Created by Elliott Smith on Tue, 05/23/2023 - 02:55
Description:
In order to publish and distribute In a Persian Garden, three names in publishing had to come together: G Shirmer INC, Metzler & Co. LTD, and Macmillian and Co. Known as one of the big five publishers in English and international publishing, Macmillian Publishing house was started in 1843, in London by Daniel Macmillian (1). In 1890, The Macmillian company published it’s own edition of the FitzGerald translation of Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (2). It was from this edition the lyrics to In a Persian Garden were taken, and so, where the making of this edition begins.
Liza Lehmann was born a musician in London, in 1862. She was a soprano singer for most of her young life until she left the stage after her marriage in 1894. She then proceeded to compose 400 vocal works until her death, including In a Persian Garden, with lyrics from Macmillian 1890 Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám published with Metzler & Co LTD, an English music company (3).
Metzler & Co was a London-based piano-making firm that was founded all the way back in 1788 By Valentin Metzler and later became known as Metzler & Son in 1816. Since then, it expanded to a Limited company for musical instruments, sheet music, and musical accessories. They were the first to copyright In a Persian Garden, in London, in 1896, and published the song cycle in 1909 (4).
G Shirmer was a New York Company that started with the goal of boosting appreciation of classical music, back in 1866, when “the site of the future Carnegie Hall was at the time still an apple orchard”. By the 20th century, G Schirmer had international traction for selling 18th, 19th and contemporary century music. G Schirmer was responsible for the publishing rights in the United States (New York) in 1920. They produced a reprint, the line that this edition is from (5).
The pamphlet in this edition refers to a performance of In a Persian Garden in front of the Woman’s Club, in Madison, Wisconsin. Madison’s National Woman’s Club was formed in 1900, given the task of solving civic problems in Madison. The year this performance was held, 1905, was also the year that the Madison Woman’s Club building was made. They were known for holding regular programs like this one, for the enrichment of their members (6).
Four singers came together for this performance, although much about them is unknown. Miss Genevive Church Smith was a soprano with the University of Wisconsin School of Music, acompanying their Mandolin and Guitar Orchestra in 1902 (7). From the same University, Elias Bredin was a music professor in Madison, and founded, in 1901, the Madison Mozart Club (8). Contralto Frances R Hiestand doesn’t have any records in Madison, Wisconsin, but appears in the June 1906 Evening Herald for Duluth, Minnesota, performing yet again with Soprano Genevive Smith. She might be a part of Smith’s music program, or they might have been good friends. Unlike Ms Hiestand, Alexius Baas was a Madison, Wisconsin household name. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin himself, and leaving to study music in Berlin, he returned to Madison and opened the Wisconsin School of Music (9). His work in Madison included conservation and charity, work with the humane society and education efforts.
2) https://www.biblio.com/book/rubaiyat-omar-khayyam-omar-khayyam-edward/d/1385423345
She published In a Persian Garden with Metzler & Co LTD, an English music company.
3) https://www.santoshavoicegroup.com/blog/liza-lehmann-one-womans-expression-of-a-life-through-music
4) https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015080936076&view=1up&seq=17
5) https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/publishers/g-schirmer-amp/
6) https://www.historicmadison.org/womansclubbuilding
7) https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/ANVQDEQ2CDY5KT8N
8) https://danecountyhistory.org/madison-mozart-club/
9) https://archive.org/details/june2190603dulu
10) https://www.giveshelter.org/news/alexius-baas-humane-advocate-and-beyond