Music and the Southern Belle: From Accomplished Lady to Confederate Composer

276 Pages·2010·2.22 MB·English

by  Candace Bailey

Music�
and the
Sou�ern Belle
f r o m a c c o m p l i s h e d l a d y t o
c o n f e d e r a t e c o m p o s e r
candace bailey
andace Bailey’s exploration of the inter-
C
twining worlds of music and gender shows
how young southern women pushed the
boundaries of respectability to leave their
unique mark on a patriarchal society. Before
1861, a strictly defined code of behavior al-
lowed a southern woman to identify herself
as a “lady” through her accomplishments
in music, drawing, and writing, among
other factors. Music permeated the lives of
southern women, and they learned appro-
priate participation through instruction at
home and at female training institutions. A
belle’s primary venue was the parlor, where
she might sing or play piano at social gath-
erings. The southern lady performed in
public only on the rarest of occasions. An
especially talented woman who composed
music for a broader audience would do so
anonymously so that her reputation would
remain unsullied.
The tumultuous Civil War years pro-
vided an opportunity for southern women
to envision and attempt new ways to make
themselves useful to the broader, public
society. In a break with the past, musical
ladies began giving public performances to
raise money for the war effort, and some
women published patriotic Confederate
music under their own names, support-
ing their cause and claiming public own-
ership for their creations. Through their
move from private to public performance
and publication, southern ladies not only
expanded concepts of social acceptability
but also gained a valued sense of purpose.
Music and the Southern Belle places these
remarkable women in their social context,
providing compelling insight into south-
ern culture and the intricate ties between
a lady’s identity and the world of music.
Augmented by incisive analysis of musical
compositions and vibrant profiles of com-
posers, this book is the first of its kind,
making it an essential read for devotees
of Civil War and southern history, gender
studies, and music.  
candace bailey is an associate professor of
music history and literature, theory, and
piano at North Carolina Central Univer-
sity. She is the author of many articles,
as well as the books Seventeenth-Century
British Keyboard Sources and The Keyboard
Music of John Roberts.

Bailey
W.
h
p
Jose
Printed in the United States of America
Music(cid:3)and th e South ern Bell e

Music(cid:11)
and the
Southern Belle
from accomplished lady to
confederate composer
candace bailey
Southern Illinois University Press
Carbondale and Edwardsville
Copyright © 2010 by the Board of Trustees,
Southern Illinois University
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
13 12 11 10 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bailey, Candace, 1963–
Music and the southern belle : from accomplished lady
to Confederate composer / Candace Bailey.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8093-2960-1 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8093-2960-3 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8093-8557-7 (ebook)
ISBN-10: 0-8093-8557-0 (ebook)
1. Women musicians—Southern States—History—
19th century. 2. Women composers—Southern
States—History—19th century. 3. Music—Social
aspects—Southern States—History—19th century.
I. Title.
ML82.B25 2010
780.82´0975—dc22 2009027632
Printed on recycled paper.
The paper used in this publication meets the mini-
mum requirements of American National Standard
for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48-1992. ∞
Contents
List of Figures and Tables vii
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
1. Why Did Nineteenth-Century Southern Women Study Music? 10
2. Women’s Interaction with Public Music 25
3. Music at Home: Entertainment and Education 43
4. Music Education in Schools 65
5. The Piano Girl 90
6. The Singer 119
7. Women’s Composition and Publication in the Antebellum Period 137
8. Becoming Useful 158
9. Confederate Women Composers 165
Appendix 185
Notes 199
Bibliography 231
Index 247

Figures and Tables
FIGURES
2.1. Anna Bishop, portrait from “Anna Bishop’s ‘Polka Rondino’” 33
2.2. Adelina Patti at age sixteen 35
3.1. “Sleeping I Dream’d, Love,” by William Vincent Wallace 47
3.2. Eliza Ripley at age twenty-two 62
4.1. Maria Jane Nash and Sally Kollock Nash 72
4.2. “Then You’ll Remember Me,” from Michael Balfe’s Bohemian Girl 74
4.3. “Barhamville Valse Brilliante pour le Piano,” by Manuel M. Párraga 87
4.4. “Chicora: The Original Name of Carolina,” front cover 88
5.1. “Happy Family Polka,” front cover 94
5.2. Virginia Clay-Clopton 99
5.3. Wood engraving from February 1851 Godey’s Lady’s Book 100
5.4. Wood engraving from February 1863 Godey’s Lady’s Book 102
5.5. Two pages from William Vincent Wallace’s “Grande Polka de
Concert” 104–5
5.6. “Le Réve,” by William Vincent Wallace 110
5.7. “She Played on 9 Pianos,” front cover 116
6.1. “I Dreamt That I Dwelt in Marble Halls,” from Michael Balfe’s
Bohemian Girl 125
7.1. “La Capricieuse,” by Marie R. Siegling 143
7.2. “Keowee Waltzes,” showing Keowee Plantation 146
9.1. “Up with the Flag,” by Dr. and Mrs. William B. Harrell 174
9.2. “Dixie Doodle,” by Margaret Weir 176
TABLES
1. Contents of Piano Book (1850s–60s) of [Bell]e Hannah McGehee
(Burleigh, N.C.) 185
2. Contents of Vocal Book (1834–47) of Mary Stedman (Fayetteville, N.C.) 186
3. Contents of Vocal Book (1836–60) of Mary Gibson (Fort Smith, Ark.) 188
4. Contents of Piano Book (1840s–60s) of Mary Gibson (Fort Smith, Ark.) 190
5. Music Composed by Women and Published before the Civil War 192
6. Music Composed by Women and Published in the South during the
Civil War 196
vii