Symposium: Three Turn-of-lhe-Century Guitar Solos

CARRIE V. HAYDEN AND HER REVERIE FOR SOLO GUITAR

By Jan de Kloe

In 2010, Soundboard published a two-page waltz from 1892 follow, "has the copyright held by C. V. Stearns, possibly
for solo guitar by Carrie V. Hayden, Romance of Venice.1 her maiden name." In truth, there was no person by that
The accompanying text mentions that Jeffrey Noonan, in name. Carrie Hayden married John Prentiss Stearns on
his book The Guitar in America: Victorian Era to Jazz Age, December 20, 1888, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Stearns
identifies the composer as Carrie Van Hayden and gives was a mason at the time of their marriage, later listed in the
her dates as 1862-1946. This is incorrect on two counts. census of 1900 as a tile dealer and his wife a music teacher.
Her full name was Caroline Vasa Hayden, and she was Carrie's year of birth is also given as 1866, providing an
born April 19, 1867, in Boston, Massachusetts. The only additional discrepancy in her vital statistics. The couple
document I could locate that specifies her middle name had two children, Raymond and Caroline. "Ihe family was
as Vasa is her death certificate, preserved in the North well-off as they had the servant Bessie from Canada living
Carolina State Archives. It mentions that she died of with them in Cambridge. In 1904, the eminent American
coronary thrombosis on November 5, 1930, in Greensboro, guitarist Vahdah Olcott Bickford—at that time still Ethel
North Carolina, age 83, 6 months, 16 days. A much earlier Lucretia Olcott—played Carrie Hayden's Reverie in Los
article in Soundboard, where the magazine first mentions Angeles.4
her, announced an 1891 score by Carrie Hayden obtained
for the GFA Archive—Darkie's Dance (see the list of
additional Carrie Hayden guitar titles in Figure 1, next Jan de Kloe was born in The Hague and
page).2 Hayden also composed for the piano. The Library of moved to Belgium in 1967. He studied
music in The Netherlands and pursued
Congress has her Mission Flower Waltz, published in 1885. his guitar education a t the conservatories
of Brussels and Liege. He participated in
Another Soundboard facsimile, which appeared in 2001, summer courses with several maestros,
the most prominent being Julian Bream
was the Marionette's Funeral March by Gounod-Hayden,
and Turibio Santos. Jan played solo
meaning that Charles Gounod was the composer and that recitals in Europe and North America and
Winslow L. Hayden made the guitar arrangement.1 In his select performances of his are available
on YouTube. He made three long-playing
preface to this piece, author Peter Danner makes a couple of
recordings and has published and lectured
erroneous assumptions. He states that Winslow "may have extensively about guitar related matters.
been married to Carrie V. Hayden," but Carrie was actually See www.dekloe.be for more information.

his daughter. Dr. Danner also suggests that Carrie Hayden's

successful piece Reverie of 1891, featured in the pages that

1 Richard M. Long, "Return with Us Now," Soundboard36, no. I (2010): 4931.

- Thomas F. Heck, "GFA Archivist's Report," Soundboard4. no. 4 (1977): 106-07.
* Peter Danner, "Return with Us Now," Soundboard 28. no. I (2001): 43—48.
4 Ronald C. Purcell, "The Early Vahdah," Soundboard 23, no. I (1998): 20-22. Much more recently, in 2004, the Boston Classical Guitar Society staged a presentation
in which music of C. V. Hayden was played. A future project would he to find, il possible, a photograph ol Carrie 1 layden with a guitar. In 1930, the three grandchildren
from her son Raymond lived at 1 1 Pine Ridge Road, Arlington, Massachusetts. Perhaps a GFA member or other researcher from the Boston area could pursue such a lead in
order to supplement our knowledge ol Mrs. Stearns.

14 Soundboard Vol. 45 No. 1 guitarfoundation.org

 C A R R I E V. H A Y D E N
Ciutat* Compositions.
Cambridge Gavotte 30
Constellation March . • • • 30
Darkies' Dance, The . 30

.
•

Delight Polka . 30
Dreamland Waltzes, In . • • a 30
Eleanore Mazurka . . 30
Elfin Gavotte . • • • 30
Elsie Mazurka • • a 30
Happy Heart Polka . 30
Happy Memories Waltz a • a 30
La Gitana Waltzes . 30
Maidella Waltz . 30
March Brilliant • • • 30 $*}&£>
My Love Gavotte . • 30
— Reverie . . 30
Romance of Venice . 30

w
. a

That is Love Schottische 30

Unique Gavotte a 30
Waltz Gayety . a 30
Waltz Melodie 30
Wide Awake Schottische 30

ALFRED CHENET & CO.

175 I rem out Street y

BOSTON, MASS.

'r.GrlALE

guitarfoundation.org Soundboard Vol. 45 No. 1 15

REVERIE FOR SOLO GUITAR: (cont.)

R E V E R I E

GUITAR SOLO.

INTRODUCTION. Grandiuao.

REVERIE. Miiderata.

I V s. 2 Copyright 1891 by C.V. Stearna.

16 Soundboard Vol. 45 No. 1 guitarfoundation.org

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