Elizabethan Week, Day Six: Heroine of the Weekend

For our heroine this weekend, I had to look to the Elizabethan era, which is chock-full of strong, inspirational women!  I used many of them in my research and my Kate Haywood novels (trying to weave as many of them as possible into the stories), and one that I found really fascinating (and very elusive) was Emilia (or Amelia) Lanier (1569-1645).  Since Kate is a musician at the queen's court, I've been reading everything I can find about music in the Tudor period.  The Bassano family of Venice held high places in the queen's musical consort, and Emilia was one of them.  She was also (perhaps) the Dark Lady of Shakespeare's poems, and one of the first female professional poets in her own right.

Emilia was born the daughter of court musician Baptiste Bassano, baptized at the church of St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate, on January 27, 1569.  Her father died in 1576, and she was sent to be educated in the household of the Countess of Kent, where she learned Latin among other subjects.  Once launched into the world, she became the mistress of one of the most powerful men at court, the queen's cousin Henry Carey, Baron Hunsdon, a patron of the arts (he was the Lord Chamberlain in the Lord Chamberlain's Men, where Shakespeare got his start).  He was also 45 years older than her.  When she became pregnant in 1592, she was married off to her cousin, Alfonso Lanier, a musician at the royal court, who claimed her son Henry as his own (though the marriage was said to be unhappy in the long run!).  According to the diaries of astrologer Simon Forman (who may have made a pass at Emilia and was rejected, so his gossip should always be taken a bit doubtfully!), "...and a nobleman that is ded hath Loved her well & kept her and did maintain her longe but her husband hath delte hardly with her and spent and consumed her goods and she is nowe...in debt."

She became one of the first Englishwomen to publish her own work in 1611, with her volume of poems Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum, considered radically feminist for the era.  Her husband died in 1613, and little is known of her from 1619-35.  She sued her brother-in-law, and may have run a school.  She died in 1645.

For more about the Dark Lady controversy....
Was Shakespeare a Woman?

Some good sources for the history of Emilia and music in this era:
Kari Boyd McBride, Biography of Aemilia Lanier (2008)
David Lasocki, The Bassanos: Venetian Musicians and Instrument Makers in England, 1531-1685 (1995)

Heroine of the Weekend: Francesca Caccini

To get back to our Heroine of the Weekend posts (where I get to take a look at some well-known and less well-known women in history who I admire in one way or another!) we're going to turn to Baroque Florence and meet composer/singer/musician/teacher Francesca Caccini, called "La Cecchina," who was born September 18, 1587!  Her opera, La liberazione di Ruggiero, is generally considered to be the first opera composed by a woman...

Caccini's musical career was no surprise.  Her father, Guilio, was a musician, and her mother Lucia (who died when Francesca was quite young) was a singer, as was her stepmother Margherita and her brother and sister.  She was well-educated, not only in music, but in languages (including Greek and Latin), math, and philosophy.  It prepared her for a life at court.  Her first appearance in public was in France in 1600, at the marriage of Henri IV and Marie de Medici (Francesca's father composed some of the music for the occasion).  King Henri declared her to be "the best singer in all of France!" and tried to get her to stay in his service, but she returned to Florence and built a career serving the Medici.  She worked there as a chamber singer, composer of works for special occasions, and teacher.  By 1614, she was the most highly paid musician at court.  La liberazione...was composed for the visit of Polish prince Ladislaus in 1626 (he liked it so much he had it performed in Warsaw 2 years later!)

She was very well-known throughout Europe, and admired by other musicians.  Monteverdi wrote in 1610, "I heard, in Florence, the daughter of GR sing very well and play the lute, the guitar, and the harpsichord."

She married a fellow musician Giovanni Signori in 1614, and had one daughter with him, Margherita, in 1622.  After his death in 1626, she married nobleman Tommaso Raffaeli and moved with him to Lucchese, mostly retiring from her musical career.  They had one son, but he died in 1630 and she returned to Florence to teach the Medici princesses and perform at smaller occasions.  She left their court in 1641 and was soon lost to public record (it's thought she died sometime before 1645).

Sadly, most of her work is now lost, except for the opera and a few works from her famous cycle of 36 songs in various styles (laments, sacred hymns, love songs, dances).

For more info on her life:
--Kelley Harness, Echoes of Women's Voices: Music, Art, and Female Patronage in Early Modern Florence (2006)
--Carolyn Raney, "Francesca Caccini" in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1980)
--Suzanne G. Cusick, Francesca Caccini at the Medici Court (2009)



For more in-depth info on her music, the Bright Cecilia site has some good stuff...

Heroine of the Weekend

We haven't had a Heroine in a couple of weeks! So let's take a look at Maria Anna (Nannerl) Mozart, born on July 30, 1751....

Nannerl, the older sister of Wolfgang, was born in Salzburg, and started learning the harpsichord from her father Leopold when she was about 7, along with her brother. The two of them became a sensation on the European musical tour circuit, visiting cities and royal courts. At first Nannerl was the number one star attraction, but as she got older that changed--"from 1768 onwards she was no longer permitted to show her artistic talent on travels with her brother, as she had reached marriageable age." She still played music in private and for friends, and her brother later wrote a few pieces for her. There is some evidence from his letters that she also composed, but none of her works survive. While he went on more tours she stayed home with her parents.

After her father refused to let her marry her first choice (it seems she was not rebellious at all, unlike her brother!) she married an older, well-to-do magistrate named Johann Sonnenburg, who was already twice widowed and had 5 children. She had three of her own, two daughters (one of whom died in infancy) and a son, who was raised by her father for his first two years. When her husband died in 1801 she returned to Salzburg with her children and taught music. She seems to have lived quietly for the rest of her life, though she did connect with her brother's widow and son later on.

Some sources on her life:
A novel by Alison Bauld, Mozart's Sister (2005)
Maynard Solomon, Mozart: A Life (1995)
Jane Glover, Mozart's Women (2005)

Heroine of the Weekend

Happy weekend everyone! (It is still the weekend, right??) Our Heroine this week is composer/musician Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, who died on May 14, 1847.

Fanny was born November 14, 1805 in Hamburg, the oldest of 4 children, part of a distinguished Jewish family (her grandfather was philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, and her father Abraham ran a prosperous business). Unlike her equally precocious brother Felix, she was not encouraged to pursue her talent for music and composing (he was given the finest teachers, while Fanny had to learn the best she could herself), but she was passionate about music and as talented as her brother from a very young age. (Her father later wrote to her, "Music will perhaps become his profession, while for you it can and must be only an ornament"--pretty much sums up the attitude of the day). But Felix did help her publish some of her works under her own name.

In 1829, after a long courtship, she married artist Wilhelm Hensel, who was luckily very supportive of his wife' s music. (The couple had one child, Sebastian, the year after their marriage). She took part in her family's famous Sunday afternoon concerts (which she took over hosting after her father's death), where many of her pieces were played and discussed. In 1838 she had her one (known) public performance, of her brother's Piano Concerto No. 1. In all she composed some 466 pieces, mostly for the piano, including a song cycle titled Das Jahr (The Year), an amazing output considering her lack of support and encouragement and the expectation that she would always put her home and family first.

Fanny died of a stroke at the young age of 42, in Berlin in 1847. (Her brother died the following year). Her works have become more widely known and played in just the last few years, thanks to new interest in female composers.

A couple sources on her life:
Francoise Tillard, Fanny Mendelssohn (1996)
Sandra Shictman, Dorothy Indenbaum, Gifted Sister: The Story of Fanny Mendelssohn (2007)

Lute Music

This month marks the point in musical history when Robert Dowland took over as King's Lute (to James I) from his father John Dowland, continuing a proud family tradition. Since I love Elizabethan lute music (and own more CDs of it than anyone should!), I thought I'd share a little music for Thursday...

Heroine of the Weekend

Slowly getting back into the routine of writing and blogging after the excitement of RWA! This weekend's Heroine is French composer and pianist Cecile Chaminade, who was born August 8 in 1857. Though her reputation suffered a decline after her death, the recent renewed interest in women composers such as Fanny Mendelsohn, Clara Schumann, and Amy Beach has lifted her to attention again.

Chaminade was born in Paris, and was first taught music at home by her mother, though she was soon found to be something of a prodigy at the piano. Though her father disapproved of girls seeking careers in music, Bizet was a family friend and advised her parents that she should be properly educated. She had many teachers in her young years, including Augustin Savard, Martin Pierre Marsick, and Benjamin Goddard. She played her first compositions when she was 8, and 10 years later gave her first public concert which gained her acclaim and a steadily rising career. She wrote mostly character pieces and salon songs for the piano, which were published and became great sellers.

She embarked on a touring career, and made her English debut in 1892, where she was very popular, while continuing to travel in France. In 1901 she married music publisher Louis Carbonel, and after his death in 1907 never married again. Soon after she visited the United States and became just as popular there as in Europe. Her pieces such as Ballet 1 and Scarf Dance were best sellers, and she composed theatrical and ballet music as well as a Konzertstuck for piano and orchestra. In 1913 she was awarded the Legion d'Honneur (the first for a female composer) and in 1903 made some early gramophone recordings of 6 of her compositions. As she grew older she composed less and less, and was effectively retired when she died in Monte Carlo on April 13, 1944.

For more information on her life, check out Louise Corteau's Portrait de Cecile Chaminade. There is a list of her works and some recordings here.

William Boyce

Yesterday, February 16, marked the anniversary of the death of composer William Boyce (in 1779). Not often performed today, in his lifetime he was organist of the Chapel Royal and Master of the Kings' Musick, one of the most influential British composers of the 18th century. Here is his Overture to Peleus and Thetis

Things I Love Thursday

What I'm loving this Thursday--Christmas music! It's the best part of the season (next to candy!). These are some of my favorites. What are yours?

Busy Sunday

Today I am diving into the "finishing touches" edits of Countess of Scandal, hoping to be done by tomorrow. So I'm playing the Marie Antoinette soundtrack very loudly to help me along (sorry, neighbors! I know you must be totally sick of hearing "Aphrodisiac" and "I Want Candy"...)

What music gets you inspired when you would really rather watch TV or go to Target than write???