Abstract
Sarah Anna Glover was a British music educator whose concern for improving congregational singing led to a detailed and rigorous method for teaching singing using her carefully developed Norwich Sol-fa system. Sol-fa became important, as it was eventually adapted to several music-teaching systems and made famous in the present day by its use in the movie The Sound of Music. The system was later modified, promoted, and circulated by Glover’s countryman John Curwen, beginning what would be a well-documented conflict between Curwen and Glover.
Jane Southcott of Monash University, Australia, has written a meticulously researched biography of Glover. Glover was born in 1786 in Norwich, England. Her birth date is one of the several errors that Southcott corrected, including Glover’s middle name that is often incorrectly listed as “Ann” instead of “Anna.” Glover received music lessons from the organist of Norwich Cathedral as a child, and proved to be a gifted musician at a very young age. As a young woman who was raised in a family of philanthropists, Glover taught general education in several charity schools where she developed her skills as a teacher and began an endeavor to improve psalmody.
Several chapters detail the life of Glover, but the chapters on how she revised her methods are notable. As she developed her “scheme” of sight singing, she was aware of past and contemporary music education materials. Only one person directly influenced her work, and that was long-time family friend John Marsh, author of several textbooks on composition and harmony. Among his several criticisms, Marsh suggested that there was too much theory in her early manuscript. Glover often took his advice, but also ignored a recommendation if she considered it counter to the principles of her system. The back and forth between the two underlines the incremental and important steps that Glover took in logically developing her system of new notation and how to teach it in order to improve singing.
Glover had a superb intellect, teaching experience, a masterful grasp of music theory, and a clear vision of how her system could cultivate psalmody. The chapter treating Glover’s fascination with “prismatic color and natural theology” exemplifies her inquisitive and imaginative mind and ongoing efforts. Glover revised and improved her work constantly until the end of her life. The chapters on theoretical technicalities may be of interest to some, but may also be slightly advanced for many readers.
An interesting chapter, perhaps especially to instrumentalists, is the chapter on Glover’s invention of the Sol-fa Harmonicon with rotary cylinder. This chapter includes several photographs of two surviving Harmonicons that are preserved in the Norfolk Museums Service Strangers’ Hall Museum, as well as Glover’s more ornate “closed” or keyed Harmonicon. The photographs illustrate Glover’s interest in natural theology and the relationship between prismatic color and the musical string. It would have been helpful to see the photographs in color in the printed book. They are included in color in the eBook.
Chapter 12, titled “John Curwen Takes Hold of Miss Glover’s Method” includes perhaps the most prominent topic of Southcott’s book, and a central event in Glover’s life. Many people believe that Curwen created the Sol-fa system, or as one source noted, Curwen was founder of the Tonic sol-fa system with the help of Sarah “Ann” Glover. This, according to Southcott, should be reversed, declaring that Glover was the founder of the Tonic sol-fa system with the help of Curwen. Southcott finds a delicate and respectful détente between Glover and Curwen, and that Curwen considered their visits “sacred.” However, there was always ongoing friction between the two. Many letters were exchanged between Glover and Curwen over the years, and these reveal that Glover had a kind and diplomatic way of writing even when she was “yelling” at Curwen. This correspondence illustrates the actuality of their relationship as well as it can be determined.
A thread that runs through the book is the struggle of women of the time to be recognized for their work, to be taken seriously as intellectuals, and to be compensated fairly. Because Glover was from a well-respected family and a brilliant thinker, she may have had an easier time than some of her peers. However, it could not have been easy to maneuver to get work recognized and published when business was dominated by establishment men.
An extensive bibliography, numerous citations and the extensive use of primary sources in Southcott’s book show that Glover was not the only one who constantly researched and refined her work, but that Southcott did so as well. Southcott presented biographical details of Glover and the societal circumstances of her work, but also offered a masterful and thorough investigation of Glover’s methodology. Southcott makes clear Glover’s life-long struggle to be given credit for her work and have it widely adopted. Southcott’s outstanding contribution to the understanding of Glover’s work will not only add to the historical account of music education but also provide an excellent model of thorough and dedicated work for future researchers.