Composers

Whilst my taste in music is varied it could never be described as eclectic - incidentally this is number two on my list of least favourite words, albeit a considerable way behind the P-word. But I digress. My mentioning music came after I was recently sent a list of classical composers, these were to be included in a quiz-style crossword. Followers of my blog will not be surprised to discover some of the clues were based on the etymologies of their names.Thus this time a look at the origins of a selection of the names of composers which many will infinitely better acquainted than I - and yes, 'a selection' means I have only included those I could define.

Bach - being German he took his name from the word for a stream, rivulet, brook, or creek.

Bartok - this Hungarian takes the pet form of a the Christian name Bartalan or Bertalan, itself a form of Bartholomew.

Beethoven - another of German origins where beeth, meaning 'beet', and hofen, the plural of hof, meaning 'farms', tell us this most famous of deaf people had ancestors who farmed beetroot.

Bellini - Italian operatic composer Vincenzo has a surname translating as 'the little beautiful one'.

Borodin - the Russian translation is, quite literally, 'well height' and understood to as 'tall'.

Brahms - a German name which is ultimately of Hebrew origin in Bram where it meant 'high or good father'.

Bruckner - a topographical name, the earliest meaning being for a person who lived on or near a causeway or bridge. However it is more commonly applied to those who worked at such a location, gathering tolls and/or maintaining a bridge.

Chopin - a French surname derived from an old liquid imperial measurement. In France it would be seen as roughly equal to a quart but in Scotland became corrupted to refer to a half pint.

Debussy - a French surname taken from any of several Norman place names all of which mean 'mouth' and of which there is even an example of a Norman landholder in Domesday, this being Robert de Buci.

Delius - a name of Greek origin meaning 'from Delos', a Greek island of 1.32 square miles and a population at the 2001 census of 14.

Dvorak - a common Czech surname referring to a rich landowner in a manor house.

Elgar - a name of Germanic origins, it literally means 'shining spear'.

Faure - an Occitan name, a Romance language, meaning simply 'blacksmith'.

Franck - comes from the French reference to those Germanic peoples living around the Rhine during the times of the Roman Empire, the Franks.

Glinka - a Polish name, one referring to those who came from Glinki.

Gluck - is taken from a Yiddish word glik meaning 'luck'.

Grieg - is ultimately from the Greek gregorein 'be awake, watchful'.

Handel - a Germanic name meaning 'trade' or 'commerce'.

Haydn - a Welsh name derived from the Celtic Aidan, itself meaning 'little fire'.

Holst - refers to someone from Holstein, the German town having a name coming from the people who lived here the Holcetae or 'dwellers in the wood'.

Liszt - a Hungarian name which literally translates as 'flour'.

Mahler - is a German surname and, like the above, is a trade name. Whilst it is derived from the word for 'painter', the name is very specifically used to refer to those who painted stained glass.

Mozart - derived from the Latin, this meaning 'the love of God'.

Purcell - another of Norman origin where the literal translation is 'piglet', however it would have been used a nickname or to refer to a swineherd.

Rossini - an Italian name derived from rosso meaning 'red' and originally applied to one with red hair or ruddy complexion.

Schoenberg - is another topographical name, here German scoene berg refers to 'a beautiful hill'.

Schubert - is a trade name of German origin where schuoch wurhte meant 'shoemaker, cobbler'.

Schumann - has an identical meaning, albeit here the German schuoh mann refers literally to 'a shoe man'.

Smetana - a name of Czech and/or Ukranian Jewish origins. The origin is undoubtedly smetana meaning 'cream', although whether it was a nickname, perhaps for someone who liked cream (or ironically one who did not) or a trader in this and other dairy products is unknown.

Sousa - a name of Portuguese origins, being particularly common in former Portuguese colonies. Archaically it refers to a place, any place where the people came from for it describes them as being 'of the rocks'.

Strauss - a Germanic surname which has at least three equally plausible origins. It may be the family lived in a place named Straus, itself referring to 'the ostrich'. Here this may point to a place where the feathers of this bird were used in heraldry or, and this an alternative origin, as a nickname for those who habitually wore same as an adornment. Alternatively this may also be a nickname for someone known for arguing or confrontation, for the German struz means 'quarrel, belligerent'.

Tchaikovsky - a Russian composer whose name comes from the Russian for a bird, specifically the gull.

Verdi - an Italian composer with an Italian name meaning 'green'.

Vivaldi - another Italian composer whose name is derived from vita or 'life'.

Wagner - a German name from waganari meaning either 'wagon maker' or 'wagon driver'.

Walton - an English place name, where wahl tun means 'the farmstead of the foreigners' (Britons).

Weber - a German name and another representing a trade for this translates as 'weaver'.

The Muses

Now a very good friend the other day said I had been an inspiration when it came to a project we (and others) are currently working on. Never thought of myself as anyone's muse but after challenging myself to recall the names of the Muses from Greek mythology (no surprise to find I was not among them), my thoughts turned to the origins of these names.

Muse is itself worthy of a quick look. This comes from the Ancient Greek mousai likely from the Proto-Indo-European root men which is found to mean both 'to think' and 'mountain'. Just to clear a point here, remember Proto-Indo-European spelling is based solely on phonetics and many words have identical sounds and completely different meanings (these are called homonyms). Here both uses of men are appropriate, for not only are they held to help the creative think but also the centres for such cults were always atop high points such as hills or mountains.

Calliope is the muse of epic poetry, hence represented by the writing tablet or stylus. The name is also that of a steam-powered organ and comes from the Greek kalli and opos, quite literally 'beautiful voice'.

Clio is the muse of history and represented by scrolls and books.Again from the Greek, here kleiein meaning 'to tell, make famous'. Ultimately this is from the Proto-Indo-European root kleu 'to hear' and related to the name of Damocles which means literally 'fame of the people'.

Euterpe is represented by a flute-like instrument known as the aulos and the panpipes. Hence it comes as no surprise to find Euterpe the muse of music, song and lyric poetry. Another of Greek origin where eu terpein means 'well pleasing' and related to the following name.

Terpsichore, as the muse of dance, may be represented by a lyre or its plectrum. Here again we find the Greek element terpein, this from Proto-Indo-European terp 'to satisfy', and coupled with khoros means 'enjoyment of dance' - note this second elemt is also the origin of 'chorus', those singing and/or dancing in a production.

Melpomene, the muse of tragedy, is represented by a tragic mask, a blade, or a club. The name comes from the Greek melpein meaning 'to sing'.

Thalia uses a comic mask or a shepherd's crook, the act of pulling someone off the stage by means of such refers directly to this muse of comedy. This name comes from the Greek thallein 'to bloom' and related to thallos 'young shoot'.

Erato, as the muse of love poetry, is represented by a kind of lyre known as a cithara and comes from the Greek erastos 'loved, charming', itself from eran 'to love' and also the source of the Greek god Eros.

Polyhymnia is the muse of hymns, represented by a veil and a name derived from the Greek poly hymnos or 'the one with many veils'.

Urania uses the globe or a compass, this the muse of astronomy and from the Greek ouranios meaning literally 'heavenly' and a name related to the Greek god and the planet Uranus.

As I proved to be the inspiration for some work on the history of a local street, perhaps that makes me the muse of mews? And before you ask, this homonym has no relation to 'muse' but came to English in referring to stables grouped around an open yard and from the 16th century Mewes in Charing Cross, London where the royal hunting hawks were kept. Hence the name shares its origins with many birds in the sound they make, indeed the mew is an old name for the gull.