Marriage, Matrescence, and Motherhood in the Life and Music of Josephine Lang

Venturella , Emily

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/133241 Copy

Description

Title

Marriage, Matrescence, and Motherhood in the Life and Music of Josephine Lang

Author(s)

Venturella , Emily

Issue Date

2026

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Eagen-Jones, M. (EJ)

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Redman, Yvonne

Committee Member(s)

• Gunn, Julie
• Robards, Casey

Department of Study

School of Music

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

A.Mus.D. (doctoral)

Date of Ingest

2026-05-12T14:13:45-05:00

Keyword(s)

• Josephine Lang
• Romantic
• Lieder
• Matricentric biography
• Matrescence
• Vocal music
• Contextual biography
• nineteenth-century woman composer

Language

eng

Abstract

Josephine Lang (1815–1880) was a prolific composer of lieder whose work received critical praise and consideration during her lifetime. Lang composed around 300 songs, as well as several short piano and choral pieces. She worked as a professional musician and composer her entire life, though her compositional output decreased after her marriage. This thesis discusses the ways in which gender, social class, and motherhood impacted Lang’s ability to compose and publish, contributing to the existing body of biographical research by adding historical and social context. Two biographies were written about her during the nineteenth century—one by Ferdinand Hiller in 1867, and another by her son Heinrich Adolf Köstlin in 1881. She has been the subject of one contemporary biography, written by Sharon and Harald Krebs in 2007. Her life and work have also been written about in various dissertations and graduate theses. This thesis seeks to contextualize Lang’s life and work, especially during the years of her marriage and matrescence. Matrescence—here meaning the physical, social, and mental experience of becoming a mother— is used as a central framing device within this thesis. I take the approach of a narrative, contextual biography that addresses a lacuna in research regarding the impact of matrescence and motherhood in the lives of female composers.

Type of Resource

text

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2026 Emily Venturella

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