Grace Chadbourne

Grace Runnion Wassall Chadbourne[1] (1870 – Jun 9, 1919)  was an American composer,[2] pianist,[3] and singer.[4]

She married Joseph William Wassall in 1890[5] and they had two children, Ellen and LeRoy. After divorcing Wassall, she married Thomas Lincoln Chadbourne in 1906. The Chadbournes lived in London, Minnesota, and New York.[6]

Chadbourne studied music at the Minneapolis School of Music, Oratory and Dramatic Art[7] and with Frank Bibb and Bernhard Ziehn.[8] She also attended Oscar Seagle's Summer Music Colony in Schroon Lake, New York, and performed as an accompanist, a solo singer, and in a vocal quartet.[9]

Chadbourne experienced what she described as a "nervous breakdown" in February 1909 and at the suggestion of a friend, turned to Christian Science, which she believed healed her.[10] In September 1909, her first husband Joseph Wassall drowned in a yacht accident on Lake Michigan. Their daughter Ellen had lived with Wassall, and when he died, she petitioned the court to transfer guardianship to their housekeeper rather than her mother.[11] Chadbourne's second husband, Thomas Chadbourne, adopted her son LeRoy.

Chadbourne's works were published by the John Church Company under "Wassall" and "Chadbourne," and sung by Johanna Gadski and David Bispham, among others.[12] Her compositions, all for voice, include:

"Busy Child"

"Cakes and Ale"

"Concerning Love"

"Doll's Calendar" (text by Nora Archibald Smith)[13]

"Feast of the Doll" (text by Nora Archibald Smith)[14]

"February and November"

"Green Singing Book" (text by Josephine Preston Peabody)[15]

"Hymn for Solo Voice: At Morn, at Noon, at Twilight Dim" (text by Edgar Allan Poe)[16]

"Journey"

"Masterpiece"

Shakespeare Song Cycle (text by William Shakespeare)[17]

"Source" (text by Josephine Preston Peabody)

"Window Pane Songs" (text by Josephine Preston Peabody)[18]

"Windy Nights: (text by Robert Louis Stevenson)

  1. ^ Stern, Susan, 1953- (1978). Women composers : a handbook. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-1138-3. OCLC 3844725.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Hixon, Donald L. (1993). Women in music : an encyclopedic biobibliography. Hennessee, Don A. (2nd ed.). Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-2769-7. OCLC 28889156.
  3. ^ Kindergarten Review. Bradley. 1911.
  4. ^ Draper, William Henry (1923). University Extension: A Survey of Fifty Years, 1873-1923. The University Press.
  5. ^ Wassall, Joseph (30 Jun 1890). "Joseph William Wassall". Retrieved 6 Nov 2020.
  6. ^ Beerbohm, Sir Max; Beerbohm, Max; Rothenstein, William (1975). Max and Will: Max Beerbohm and William Rothenstein, Their Friendship and Letters, 1893-1945. J. Murray. ISBN 9780719531859.
  7. ^ Association, National Speech Arts (1910). Proceedings ... The Association.
  8. ^ O'Brien, Howard Vincent (1912). The Trimmed Lamp: A Periodical of Life and Art. H.V. O'Brien.
  9. ^ The Music Magazine-musical Courier. 1916.
  10. ^ Christian Science Sentinel. Christian Science Pub. Society. 1916.
  11. ^ Times, Special to The New York (1909-11-04). "Spurned, Fights for Child – Mrs. Grace Chadbourne of New York Wants Custody of Daughter". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  12. ^ Cohen, Aaron I. (1987). International encyclopedia of women composers (Second ed.). New York. ISBN 0-9617485-2-4. OCLC 16714846.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. ^ Musical Courier: A Weekly Journal Devoted to Music and the Music Trades. Musical Courier Company. 1908.
  14. ^ The Circle and Success Magazine. Funk & Wagnalls Company. 1908.
  15. ^ The Delineator. Butterick Publishing Company. 1913.
  16. ^ "At morn -- at noon -- at twilight dim (Poe, set by (. . . Grace Chadbourne. . . .)) (The LiederNet Archive: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)". www.lieder.net. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  17. ^ Music and Musicians: Devoted Principally to the Interests of the Northwest. David Scheetz Craig. 1920.
  18. ^ Office, Library of Congress Copyright (1914). Catalog of Copyright Entries. U.S. Government Printing Office.