| This book is two books. On one hand it is a book of facts gathered and presented in Gene Claghorn's caring, reliable organizational style, which we came to appreciate fully as we used his book Women Composers and Hymnists. On the other hand it is a sociological document, an account of the ways our lives have interacted with the women whose biographies are recorded here. For, as distinctive in time and location as each of these women is, they have one thing in common: They've been selected because they've touched our lives in some way. |
| Women who have composed choral or instrumental works, musicals, and/or operettas have brought pleasure, comfort, and inspirational thoughts to our minds. Those who have written hymns and songs also bring pleasureor sometimes anger at the downtrodden paths of society. To the reader, it will become apparent that the authors and composers noted here were dedicated also to education, to the arts, to journalism, or to social work. It is evident that they have exerted collectively a profound influence on our society. |
| Some of these women have been passionately patriotic; others have cried out against injustice in their land. Some were born wealthy; others eked out their existences working as milliners, seamstresses, secretaries, or office clerks. Some lived in isolated and withdrawn seclusion; others were married and had children to raise. |
| Even before the current interest in women's studies had grown strong, Gene Claghorn published Women Composers and Hymnists. We know now that he was a man ahead of his time. And we know he has had to be tireless and uncompromising in his zeal. For there are many whose names do not appear with their work; in the nineteenth century a woman's text or tune appeared often under her husband's name, and there were times in earlier generations when an editor deliberately omitted or avoided using a woman's name lest it weaken the popularity of his publication. Fortunately, with all the scholarly research recently undertaken and all the reports now available, we appreciate even more the distinctive contributions of these women to every aspect of our common lives. |
 | Mary Louise VanDyke, Librarian/Coordinator
Dictionary of American Hymnology
Oberlin College Library, Oberlin, Ohio |
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