Womans Work in Music | Page 6

perfection. He was always
ready to praise women in his verses, and wrote some choruses
especially for the--
"Honey-voiced, lovely singing maidens,"
which were sung by female voices only. B[oe]otia could boast of two
great poetesses. Myrtis, a native of Anthedon, is reported to have been
the instructress of Pindar, and is said to have contended with him for
the palm of superiority. She was famous through the whole of Greece,
and many places possessed statues in honour of her. The second
poetess was Corinna, of Tanagra, sometimes called the Theban because
of her long residence at Thebes. She flourished about 490 B.C., and
was a contemporary of Pindar. Like Myrtis, she is said to have
instructed him, and is credited with having gained a victory over him in
the public games at Thebes. Only a few fragments of her work have
been preserved to us. But Pausanias, who states that she defeated
Pindar no less than five times, thinks that her personal charms may
have had something to do with the matter.
While teaching Pindar, Corinna once offered to beautify his earlier
efforts with mythological allusions. The pupil, nettled by this criticism,
soon brought to his instructress a new poem, of which the first six
stanzas touched upon every part of Theban mythology; whereupon she
cooled his enthusiasm by remarking with a smile: "One must sow seed
by the handful, not by the bagful."
Whether the character of these earlier poetesses was above reproach or
not, it is certain that in the later days of Grecian civilization music was
handed over to the most degraded classes. In Egypt the caste of
professional musicians was not held in any respect, and the art was
often merely an added accomplishment to enhance the value of slaves.
So, too, in Greece, the practice of music was given over to the Hetæræ,
or courtesans. That these women were at times able to win a high
position is amply proven by the case of Aspasia. A native of Miletus,
she came to live in Athens, and there gained the affections of the great
leader Pericles, not more by her beauty than by her high mental

accomplishments. The story of her life, and of the literary and
philosophical circle which she drew around her, is too well known to
need repetition. Another famous courtesan, though less well endowed
mentally, and evidently on a much lower plane of character, was the
famous flute-player Lamia. It was her beauty rather than her intellect
that won the great honours which she attained; and a temple dedicated
to her as Venus Lamia, as well as a signet upon which her portrait has
been preserved, bear witness to this fact.
The character of Greek music can only be conjectured. At first simple,
it was regulated on a mathematical basis by Pythagoras, who
understood the laws of vibration. Later on it developed into something
more rich and varied, and, while still devoted to unison, or melodic,
effects, it was undoubtedly full of beauty, as is the old Scotch music. Its
great development, as well as the use of many small instruments
(kithara, flute, etc.), go far to prove that music must have formed a
larger part of woman's domestic life than the actual records show.
Roman civilization borrowed much from Greece, especially in the
matter of art. It is not surprising, therefore, to find that the musical
status of Rome, especially in her later days, was a mere replica of that
of Greece. In the instrumental field, we find the lyre of less importance,
but the flute (a term that included reed instruments also) was constantly
used in ceremonial and sacrificial music. Trumpets were in use at all
triumphal processions, while in the days of the empire the well-known
but problematical water-organ became popular. Although the Roman
domestic conditions admitted of more freedom than those of Greece, it
is doubtful if the women took any important part in performance or
composition of music. There are no great poetesses on the Roman roll
of honour, while there are many on that of Greece.
Rome differed from Greece in having its poetry and music written by
different authors, while in Greece both words and notes emanated from
the same brain. But even among men the Romans possessed no
important composers. The names of those who wrote music to the plays
of Terence and Plautus (the plays themselves being imitations of the
Greek) are known to history, but the composers possessed no position

of consequence. If the men received no great homage, there must have
been little incentive for women to strive in the musical field.
As in Greece, female slaves played a large part in the world of
art,--with this difference, that in Rome the masters were usually on a
lower plane of cultivation than