Henry Charles Lahee

Henry Charles Lahee
Henry Charles Lahee (1856–1953) was a British-born American music historian, author, and critic, known for his extensive writings on the careers of musicians. He is particularly recognized for works like "Famous Singers of To-Day and Yesterday" and "Famous Pianists of To-Day and Yesterday," which detailed the lives and achievements of notable performers. Lahee contributed significantly to the documentation of the evolution of music and its practitioners in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His books have become valuable resources for music historians and enthusiasts alike.

Author's Books:


CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. There is no instrument of music made by the hands of man that holds such a powerful sway over the emotions of every living thing capable of hearing, as the violin. The singular powers of this beautiful instrument have been eloquently eulogised by Oliver Wendell Holmes, in the following words: "Violins, too. The sweet old Amati! the divine Stradivari! played on by ancient... more...

CHAPTER I. FROM 1600 TO 1800 A. D. The year 1600 marked the beginning of a new era in musical history, for in that year the first public performance of regular opera took place in Florence, when the "Eurydice" of Rinuccini and Peri was given in honor of the wedding of Marie de' Medici and Henry IV. of France. The growth and ever-increasing popularity of the opera, the development of... more...

1640-1750 The Annals of Music in America during the first hundred years contain very little that would seem to be of any importance to the musicians of today. Nevertheless it is as interesting to note the beginnings of music in this newly settled country as to watch the appearance of the baby's first tooth. The first settlement at Plymouth took place in 1620, and we find that in 1640 the colonists... more...