, “The Wreckers,” and Sir Thomas Beecham,” 84 Kane 45 Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel were leaders of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), and influenced Ethel Smyth’s heavy involvement in the women’s suffrage movement. While many women were wary to join for the cause because of the impression it gave of their femininity, Smyth overcame this fear and became a strong advocate for the cause. In 1910, she contributed her composition The March of the Women, which became an extremely popular musical contribution to the suffrage movement in Great Britain. While many other women took breaks from composing to raise families, Smyth’s only two-year hiatus was to devote her time to the women’s suffrage movement. She was even imprisoned for a period of time, which caused her compositional output to cease. Smyth’s talents do not stop at her musical compositions; a close friend of writer and poet Virginia Woolf, Smyth was also a very gifted writer. She wrote several books, including a memoir, and Female Pipings in Eden, which discusses in detail the difficulties of being a woman composer. Smyth boldly proclaims the injustices of the difference in treatment between sexes, and while many women would not have spoken their mind to anyone, she clearly states her own opinion of the situation. She states of the male role in the inequalities during the time: I am convinced too that few men realize how differently from themselves women are placed in the musical world, which is not surprising. How many of us are capable of profound X-ray insight on any question The Musical Quarterly, 73, 2 (1989): 206-208. http://www.jstor.org/ (accessed February 11, 2008). 85 For more details about the complex relationship between Emmeline Pankhurst and Ethel Smyth, please see Elizabeth Wood, “Performing Rights: A Sonography of Women’s Suffrage,” The Musical Quarterly, 79,4 (1995): 606-43. http://www.jstor.org/ (accessed November 11, 2006). Kane 46 whatsoever, let alone on one that doesn’t interest us? I could name one or two men who know the truth, but these discreetly keep their knowledge to themselves, for, after all, can you expect males to fight and suffer all these results of unpopularity for a cause that does not affect one single man; or rather, which, if successful, might affect some of them rather unpleasantly?86 This bold writing style very much reflects Smyth’s general demeanor, which she was notorious for. She was frequently seen participating in “unladylike” activities, including wearing pants and smoking cigars87. Many of the previous women composers mentioned have been identified as having a lack of confidence that very likely stemmed from the attitudes that faced them as women. For Smyth the prejudice she faced could very well have served as motivation to continue composing and promoting her work. She had a network of supporters (mainly women) that performed and tirelessly promoted her music. In addition, Smyth was known to push her music on publishers and even perform entire operas, including The Wreckers, on her own piano as a one woman show in order to gain interest in the work. This forwardness is extremely rare in a woman of that particular time period, as it would have been very poorly received by the general public. Though each of her works are an interesting study because of her atypical nature, Smyth’s opera The Wreckers produces an intriguing cross between traditional opera themes and broken gender boundaries. Opera has become 86 Ethel Smyth, "Female Pipings in Eden," in Women in Music, ed. Carol Neuls-Bates (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1996), 5. 87 Pendle, ed., Women & Music: A History, 137-38. Kane 47 frequently analyzed for gender stereotypes because although women rarely compose opera, they have often been made the central characters within them. Catherine Clement’s book Opera, or the Undoing of Women clearly lays out the main purpose of women within opera as the sexualized characters that invariably fall in helplessly in love with a man, and usually in the end endure suffering and finally death. This kind of continuing plot line produces the idea of the victimized woman as entertainment. With this in mind, The Wreckers appears on the surface to share many of these traditional operatic themes. Based on Cornish folklore, the plot of the story takes place in a town where the people survive on creating shipwrecks and stealing the contents of the ship. The story centers on a love affair between Mark and Thirza, who suffer because they cannot be together and eventually die. However, this is where the traditional aspect of the opera ends. It is the details of the plot of the opera that I would argue give it a uniquely nontraditional spin. Several sources report Ethel Smyth as being incredibly particular about this opera’s libretto.88 Though she did not write it herself, she worked closely with her librettist, close friend Henry Brewster, in order to perfect it. As Smyth took such pains to procure her own vision for the opera, it is reasonable to believe that she also filled the story with the principles which informed her own life. In this particular libretto, I believe that Smyth has included the image of a strong woman who goes against the expectations of a corrupt society – it is a dramatic version of her own life. Just like Thirza, Smyth spent her life blatantly opposing 88 In particular, the relationship and situation surrounding the libretto is found throughout Abromeit, “Ethel Smyth, “The Wreckers,” and Sir Thomas Beecham.” Kane 48 expectations from her community both in her political views and in her relationships as a woman. The first major point of interest is the nontraditional nature in which the lovers of the story become heroes. Mark and Thirza are actually having an affair; Thirza is married to the Pastor and head of town. In spite of this generally dishonorable union, Smyth’s libretto causes the listener to feel for the pair and truly hope for Mark and Thirza to succeed. This is because despite their untraditional union, the couple is united in their belief that the town’s method of survival is wrong, and together they take steps to go against the norm and put a stop to the activity. In the end, the couple is persecuted and Mark and Thirza are put to death for their disobedience. Although this story is based on an actual folk tale, one can imagine the moral message that Smyth aimed to convey to her listeners with this particular libretto. In her carefully chosen plot, Smyth has created a moral message that produces heroes out of those who go against the generally accepted social views. Though the opera still ultimately ends in the death of these heroes, the way in which they achieve their success is through sticking to their own instincts and dying for what they truly believe in. This message is very connected with the beliefs of the composer herself, who so clearly demonstrated this headstrong and dedicated conviction in her own life. It also portrays the mark of a woman who aimed to transcend the position that society had set for her based on her gender and establish herself as a composer against all the odds. Kane 49 The determination of women such as Ethel Smyth paved the way for the women composers of today. In recent years, women have experienced a much greater degree of acceptance than those that have gone before them. This is not by any means to say that the woman composer of today experiences no prejudices and is not at all affected by the traditional sense of what it means to be a woman in the world of music. Although each living woman composer has ample opportunity for success, there are still traces of the ideals that challenged women for centuries. Libby Larsen Perhaps the most well known of today’s women composers is Libby Larsen (b. 1950). Much like Ethel Smyth, Larsen is known as an advocate for her profession, and displays a passion and dedication that is to be greatly admired. Larsen has held several advocacy positions for new music, not the least of which is the distinction of co-founder of what is now the American Composers Forum. In addition to this advocacy mission, Larsen also holds the distinction of being the first woman composer to hold a composer-in-residence status with a major orchestra. Larsen also works closely with her publishing company, Oxford University Press, which distributes her work. In comparison with women who have come before her, Larsen’s career appears to exemplify all the new opportunities that are now available to women composers. Where women such as Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel and Cecile Chaminade had reservations about the impropriety of publishing their works, Kane 50 Larsen’s over two hundred published compositions are a clear indication that this belief has been dispelled. Each of the women previously discussed has gone through great lengths to have their works performed, and many of these composers have ultimately become their own advocates and performed their own works. Larsen does just the opposite – her compositions are formally requested by some of the world’s leading performing groups, and she is paid to write them.89 While women of the past dealt with common social beliefs regarding the propriety of women composing particular genres, Larsen revels in composing in every different genre. She pushes boundaries and constantly looks for inspiration in jazz and all kinds of popular music to combine with classical idioms. Larsen’s situation is in fact a testament to the positive changes that have been made in the way the world views women composers. With all of this activity for her profession, curiosity leads one to question whether or not her status as a woman has had an effect on her compositional work and her advocacy of the arts. Larsen explains on her website when asked about whether or not she considers herself to be a feminist, “If thirty years of consistently working in public, on a national and international scale, and speaking my professional mind out loud in public combined with raising a family can be considered feminism, then yes, I consider myself a feminist."90 This statement gives us an interesting window into the beliefs of Larsen and many other modern female composers on being regarded as a woman composer. While many, including Larsen, acknowledge the prejudice and disadvantages that women still face as composers, For more information on the performances of the composer’s works and stylistic preferences, see http://www.libbylarsen.com. 90 "Libby Larsen," http://www.libbylarsen.com. 89 Kane 51 Larsen makes clear that she prefers to be regarded as a composer, not a woman composer. Larsen stresses the importance of having confidence, and the difficulties that come with being a woman composer in that respect in a maledominated profession.91 This stance is interesting particularly because history shows that lack of confidence was a chief problem for many of the previously discussed women composers due to the impropriety many believed composition to be, and this lack of confidence in many ways still continues today. Larsen’s output of music is so large that it would be easy to study many of her pieces with gender themes in mind. I chose “Lord, Make me an Instrument” to investigate how traditionally female themes of propriety and religion manifest themselves in this contemporary piece. This setting of the Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi is just one example of how Larsen has taken the theme of religion and set it to music. For Larsen, using religious texts is a common occurrence; many of her works stem from Bible passages and old hymn tunes. As mentioned previously, women were often thought to be the moral and religious centers of the family, and it is interesting that over one hundred years later, a strong advocate and leader among female composers still continues to incorporate some of the same socially acceptable themes of the past. Yet Larsen’s piece demonstrates how women have grown compositionally. Although the piece is created from a Bible verse, it is not stereotypically hymn-like; the piece includes several meter changes that mimic the natural accents of speech. This piece is an excellent For more on Larsen’s views on composition and the necessity for confidence as a composer, please read Ann McCutchan, “Libby Larsen,” The Muse That Sings: Composers Speak About the Creative Process. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999, 142-50. 91 Kane 52 example of binding the devout religious qualities of the text with more modern and untraditional compositional styles. “Lord, Make me an Instrument” is not included as an example to prove that women who write religious music are doing so because of outmoded ideas about women as the moral centers of the household. In fact, many men have also composed music with religious themes. But it is undeniable that while contemporary women have had much more success in the realm of musical composition, they are still at least partially influenced by societal norms that have withstood the test of time. This does not in any way lessen the quality of their work; instead, it increases the complexity and depth with which we might view their compositions. Since its emergence in academia, gender studies have brought to light the struggles that women have faced throughout the centuries. If there is one thing that gender studies and feminist musicology have made clear, and has also been described through the research presented here, it is that women have blurred, bent, and broken the social boundaries set for them. These women broke boundaries and created precedents both as composers and performers in their time and later within academia as they became subjects of research. However, the research presented here also serves as a window into more subtle ways in which women encountered and reacted to boundaries. Women such as Ethel Smyth, Clara Schumann, and Amy Beach, who lived high profile lives, give us a clear picture of the ways in which women sailed past those boundaries set for them to create very successful careers. Ethel Smyth Kane 53 even goes so far as to give us an example of a woman who faced social boundaries head on and displayed an enormous amount of courage as she openly sought to change expectations for women. Beach and Schumann are just two of many women who sought successful careers not just as composers, but as public performers and extremely talented musicians. They joined the ranks of other women and male contemporaries to gain recognition and validation in their field. Yet careful study shows that even these women occasionally struggled with the boundaries set for them by society. Schumann frequently expressed doubts about her own abilities as a composer, and was devoted to her husband’s success and happiness so wholly that her own needs as a composer and performer were sacrificed. Beach also portrayed the qualities of a truly devoted wife, and she only returned to an abandoned piano career after his death. Even though Smyth did everything in her power to overthrow the negative social connotations that women faced, she still struggled on a daily basis with her father, her family, and those in the public eye who thought her behavior to be wholly inappropriate. Her outspoken nature even landed her in jail, and her desire to be part of the suffrage movement also took so much time and energy that it temporarily stopped her compositional career. The complexity of the lives of these women are not often highlighted by academics who portray them purely as heroes for the cause, but understanding the complexity of their lives and their challenges is necessary in order to fully understand the music created by these women. Perhaps the women who offer the most insight into the world of the woman composer are those who occupy a grey area in terms of their adherence to Kane 54 societal norms. Exploration of the lives of women such as Lili Boulanger, Cécile Chaminade, and even Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel provide a more complete analysis of women composers not because of the answers they provide, but because of the questions that they raise. Would Boulanger, for example, have had as successful a career if not for her illness, or would she have followed the more traditional status of the woman as an amateur musician and primarily a wife? How would Chaminade’s career have been different, or would she have had a career, if not for the popularity of the amateur woman musician? These questions are of course unanswerable, and one may argue that it is a waste of time to ask them since history did not actually turn out that way. I believe that these questions are essential in developing an understanding of the woman composer as a person in direct relation to her circumstances, and not solely as either an untouchable hero or as a victim of social prejudices. It is only when we look at the woman composer through lenses that are not so clearly black and white that we can truly begin to understand the beauty of the music produced. While we will never know the intentions of the composers, we can begin to listen with an understanding of the pressures that pushed and pulled these women, their careers, their families, and ultimately shaped both their lives and their music. It is easy to look centuries later with a critical eye at these women and pass judgment on their ability to either succumb to or withstand societal pressure, because it is easy to forget that during their time, the social norms with which they lived were an integral part of the way the women experienced their lives on a daily basis. Kane 55 Ultimately, each woman studied was ahead of her time if for no other reason than she dared to compose in the public eye. However, these women were inevitably products of their time as well for no other reason than that because they lived in a period of prejudices against women it was impossible to completely consciously separate social norms from affecting their work. Music and composition inherently relies on public interest, and when the public feels strongly about women and music, inevitably this becomes a real situation that the women had to find ways to maneuver around and overcome. Consequently, as we continue to study women composers today, it is crucial to remember that societal expectations are also inseparable from the work of these women. This added complexity is what makes the works of the composers represented here, as well as those who have become before and after them, so rich with meaning and inspiring for the women who carry the torch of their drive and their creativity in music today. Kane 56 Bibliography Abrams, Lynn. “Concubinage, Cohabitation and the Law: Class and Gender Relations in Nineteenth Century Germany.” Gender & History, no. 1 (1993), http://www.blackwellsynergy.com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/doi/pdf/10.111/j.1468-042. 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