The question of allowing women to compose, if they wish to do so, is hardly one that needs any extended debate. Yet it is only in the last few decades that woman's inalienable right to compose has been fully established. The trials of Carlotta Ferrari in getting her first opera performed are an example in point. The opposition of Mendelssohn to the publication by his sister of even a few minor works is another instance of the attitude formerly taken by even the greatest composers. The life of Chaminade affords still another case of this opposition. When Rubinstein heard a few of her early compositions, upon which he was asked to pass an opinion, he could not gainsay their excellence, but insisted on adding that he thought women ought not to compose. The time has gone by when men need fear that they will have to do the sewing if their wives devote themselves to higher pursuits. The cases of Clara Schumann, Alice Mary Smith (Mrs. Meadows-White), and Ingeborg von Bronsart afford ample proof, to say nothing of our own Mrs. Beach.

Whether women are in any way handicapped by the constitution of their sex is a point that is still undecided. It would seem that composition demanded no great physical strength, and no one will deny that women often possess the requisite mental breadth. The average sweet girl graduate of the conservatories, who is made up chiefly of sentiment, and hates mathematics, will hardly make a very deep mark in any art. But there are many who do earnest work, and who lead lives of activity and production that afford them equal rank with the men in this respect. Augusta Holmes may be cited in illustration.

It is often claimed that women study music merely as an accomplishment, with the object of pleasing friends and relatives by their performances. This horrible accusation the writer can attempt neither to palliate nor to deny. But why should it be denied? If music is to be regarded as one of the feminine accomplishments, why should this debar the more earnest students from doing more earnest work? The very fact that all cultivated women are expected to know something of music ought to result in a better chance for the discovery of woman's talent in composition.

But there are some, even among the women composers themselves, who admit that in many cases the matter of sex is a drawback. Liza Lehmann speaks in very definite terms on this subject. "If I were asked," she says, "in what form of composition women are best fitted to write, I should say that I hope they will win in all forms. But there is this important thing to remember: We have not the muscle and strength that men have to resist fatigue. We do things, but we pay the penalty of nervous strain. When people say that women are equal to men, I always feel that physically they are not fitted to run the same race. If they accomplish things, they pay up for it. It is sad, but it is true." Yet probably few of the noted women composers will subscribe to this opinion.

As yet there has been no woman composer of the very first rank, comparable to the tonal giants among men. But in explanation of this is the fact that women have not been generally at work in this field until the last century, while men have had considerably more time. And after all, there are not so many really great men among the composers. The tonal giants, the world-famous men, whose music rises above the fashion of their time, and lives through changing epochs and changing tastes, may almost be counted on the fingers of the hands. If no woman has yet become prima inter pares, there are many whose work equals that of the lesser men, whose names are remembered as forming the different schools of composition.

Whether woman's work will always be distinctive from men's in character, time alone can decide. The present writer is inclined to believe that the difference will be a permanent one,—that even in the larger forms, woman's work in music will always show more of delicate grace and refinement than man's, and will be to some extent lacking in the broader effects of strong feeling. As an example we may cite the works of Chaminade, which hold the very highest rank in their class. Her songs are among the most delightful in the world to-day, yet they charm by delicacy rather than strength, and are different from, if not inferior to, the creations of a Jensen or a Graedener, to say nothing of the more dramatic works of Schumann or Schubert. Of course there will be cases where the two sexes will meet on common ground, and the exquisite beauty of a Franz may some day find its equal in the work of the other sex, but whether women will excel naturally in the more virile vein of Bruch's cantatas, for instance, is open to grave doubt.

Taking the work of women as a whole, there are worthy examples of all the large forms to be found among their compositions. In the field of orchestral work, including symphonies, symphonic poems, overtures, and suites, we find such names as Augusta Holmes, Chaminade, Louisa Lebeau, Emilie Mayer, Mme. Farrenc, Comtesse de Grandval, Elfrida AndrÉe, Edith Chamberlayne, Mrs. Meadows-White, Aline Hundt, Oliveria Prescott, and in our own country Mrs. Beach and Miss Lang; and the list is but a partial one at that. The recent success of "Der Wald," to mention only one case, proves that women may safely attempt the highest form of opera. This work, although it has a drawback in the shape of a confused libretto, is to be retained permanently on the Covent Garden repertoire in London. In oratorio, a worthy place must be accorded to the works of Mme. Grandval, CÉlanie Carissan, Mrs. Bartholomew, and Rosalind Ellicott. Among women composers of successful masses may be reckoned Mrs. Beach, Mme. Grandval, Mary Carmichael, and Maude Valerie White. In other directions women have more than held their own, and their work shows excellence, in quality as well as quantity, in cantatas, string quartettes, and other chamber music, violin sonatas, and even in large concertos. The list of women who have written piano music and songs extends to ample proportions.

Who is the greatest woman composer? It is hard to say, for not all have worked in the same direction. In our own country, Mrs. Beach holds the foremost position at present, with Miss Lang a good second. In England, Mrs. Meadows-White is assigned first place,[8] with Ethel Smyth mentioned next in order. Agnes Zimmermann and Dora Bright receive high praise for their chamber music, while Rosalind Ellicott, Amy E. Horrocks, Edith Swepstone, and Ethel Boyce have been chosen to represent the larger vocal forms. Among song composers are cited Maude Valerie White, Florence Gilbert, Frances Allitsen, Florence Aylward, Liza Lehmann, and Katharine Ramsay. Guy d'Hardelot is probably classed with the French writers. Ethel Barns is included because of her excellent violin compositions, as well as her admirable performance on that instrument.

In Germany, the works of Louisa Lebeau would seem to place her in the front rank, but many musicians consider them somewhat artificial. For many years Clara Schumann has been cited as the leader among women, but it is a question if she can hold that position now. Ingeborg von Bronsart is given the very highest praise by those who know her work best. In Italy, Eva dell' Aqua and Gilda Ruta seem leaders, while Carlotta Ferrari must be included in the front rank. In older times, too, Francesca Caccini must not be forgotten. Elfrida AndrÉe, of Sweden, is another composer of high rank. But when all is said and done, it seems at present as if the palm must be awarded to France, with Augusta Holmes and CÉcile Chaminade as rival claimants.

Bearing in mind the fact that woman's greatest activity has been limited to the most recent period, it may be well to inquire what the present tendencies are in the world of music. On this point, Robert Franz, in a recent letter, speaks with decided conviction. He believes that the art proceeds in a cycle, and that music began with the smaller forms, and is destined to end with them. In his own compositions, he gave expression to this conviction, for he worked wholly in the Lied form. After Beethoven, he said symphonic form could proceed no higher. While the world would not willingly dispense with the orchestral works of Schumann and Mendelssohn (Wagner's efforts being in a separate field), there seems much truth in the idea thus advanced. Few men of to-day are successful in the largest forms, and the demand for short works in literature seems to have aroused a similar feeling in the musical world. Yet we may only be passing through a period of temporary eclipse, for already the new note of triumph sounds loud and clear from Russia. It may well be that in a more inspired epoch than the immediate present, woman will rise to a higher level than she has already reached.

It would not be fair to take leave of the women without mentioning their work in still another line,—that of musical literature. The list of women who have done work in this direction is fairly extensive, but the number of great names on it is comparatively small. The foremost name is perhaps that of Lina Ramann. In 1858 she began the most important work of her life by opening a normal school for teachers. Her writings have been numerous and valuable. They include several volumes on piano technique and practice, an important "Life of Liszt," a number of works on the musical education of children, many essays, and biographies of Bach and Handel.

Many of the women fall into the bad habit of imbuing all their work with a romantic tinge of exaggerated sentiment. One example of this fault is Elise Polko, some of whose sketches are very pretty reading, but almost wholly misleading to the new student. Even Marie Lipsius, who published a series of excellent biographical sketches under the pseudonym of La Mara, is not entirely free from this defect.

In France, Mme. Audley has written some good biographies, notably the lives of Beethoven and Schubert and some articles on Bellini. Across the Channel, Constance Bach has done some successful work in editing the letters of Liszt and Von BÜlow. Two English women, Mrs. F. J. Hughes and Mary Maxwell Campbell, have entered the speculative field by trying to draw analogies between harmonies and colours, but this theory can never have any real basis in scientific fact. In America, the work of Helen Tretbar and Fanny Raymond Ritter is well known. Mrs. Mary Jones has devoted her energies to a book on the musical education of the blind, but the best work in this direction is that of Caroline Wiseneder in Germany.

In closing, it may not be amiss to express the wish that the compositions of women composers could be heard more frequently than they are at present. There is no doubt that some of our quartette clubs would find much to interest themselves and their audiences among the works of the famous musical women. According to Nero, music unheard is valueless, and all musicians would rejoice to see the fullest possible value thus placed, by frequent performance, upon Woman's Work in Music.

THE END