September 6 - Isabella Leonarda (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for September 6th are here: Manfred Gurlitt; Sylvester (2019), Anton Diabelli (2020), Georg Christoph Bach (2021), Anton Diabelli; Isabella Leonarda (2022), and Henry Diltz (2023)

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Isabella Leonarda (6 September 1620 – 25 February 1704) was an Italian composer and Ursuline nun. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Practice Rumination

Isabella Leonarda, who was Ursuline,

  Resided in a convent all her days.

Which meant she had a place to hold rehearsal in,

  With a minimum of hassles and delays.

Rehearsing the motets that she had written,

   She found it was a perk that can’t be priced

To have a spacious choir loft to sit it

   While singing with her fellow brides of Christ.

 

 

 

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February 19 - Elfrida Andrée; Luigi Boccherini (The Musical Birthday Series, 4th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for February 19th are here: Luigi Boccherini (2020), Adelina Patti (2021), and Elfrida Andrée; Tobias Matthay (2023)

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Elfrida Andrée (19 February 1841 – 11 January 1929), was a Swedish organist, composer, and conductor. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the Radio 1

The classical stations now play

The works of Elfrida Andrée,

And though no one would gauge her

As important or major,

She deserves to be heard in this way.

 

 

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪

 

Luigi Boccherini (19 February 1743 – 28 May 1805) was an Italian cello and extremely prolific composer, mostly for his instrument.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the Radio 2

If benign Boccherini were odder,

Or his musical style were broader,

He wouldn’t be found

To so amply abound

As classical radio fodder.

  

 

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December 9 - Maddalena Laura Sirmen (The Musical Birthday Series, 4th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for December 9th are here: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf; Émile Waldteufel (2019), Donny Osmond (2020), and Pierre Henry; Sidney Homer (2021)

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Maddalena Laura Sirmen (9 December 1745 – 18 May 1818) was an Italian composer, violinist, and singer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speculation

The newlyweds performed in Paris on 15 August 1768, performing a double violin concerto which they co-wrote. – Wikipedia

When Maddelena Laura Sirmen played

In concert with her violinist spouse,

The records of the time report that they’d

Be assured of bringing down the house.

I wonder if their married life was stressful,

And if the couple ended up regretting
Attempts to be concurrently successful

At private and professional duetting.

 

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January 24 - Vítězslava Kaprálová (The Musical Birthday Series, 3rd Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for January 24th are here: Frederick the Second; E. T. A. Hoffmann (2020) and E. T. A. Hoffmann (2021)

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Vítězslava Kaprálová (24 January 1915 – 16 June 1940) was a Czech composer and conductor. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Legacy

Vítězslava Kaprálová,

Brilliant as a supernova,

Had the talent and the drive,

But she died at twenty-five.

In Canada, a new society

Was set in place with due propriety,

Which has a mission to promote, 

The legacy of works she wrote,

Together with a larger mission

To bring to wider recognition

Neglected female contributions

To music life and institutions.

 

 

 

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August 21 - Count Basie; Lili Boulanger (The Musical Birthday Series, 3rd Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for August 21st are here: Janet Baker (2019) and Gregg Smith (2020)

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Count Basie (21 August 1904 – 26 April 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Counting Verse

 

During a broadcast the announcer wanted to give Basie's name some style, so he called him "Count." -- Wikipedia

When asked was it really the case, he

Admitted he wasn’t Count Basie,

“But I have a nobility,

Not blood, but ability,

And the title looks good prima facie.”

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Lili Boulanger (21 August 1893 – 15 March 1918) was a French composer, and the first female winner of the Prix de Rome composition prize.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To Lili: In Memoriam

It always makes us sad to say

That death took Lili Boulanger

        At twenty-four.

And though it is an old cliché

When younger persons pass away,

I’ll end my verse with this today,

       Therefore:

She had such riches yet to give,

If only Fate had let her live

       Some more.

 

 

 

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