Beach, Amy

Beach, Amy – Mass in E-flat Major (Vocal score)

Preface
A remarkable child prodigy, Amy Beach taught herself to read at age three and began composing at age four. She began formal piano lessons with her mother at age six and a year later performed recitals with works by Handel, Beethoven, and Chopin, as well as her own music. In 1885 she appeared as a soloist with the Boston Symphony. At age 18 she married Dr. H.H.A. Beach, who insisted she curtail her concert performances to one recital per year, with the proceeds donated to charity. Her husband also did not approve of Amy studying composition with a teacher, so to further her development as a composer, she read every book she could find on theory, composition, and orchestration. In the process taught herself counterpoint, harmony, fugue, and orchestration. Any important texts not in English she translated herself. In a magazine interview (1918 Musical America), she remembered: “I copied and memorized whole scores of symphonies and overtures . . . until I absolutely knew just how they were ‘made.’ It was like a medical student’s dissection.” …

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