The prejudice which excluded women for centuries from the realms of
science, interfered likewise with their participation in music and art.
Up to the midst of the 19th Century almost all European conservatories
and art academies were closed to female students. Previous to 1876 no
women students of the violin were allowed at the High School in London,
and for a long time they could not compete for prizes or receive
diplomas. When =Elizabeth Sterling= presented her beautiful CXXX Psalm
for five voices and orchestra to the university at Oxford for the degree
of Mus. Bac., the degree, although the work was accepted and its merits
acknowledged, could not be given for want of power to confer this degree
upon a woman!
As the views of publishers of music and of conductors of orchestras were
influenced by similar prejudices, nobody should wonder that women’s work
in music has shown comparatively unsatisfactory results.
Yet, in spite of all these obstacles, there have been a number of women
composers, whose works were appreciated by all their contemporaries.
During the glorious time of the Renaissance =Francesca Caccini=, born in
1581 at Florence, was the pride of her city because of her magnificent
church music and madrigals. Compositions of =Vittoria Aleotti=, a native
of Argenta, were likewise much admired, especially her great opus, which
was published at Venice, in 1593, under the flowery title “Ghirlanda dei
Madrigali a 4 voci.” =Maddalena Casulana= of Brescia, produced also a
number of fine madrigals, which were issued in two volumes in 1568 and
1583. =Cornelia Calegari=, of Bergamo, =Barbara Strozzi=, of Venice,
belong also to the Italian composers of the Renaissance. =Maria Teresa
Agnesi=, born during the 18th Century, produced a number of cantatas,
and three operas, “Sophonisbe,” “Ciro in Armenia,” and “Nitocri,” which
were the delight of all Italy.
In Austria at the same time appeared =Maria Teresa Paradies=, born at
Vienna in 1759. Notwithstanding her blindness, dating from her fourth
year, she had become a most remarkable pianist and composer, dictating
her cantatas and several operettas. In 1784 she set out on a concert
tour through Germany and England, everywhere exciting admiration by her
rare endowments. She often moved her audiences to tears by a cantata,
the words of which were written by the blind poet Pfeffel, in which her
own fate was depicted. During the later part of her life she presided
over an excellent musical institute in Vienna.
In another native of Vienna, =Marianne Martinez=, the qualities of many
distinguished artists were combined. Not only did she sing beautifully,
but she was likewise an excellent pianist; her compositions showed a
vigor of conception together with extensive learning. She composed
several cantatas, and a miserere, with orchestral accompaniment. Her
oratorio “Isacca” was in 1788 produced by the Tonkuenstler Gesellschaft.
Her salons, in which she gave weekly concerts, were the rendezvous of
many musical celebrities.
Foremost among the women-composers of Germany was =Clara Josephine
Wieck-Schumann=, the accomplished pianist and unexcelled interpreter of
her husband’s, Robert Schumann’s, splendid works. She also produced a
large number of songs of great merit, many of which have been published.
=Francesca Lebrun=, born 1756 at Mannheim, wrote several sonatas for
piano, and trios for piano, violin and cello. =Louise Reichard=, of
Berlin, =Corona Schroeter=, the famous artist of the 18th Century,
=Fanny Cecilia Hensel=, born 1805 in Hamburg, and =Josephine Lang=, born
1815 in Munich, composed very beautiful songs. A “Suite for Pianoforte”
(Op. 2) by =Adele aus der Ohe= has likewise received highest praise.
Among the women composers of France =Elizabeth Claude Guerre=, born at
Paris in 1669; =Edme Sophie Gail Garré=, born in 1775, and =Louise
Bertin= were the pioneers. Elizabeth Guerre’s opera “Cephale et Pœris”
was performed at the Royal Academie. She also composed a Te Deum, and a
number of cantatas.
The most successful composer of recent years was =Cécile Louise
Stephanie Chaminade=, born at Paris in 1861. Her most ambitious
compositions are “Les Amazones,” a lyric symphony with choruses; “La
Sevillane”; “Callirhœ”; “Etude Symphonique,” and a large number of
compositions for piano, many of which became very popular.
Of =Augusta Mary Ann Holmes=, likewise a native of Paris, the opera
“Hero et Leandre” had great success.
Of the women composers of England =M. Virginia Gabriel= was very
popular. She wrote the cantatas “Evangeline” and “Dreamland,” and the
operettas “Grass Widows,” “Widows Bewitched” and “Who’s the Heir?” =Leza
Lehman= was the author of the song cycle “In a Persian Garden,” and of
“Nonsense Songs.” =Clara Angela Macirone’s= anthem “By the Waters of
Babylon” has been sung in all the cathedrals of Great Britain.
=Lady Helen Dufferin= is known principally for her songs and ballads,
which, both for comic humor and pathos, rank among the best in the
English language. “The Irish Emigrant’s Lament” compares favorably with
any English lyric. =Charlotte Sainton Dolby=, =Elizabeth Mounsey= and
=Harriet Abrams= composed likewise numerous songs, and =Kate Fanny
Loder= the operette “Fleur d’Epine.”
There exist also many splendid compositions by American women. When in
1893 the Woman’s Building at the World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago
was dedicated, =Mrs. H. A. Beach’s= “Jubilate” was received with
greatest enthusiasm. Also her “Gaelic Symphony” was played by many
famous orchestras.
The “Dramatic Overture” (Op. 12) of =Miss Margaret Ruthven Lang= has
been frequently performed by the famous Boston Symphony Orchestra.
* * * * *
Of the innumerable virtuosos, who interpreted works of the above-named
composers and others, the American violinists =Arma Senkrah= and =Maud
Powell=, the Italian =Teresina Tua=, the German =Maria Soldat=, and the
South-American pianists =Terese Careno= and =Giomar Novaez=, not to
forget the Hungarian =Sophie Menter= and the Russian =Annette Essipoff=
have been the most eminent.
* * * * *
“Dem Mimen flicht die Nachwelt keine Kränze,” the great German poet
Schiller has said in one of his poems, pointing out that, while the
painter, sculptor, composer and writer transmit their works to remote
generations, the glory won by the actor and singer exhales with their
disappearance from the stage as quickly as does the fragrance of a
delicate flower. The record of the performer’s and singer’s gift remains
only as a tradition, as a legend.
So it is. The majority of those actors and singers, who in bygone times
held large audiences spellbound, are forgotten. There are only few
exceptions which in the history of dramatic art and music will remain.
So for instance with the history of the English stage of the latter part
of the 17th Century the names of two great actresses are inseparably
connected: =Gwynn= and =Elizabeth Barry=. The former especially was the
darling of the people, and much favored by King Charles II. During the
following century =Anne Oldfield=, =Mary Porter=, =Elizabeth
Billington=, =Anne Spranger Barry=, =Hannah Pritchard=, =Mary Robinson=,
=Jane Pope=, =Susanne Cibber=, =Frances Abington= and =Margaret
Woffington= were celebrated for their talent, charm, and elegance. Of
=Sarah Siddons=, called “the Incomparable,” it has been reported that by
means of her excellent art as well as by her beauty, dignity and
personal distinction she reduced her audiences to an awe-struck
reverence. Edmund Gosse, in an article devoted to the memory of Sarah
Siddons says: “Under the effect she produced, women as well as men lost
all command over themselves, and sobbed, moaned, and even howled with
emotion. Young ladies used suddenly to shriek; men were carried out,
gibbering, in hysterics.”
Of the many excellent English actresses of the 19th Century and of our
present days =Louise Nisbett=, =Mary Stirling=, =Elizabeth O’Neill=,
=Helen Faucit=, =Lillian Neilson=, =Deborah Lacy=, =Frances Kemble=,
=Adelaide Kemble-Sartoris=, =Charlotte Dolby=, =Ellen Terry=, =Gertrude=
and =Rose Coghlan= have to be mentioned. Also we must remember the great
triumphs of =Nellie Melba=, a native of Australia, but at home on the
stages and in the concert halls of Europe as well as of America.
The United States produced likewise a number of brilliant actresses and
opera stars. Among the former were =Clara Fisher=, =Mary Vincent=,
=Laura Keene=, =Anna Gilbert=, =Anna= and =Cora Ritshie=, not to forget
=Mary Ann Dyke-Duff=, whom the elder Booth declared to be “the greatest
actress in the world.” Furthermore, there was the classic =Mary
Anderson=, who was followed later on by such eminent performers as =Ida
Conquest=, =Adelaide Phillips=, =Julia Marlowe=, =Leslie Carter=, =Maud
Adams=, and =Ethel Barrymore=.
Our United States have been also the native land of the famous opera
stars =Minni Hauck=, =Lillian Nordica=, =Emma Eames=, =Olive Fremstadt=,
=Florence Macbeth=, =Mary Garden=, =Anna Case= and =Geraldine Farrar=.
Germany and Austria too have produced numbers of accomplished actresses
and singers who stood high in public esteem and thrilled vast audiences
by splendid revelations of their art. The name of =Charlotte Wolter= is
forever connected with the famous Burgtheater in Vienna as the greatest
tragedienne in the history of that famous institution. To the many
actresses, whose fame is not limited to their native countries but has
extended to America as well, belong the following stars of the 19th
Century: =Marie Seebach=, =Ottilie Genee=, =Kathie Schratt=, =Hedwig
Niemann-Rabe=, =Fanny Janauschek=, =Magda Irschik=, =Anna Haverland=,
=Marie Geistinger=, =Agnes Sorma=, =Helene Odilon=, =Francisca
Ellmenreich=, =Fanny Eysolt=, =Irene Triebsch= and =Else Lehmann=.
As stars in grand opera and concert singers the most famous of the
former century have been =Henriette Sontag=, =Pauline Lucca=, =Marie
Schroeder-Hanfstängl=, =Teresa Tietiens=, =Etelka Gerster=, =Lilli
Lehmann=, =Fanny Moran-Olden=, =Rosa Sucher=, =Amalie Materna=, =Marie
Brema=, =Katharine Klaffsky= and =Marianne Brand=. Our present
generation has paid tribute to =Milka Ternina=, =Marie Rappold=, =Alma
Gluck=, =Elene Gerhard=, =Johanna Gadski=, =Julia Culp=, =Ernestine
Schumann-Heink=, =Melanie Kurt=, =Margarete Ober=, and =Frida Hempel=.
With the history of the French drama the names of the great tragediennes
=Elizabeth Rachel= and =Sarah Bernhardt= are inseparably connected,
while in opera =Madeline Arnould=, =Magdalene Marie Desgarcins=, =Louise
Françoise Contat=, =Marie Felicite Malibran=, =Louise Angelique Bertin=,
=Sophie Cruvelli=, =Emma Calvé=, =Lucienne Breval=, =Felia Litvinne= and
=Desiré Artot= have been stars of the first order.
Italy gave birth to the famous actresses and singers =Guilia Grisi=,
=Marietta Alboni=, =Angelica Catalani=, =Adelaide Ristori=, =Eleonora
Duse=, =L. Scalchi=, =Louisa Tetrazzina=, and =Amelia Galli-Curci=.
Poland had her superb =Helena Modjeska= and =Marcella Sembrich=; Bohemia
the marvelous =Emmy Destinn=.
Sweden treasures the memory of =Jenny Lind= and =Christine Nilsson= as
superlative artists. Jenny Lind was called “the Swedish Nightingale,”
and was famous for her great charm as well as for her musical gifts. Her
splendid tour in America under the management of P. T. Barnum in 1849
was one of the greatest artistic and financial triumphs ever achieved by
one single artist.
A somewhat international position has been held by the famous =Adelina
Patti=, born in 1843 at Madrid, as the daughter of a Sicilian tenor and
the Spanish Signora Barilli. Taught singing by the Moravian Maurice
Strakosch, she commanded an unusually high soprano of rich bell-like
tone and remarkable evenness, and was equally at home in the tenderness
of deep passion and the sprightly vivacity of comedy, and in oratorio.
For these reasons she has been regarded as one of the greatest singers
of all times. That her reputation was founded on her rare qualities, is
best shown by the testimony of two of her fellow-artists, Marcella
Sembrich and Lilli Lehmann. The former expressed her admiration in the
words: “When one speaks of Patti one speaks of something that occurred
only once in the history of the world.” The latter, famous in a totally
different school of her art, wrote the following lines: “In Adelaine
Patti everything was united—the splendid voice, paired with great talent
for singing. All was absolutely good, correct and flawless, the voice
like a bell that you seemed to hear long after the singing had ceased.”
[Illustration]