Oh Paper Topics

I had originally thought about writing my paper on Alva Belmont and her operetta which was composed as way to increase awareness about the women’s suffrage movement. I’m not so sure this is going to be possible. I am having trouble finding adequate source material for my paper, as I suspected I might.

Now I am thinking about expanding upon this topic and giving it a broader scope. If I research the use of music in the women’s suffrage movement in both England and America I think I may have more luck. I could discuss the importance of music as it relates to this cause; and hopefully find some of the lyrics or tunes that were used. It may also be interesting to see if any amateur and or professional female musicians of the day contributed any of their time to help with benefit concerts for this cause.

I would also be looking into the social structure of the time, what was going on that really propelled this movement, as well as other movements women were heavily involved with, for example, the temperance movement. In opening up the scope of my paper I hope to have more access to resources. I would also be able to include information I have found about Alva Belmont and her operetta in my paper, but not have that be the main focus.

I certainly have more research to do and I seem to change my mind about topics every time I begin actually doing research. I think this is topic idea number 5. I would really like to do something on female musicians but I am also very interested of the politics of the time. I thought music and its role in women’s suffrage would be a good way to encompass both of those ideas. I’ve had some success with research thus far in a very broad way, just more overview information. I’m wondering if this will almost become a paper on propaganda music.

If this idea doesn’t seem to have enough source material, I think my back up paper topic will be on a specific female musician of the age, preferably someone who kept a diary I can have access to. That paper would deal with the music, struggles, experiences, and the overall quality of life for a female musician.

I was so excited to actually read something about female musicians! And not just amateurs. I thought it was extremely fascinating to get a little background on the growth of female musicians during the Victorian era. Up until this point all that women were really allowed / were encouraged to do was to play the piano and perhaps sing. In the readings from this past week I was pleased to read about the increase in the number of women playing string instruments during that time. In the reading by Sophie Fuller, we even got to learn a little bit about the professional female musician and composer.

I realize that the article was focused on Elgar, but I would have loved to have read more about what life was like for these professional female musicians. Who hired them, how were they regarded in society, how did their lives change once they were married, were they disappointed to give up their careers once they were married (for those who did give up their careers)? I think it would be really interesting to read some diary entries from a professional female musician. I would love to hear a firsthand account of what it was like, hopes/fears, disappointments, greatest joys and successes.

Although Elgar seems to have used a lot of these women as his muses at times, and didn’t really regard them as much more, at least we know that there were some talented female performers and composers. Even the growth of the amateur female musician is exciting to me, we’re beginning to see women form these musical groups and banding together to do something traditionally very male.

I also love it when I read articles that restate what I’ve read in other articles, it makes me feel like we’re all on the same page and helps to emphasize how important certain aspects of music, life, society, etc… really were back in that time period. For example the ways in which many of these talented female musicians, who probably could have been professionals, played only at charity events so they could “retain their genteel status as amateurs (Fuller p.229).” I would love to read more articles, specifically about and from the perspective of professional and amateur female musicians.

What could have been

I was thinking about this idea of England being a land without music, specifically in regard to the reading by Nicholas Temperley, The Lost Chord. It sounds like the potential careers of so many musicians and potential composers were never even allowed to get off the ground, completely stifled in child hood. As was mentioned in class today, it really is sad to think about what could have been. England could have been known for its music during the Victorian era if there hadn’t been such a stigma about gentlemen and music/performance, even women and music/performance.

And those individuals who were able to study music and compose, were left abandoned by their mother country. For whatever reason England just couldn’t get behind their own music. As the reading by Christina Bashford points out, it’s not that music wasn’t being composed, it absolutely was, but many of the English composers were forced to turn to popular music and teaching because of a lack of support from the people. There is now such a void in the music history of England and no one will ever know what great budding musical gifts this country may have had.

In regard to amateur music making and performing, England sounds like a lovely place to have been. The reading made it sound so picturesque, sitting outside in the spring and playing chamber music. What a delightful way to enjoy an afternoon. It makes me wish we had a similar tradition today. How wonderful would it be to socialize in that way? Neither one of my parents are particularly musical so I was never really encouraged to play an instrument, but I imagine it would be so fulfilling to be surrounded by such a large group of relatively proficient musicians; proficient enough to sit down and play Mendelssohn or Haydn, and just play the day away.

Clearly the British were musical people; I don’t think it’s really all that common today to find in a typical social gathering 2 violinists, someone to play viola and another to play the cello. There are too many other things that take our attention away from musical studies, for example, standardized tests, video games, TV, etc… I think it would be charming if this practice of making chamber music was to come back in style. But history does tend to repeat itself, even music history, so maybe one day it will.

Paper Thoughts

I’ve been brainstorming some possible paper topics, and I’m not sure if this will be appropriate/possible, but this is my favorite idea thus far. My very dear friend/roommate visited an old mansion that once belonged to Alva Belmont, a member of the Vanderbilt family; the house has since been turned into a museum. Alva Belmont was quite a pioneer of the age, living from 1853-1933. She was an enormous advocate for women’s rights. So much in fact that she wrote a libretto for an operetta entitled Melinda and Her Sisters, which was presented in 1916.

I’m not sure if this an appropriate topic because it is slightly after the Victorian era and deals with the women’s suffrage movement from an American perspective rather than English. I’m also having trouble finding an actual score, but I have found, online, the lyrics and story of the libretto. The music was also written by a female composer, Elsa Maxwell who was from London.

As far as the paper is concerned, I’m not quite sure where my focus will be. I thought if I can’t find the score, I could potentially find reviews of how the work was received. My other thought was to focus on the libretto and how it reflects the culture of the times. I haven’t done enough research on this to know how possible it will be, but I’d like to try and contact the museum and see what sorts of resources and guidance they have, as well as search for biographies and possibly a diary. Until I know for sure what kinds of resources are out there, this idea is still rather up in the air, if it is even an acceptable paper/project topic.

I was hoping for the presentation portion of the project to find a score and potentially perform a portion of the work. I don’t believe there are any copy rights for the work so I’m not sure if that means it will be easier to find it or not. But I know that my friend Katherine would totally be up for performing a portion of this opera with me since she was the one who brought it to my attention in the first place.

Wagner and Liszt, I don't get it.

First of all… I was never a very big fan of Wagner, probably because he was a raging anti-Semite and I just didn’t want to give him the satisfaction even though he’s been dead for a number of years now. However, over the past couple of years I have listened to more of Wagner’s operas, and I have to say that I find his music quite beautiful. I think it’s probably because I fell in love with Strauss, who also uses all of these very lush and fairly ambiguous harmonies in his compositions, so my ear was prepared for Wagner when I really began to listen to his music. Even with all of this said, I’m continuously blown away that so many people took such a disliking to Wagner. Or rather his music, Wagner the man I don’t really care if people don’t/didn’t like him, but the music is different. I am especially surprised by how many people disliked Wagner but loved Liszt.

In the chapter on “Daniel Deronda as Music Historiography,” George Eliot is said to have not really cared for Wagner, but was a huge fan of Liszt. Liszt was one of Wagner’s big influences, and Liszt’s later music contains a great deal of hazy harmonies and he actually used the Tristan chord before it was the Tristan chord. I just find that really interesting and should probably do some research into why Liszt was so accepted and Wagner not so much.

Wagner was extremely revolutionary but still very much a product of what had come before him, which brings me to my next point. Darwinism. One of the most fascinating parts of this chapter for me was reading about how evolution was perceived at that time. I had it in my head that everyone hated Darwin and there was a huge uproar and people were absolutely appalled! I never knew that evolution itself was generally an excepted concept; it was the idea of natural selection that people took issue. The fact that it was all chance and there was no process involved, perhaps that is a big reason why people disliked Wagner so much, they failed to see his process, but I still don’t understand why they all loved Liszt. The End.

More on the Piano

I think in regard to the chapter “Girling at the Parlor Piano,” I neglected until our class discussion to truly appreciate the importance, or rather the value a piano was to a household. Aside from the possibility of a woman finding a husband as a result of her piano skills, music in the home was an extremely important part of what made it a home. It fell on the shoulders of these women to raise the mood of the entire house hold, when their fathers came home upset or tired, it was their job to try and uplift them. And it sounds as if for some, it was even more than a responsibility, but a duty.

I feel a little guilty that my immediate reaction was to dismiss this as some sexist stereotype that has no place in today’s society. Although I do wish I knew how to play the piano, I’m still glad it was never forced upon me by my parents. But I believe as I’m sure many people do, especially musicians, that music does have a very powerful and profound effect on people’s emotions. Whether it’s hearing the most beautiful aria sung at the Met or the uncanny way in which that perfect song always comes on the radio when you’re upset, people connect to music.

I think this is even further reflected in what was referred to in the chapter as “Romance and Sexuality,” even back then there was a sense of the power of music, and in this chapter it almost becomes the danger of music; one must be cautious not to get carried away by the music. I also appreciated the section on the piano as a “Companion and Confidant.” I found it slightly sad that a piano had to fill the role of companion and confidant, I’m not sure why, I just picture a very lonely young girl playing piano while everyone else is outside playing. But it also serves to further show how special a young lady’s relationship with her piano is, which probably also adds to the ‘romance and sexuality’ of playing the piano. It’s almost as if the piano became a vehicle which allowed for women to express and bare their souls, in public. There were just so many roles the piano filled in the Victorian Era, it really is fascinating.

Maybe it's not so bad I can't play Piano.

Part of me almost wishes I was one of these girls, only because I cannot play the piano, my piano skills are really rather abysmal. I have always secretly wished my parents had made me take piano lessons and forced me to practice so that today I could have some piano skills beyond ‘piano 214’ my sophomore year of college. However, reading many of these accounts I’m grateful my parents never forced me to play an instrument I had no interest in. Many of the accounts in this chapter of the Solie book, “”Girling” at the Parlor Piano,” are quite sad.

These young women seem aware of their musical responsibilities but disheartened by the fact that that is all they are allowed to do. They wake up, go to school, come home for dinner and then practice (every day). I can’t imagine being forced to practice something every day, I feel like that would suck the joy out of any activity. But the extraordinary amount of pressure that these young women were under is crazy to me, it’s as if all of the joy of the family unit, and especially that of the father, is wrapped up in the young women’s ability to play piano and entertain. Wow, life before TV, who knew?

I did however enjoy all of the diary entries that were included in this chapter. I think it’s fascinating to read actual accounts of life from any time period, but this one especially. There were so many well known women mentioned, all of whom were made to learn the piano, and it really drives home how prominent and revered this skill was.

I totally disliked the segments that listed all of the ways in which boys and girls, men and women were believed to be different. Men were daring, had good reasoning skills, strong, and powerful. But women were soft, weak, loving, caring, blah blah blah. That’s only because that was all they were allowed to be, (in my opinion). Today men and women are much closer to equality than they were 150 years ago, but it still really bugs me to read things like this. It’s just very interesting to discover how sexism crept its way into so many aspects of society back in the day.

Old values, some ahead of their time.

I found the reading on “Macmillan’s Magazine in the Grove Years” pretty interesting. Although I am familiar with Grove, the name, I always thought of Grove, the person, as some mystical figure somewhere out there in music land that gathered all of this information and published it online for my personal use.

But anyways… I just found this chapter to be quite telling about the role music played in the lives of the Victorians. Part of the chapter seemed to be describing the roots of music therapy. Music was used to bring people together and keep them out of trouble, for example, the ways in which choirs were used to teach young kids, or to keep unmarried women from being alone and getting into the “wrong sort of behavior.” But music was also used to help calm the criminally insane and help improve the health of those suffering from physical diseases.

One aspect of the book I found particularly funny, was the section that mentioned how wonderful and useful music is as part of a woman’s education; how it allows her to express her feelings, because women are soooooo emotional. However, a man playing the piano or singing was viewed as too feminine, and therefore inappropriate. It was the role of the woman to entertain the guests at parties with her piano skills or to express herself musically while the man goes off to work and do other manly things.

Despite how utterly ridiculous I found this thought process to be, it is what it is and those were the ideals of the time. However, there is such a deep regard for music in this time that it’s hard not to feel, at least for me, that as a society we’ve lost that. Music was honored and cherished in the Victorian era, and that’s not to say that it is no longer special, but the value of music seems to get lost today. Every time I hear of a music program being cut or underfunded and people complaining about other countries being ahead of the U.S. in math and science, it’s these same countries that still value and encourage the learning of music. Can we get some of this back?