Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-07-17
total absence of women from the list of the
worlds great composers.

Bur- IL woman has not herself composed
/ any great masterpiece, she nevertheless has
beon an essential factor in the composition OF
nearly all the greatest productions. She has
| been their Inspiration. Without hor we
would never have known some of the grand.
est and most beautiful fruits oi the sublime
| art. To show this the great bulk ot our little
| volume Is devoted and IL succeeds admir-
| ably. From thecrisp and entertaining biug-
| raphies OF Bach, Handel, beethoven, Haydn,
| Mozart, Schubert, Mendelssuhn, SChumaun,
| Chopin, Weber aud Wagner We learn what
| u constant inspiration woman was to these
| great masters, and how controlling was her
influence upon nearly all Ot them. For
nearly all were in love most oi the time.
| Bach WAS In love before he WAS twenty, and
married before he was twentN.One He
lived happily with his wife for thirteen years
| during which time they had eight children
| but WAS left a widuwer at a little more than
| thirty-iour years OF age. He was not len
| long, however For u year and a-hali after
| wards he married again, and with his second
| wife lived, If possible, oven more happily
| than with the first. II was for his second
wife, herself a musician, that he specially
wrote whole volume of music, including
the famous G major prelude, No l. OF the
4" Wohltempefirte ClavIcr :" tive Chorals
among them some of the most beautiful OF
his creations aud seven songs, followed by
wedding poem-the only short songs,
not of sacred character, which Bach has
lelL
iron the very threshold of his musical ca
reor, Handel came under the inspiring and
helpful influence of u noble woman, the
ElectreSs sophie Charlotte oi Brandenuurg
while later princess, subsequently Queen
Caroline, of England, and still later the
Princess Anne became his liberal patrons
deeply attached to them is in nothing more
touchugly shown than i'll the eNquisitely
beautiful anthem he wrote for Queen Caro-
lines funeral, The Ways OF Zion do
Mourn At the same time he was in no
sense a sycophanL nor ever tawned about
and battered his noble friends. On the con
trary he not lnirepucutly treated them in "A
manner little short of diSrespcctiuL lie had
a most violent temper, aud all seemed TO
stand in awe OF him. Ii is said, for instance,
that " at the concerts which he conducted for
Frederick, Prince of Wales II the prince and
his wife were not punctual to the stated time,
we are told that the conductor used tO be
very violent and the son of George Ito
his great honor toe it said-rospeCted him too
much to he offended. 1t the ladies' OF the
princess talked instead OF listening, his rage
was uuCuutrOllahle, and sometimes carried
him To the length of swearing and calling
names, even in the presence of royalty
whercupOu the gentle princess, who loved
him much, would say to the talkatlVe ones
Hush hush Handel is in a passion =
Nevertheless, Handel never married, but ac-
uated woman who wOOed and proposed to
him Tie was never even in love, and is
therefore the Great Exception among must.
clans,
The other masters, however, made up tor
Haudels lack of the tender passion. Bee
thoven was necessarily in love, was twice re-
fused, but never discouraged. Thirty six of
his wonderful compositions were dedicated
To ladieS-tO no less than twenty different
ones. Chopin was still more ardent, having
thirty-ulne of his works dedicated to thirty
SIX different women Schumauu, the inCon-
slant, has thirty-tiVe dediCations To almost a.
many fair ones while Weber has forty .One
dedicated to twenty-five female friends and
on.
IL is made very clear 10y Mr.. Upton that
il woman has not herself composed any great
musical work, she certainly has been the
chief cause of the composition of many OF the
greatest This ought to be enough Tor thee,
o woman What greater praise or honor
canst thou wish Surely 1t Is the highest,
the most exalted human power, the power
most nearly divine, to inspire others to great
and good Deeds to do what we ourselves even
could never accomplish. And Is not this ever
and in all spheres womaus truest, MODEST
work Are there any rights higher than
this that she rpui1 desire. rlvht IN usrIrp