Great Women Rulers of Music 12” Ruler

Including composers and conductors, instrumentalists and vocalists, this ruler celebrates the contribution made by women to Western classical music. The ruler has inches and centimeters on one side and the list of women “rulers” on the other.

Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was a Benedictine abbess, writer, poet, and composer who lived in 12th-century Germany. Today, no monophonic music – meaning music consisting of a melody without accompanying harmony – is more often recorded than hers.

Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre (1665-1729), who composed for harpsichord, also wrote violin sonatas and vocal music. Jenny Lind (1820-1887), an opera singer known as “The Swedish Nightingale,” came to America in 1850 at the invitation of P.T. Barnum and donated all her proceeds from the tour to charities. The first symphony ever to be composed and published by an American woman, the “Gaelic” Symphony of 1896, was written by Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (1867-1944).

The ruler features women musicians from Greece, Germany, Cuba, France, Mexico, Sweden, Brazil, England, Italy, Australia, the United States, Austria, Spain, New Zealand, and Japan. The dates listed are the years of each individual’s birth and death, if known.

The “head” image is of opera soprano Maria Callas (1923-1977), born in New York City to Greek immigrant parents, who became known as “La Divina.” The illustration is inspired by a photograph taken of her in 1957 by English photographer Sir Cecil Beaton (1904-1980).

• American-grown basswood
• 12” long
• Made in the USA

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