Ethel L. Voynich Papers
Catalog Record: http://lccn.loc.gov/2010563503
General International Standard for Archival Description
Music Division Library of Congress Washington, D.C.
Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Music Division, 2010
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Ethel L. Voynich Papers 1828-1948 (bulk 1935-1948)
Voynich, E. L. (Ethel Lillian), 1864-1960
Biographical History for: Ethel L. Voynich Papers 1828-1948 (bulk 1935-1948)
Biographical Note Ethel Lillian Voynich (1864-1960) was a social activist, novelist, translator, and composer. Born May 11, 1864, in County Cork, Ireland, Ethel Lilian Boole was the youngest of the five daughters of George Boole (1815-1864) and Mary Everest Boole (1832-1916). George Boole was an eminent mathematician whose theories (Boolean Logic) were instrumental to the development of modern technologies, including digital recording and the Internet. Mary Boole was an eccentric mathematician, teacher, and writer whose books on teaching mathematics to children became milestones in education. Despite their strong intellectual background, George and Mary lived in acute poverty and sent Ethel to live with her uncle, Charles Boole, in Lancashire. The years of physical abuse from Charles that followed eventually became the basis for her 1901 novel, Jack Raymond. At the age of eighteen, Ethel traveled to Berlin and enrolled in the Hochschule der Musik in an effort to pursue her childhood love of music. Her studies of piano and composition from 1882-1885, however, were overshadowed by her newfound interest in revolutionary literature and political activism. Inspired by the plight of Russian prisoners under Tzarist rule, Ethel moved to St. Petersburg in 1887, where she made ends meet teaching English and music, dedicating any remaining time to helping suffering prisoners and peasants. After two years of committed charitable, revolutionary activity, Ethel returned to London, where she made the acquaintance of Polish patriot, antiquarian, and bibliophile Wilfred Michael Voynich, then a Russian fugitive. The two lived together and worked on various revolutionary endeavors for many years, eventually marrying in 1902. During this period, Ethel established herself as both a writer and a translator of Russian literature into English. Her first published translation, Stories from Garshin, was released in 1893, followed by The humor of Russia (1985), and Nihilism as it is (1895). Her most famous novel, The Gadfly (1897), was later made into a film in the Soviet Union with a score by Dmitiri Shostakovich. Ethel remained musically active as well, becoming a member of the Society of Woman Musicians, an organization founded by composer Marion Scott in 1911. Through Scott, she established a close relationship with composer and war poet Ivor Gurney, an inspirational force behind her literary and musical compositions. Following her immigration to New York City around 1920, Ethel began intensive studies in composition and orchestration. These contributed to her creation of a variety of sacred vocal and instrumental works in the 1920s, including Babylon, Jerusalem, and Epitaph in Ballad Form. In March 1930, husband Wilfred Voynich, by now an established New York bookseller, passed away from respiratory illness. Ethel moved in with his secretary and shop manager Anne M. Nill shortly thereafter, and the pair lived together for nearly thirteen years in Manhattan. Ethel continued to write, translate, and compose. Her last work, Put Off Thy Shoes, was published in 1945. The remainder of her life was spent reaping the rewards of her signature best-seller, The Gadfly, a work that had, unbeknownst to her at the time, single-handedly established Ethel's reputation as an American literary hero in the Soviet Union. Royalties from the novel and its derivative films enabled her to live a robust intellectual life until her death in 1960 at age ninety-six.
Scope and Content Note The Ethel L. Voynich Papers span the period 1835 to 1948, with the majority of the materials dating from 1928-1948. Voynich's musical compositions, based principally on sacred or poetic texts, are represented by holograph manuscript scores, sketches, lyric sheets, and notes. Works are arranged alphabetically by title, with sources of texts identified if possible. The remaining materials consist of subject files on musicological topics and a handful of programs. Included is documentation of Voynich's studies with musicologist Josef Chominski, work done at the Pius X School of Liturgical Music in New York, research conducted at the New York Public Library, and her associations with notable Gloucester composer-poet Ivor Gurney.
series
Music, 1916-1948
file
Babylon (voices, chorus, orchestra)
Manuscript full score
Photocopied manuscript full score
Manuscript short score
Sketches and notes
Blue Bunny's book (voice, piano)
Manuscript piano-vocal score
Blue Bunny's influenza blues (voice, piano)
Bunny dance (piano)
Sketch
Come near (voice, piano)
2 manuscript piano-vocal scores
The crossroads (voices, band)
Cubby lion's childhood (voice, piano)
3 manuscript piano-vocal scores
Desire in Spring (voice, piano)
Manuscript piano-vocal score in the hand of I. Gurney
Ego sum pastor bonus (voices)
Photocopied copyist manuscript vocal score
Epitaph in ballad form (voices, orchestra)
3 manuscript full scores
Five Elizabethan songs. Sleep (voice, piano)
Printed piano-vocal score
Give ear, o ye heavens (voices, 8 parts) see also I sing of a maiden
Manuscript vocal score
The golden net (voices) see also Who is this?
4 manuscript vocal scores
3 photocopied manuscript vocal scores
I sing of a maiden (women's voices, 8 parts) see also Give ear, o ye heavens
I sing of a maiden (women's voices, 16 parts) see also Give ear, o ye heavens
Jerusalem (voices, chorus, orchestra)
Sketches
Jerusalem (women's voices, orchestra)
Lenten is come (women's voices, piano)
Printed piano-vocal score proof
Little lamb (voice, piano)
Photocopied manuscript piano-vocal score
Little suite (woodwinds, harp)
Manuscript score and parts
Manuscript score
Man octapartite (voices, double chorus, strings)
Sketches and lyric sheets
Mass in B Minor
Printed score
O mortal folk (chorus)
On Wenlock Edge (voice, strings, piano)
Manuscript vocal score in the hand of I. Gurney
Our lady sings (double chorus)
Printed vocal score
Pinky's Declaration of Independence (song for the 4th of July)
Manuscript lead sheet
The riders: symphonic cantata in 4 movements
Parts
Saltaire tunes
Manuscript lead sheets
So shuts the marigold (voices)
3 manuscript vocal scores
The submerged city: cantata for solo baritone, mixed choir, and orchestra
Tollite portas (Lift up your heads) (voices)
Manuscript vocal score (English)
Manuscript vocal score (French)
Unwelcome (voice, piano)
Victimae paschali laudes (voices, organ)
Manuscript score for voice and organ
Wilfred's birthday song
Who is this? see also The golden net
Unidentified
Subject Files, 1937-1941
Chominski, Josef Michal, 1937-1941
Folk songs: Czeck
Folk songs: Polish
Folk songs: Russian
Folk songs: Ukranian
Folk songs: other than Slavonic
Military music
Musical diagrams: relationships to intervals
Pius X School of Liturgical Music
Polyphony: evolution of
Polyphony: France, Netherlands, Germany, Spain
Primitive, exotic, ancient music
Theoretical studies, nature, primitive
Miscellany, 1835-1946
Gurney, Ivor
Programs
Miscellaneous programs, 1932-1946
Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, 1835 July 3