222 The Harmony of the Tea Table: Gender and Ideology in the Piano Nocturne In the flourishing ba edn teratre on constructions of gender ‘si estrumental msi repost in lative nelet. Guided by she premise that (in Teresa de Laure’ words) “gender is both a scio- uluralconsructanda semiotic apparatus, 2 stem of presentation ‘which stsigns meaning. eo individ within the soi," and ‘outished by theoretical models developed by ers of teratse at, ‘hd lm, music hatorans have mom ready gravitated toward explo: ‘ations ofthe ramifications of gender pera and song. The ateation 's obvious. The feminist op mayinialy be broached trough the Semantic content of the tex, which then serves as 2 kind of les ‘Brough whic is tered the cites reading ofthe manic. Instrumental ‘music onthe other had, poss its ever-famliar quandary: lacking an ident semantic content # would seem to sym eforts to under stand “systems of epreseacation” at work within ic ‘Music hstovians have shied away fom uying to cecover and ex plate these gendered systems party because the idea tat insramen- {almusi occupier an sutonomous realm stil remains a powesfl ide logs fore inthe dacpline. Those of us who wold sede lesen the stranglehold ofthis ideology on podem discourse encounter pat~ seule dificulis. We might recognize that he lnguage of formalist, musical ertcism—a ewenih-century stepchild ofthe aesthetics of utonony—does nt adequately serve the purposes of an ing ito » The Hemony of he Te Tale H gender# But shom of his customary prop, we fae an apparent con ‘peal void, forthe ideology af autonomy sil ems to command ‘oer linguisic posites, How can we speak of gender when con ‘tained bythe analyz demands of “the musi tel"? “The few fore cnc gender in nsramental mos all seem most awkward precisely when the dicouse shifts frm fini to tradisonal mana] anaysis. We ean trace thi sense of ncongaity ‘primarily roan implc dissonance between the aims of the ewo s- ens of thought The vocabularies of masa analyie—wheter they Jabel harmonic and contrapuntal prove, detect Schenkerian Ul rien cident pith-lss steeply represent implicit 0 6 lt dlcone of india! viewpoint, weal chose of com ose, analyst, o “ideal” listener. (And asersons that these anaes fe of were generally perceived by audiences usually remain in the ‘alm of the Heal) Bat the Femin projecs in which thse analyses ‘cecur generally stake wider socal claims, ones aided (in prin pall by a neowork of historical contexts, The goals of the feminist {isgucs and the musical anles apparently cath? Ar yet unre Seled, his discord has resulted in a ease of aporia that has eadered (he historical aces of gender i stramentl sic almost areepre= fentabe and has assed us concentrate on more pint texted fe Yet nocame ofa ballade ws no les 3 cular const than Carmer or Panenice nd leben, abd in piseipalsbould hae been no les (and no more given to gendered meanings. If music historians eto detect and interpet these meanings we need to sek ltemative oncepual frameworks for en dcanng instrament misc. Bot this ask, so smugly exhorted is formidable: atthe presen ne, we ‘ight at best hope for partial rene. Thus although I venture two ternative modes of explanation ia this chapter, nthe of them leaks decisively with conceptltavon. Fist, I examine th con- sequences of eying to understand historia constructions of gender, I seumental mabe witht undertaking a love reading of the ms ‘al notes, Here sek o cast off he burden of instumentl “auton ‘mny"—of the “work ill” But secoad, and in some ways conte tory, Cases how if we ike our received analytal systems through a socialhsoial ne, studying dhe notes of a plce eight ‘ned contrite to oar understanding of gender ‘My approach hinges ona crucial methodological move. Rather thana Helogy, Sex a he Pano Minne suing trent mae be won sion of ewe con cons rr To a0 des ual anenon sway fom a composer-centred notion, fom SSSRo a ome ae ape oe Sia iy wth ‘propriate only for cerain cases of viewers: “Hens painting ‘vil. please the devout beter than any pining of fly wil {ope to women, especially co the very old and the very young, ad sats to monks and mans an to certain noblemen who ave po sense of teuehacmony."® Alpers remarks that "0 say anaes for women Isto reterate that dips aoe measure or ode but rather, tala ‘pea ast, flood of observed unmediaed details dawn fom az ‘are And a Schor note, ce problem of this od of deals for Ttlian observers was that thy treated the relationship ofthe pe riphey tothe center. They seemed to subowdinate dhe background the foreground.” ‘Schor' analysis of he gendered role of detain Westen cule is suggestive for our Useunsion ofthe “feminine” nocarne. The brevity ‘fs nocturne along with ts rpically omate modes, woud peesum ably bave led nintent century Hsteners to focus more oa momen ‘ary surface details ofits constuction than onthe sorts of lagers processes cht might entr ito the experience of more expansive ‘work. Ad ths were so, thee preoccupation with such deals would Telpto reinforce the sexta characterization of the genre ‘An aricle by August Kabler from an 1835 ise ofthe Nowe Zeit chi fir Musik suppors this contention. The te, "Gente Pantin | Modems Music” (Die Gemebildern der modern Mush eval its goal to arcalate an explclink berween Feach gare paating (which grew out ofthe Dutch wadon) and the recent la of short instrumental compositions Keer drew what he saw a5 alarming patalels berween the situation in conempoctry art, where gee printing veemed to profi at the expense ofistoriclsubjecs and thet© leo, Sex ad he Pano Miniatre Theta of be Te Table a in mas, wher small nramentl genres gained with resulting os Dlg kinds And whats more import the rics he leveled the smaller "gene pes” drew onthe sare kind of gender-based ‘aconalirton that Alpers and Sshor documented in Michelangelo nd Reynolds: ‘Gece panting hs alo become vse in music ei characte ‘Sav ecthusinn forthe ea the fareaching she deep ms make ‘vay for 4 malitudeof smal deg, accomplished forms forthe [Goce charming, csuetih [failtcngen), The lowest and hos poplar man fete, dane ase eve, must hae bus the mt expense ery nde to coropt the meaning. Dratatic move ite te peste of please composed of nothing bots fms (Romance, Couples, Lieder, ec). The catalogues swarm teh Steches, Eslogurs, inpromyss, Baga, Rbapsodes, “rads ete One wants a much vase ss posible, however note Ing the onal Best however the newer a worse oo weak fo repre themeles, «conten therfore pressed upon thet, Tha thos are ital pes with Hear ls (Usb veal Kahler’ dsciptve language reveal the role of gender inthe for mulation of his esthetic ance, The notion hat "faery" might "cor fupt the meaning” of «gee pie already deflects odgment onto 3 tendered ceron ill more teling inthis regard ate his poae op Poston: tat pit “farseaching” and "accomplished forms” against ECovetish and “stall designs.” Late in the article he mentioned Chopin ss one ofthe parveors of musical gere pices, even n= ‘lading Chopin, wth Pugin among those whos se ofthe concept ‘teuck Kahler a "pathologic!" frankhof) Kablee confi tha the gendered resonances of deal x outined by Schor also were elt inthe wold of mone Hence, we ean securely ‘sere that, it addon tothe demogeaphic envionment ofthe noe ture its very brevity and ornatenes also encouraged perception semaine” mus Gender andthe Devon ofthe Nocturne “The sgiicance ofthis assertion goes beyond its afrmation ofthe historical lfinty ofthe nocare and we feminine, For to be associ i i ated with dhe feminine was alo often to be devalorzed. How did this side ofthe sesh equation affect perceptions ofthe nocturne? ‘Wehave aeady witnessed in Keen's conumentary a eoeral ensure ‘of Chopin on grounds that had pal todo wih feminine asniations (although in other forums he prised the composer)" And eal these ‘words of Ferdinand Hand: “The representation of sentiment in the ‘octurno runs che danger of falling int he effeminate and languisi- ‘ng, which dapeasssronger sul and altogether te the ten “The negacive tne should not surprise us. Indeed given the preva ing stiade ofthe sme in which sition with women and with ‘tfeminacy sully le oa lsc ranking in the setts icrarhy it ‘would have ben odd ifthe socrune had excaped unscathed. But what Is striking is how what was only an occasional trope inthe eis ofthe 1850s and 1840s grew toa almost obsessive preoccupation of ‘riers in the second al of the nineteenth censry They theorized the feminine as a lack. A rlaitely mul sample of such disapproval ome from on rile on the nactiae in Arrey vou Dotan’ Lex com of 1865 [NOTTURNO: The characte ofthis pee of msi i sly given fo a gue and quit rapeae thon thereby ealading cher ess however levated sean afl arrangement of the same ‘omsin dt from The whole gmoues mr 90 an agerble Amusement and awakening ofa mellow Kame of mind der Ge- | thn oa enti maton of dep flings fd passions For that ceason, madera piano mui ke oer so alle cater pees a wel ab the nattaro, is preity stable fo sentiments and gush ver empfnden) as ouch a possible, ‘dh worry of encroachment onthe harmoay of theta able der Harmonie dos Theetices) by awakening cong fedings and though ‘Von Domer didnot ety invoke the feminine, this aesthetic: categorie nonetheless can be read a covery epeseting sexual di ferences He dsingnised the “pele and quiet rapture” ofthe noc tueme fom th “elevated ides an aril arangement” hat might be encountered in other, unnamed genes. The passive categories of “agreeable amusement” and "mellow fame of mind” an sp agar she more sctve "energese simulation” and “dep feelings.” Hel baled “sentimentality” and “gushing over” ax charaterstics of thea ieoogy Se and the Pano Ministre ‘env: two more feminine categories inthe minds of Titenes inthe Eeteninetent entry could hardly be nagined Byte tie we reach the en of von Dommer dfn, we have litle doube asco which sex might be siting abou the ea able voiding "strong thought.” “Liter nineeemth-centzyexitis—male eric, I should now begin to res cbuenvly dispcaped muse that they associated with fem Ininiy and effeminacy. should therefore come a5 no surprise that this was the only time in which Chopi’snoctumes were frequen) eprocheds even byes who were otherwise well- disposed toward the compose, Predeick Nici, who authored the is reat biog phy of Chopin in 1888 bad hit say abou the noctarnes: “Among Chopin's octures some of i oe popular works eto ound, Nays he most wie grevaig ies of i character a6. ‘an and main resto hve ben derived rom them. Bot the [BE hus formed is an eroacous oe these dle, feinate com ‘osions ilseate only one side of the ruers characte, abd by ‘ovmeane the best o os intersting.” Ear in the same work, Nicks had rematked on the qualities that fave varity tothe compostions he admired more than the nocturnes: Another prejadi,widespred alos univesl is that Chopin's ‘hose al angucr snd lachlan, comequeny wating ey, Nowy tare an Be no pester eros than ds belle, AS to ‘er we sould be obliged to wonder ae inntenen f be bad ‘Cmposed nothing butte peso which are el apliable tbe ‘ues deny, pene, moar and despondet. Bat wha Wi, ‘tue mre than many ioe, maf el in many of his re Te Nick’ “epithets here are not precisely host he use in is dis usions ofthe individual noctarnes they evolve inthe same expres Sve rb What the nocares lacked, ia his view, was "any Vion” A valiy belated ewhete in the compose’ veut 2 few years leer, James Huncker contbuted thse rambling thoughts om dhe nocturne Chopin ev desert semen some of tee compositions ‘They ace aot alge othe at of thi peer they sem ‘esalfenng cs ania However, there area few tobe poses {hd metodsof performance may have much fo ase forthe et ‘The Hamny of he Te Tile ° simenaling of vome ober. More vga, a qickening of he sme pub and see langibing ouch wil acu he es as se {torts Mow of them ae caled frig, «term ppeolopealy fae. The poetic de of men of nie Femining and s Chopin the fmm note wi ver empharaed™a ines was alos Bs ‘eal pariclariin hese nocturne By now, the construction of gender behind Huncker’s repeated use of buch adjectives “sentental clear Buti simeresing to witness Hanekers ceacton o thee and other “feminine” ait. He did not, lige Nicks, simply consign the aoctres toa leser hierarchical at + ‘egory Rather, be tre, in Judith Feely clever neoogis, tin Imasulte” some ofthe nocturnes Fs Hnckes urged a ess "se tiene” more "vigorous" performance of them. And then be tempted to co-op alrgetber the expe characterization of them {5 feminine” by questioning the pychologial validity ofthe concept, IF (in common romantic rope) “femiiny” 5 the "posi side of ‘nen of geniy" ten st becomes somehow less rated to actual sex, fh more a"neutral” (or metre) feature of ged men” evaluations of Chops nocturne were saul trated in terms ‘of general rate for bis otpat asa whole and at east guarded tption of his achievement nthe noczunes themselves. Nonetheless, inchs negative ndgmens we ans dec the rection ofa ager issue in women’s history, For throughout the ninetenthcemary, end inmany diferent spheres of ceive work, genres hat were peal the puvew of men as prodscers andor consumers) were privileged (Genres culated by wore, on the other hand, wee relegated to the margins ofthe sented horoe. Wein ofan ache period, Janet ‘Todd hos argued thatthe beliement of sesiental wating in the lace cightenth century derived in part fom its association with, ‘women readers and writers eacons aginst were often raed in texms of manliness of men speaking to men. “Thee ace precy the terms we encounter century ater in the sttciss of Nick aad Hunker” Each nis ow way Tonged fo “scl vigor” to conger the “femiaine” qualities he found in Chopin. In adopting this eurlook, Nicks snd Huneker took part in the broader catoral projec that granted pevleged satus tote large ‘asc gencespeatced by men, Ths arse too would woek against Chopin inte late sneteeath and carly tented cena a heand the Pano Mine « aeoogy, ex, ‘commonplace derogation of his ffors i larger genes Uke the con festa and sonata, Cees ofthe ine found simply impausle that the feminine” Chopin could erate a sonata that measued up fo the tat taditon of Mosae and Beethoven. we in oct times ave represed ost ofthese explii asoca sions of feminine imagery withthe nocturne, then by what process svat the gene rete” from the feminine spere ery in the ewen- {eth century? A shin thinking bout the penre—at least a it selated to Chopin--can be dereced enya the cenit cearury in diverse Soares including pianists and analyte Arar Rebiatin frequently {Eve himscf cee for secrngstrpretations of Chopin away fom the “salon stlo"—itlf an encoded reference o "women's mosi™— ofthe late inetevth century. In is memoirs, RabisteinUsparaged the performances of Chopin be attended as youth which ed i iniallytoadope at be wrote, "the generally accepted opision of Cho- pin as the young, sick, roman Bare who wrote sentient music forthe pao.” But his epiphany came when e was ableco bear "Cho- i's musi se shosld sound” hati, expressing, among other vit- fs igeiy and sength,” quale found in his avoitecomposee ofthe time, Brahma “Theor did not state thee postions quite so bal, but the ery fact tat th likes of Helacch Schenker and Hugo Leictetrit de- ‘voted serous analytical anion to the aocrunes of Chopin served to “validate” the gence by negating ts gendered past Analyses ike Schenker’ tat sought ay bare the background seotare of a mb ‘seal ork gloned over te same sense of deal hat helped ik the octane with the feminine sn the fist place, Anaya! detail ee tained ofcourse, bu of a “deep,” no "suelace” varie, and of {bet that commentators ke Kabler already in henner entry ‘would have found appropriate to “pent, Geman” at" “The fist grave Lechenti examined inhi anal overview of (Chopi's msi was the octane, and his introductory comments are Insane for the way ia which they state Chopin's contributions to the eaten istry. Lichenteite ted Pld and Schubert a pro- {ito ofthe Chopin accrues, He also speed gene, formal, Ilodie, and harmonic des to works of Mendelsohn, Schumann, {it Row, Bellin, Grieg, Bras, and Wagner Bu he nowhere linked the env to women his language avoids even cover feiiine Te cantatas neo The Ham of i Te Tale “ imagery. In effec, his chronicle of afliations ater that Chopin's toctumes took part soley inthe grat raion of male masterworks ‘Yerby seesiag tes with other composers and neglecting aeons with women, Leichentrit old ony part ofthe story: he nestled the past By such routs the nocturne eventually loot much of ts ex pls aint othe feminine. [Noctumal Love Song nd the Female Listener: “Volee' and the ‘Double Voled Discoure! ‘While Ihave thus fr stressed only he rendency toward feminine in sageyin reactions to the nocturne, chis was nt the only pe of re pons othe gee inthe nineteenth entry. The generic origins of {he plano nocturne, which grew out of the vod! kindof the same ‘ame alo led to a stuaton ia whic both the conception and eum ofthe nocturne were bound to metaphors associated with “Soice”™—by which erm refer colctively to gues that evoke vocal muse rather than to Edward Cone’ concept of musical personae {fe 1839, Carl Coory described the expectations many listeners brought tothe gene: ‘The Nottemo for the Panofores ely an inition of hase vol pies which ate tered Serenade, and the peli objet of ch trorks—shat of being peviormed by night before te deling of =n ‘Steen individual mar always exerci an inlaence upon i Sara" Czeny implied tha many listeners understood the piano nocturne to be oughly equivalent os worl counterpart they viewed quite lneraly 2 "Song without words.” Aad Cat's identieation ofthe ‘iano soctrne a3 eanemtation of its oc namesake recive cot fition fom another, very dfleen source. The ronteiee to the Hofmeister edition of laacy Felix Dobyns Trot Nocturnes pour ‘e pianoforte, op. 2, sports an engraving (see Fie 2.2) A man, sccompanying himself en a gitar, sng the nocrrne to is beloved, ‘ho watches from her window Another amorous couple trl the datkened suet in the background. Cepid, sfhoueted by the moon, srtes the entre scene, arrow ready t fy fom his ow, This ‘native alone would sugges that vocal asocation were par of he“6 es, Sex and the Papo Mintre a seem SH Figee 22 Th os la) Fee Dobe Tos Nocrmes po e foro a Shek enor Kat obibiait: Bude s pianist The Hemny of be Te Tale e ano nocturne; itsems to translate graphically Caeny’s words about the “peculiar objet” of noctres, “that of being pesfrmed by night, tefore the dweling ofan exeemed individual” And a quick survey ‘ofsome poetic texts fr vocal nocares, which tend o be addesed {rom men to women, coals the ubiquity ofthe performing sation sprceeted in the engraving * “Bat ifs nocure in one sense cepresented to nineteenth-entry sings 2 kind of love poem sung by 2 man toa womas, how could i slko be peeved, 10 teal out ear discussion, ata mero of he feminine sprit? On the one hand, a nocarne found its embodiment ‘ihe action ofa mans on the other and, i exprsed the soa] of 2 ‘woman. The gnze appears tohave been engendered in conttry wa. How can we account for this contradiction? ‘Agua, we ned to remind ouslves cat bot ofthese visions of the nocturne were articulated primarily by men Thus, se Ruth Sole his Suggested in connection with the impersonation of women's expe: nce in Schumann's Frnenliche und leben, the disparity most it oom ws abou the mindset of men at he tne: it cannot be taken a3 am acetate repretentation of eninine response tothe gare” Instead, ‘we can sce in tan idealized conception of women ofthe sore that proliferated in the lat eighteenth and nineteenth entries (Soli men tions Goethe's das ewig Weibliche). Through the simulans po: tryal ofthe nocturne ata woman's “eatie Le” (to quote asin Fink's feview of Choin’s Nocturnes, op, 15), but a ife somehow oriented toward being courted by a man, the message ofthe gence served f0| ‘pinforce a widespread ideological stance ‘Bue wht ofthe responses of women to this ideology? Hove might female pianist ofthe sme have reacted to what mt have been ¢ ‘ypial station for her pecformance ofa nocturne? Here aps he ‘Spe enviconment that Ruth Saiimagined for ange of Frouenbe tnd leo mst also have existed fra pianist performing 2 nocturne (see Figure 21). Se likely played in 2 house in font of men; the ocrome ws peobably writen by aman its expresive mesage was Adecemined by me, andthe ulate point ofthe message was the ‘station robe gained in beng wooed by 2 man. To be sure, for some sich pianists the sition would have ened eaiely “nor and ot wordy of elletion Bur jas as surely, for others the asymmete in his state of aflaie« delogy, Sex, and the Pano Minne conse enc ec Serine treme Eyeiaiamsariectc noe trgieen cheataienagioor Hee me a rece soclmensticrsaaey ie Rts teense ee oF eee ioe arae Sine at ation sere et ie oa Lady Eline compose aw ening rope Bes seins ener sacar decison neta sete gist reecasrath fears Mec iy meee fot tran oeaee a fl aca am camera ieee ees Cae ae Pa cee eae son yk tae ed ep nfo ates came STomateentcd meanings? Or said anther way, can we id The ameny of he Tet » idence of a “dovblevized discourse” inthe realm of the noe ‘The Compose t Listener, Two Noctumes by Women Ar the presen sme, we have only limited documentation of specific feminine esponser to mic, Wheres one ca investigate the reacions fof men of Chopin's ime with rave ease—men we the its for the newspapers, and the coztspondence and dias of well known smal composers tend tobe published in sme form—the responses of ‘women, wo were forthe mos part exclude from journalism and ‘wee nt well known composer, are nota dey reivabe ora few notable figures lke Clara Wieck Schunann and Fanay ‘Mendelschn Hensel, however, we have excellent acces 9 thei cor respondence and dares" Occasional passages in these published Sources support a tentative hypotias that some women were txned to "liste ike men,” and moreover, ha this experience edt 4 co fice or intemal division. Cara Wieck’s davies and corespondence provide good examples. As i wel known she Bld contador fel ings above her work ab a composer at ines he was very happy with her efforts, a nes gute displeased. But the rerms in which she ex press her dplesire coud be reveling, For inance, on 11 No ember 1839 she wrote in he diary 1 once baie that posse cetive let, ut Ihave changed ny mid about chs xs 2 woman (on Pacem] it 0 ‘waht compost—no one has yet been able todo iy abould Tbe {snd for tha woald be arogan, omething with rhish only ‘my lather once emped me nearer tenes, but Leon changed ny ‘ind abou thi beet. May Robert ony tl crest eh sould Snags make me apps ‘And about her own Tei, she wrote inher diary on 2 October 1846 "There no gente plete than composing something oneself and enlisting There ae sme ie pasages in the Try and aleve alo rather wel done in fom atrial etre ‘wom's work (Powencimmararbei] wh always lacs force nd Be snd there inventson* leslogy, Sex ad he Pano Mine Wieck deprecated herein sexs drawa dre from the prevaling Thule islogy of the day. Parsclany srking i bee defiition of ane's mack” as that which “lacks fore,” forthe desertion CIT be eanfecred ntace no many ofthe reviews ad descriptions ‘fhe nature ote etl, -Yoclnother means of understanding bow women in he is half of tac ineteeathcenary might have tend 0 notames sto examine ostirns composed by them. Tiss both to view these composers TOaMpocal category of latener and o teat their norarnes a6 1 Sooo leas partly) to the prominanty male generic radon “Radieislso co noke fr thea ie inthischaper, he vocabulary ae ttonal muncal analy, Bot while the jangon may be fur aarrrclogata te we to wich I po i differs in one exocal way (fons oninay masiologial practice Texlciy mean my analytical Eee canon to serve as representations of documented cay aine (Weatconacy perceptions of the genre. Because ll epreenatons of Bereoiare complete translation ofthe pst, heal burdened by INE plicred in the preset night therefore seem that Lam py Se cgheofertcal hand, pomotng as ae method the same Sie fag of analyal ticks, But thi undervalue che significance of ‘hemor from understanding familia analytical idioms as expressions ae de or individual tear to gasping them as socially com “tevted representations. Shifting fom a anivoeal ro a polyocsl a. vipucal dssoumn at east ates te posbility of bringing the aims of ‘Rhinsinand those of tuscl analysis into a sila critical orbit Tina to focus pea on a Notturno by Clara Wieck, and 9 8 ese degre on one by Fanny easel, Tsse ovo stunning examples the gence and in sore interesting ways apart from te efforts of ‘held snd Chopin. The Wieck Noturno forms par of bec Soides musicales, op 6, which was composed in 1835-1836, and publibed etguee The eurgeaph manusrp of Henses Nota bess the {Tite 15 October 1958; the work, which she withheld from pobisa- on wast printed only in 1986." Ty musa one, icldngs harmeni inveiveness, tenet cof romance, thythnie vary clever disposition of form, and wistat Chas the Wieck nocturne ir aa extraordinary work, But ou ein SSaclon Hae what the ptce might ell x aboot Wie’ reading of ‘qevgenentedion. In thi opad to excep sem patty a eeethy the opening measure ofthe pce ands middle tion Ti ey of he Te Tele PA (Peanpls2:0 nd 2.10) noth of ise saps Wik reed en ene ate: a own the mode of Field she insead adapted innovative gestres introduced into the gene by Cho- nly sh ea i “ino te pareiyGes oi pet Bigs pial cl a ae fot slong with he te hey can eabish the appropiate mea ‘me erp oe gre coe ee ae Etter esefvourny We'd eels es SSivtpeae ep nal chore ptt coment ed Frere ey ed wi eye oe Sth asn flops bl Wack pet esa ne egmple21 Cha Wik, Nomen, op. 6,5022 delogy, Sex, he Pan Ministre se einer rt er ca a he abeiiteenaeesn te soir tbeceraieatne-ores ihe dere ei neo vel aia tee cpcomran neem oben timannrantyrets el coat neater es Tee Hamony of be Te Tale a From these passages we ain a seas of Wiec’s precarious struggle swith the preling coer onthe nocturne. (Her dares hve a- ‘ready framed this characterscaly ambiguous tne: fr ws) On the ‘one hand; undersning the exon of the opening in favor of Lent the sew alvays ‘comes with an admixture of the oly anda simlar prern cold un ‘doubted be devoted in any competent work in any genre. Yet ‘omon gesture need not are out of common motives. We ned ako to consider Hensls pala sats aba woman compose. The pob- Ise corespondence with er brothe: Flix often reveals profound ambivalence sbout composing and publishing as inthis passage writ {enon 22 November 1836: ‘With rogue to pushing tnd ike the donkey berwen eo bales ‘ot hays All these have to ada honesty at angel am ater nesta about iy Henel wihr i, you are agit I woald of@ Helo, Sex ad he Pano Minitze couse comply totally with the wie f my husband in any other Ina, yet on hs te alone sto ruil for me to have your loners fo without ie night ae undertake anything of tbe kind” “Te pli comparison (manifest one in othe eters of her own talems to those of her brother and the lack of selfconfidence that xpressd tel through the consciour sing of ee artistic imposes other case the formal experiment ia the Notnurs in diferent Tigi tn other words, to iw Hens nocturne as simply another cxemplrin the grat waitin of he gente to whitewash the most ssentalfeatre of is tlationsip ro this tradition For her experience vith he gene plainly differed fom ha of her male contemporaries Tr the eds hes ehllenge tot remained a personal ba; she never publsed the nocturne” Caa we imagine Chopin making the same “Exison with «pec of hi high quai? The message fom Fanny “nal scems tobe that challenges to eadtion must be confined 0 [ovate musical statements, that fora woman thee Ineked unstated flanger in publ eoatroting the orthodoxy. “To investigate women and the piano nocturne inthe nineteenth en- fry bo uncover sores of devalaton, marginalization, and some fines outighteaclason but als to discover inmations of inivid- {sl voices guetoning the patsarchal eadon. We ave leaaed that the auciation of femininity withthe nocturne served to reinforce a idealized male view of womanhood, ose dat may have ad i con- ection withthe pereepons of women themselves. Signs of challenge fn the part of fale comporere were at best muted and ambiguows, it worse held fom public view, And when reaction tothe prevalence (ofthis "einiity” inthe nocturne egan inthe second half ofthe Century the afation with women acted ike an aesthetic lea sinker ‘on the noctune, paling ify down che hierarchy into the murky ‘ep of emimental salon misc ‘What do these stories lad us to concde about the potential of rmuscal analysis for feinist masicology? On the one hands think trea must be wary ofthe music historian’ reflex to analyze, Proje that vee toward a Hote-bynote mapping of musical discourse onto ‘Rructures af emins thought may, by priveping composercentered Conceps over socal ones, uncomously promote te patriarchal The Hama of he Te Tae a agendas they ostensibly would deny. Ihave not emily escaped this tendency here. Yetin the proces of examining the nocrroes of 80 ‘women composer, have shown ow, situated historically, analysis (erat last close working with the notes) can aid our formation of ast musical ideologies. So something like analysis might be of some Service toa feriaist music history afer al Telnet fle shore of ‘ringing endorsement of the eocep, But to Wish otherwise it isk Sighting the moze sgican sights into constuction of gender tse tha ae likely #0 follow from the exploration of slernatie ~pistemolots