ABSTRACT
Olivia Dussek Buckley (1799–1847) was a pianist, organist, harpist and composer. She was daughter of the Czech composer Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760–1812) and the Italian harpist, pianist, singer and composer Sophia Corri Dussek (1775–1847). Among her compositions, published under the name O. B. Dussek, are collections of music for children, including three ‘Royal Infant Operas’ composed for Queen Victoria’s children (1840–1845); ‘The Child’s Friend’ (1840); and ‘Fairy Songs and Ballads for the Young’ (1846). Much of her harp music was published in the volume ‘The Harpist’s Friend’. She was organist of Kensington Parish Church between 1840 and 1847.
Buckley’s main concern in this volume is with the music tuition afforded to young children. In the Preface she expresses her ‘regret to see a once firm and sound method of teaching give way to a most superficial and unprofitable system, a kind of glossy surface to hide a bad foundation’ leading to the ‘ruin of the whole system of professional instruction, the overthrow of solidity, and the introduction of frivolity’ (pp. 5–6). She outlines her priorities: articulation; time; accentuation; fingering; ease of performance; ease of deportment; and expression. The second half of the book offers a discussion of the requirements for effective musical teaching. Buckley advocates pupils starting at a young age in order to learn the art of expression, as well as tuition from a ‘proper professor, a master or mistress of the science’ (p. 33), rather than instruction from a general governess or school teacher.
