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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH |
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to Beach Collection Description |
Amy Marcy Cheney, an American composer and pianist, was born 5 September 1867, in Henniker, NH, to Charles Abbott Cheney and Clara Imogene Marcy Cheney. She was to be the only child in this distinguished family from New England. Her mother was said to be a gifted pianist and singer and she provided Amy's first exposure to instruction. Miss Cheney began composing at the age of four, began her studies at the piano with her mother at the age of six and at seven made her first public appearance- including a few of her own compositions in the program. In 1871, the family moved to Boston, MA and though her parents were advised that Amy should be sent to a European conservatory, they chose to engage the training of the local instructors Ernest Perabo and Carl Baermann for piano, and one year of instruction in harmony and counterpoint with Junius W. Hill. These lessons were to be the only formal training she would have. She learned orchestration and fugue by translating the treatises written by Berlioz and François-Auguste Gevaert. The first published work from the pen of Miss Cheney was The Rainy Day (1880), a setting of a poem by Longfellow. She made her professional debut as a pianist in Boston on 28 March 1885, performing the G-Minor Piano Concerto by Moscheles.
Her development was watched closely by a circle in Boston society which included Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, William Mason and Dr. Henry Harris Aubrey Beach. Beach was a socially prominent physician who was a lecturer on anatomy at Harvard and also a well-schooled amateur singer and pianist. Amy Cheney and Dr. H.H.A. Beach were married in 1885. Following the expectations of Victorian society, Mrs. Beach curtailed her touring and spent her days at home composing. Many of her works were granted premières by major orchestras(1) and some were also the result of commissions.(2) These were the first occasions on which many musical organizations performed music by a female composer. It may also be remarked that her E-Minor Symphony, Op. 32 ("Gaelic") was the first composed by an American woman.
Dr. Beach died 28 June 1910, and on 5 September 1911, Mrs. H.H.A. Beach (as she insisted on being named) sailed for Europe to begin three years of touring as a performer in Paris, Rome, Hamburg, Leipzig, Berlin, and many other major European cities. As a result of the beginnings of the outbreak of war in Europe, Mrs. Beach returned to the United States in 1915 and settled in New York City. A triumph for the American musical environment, prior to her arrival in the U.S., Amy was already scheduled for 30 tour dates on both coasts. As was her routine, she would perform several concerts throughout winter and spend the summers composing at her home in Centerville on Cape Cod- a home purchased solely with the proceeds from her song Ecstacy. She became a fellow at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, MA in 1921, and it was while there that she composed the opera Cabildo (1932) and the Piano Trio (1938). Hailed as one of America's most prominent composers and performers, she was granted two retrospective concerts of her songs and orchestral music on her 75th birthday. She died two years later (27 December 1944) of a heart ailment.
Mrs. Beach left quite a legacy for American performers and composers who followed her and her life and influence created many remarkable "firsts" for women in music. Many of her works show the influence of American late Romantic composers such as Horatio Parker, Edward MacDowell, Arthur Foote and George Chadwick; but she also reflected the ideas of Brahms and Debussy. These influences are not absolutely direct, but subtle, for the majority of her compositions consist of her own idiomatic style (both delicate and elaborate) and her natural gift for melody. She was best known for her songs, her symphony and her piano pieces and was also recognized for her early contribution to the preservation, documentation and transcription of American birdsongs.
1. These include works such as her Mass in E , Op. 5 which was performed by the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston in 1892; her concert aria Eilende Wolken, Op. 18, which was performed by the New York Philharmonic Society also in 1892 and her Symphony in E-Minor, Op. 32 (or ‘Gaelic' Symphony because it is based on Irish folk tunes) performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1896.
2. A few of these works are the Festival Jubliate, Op. 17, composed for the dedication (1 May 1893) of the Women's Building for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago; Song of Welcome, Op. 42, for the Trans-Mississippi Exposition (1898); and Panama Hymn, Op. 74, for the International Exposition in San Francisco (1915).
The Amy Cheney Beach Collection is a relatively small collection. Preserved in four boxes, it consists of 33 manuscripts and 62 published scores. The collection is divided into three major series: Manuscript Scores, Published Scores and Documents. The Manuscript Scores series covers many years of Mrs. Beach's creative output from the age of four (1872) to the age of sixty-six (1933), and includes many of her songs which remain unpublished. It contains the important works reflecting the many genres in which Mrs. Beach composed such as Cabildo, Mass in E , Variations on Balkan Themes, Quintet for Piano and Strings, and Service in A. Within this series, there are two time gaps: fourteen years (1907-1921) and ten years (1922-1932). Many of these manuscripts contain dedicatory notes and autographs and are in generally very good condition. The Published Scores series ranges from the composer's age of twenty-three (1890) to the age of seventy-four (1941), and contains the pieces Concert für Pianoforte und Orchester, Mass in E , the song Ecstasy, and the popular Browning songs. The Documents series consists of one letter written 24 December 1902, by Mrs. Beach to the Toledo Times Company and is in her hand. The container list of this finding aid is followed by an appendix which lists the works within the Manuscript Scores series in chronological order and an index is provided for the entire collection.
The works included in Manuscript Scores series certainly constitute the strength of this collection, for some of her unpublished material is herein included. Because of the tenure which Mrs. Beach had with the MacDowell Colony, and the donation of many of her manuscripts and personal ephemera which are stored there as requested in her will, the weakness of this collection is that many of her major works are not included, specifically her E-Minor Symphony and her Violin Sonata.
A full listing of the compositions by Mrs. Beach is listed in the International Encyclopedia of Women Composers, 2nd Edition by Aaron I. Cohen. New York: Books & Music (USA), Inc., 1987. pp.83-85.
Manuscript Scores | Published Scores | Documents | Chronological List of Manuscript Scores
| Box | Folder | Title and Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Air and Variations August, 1877. Ink MS. 26 cm x 34 cm. 5l, 9p. Score for piano. Signed: Amy M. Cheney. |
| 2 |
Allegro Appassionata (includes "Moderato cantabile" and "Allegro con fuoco") |
|
| 3 |
The Arrow and the Song |
|
| 4 |
At Night |
|
| 5 |
Cabildo [Op. 149] |
|
| 6 |
Cabildo [Op. 149, Vocal part books] Barker [n.d.]. Ink MS. 24.2 cm x 31.6 cm. 6l, 8p. Annotations in pencil, red pencil, and blue ink. Dominique [n.d.]. Ink MS. 24.2 cm x 31.6 cm. 7l, 12p. Annotations in pencil. Mary February 27 [?]. Ink MS. 24.2 cm x 31.6 cm. 9l, 12p. Annotations in pencil. Men's Chorus [n.d.]. Ink MS. 24.3 cm x 31.7 cm. 6l, 7p. Pierre [n.d.]. Ink MS. 26.5 cm x 33.2 cm. 14l, 23p. Annotations in pencil. Tom [n.d.]. Ink MS. 24.2 cm x 31.6 cm. 7l, 11p. Annotations in pencil. Valerie [n.d.]. Ink MS. 24.2 cm x 31.6 cm. 10l, 17p. Annotations in pencil. Women's Chorus [n.d.]. Ink MS. 24.2 cm x 31.7 cm. 6l, 7p. (Note: All of the above: libretto by Nan Bagby Stephens, and signed: Mrs. H.H.A. Beach.) |
|
| 7 |
Cabildo [Op. 149] |
|
| 8 |
Caprice for Flute, Cello and Piano |
|
| 9 |
The Chambered Nautilus, Op. 66 |
|
| 10 |
Chorales |
|
| 11 |
Clouds |
|
| 2 | 1 |
Forget-me-not |
| 2 |
Graduale |
|
| 3 | The Heart That Melts, and
Time Has Wings and Swiftly Flies December 27, [?]. Pencil MS. 13.7 cm x 18.2 cm. 2l, 2p. Score for treble voice and piano. Annotations in ink. |
|
| 4 | The Icicle Lesson [n.d.]. Ink MS. 26.7 cm x 34.7 cm. 2l, 4p. Score for treble voice and piano. Includes separate vocal part (melody), MS, 1l, 2p. Annotations in pencil. Signed: Mrs. H.H.A. Beach. |
|
| 5 |
If Women Will Not Be Inclined |
|
| 6 |
Mamma's Waltz |
|
| 7 |
May Eve, [Op. 86] |
|
| 8 |
Menuetto |
|
| 9 |
Moderato |
|
| 10 |
My Luve is Like a Red, Red Rose, [Op. 12] |
|
| 11 |
[Pastorale for Flute, Cello, and Piano,
Op. 90] |
|
| 12 |
Petit Valse |
|
| 13 | Quintet in F minor for Pianoforte,
Two Violins, Viola, and Violoncello, Op. 67 December 14, 1907. Ink MS. 26.8 cm x 34.8 cm. 42l, 80p. Full score. Annotations in pencil and red ink. Includes complete parts. Signed: Mrs. H.H.A. Beach. |
|
| 14 |
The Rainy Day |
|
| 15 |
St. John the Baptist, An Oratorio |
|
| 16 |
Service in A, [Op. 63] |
|
| 17 |
Shena Van, [Op. 56, no. 4] |
|
| 18 | Sleep, Little Darling, Op. 29,
no. 3 November 17, 1894. Ink MS. 26.9 cm x 34.9 cm. 3l, 6p. Score for treble voice and piano. Text by Harriet Prescott Spofford. Signed: Mrs. H.H.A. Beach. |
|
| 19 |
A Song for Little May |
|
| 20 |
The Strife is O'er |
|
| 21 | Teach me Thy Way, Op. 33 October 31 and November 3, 1895. Pencil and ink MS. 26.6 cm x 33.9 cm. 4l, 4p. Score for SATB chorus and organ. Signed: Mrs. H.H.A. Beach. |
|
| 22 |
The Thrush |
|
|
[Time Has Wings and Swiftly Flies. See Box 2, Folder 3] |
||
| 23 |
Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60 |
|
| 24 |
Wind o' the Westland, Op. 77, no. 2 |
|
| 25 |
Wither? |
|
| 26 |
[Untitled: part of a hymn or anthem] |
| Box | Folder | Title and Description |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 |
Ah, Love, But a Day! Op. 44, no. 2 |
|
2
|
Ah, Love, But a Day! Op. 44,
no. 2 Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1900. 26.5 cm x 34.9 cm. 5p. Score for low voice and piano. From Three Browning Songs. |
|
|
3
|
Ah, Love, But a Day! Op. 44, no. 2 |
|
|
4
|
Ah, Love, But a Day! Op. 44, no. 2 |
|
|
5
|
Ah, Love, But a Day! Op. 44, no. 2 |
|
|
6
|
Ah, Love, but a Day! Op. 44, no. 2 |
|
|
7
|
Around the Manger, Op. 115 |
|
|
8
|
Baby, Op. 69, No. 1 |
|
|
9
|
Come Unto These Yellow Sands, Op. 39, no.
2 |
|
|
10
|
Concert für Pianoforte und
Orchester, Op. 45 Leipzig: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1900. 26.8 cm x 34.7 cm. 87 p. Arrangement for two pianos. Annotated in pencil. Signed: A.M. Beach, March 12, 1900. |
|
|
11
|
Dark Garden, Op. 131 |
|
|
12
|
Dolladine, Op. 75, no. 3 New York: G. Schirmer, 1914. 26.7 cm x 34.9 cm. 5p. Score for treble voice and piano. Text by William Brighty Rands. From Four Childrens' Songs. |
|
|
13
|
Ecstacy, [Op. 19, no. 2] Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1892. 26.5 cm x 34.8 cm. 5p. 2 copies. Score for soprano or alto and piano. From Four Songs. |
|
|
14
|
Ecstacy, Op. 19, no. 2 |
|
|
15
|
Eskimos: 4 Characteristic Pieces for the
Pianoforte, Op. 64 |
|
|
16
|
Fairy Lullaby, Op. 37, no. 3 Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1897. 26.5 cm x 34.8 cm. 5p. Score for treble voice and piano. Three copies. From Three Shakespeare Songs. Annotations in pencil. |
|
|
17
|
Far Awa'! (Trio), Op. 43, no. 4 |
|
|
18
|
Fire and Flame, Op. 136 Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1933. 23.5 cm x 31 cm. 5 p. Score for soprano or tenor and piano. Text by Anna Addison Moody. |
|
|
19
|
Five Improvisations for Piano,
Op. 148 New York: Composers Press, 1938. 23.6 cm x 31.2 cm. Score for piano. |
|
|
20
|
From Grandmother's Garden, Op. 97 |
|
|
21
|
A Hermit Thrush at Eve, Op. 92, no. 1 |
|
|
22
|
A Hermit Thrush at Morn, Op.
92, no. 2 Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1922. 23.8 cm x 31 cm. 9p. Score for piano. Dedication: "A Peterborough Souvenir! For dear Mrs. MacDowell with love from Amy M. Beach written at the Colony, July, 1921." |
|
|
23
|
Hush, Baby Dear, Op. 69, no. 2 |
|
|
24
|
"I", Op. 77, no. 1 New York: G. Schirmer, 1916. 23.4 cm x 30.2 cm. 7p. Score for high or medium voice and piano. Text by Cecil Fanning. From Two Songs. |
|
|
25
|
In Blossom Time, Op. 78, no.
3 New York: G. Schirmer, 1917. 23.2 cm x 30.2 cm. 6p. Score for treble voice and piano. Text by Ina Coolbrith. From Three Songs. Dedication: "For Mrs. Ingram with every wish for her success in using her lovely voice. Amy M. Beach. Hillsboro, May 17, 1917." |
|
|
26
|
I Send up my Heart to Thee! Op.
44, no. 3 Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1900. 23.7 cm x 31.2 cm. 7p. Soprano or tenor and piano. Text by Robert Browning from "In a Gondola". From Three Browning Songs. Annotated in pencil. |
|
|
27
|
I Send up my Heart to thee! Op.
44, no. 3 Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1900. 23.7 cm x 31 cm. 7p. Score for mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano. 2 copies. From Three Browning Songs. |
|
|
28
|
I Shall Be Brave, Op. 132 |
|
|
29
|
Juni (June), Op. 51, no. 3 Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1903. Copy 1: 25.2 cm x 32 cm. Copy 2: 26.8 cm x 35 cm. 5p. Score for high voice and piano. German Text by Erich Jansen. English translation by Isidora Martinez. From Four Songs. 2 copies. |
|
|
30
|
Juni (June), Op. 51, no. 3 Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1903. 27cm x 35.3cm. 5p. Score for low voice and piano. German Text by Erich Jansen. English translation by Isidora Martinez. From Four Songs. 2 copies. |
|
|
31
|
Just For This, Op. 26, no. 2 |
|
|
32
|
Let This Mind Be in You, Op.
105 Bryn Mawr, PA: Theodore Presser, 1924. 17.2 cm x 26.8 cm. 8p. Anthem for Soprano and Bass Soli, and Quartet or Chorus. |
|
|
33
|
The Lotos Isles, Op. 76, no.
2 New York: G. Schirmer, 1914. 23.6 cm x 30.4 cm. 5p. Score for treble voice and piano. Text by Alfred Tennyson from "The Lotos-Eaters". From Two Songs. Annotated in pencil. |
|
| 4 | 1 | Mass in E, [Op. 5] Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1890. 19.3 cm x 28 cm. 83p. Score for SATB chorus and piano. Annotations in ink. Signed: A.M.B. Woods Hole, Sept 5th, 1890. |
| 2 |
Meadow-Larks, Op. 78, no. 1 |
|
| 3 | Menuet Italien, Op. 28, no. 2 Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1894. 22.8 cm x 29.6 cm. 7p.Score for piano. From Trois Morceaux Caractéristiques. |
|
| 4 |
Message, Op. 93 |
|
| 5 |
Mignonette, Op. 97, no. 3 |
|
| 6 | Mine Be The Lips, Op. 113 Boston: Oliver Ditson, 1921. 23.3 cm x 31.2 cm. 5p. Score for high voice and piano. Text by Leonora Speyer. |
|
| 7 | Mine Be The Lips, Op. 113 Boston: Oliver Ditson, 1921. 23.7 cm x 31.3 cm. 5p. Score for medium voice and piano. Text by Leonora Speyer. |
|
| 8 | My Star, Op. 26, no. 1 Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1894. 26.5 cm x 35 cm. 7p. Score for soprano or tenor and piano. Text by Cora Fabbri. From Four Songs. Annotations in pencil. |
|
| 9 | The Night Sea, Op. 10, no. 2 Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1918. 23.8 cm x 31.2 cm. 9p. Score for SS solo and piano. Text by Harriet Prescott Spofford. From Songs of the Sea. |
|
| 10 |
Night Song at Amalfi, Op. 78, no. 2 |
|
| 11 |
An Old Love-Story, Op. 71, no. 3 |
|
| 12 |
O Mistress Mine, Op. 37, no. l |
|
| 13 |
O Sweet Content, Op. 71, no. 2 |
|
| 14 |
O Were my Love Yon Lilac Fair!, Op. 43,
no. 3 |
|
| 15 |
Rendezvous, [Op. 120] |
|
| 16 |
Scottish Legend (Légende écossaise),
Op. 54, no. 1 |
|
| 17 |
Sea Song, Op. 10, no. 3 |
|
| 18 | Separation, Op. 76, no. 1 New York: G. Schirmer, 1914. 24.9 cm x 30.7 cm. 6p. Score for treble voice and piano. Text by John L. Stoddard. From Two Songs. |
|
| 19 | Shena Van, Op. 56, no. 4 Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1904. 23.5 cm x 31.2 cm. 5p. Score for mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano. Text from "Yolande" by William Black. From Four Songs. 2 copies. |
|
| 20 | Song Album: A Cyclus of 14 Selected
Songs with Pianoforte Accompaniment Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1891. Copy 1: 28.4 cm x 19.6 cm. Copy 2: 23.5cm x 31cm. 59p. Score for treble voice and piano. 2 copies. |
|
| 21 |
A Song of Liberty, Op. 49 |
|
| 22 | Song of Love [Chanson d'Amour],
Op. 21, no. 1 Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1893. 26.7 cm x 34.8 cm. 7p. Score for treble voice and piano. Text by Victor Hugo. |
|
| 23 |
Spring, Op. 26, no. 3 |
|
| 24 | Springtime, Op. 124 New York: G. Schirmer, 1929. 23.2 cm x 30.3 cm. 5p. Score for high voice and piano. Text by Susan Merrick Heywood. |
|
| 25 | Though I Take the Wings of Morning,
Op. 152 New York: Composers Press, 1941. 22.9 cm x 30.4 cm. 5p. Score for medium to high voice and piano. Text by Robert Nelson Spencer. |
|
| 26 | Three Pianoforte Pieces, Op.
128 Philadelphia: Theodore Presser, 1932. 23.8cm x 31.2cm. Scores for piano. No. 1, Scherzino, 5p. Dedication: "To my beloved friend, with deepest gratitude. No. 2, Young Birches, 7p. Dedication: "To my dear friend, with much love". No. 3, A Humming-bird, 5p. Dedication: "To my precious friend, in loving admiration." All signed: Amy M. Beach, July 14, [19]32. |
|
| 27 |
"Wouldn't That Be Queer?", Op. 26, no. 4 |
|
| 28 |
The Year's at the Spring, Op. 44, no. 1 |
|
| 29 | The Year's at the Spring, Op.
44, no. 1 Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1900. 28 cm x 22.4 cm. 5p. Text by Robert Browning (from "Pippa passes."). From Three Browning Songs. 2 copies. |
|
| 30 |
The Year's at the Spring, Op. 44, no. 1 |
|
| 31 |
The Year's at the Spring, Op. 44, no. 1 |
|
| 32 |
The Year's at the Spring, Op. 44, no. 1 |
|
| 33 | The Year's at the Spring, Op.
44, no. 1 Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1928. 23.7 cm x 31 cm. 5p. Text by Robert Browning from "Pippa passes." Score for medium voice and piano. From Three Browning Songs. |
|
| 34 |
The Year's at the Spring, Op. 44, no. 1 |
| Box | Folder | Title and Description |
|---|---|---|
| 4 |
35 |
Beach, H.H.A. December 24, 1902. To the Toledo Times Company. ALS. |
| Date | Title | Box | Folder |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1872 |
Mamma's Waltz |
2 | 6 |
| 1877 |
Air and Variations |
1 | 1 |
| 1877 |
Menuetto |
2 | 8 |
|
1878 |
Petit Valse | 2 | 12 |
| 1880 | The Rainy Day | 2 | 14 |
| 1882 | Chorales | 1 | 10 |
| 1887 | My Luve is Like a Red, Red Rose, Op. 12 | 2 | 10 |
| 1889 | Saint John the Baptist | 2 | 15 |
| 1890 | Thrush | 2 | 22 |
| 1894 | Sleep, Little Darling, Op. 29, No. 3 | 2 | 18 |
| 1895 |
Teach Me Thy Way, Op. 33 |
2 | 21 |
| 1896 | Forget-Me-Not | 2 | 1 |
| 1900 | [Untitled: part of a hymn or anthem] | 2 | 26 |
| 1904 | Shena Van, Op. 56, No. 4 | 2 | 17 |
| 1904 | Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60 | 2 | 23 |
| 1906 | Service in A, Op. 63 | 2 | 16 |
| 1907 | Quintet in F minor, Op. 67 | 2 | 13 |
| 1916 | Wind o' the Westland, Op. 77, no. 2 | 2 | 24 |
| 1921 | Caprice for Flute, Cello and Piano | 1 | 8 |
| 1921 | [Pastorale] for Flute, Cello, and Piano, Op. 90 | 2 | 11 |
| 1922 | The Arrow and the Song | 1 | 3 |
| 1922 | Clouds | 1 | 11 |
| 1922 | A Song for Little May | 2 | 19 |
| 1932 | May Eve, Op. 86 | 2 | 7 |
| n.d. | Allegro Appassionata | 1 | 2 |
| n.d. |
At Night |
1 | 4 |
| n.d. |
Cabildo, Op. 149 |
1 | 5,6,7 |
| n.d. |
Chambered Nautilus, Op. 66 |
1 | 9 |
| n.d. |
If Women Will Not Be Inclined |
2 | 4 |
| n.d. |
Graduale from Mass in E |
2 | 2 |
| n.d. | The Heart That Melts | 2 | 3 |
| n.d. | The Icicle Lesson | 2 | 4 |
| n.d. |
Moderato |
2 | 9 |
| n.d. |
The Strife is O'er |
2 | 20 |
| n.d. | Time Has Wings and Swiftly Flies | 2 | 3 |
| n.d. |
Wither? |
2 | 25 |
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