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Mrs. B. L. Hackenberger: Bessie Mecklem as Progressive-Era Clubwoman
- Edited by Myles Boothroyd, University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point
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- Book:
- The Saxophone Symposium
- Published by:
- Boydell & Brewer
- Published online:
- 15 February 2024, pp 50-74
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Summary
Abstract
After marriage ended her ten-year career as a professional saxophone soloist, Bessie Mecklem Hackenberger (1876–1942) was able to sustain her ability to perform publicly during her married life through her participation in two contrasting models of Progressive- Era women's clubs. Most musical clubwomen were singers and pianists; Hackenberger was unique as a saxophonist. She was also exceptional for her extensive prior musical experience. On the programs of the Tuesday Musical Club of East Orange, New Jersey, she performed transcriptions from the cultivated tradition rather than the popular and light classical numbers from the lyceum concerts of her teenage years. Her musical activities in Haddon Heights, New Jersey, were limited to the local level and in a club context; however, on occasion, she appeared in settings that had a wider audience, such as live radio broadcasts and the Philadelphia Sesquicentennial. Class and gender played a significant role in shaping Hackenberger. The affluent Mecklem family took a progressive stance toward her artistic interests. Though her upwardly mobile husband expected gender conformity, her women's club activities gave her a public voice. Paralleling the postwar club movement's shift from the goal of self-development to an emphasis on civic reform, Hackenberger became increasingly committed to contributing to her community's economic and social welfare.
Keywords: Bessie Mecklem; Mrs. B. L. Hackenberger; saxophonists, 19th century; women musicians; women's clubs; music clubs; Progressive Era
Introduction
During a time when female woodwind and brass players were rare, Bessie Harding Mecklem (1876–1942) became one of the earliest American-born saxophone soloists. Throughout the early 1890s, she and her father, harpist Henry Clay Mecklem (1841–1915), performed extensively in the New York City area and throughout the Northeast (fig. 1). H. C. Mecklem and his older brother William were partners in a private banking establishment—Mecklem Brothers—located in New York City. Gradually, H. C. Mecklem became financially comfortable enough to take a more passive role in the business in order to devote himself to touring and performing with his daughter. An esteemed member of the Royal Arcanum lodge in East Orange, New Jersey, H. C. Mecklem utilized his network of contacts among various fraternal societies to further his and Bessie's performing careers. Consequently, Bessie appeared in the widest variety of performance settings of any Gilded- Age saxophonist: lyceum and YMCA courses, temperance and fraternal society meetings, benefit concerts, solo performances with wind bands, church services, and amusement parks.
Asenath Mann: Boston's Gilded-Age Saxophonist
- Edited by Myles Boothroyd, University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point
-
- Book:
- The Saxophone Symposium
- Published by:
- Boydell & Brewer
- Published online:
- 15 February 2024, pp 7-41
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- Chapter
- Export citation
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Summary
Abstract
Prominent women saxophonists of the late nineteenth century had to employ creative and entrepreneurial approaches to find performance opportunities outside of the wind band, as women were not typically allowed in these ensembles. The accomplishments of Asenath Mann (1866–1951) place her among the group of pioneering saxophonists who achieved prominence during America's Gilded Age.
Mann, who was heard throughout the greater Boston area between 1882–1888, worked during the years after Etta Morgan's and Louise Linden's careers and before Bessie Mecklem’s. In contrast to these three peers, who toured extensively, Mann was able to work mostly within a 120-mile radius of her home. She appeared both as a soloist and as a member of one of the first women's orchestras in the United States. Consequently, her work patterns were not those typical of the touring “career” woman musician. Rather, they were more consistent with those of the journeyman instrumentalist, one who supplements a steady position in a band or theater orchestra with individual freelance engagements. Mann was able to perform consistently without having to tour due to the availability and variety of performing opportunities afforded by Boston's geography, demographics, and cultural institutions. Press accounts of Mann's audience reception indicate that her musical competence and artistry received greater attention than the novelty of her gender or that of her instrument, possibly her greatest accomplishment given the patriarchal society of the Gilded Age.
Keywords: Asenath Mann; Saxophonists, 19th century; women musicians; women's orchestras; Bijou Ladies Orchestra; Marion Osgood; lyceum; fraternal societies
Introduction
This article introduces American saxophonist Asenath Mann (1866–1951). Mann is significant for having been the most active of Boston's saxophonists of either gender a decade before the emergence of Elise Boyer Hall (1853–1924), a figure well known to saxophonists today. During the five and a half years she performed before the public, Mann appeared both as a soloist and as an original member of one of the first women's orchestras in the United States.
In the first four decades of the twentieth century, the saxophone was becoming increasingly visible in American popular music. The bands of John Philip Sousa, Patrick Conway, Giuseppe Creatore, Frederick Innes, and Arthur Pryor had established the instrument as an indispensable fixture. Saxophone ensembles, such as the Brown Brothers’ Sextet, flourished in vaudeville, and their more refined counterparts toured the Chautauqua and lyceum circuits.