Marcy Cheney's Life And Accomplishments

Amy March Cheney Beach was a legendary music composer and pianist and was the best woman composer at the time in the United States. As a woman, she defied all traditional conventions and set foot into a world of musical maestros to create some of the most notable works of her period. Amy Marcy Cheney was born in the cozy little town of Henniker, New Hampshire, on September 5, 1867. Born to a wealthy New England house, Amy took after her mother, Clara Imogene (popularly known as Marcy), who was an extremely talented pianist and an amateur singer at her time. Such was the influence that, even by the age of one, Amy had memorized over forty songs.

She began composing her own hymns and waltzes with simple symphonies at the

age of five. Her mother, recognizing her dedication for music, encouraged her to take piano lessons with her at the age of six. Amy was ready for her first performance the next year and captivated audiences with her enthralling performance by playing the works of Chopin, Beethoven, and Handel along with some of her unique compositions.
Following the demise of her husband in 1910, Beach spent a couple of years in Europe between the years 1911-1914, where she rose to fame once again with her performances and compositions.

She became an established, solo composer and performer and her famous ‘Gaelic Symphony’ was widely popular all over Europe. She was forced to go back to the United States when WWI broke out and chose to live in New York for the rest of her life.

In 1892, she stunned audiences with her first ever orchestral composition called ‘Mass in E-flat major’, numbered Opus 5. This was performed by the Handel and Haydn Society and was very well received by critics and listeners. She continued composing and writing works such as ‘Eilende Wolken’, ‘Festival Jubilate’, and her first symphony known as the ‘Gaelic Symphony’ was completed in 1896.

She spent her winters touring and her summers confined to her cottage in Massachusetts, composing and creating. She played for churches and also wrote works for the Chamber Music society of San Francisco. One such work called ‘Theme and variations for flute and string quartets’, went on to become one of the most historical pieces ever written. In 1932, Beach composed her first opera ‘Cabildo’ which became widely popular along with her other 300 works. Most of her ideas were inspired along the lines of ‘romanticism’, which earned her a label of a ‘sentimental musician’ by the

cynics.
The symphony had a sturdy performance life following its premiere: the Boston Symphony Orchestra gave it twice in Boston, and once each in Brooklyn and New York, and orchestras across the country and in Germany followed.

The work was a watershed for Beach, who thereafter used vernacular melodies--especially Irish and Scottish-- as themes in about thirty of her three hundred compositions.

Neglected after Beach's death, the symphony has made a recent comeback. Its performance on 9 January 2000 on the American Composers Orchestra's "Roots" concert reaffirms the "Gaelic" Symphony's importance as an early nationalist composition by a pioneer in the development of an "American" music

Beach died of a chronic heart disease on December 27, 1944 in her New York home. The magnitude of her character and heart was seen when she decided to allocate a large part of her will to MacDowell colony. She was one of the most renowned artists of her time, and went on to inspire thousands of upcoming talents. The sad part is however, that her legacy failed to continue posthumously. She was quickly forgotten and all her musical achievements were shelved till the year 1990 when female musicians brought out her works once again and complimented her bravery and her gusto at a time when women faced a lot of oppression. They also highlighted how she chose to be productive in a field where only men dominated during her time. They commended her for her bravery and Amy beach was finally

accorded a place on a granite wall called ‘The shell’ that records the names of the most influential music artists. Amy beach was also given a prestigious place in the American classical Music hall of fame in the year 1999.
Both modern musicians and contemporary colleagues of Beach who have analyzed her compositions agree on many aspects of her style. Her pieces contain many of the stylistic traits that are typical of late Romantic music, with its complex harmonies, altered chords, and figuration. Critics agree that her compositions are well crafted and demonstrate that Beach possesses great talent. Her melodies are often chromatic, yet they are fluid and display her obvious talent for melodic inventiveness.
Beach is able to create folk-like melodies, Impressionistic melodies, and dramatic melodies reminiscent of Schubert while others are operatic in nature. In her more dramatic pieces, her knowledge of orchestra and her ability to create an orchestral sound with the piano accompaniment is clear. She is able to craft the appropriate mood for her various melodies with her accompaniment: simple and clear for her folk-like tunes, ethereal for her Impressionistic songs, and emotional and full of orchestral color for her more dramatic pieces.