Linda M. Koldau. Frauen - Musik - Kultur: Ein Handbuch zum deutschen Sprachgebiet der Frühen Neuzeit. Köln: Böhlau Verlag, 2005. 1188 S. EUR 110.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-3-412-24505-4.
Reviewed by Barbara Eichner (Department of Music, Goldsmiths College, University of London)
Published on H-German (June, 2007)
Silence to Sound: A Change of Perspective on Women and Music in the Early Modern Era
Taking up this heavy, red tome, the reader first encounters a programmatic cover illustration: the well-known copper engraving of venerable composer Heinrich Schütz among his Dresden Hofkapelle retreats into the reddish background, while the painting of an unknown young woman, placidly plucking her lute, comes into sharp focus.[1] This choice is indicative of the change of perspective that Linda Maria Koldau's handbook on women, music, and culture advocates throughout. Asking different questions from different sources drastically alters our perception of musical practices in the German-speaking areas during the early modern era, bringing women to our attention in their multiple roles as consumers, performers, patrons, poets, and composers.
Both the preface and the concise introduction are devoted to reasons that inspired the research for and writing of this study. Traditional musicology--although perhaps not quite as backward as Koldau presents it--considers musical artworks and, by extension, the lives and times of the "great masters," to lie at the center of the profession. This view, while questionable enough for the nineteenth and twentieth centuries when it came into practice, is clearly anachronistic when applied to the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries. At that time, composing was the by-product of other musical professions, which were--like all professions requiring formalized training--closed to women. Traditional studies thus give the impression that no women were involved with music at all. Traditional women's studies, on the other hand, show that women did do things--an invitation to write a complementary history that Koldau does not escape entirely. This change of perspective away from the figure of the master-composer is reflected in the title of the book, replacing the aesthetically loaded terms "Renaissance" and "Baroque" music with the more neutral "Frühe Neuzeit." This decision about the title is clearly a wise choice since many of the phenomena described by Koldau are not concerned with the stylistic changes observable within the "canon."
A redefinition of what comprises "musical activities" is therefore called for: not only the traditionally acknowledged activities of composing and professional performing, but also informal singing in private settings, music education, the encouragement and patronage of musicians, and the collecting and dissemination of music. In order to accomplish this redefinition, new sources must be tapped, leaving behind the well-known music manuscripts, prints, and household records. Koldau draws much of her material from local, regional, and dynastic historiography, theology, and literary studies, which in turn give access to "un-musical" sources such as letters, journals, diplomatic reports, travel descriptions, and advice literature, among other things. Although most of the sources have already been published elsewhere, as witnessed by the copious footnotes, Koldau has assembled them into a multi-voiced chorus not yet heard in this formation. Of course, openness to unlikely voices can only do so much: the dichotomy of the private and the public spheres, inhabited by women and men respectively, is not solely a bias of modern-day researchers. Most of the musical activities outlined above were not considered "newsworthy" in their own time, which means that occasionally a little scrap of evidence has to go a long way, helped on by generous assumptions about what would have been likely, obvious or self-evident at the time. Nevertheless, the change of perspective yields an astounding number of women engaged with music one way or the other, from Habsburg empresses to professional music printers and organ-playing nuns. Women from social groups below the middle classes could hardly have been considered, given the scarcity of source material. A study that started, as Koldau reminiscences, as a list of female hymn and song composers grew into this 1200-page book, which was accepted as the author's Habilitationsschrift in 2005.
The wealth of material is organized into three main parts, dealing with music in aristocratic circles, the middle classes, and in convents and nunneries, respectively. Each part is preceded by a short introduction outlining main themes and issues. Aristocratic women were doubtlessly exposed to the greatest variety of music from an early age, and their activities are also better documented than those of any other group. Koldau orders them by dynasty, usually presenting a specific noblewoman in the context of the court where she was most active. Thus, for example, Maria of Bavaria (1551-1608) appears not among the Wittelsbachs, but as a member of the Habsburg dynasty into which she married. This organization can be slightly confusing to readers unfamiliar with genealogies, because the book does not provide genealogical tables, but the index helps with practicalities. The first part opens with a substantial chapter on musical practices at various Habsburg courts, both because their activities are already well researched by historians, and because the Habsburgs were very fond of music, partly due to their close connections with Italy. The activities of the two "Italian" empresses Eleonora Gonzaga and of Claudia and Anna de' Medici are a case in point. The second chapter is comprised of shorter introductions to several reigning families, such as Hesse-Darmstadt, Hohenzollern, and Württemberg, highlighting mainly the musical education of young noblewomen and their ensuing patronage and active encouragement of the arts. Here the only female German composer acknowledged in traditional studies, Sophie Elisabeth von Braunschweig-Lüneburg (1613-76) makes an appearance. In congruence with the book's general aim, her compositions are not presented as her only true achievement, but as part of her wider engagement with music as performer, patron, and collector. The third chapter, devoted to the lower nobility, addresses two aspects easily overlooked: the central role of sacred hymns for the identity formation of Protestant aristocrats, who extended the role of the Lutheran Hausmutter to encompass the model function of the Landesmutter, and the contribution of women to literary societies that arose during the seventeenth century.
The topics of girls' education and the practice of secular and sacred song are expanded in the second part of the book, which is dedicated to middle-class women. Here the sources are even scarcer and the argument has to rely either on chance findings or on generalizing assumptions, a situation that clearly vexes the author: "Dieser gravierende Mangel an Belegen ... ist umso frustrierender, als es hier erneut eine Selbstverständlichkeit zu belegen gilt, die jedoch in den Quellen kaum je dokumentiert worden ist" (p. 311). Of course women sang as part of their daily duties, at family celebrations, in church, and as a domestic devotional practice, as Koldau never tires of pointing out, and of course, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. When it comes to the question, however, of what music meant to these women--if they considered it "music" at all and not rather an acoustic side-effect of their everyday lives--the sources are remarkably reticent, and Koldau pushes them to their limits. Nevertheless the lives of figures such as teacher Magdalena Heymair (fl. 1560-90), who wrote catechism and biblical songs for pedagogical purposes, make a fascinating read, as does the entire fifth chapter on "Women and Monophonic Song," which at almost 150 pages is probably the most extensive overview of the topic to date. The shorter sixth and seventh chapters move closer to the concerns of traditional music historiography. The former deals with the role of women in musicians' families and the music press and is supported by a very helpful catalogue of female music printers. The latter deals with professional musicians, both free-lance Spielfrauen and properly employed professionals in towns and at courts. Since these women clearly were exceptions, Koldau can offer only case studies, but encourages further investigation of the topic.[2]
The third part, on music in nunneries and religious communities, runs to almost 400 pages, thus easily transgressing the confines of a mere handbook. As Koldau explains, this length was necessary since no extensive studies on this fascinating topic, let alone a systematic overview, have been written so far. A short introduction to the various aspects of music in a convent explains liturgical chant, the cantrix, organ and instrumental music, and para- and extra-liturgical music. It precedes a discussion of selected institutions for which at least some research has already been done, covering Benedictine, Cistercian, Austin, Dominican, Poor Clare, and Franciscan houses as well as the Catholic and Protestant Damenstifte. From this discussion by institution, similar patterns become apparent: liturgical chant as backbone of the religious community; an era of reform in the fifteenth century, which often curbed musical activities; the conflict with the Reformation in the sixteenth century; increasing strictness and tightening of enclosure in the seventeenth century, often counteracted by the upheavals of the Thirty Years' War. As one might suppose, sacred and secular song again play an important role in the lives of these religious women, even more so in the communities influenced by the devotio moderna discussed in the ninth and final chapter. In a sense, it is a pity that Koldau could not extend the music history of the convents into the eighteenth century, when the southern German and Austrian religious houses sported elaborate polyphonic and orchestral music, but then this restriction avoids a cheap progressive model from "simple" practices towards "art music" that would have counteracted the book's intention.
The organization of such a wealth of material naturally presents certain problems. Similar patterns arise across institutions and individual lives: a noble girl with a sense of fashion learns a bit of keyboard playing at some point, a good Hausmutter regales her children and servants with instructional hymns, a dutiful nun spends hours every day chanting and singing. The descriptions thus become slightly repetitious when read in sequence: this book is clearly meant to be consulted, rather than read from cover to cover. Furthermore, the strict division between aristocrats, middle-class women, and nuns occasionally creates overlaps: the Austin foundation Inzigkofen (chapter 8.2.3.2) was strongly patronized by the Suebian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty (chapter 2.3.2); the Innsbruck court of the Habsburg archdukes (chapter 1.7.2) was among the first to employ professional female virtuosos like the Italian courts (chapter 7.2.2). These and many other examples make one wonder if a geographical principle of organization would have been a better option, even if it would have smacked a bit of traditional local histories. On the other hand, most overlap is apparent in the area of secular and sacred song, which were practiced by women of all walks of life in all German-speaking regions. Nevertheless, the various discussions of song across the book are the best and most interestingly argued sections; it is quite obvious that this was the author's original place of departure and also the area which probably engaged her most. If Koldau were to write a book on the cultural practice of "song" alone, it would doubtless make a most welcome addition to a rather under-researched field.
As she repeatedly stresses, Koldau intended this handbook not as a summary but rather as a starting point for further inquiries; she even generously expresses the hope that in fifty years' time her study will have been replaced by more recent, detailed investigations (p. 5). Apart from the possible discovery of more facts, she also hopes that the issues hinging on the concept of gender will be taken further and finally extend to encompass the musical practices of men as well. Needless to say, little research has been conducted on music-making men who were not "great masters" or what music meant for the creation of early modern masculine identities. It is to be hoped that her formidable achievement does not suggest to funding bodies that the topic of "women and music" is now "dealt with" once and for all! If one takes the cultural ramifications of musical practices seriously, this handbook is indeed just the starting point, not the end of women's studies in music and related disciplines. Despite the objections raised above, this is a valuable handbook for any music historian looking for new fields of inquiry, or for a new perspective on seemingly familiar topics. However, it is probably even more valuable for the general historian and the Kulturwissenschaftler at large, since the art and practice of music are often neglected in cultural studies. An accessible introduction is provided not only to the major issues but also to a wealth of facts, and since the book is free from technical jargon, it could really help to minimize the divisions between general history and music history. Some more musical examples would not have hurt the non-specialists but would have been an asset for the music-literate reader. However, in a book so rich in detail and running to 1,200 pages, it appears almost callous to ask for even more!
Notes
[1]. Iconographic sources are used only sparingly throughout the book since, as the author stresses, they normally do not give a realistic idea of actual music-making situations, but rather function as moralizing allegories.
[2]. Towards the end of Koldau's time frame, Samantha Owens has recently demonstrated how the late-seventeenth-century court of Württemberg started employing professional female musicians, even providing for musical education of girls along with choirboys. See Samantha Owens, "Professional Women Musicians in Early Eighteenth-Century Württemberg," Music & Letters, 82 (2001), 32-50.
If there is additional discussion of this review, you may access it through the network, at: https://networks.h-net.org/h-german.
Citation:
Barbara Eichner. Review of Koldau, Linda M., Frauen - Musik - Kultur: Ein Handbuch zum deutschen Sprachgebiet der Frühen Neuzeit.
H-German, H-Net Reviews.
June, 2007.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=13323
Copyright © 2007 by H-Net, all rights reserved. H-Net permits the redistribution and reprinting of this work for nonprofit, educational purposes, with full and accurate attribution to the author, web location, date of publication, originating list, and H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online. For any other proposed use, contact the Reviews editorial staff at hbooks@mail.h-net.org.