Ethel, The Unstoppable
The first cassette tape I bought without the aid of a parent or outside influencer was Huey Lewis and The News, Sports! I wore that tape out. I had only listened to my parent’s albums or things that had been given to me to hear prior to that. I think I must have been around 8 or 9, and it had been out a few years already. The first band that shaped my sense of popular music identity was Rush, however. That was what the cool kids were listening to in high school. I fell in love with those Geddy Lee basslines right away, and much of the album Exit, Stage Left became part of my guiding light in how I approached my playstyle. Aimee Mann, another favorite bassist of mine, performed backing vocals on the song Time Stands Still, so Rush had a lot going for them in my eyes.
I was reading about a woman named Ethel Smyth this morning. I had studied her work in a class about symphonic music and was hoping to put on a concert this summer, (before Covid struck) to honor women composers of the19th century. Ethel was on my list, along with Fanny Hensel (Mendelssohn), and Clara Schumann. The theme would be to honor the passage of the 19th Amendment. I’m still planning the concert, but Ethel was what was on my mind this morning.
Ethyl Smyth was the first female composer to be granted a damehood in England. I had no idea such a thing even existed. Her "The March of the Women" (1911) became the anthem of the women's suffrage movement, and she conducted a group of protesters marching and singing the song from a prison window with a toothbrush. That is one of the most badass things I’ve ever heard. They let her out of prison eventually, and this is true, because she was too crazy for them. Legend. She was there in the first place for throwing rocks through windows with a group of other women fighting for their rights to have their voices heard. I really hope I get a chance to honor her and the other great women composers of her time period.
One of Ethel’s greatest works is an Opera called “The Wreckers.” If you don’t know the story, go read about it here. It’s worth it, I’ll wait.
I was looking for a YouTube video of the performance when I stumbled upon something I didn’t expect. While I loved Rush as a kid, I had long ago stopped listening to them on a regular basis. The first thing that popped up in my search for “The Wreckers” was a 2012 song by Rush that celebrates the narrative. It’s great, and while melodically rich, it follows the standard Rush ABABCAB format with most of the main themes carried by the vocal. Neil Peart’s writing, true to his style, takes the old story and applies a modern and personal connection in the lyrics, telling a tale about how sometimes things are not always as they seem. It’s a terrific song, and it made me remember why I love Rush so much.
The Overture for “The Wreckers” by Ethel Smyth is fantastic, and its grandiose finish and fanfare brought me a true appreciation for what her struggles must have been in such a male dominated field. Her contributions to the fight for equality is vastly underrated, and I hope you take a moment to read about her fascinating life today. Here is “On The Cliffs of Cornwall”, the prelude to Act II, of Ethel Smyth’s opera, “The Wreckers”: