CHAPTER IX.
AMERICA
If the term America be applied, as is often the case, only to the United States, then the list of its women composers will still be found to include practically all who have done work in this line in the Western hemisphere. By far the larger part of these women are living now, for our musical growth has taken place in recent years. The record is already a worthy one, and will become still more extensive in the near future.
At the head of the list stands Mrs. H. H. A. Beach, the one great name to be found in our country. She was born in Henniker, N. H., on September 5, 1867, her maiden name being Amy Marcy Cheney. She is descended from one of the oldest New England families, and her middle name indicates her relationship to the Marcy line, which includes the famous cabinet officer, William L. Marcy.
Mrs. Beach's love of music, which she inherited from her mother's family, began to show itself almost at once. From the time when she was only a year old, she began to amaze her family and their friends by the most astonishing musical feats. She proved herself possessed of absolute pitch; she memorized dozens of tunes; she listened for hours at a time to violin music, while pieces in minor keys caused her such grief that they were employed by her parents in place of punishments. At the age of two she was given a photographic sitting, and at the critical moment she electrified the group about her by suddenly singing Handel's "See, the conquering hero comes." The photographer, who had been rehearsing that work for the first peace jubilee, was astounded to find that she gave it with the most perfect accuracy. Her power of memory exerted itself in other fields, and almost as soon as she learned to read she was able to recite long and difficult selections. She also showed a marked ability to improvise melodies and sing an accompanying part to any given theme. Her active mind associated a certain definite colour with each musical key, a habit which continues to the present time.
MRS. H. H. A. BEACH.
At the age of four she succeeded in obtaining permission to touch the piano, although she was so small that she had to improvise a pedestal in order to reach the keys. She soon learned many pieces, and began to compose little waltzes of her own. One of these was thought out wholly without the piano, and played correctly three months afterward. She read from printed notes before she knew their names, and found no trouble in making transpositions at will. At six she insisted on having regular lessons, which were begun by her mother, and continued for two years at home. During that period she learned many difficult works, including études by Heller and Czerny, some Chopin valses, and various movements of the Beethoven sonatas, including the whole of the first one. At this time also she grew interested in the works of Bach, and learned to understand and appreciate the beauty of the interweaving voices in a fugue.
At the age of eight, her parents took her to Boston to pursue her general education. The musical authorities who heard her play insisted that she was able to enter any one of the great European conservatories, but with due regard to her health and her other studies, her parents wisely decided not to let her go. She was sent to Mr. W. L. Whittemore's private school, where she manifested all her usual quickness of attainment. Her piano work was greatly aided by her quick ear and accurate memory, and she was able, for example, to reproduce a Beethoven sonata without notes, merely after hearing a fellow pupil practise it. Another use to which she put this accomplishment was the collection of bird songs, of which she now possesses a complete volume. Her skill in this direction was employed by ornithologists in obtaining the notes sung by the California larks.