British composer and organist Elizabeth Stirling (1819-1895) is among the many female composers and musical figures of her age that have yet to receive their due attention. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847) and Clara Wieck Schumann (1819-1896) are two of Stirling’s female contemporaries from the Romantic era. Both of these women had skill and careers overshadowed by their male family members: Fanny’s brother, Felix Mendelssohn, and Clara’s husband, Robert Schumann.
Born in Greenwich and educated at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Stirling held church posts at All Saints’ (Poplar) and St. Andrew (Undershaft) – both in London. Her husband, Frederick Albert Bridge, was choirmaster at London’s famed St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Additionally, her prowess as an organ recitalist is well-documented. After a performance in August of 1837 (when she was not yet 20 years old!), a reviewer in The Musical World wrote:
This young lady ... was the unceasing object of general astonishment, and performed for nearly three hours in continuation the most difficult pedal fugues and preludes of Bach, with a degree of precision and mastery, which may almost be said to be unrivalled. We hope to see justice done to Miss Stirling. The prejudice against lady organists cannot remain, with such an example opposed to it.
Side note--- Judith Barger’s book, Elizabeth Stirling and the Musical Life of Female Organists in Nineteenth-Century England, is a fascinating read. More about that here.
Her compositions for organ have been described as containing “soaring melodies and lush harmonies.” The Largo – included in this Sunday’s worship video – is no exception. Her pieces are almost always in an ABA form, meaning the 3-part composition is such that the inner section differs from the opening and closing sections.
On a lighter note, Stirling’s most well-known composition is likely her arrangement of the folksong, All Among the Barley. Check it out:
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