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