"Girls who whistle and hens that crow will make their way wherever they go." - Agnes Woodward
Whistling, as an art form, is not something that most people take seriously; it's generally relegated to the bargain bin of artistic expression, along with the kazoo and the musical saw. Though there is a vibrant modern art whistling movement which attracts more people to the cause than in recent decades, whistling, in the past, held a higher status. In a previous article, Whistling Wizards (which you can read HERE), I discussed my love for artistic whistling, and my personal discovery of it's amazing history in the late 19th and early 20th century. Artists like Margaret McKee, Sibyl Sanderson Fagan, Guido Gialdini, Fred Lowry, Carson Robinson and Elmo Tanner not only filled my ears with melodious sounds, they informed my understanding of a lovely corner of musical history. It seems, from my various searchings on the subject, that the history of musical whistling itself would be much less full and colourful without the efforts of one woman: Agnes Woodward.
Ms. Woodward, at her evidently prestigious California School of Artistic Whistling (at suite 21. 8th and Beacon street, Los Angeles) seems to have put in tremendous efforts in furthering the cause of whistling as a legitimate career. Agnes, the daughter of Charles and Martha Woodward (Charles was a military man and a noted surgeon), had three sisters, Elizabeth, Martha, and Emma, as well as Bess, a cousin, (who went of to act in silent film as Bess the Detectress, as Bessie Pinkerton Holmes). These talented girls were apparently quite musical; both Emma and Agnes were music teachers, and soon, Agnes started the Agnes Woodward Whistling Chorus. Things must have gone very well for the enterprising warbler, as she moved to Los Angeles to open her famed whistling school in 1909.
Ms. Woodward, at her evidently prestigious California School of Artistic Whistling (at suite 21. 8th and Beacon street, Los Angeles) seems to have put in tremendous efforts in furthering the cause of whistling as a legitimate career. Agnes, the daughter of Charles and Martha Woodward (Charles was a military man and a noted surgeon), had three sisters, Elizabeth, Martha, and Emma, as well as Bess, a cousin, (who went of to act in silent film as Bess the Detectress, as Bessie Pinkerton Holmes). These talented girls were apparently quite musical; both Emma and Agnes were music teachers, and soon, Agnes started the Agnes Woodward Whistling Chorus. Things must have gone very well for the enterprising warbler, as she moved to Los Angeles to open her famed whistling school in 1909.
Now, if you can imagine whistling as high art, with sophisticated young ladies dressed much as classical lieder singers, in pearls and gowns, giving erudite and pretty speeches before dazzling discerning audiences (including presidents and kings), this is the environment in which Agnes Woodward dwelt and nurtured. As a part of the Lyceum movement in America (read about it HERE), which fostered an appreciation of art and culture in adults across the country, her young ladies enjoyed a modicum of notoriety, especially Margaret McKee, whose appeared on numerous recordings, which still exist to be enjoyed today.
To a great extent, as a higher expression, whistling was the purview of women, it seems. Male whistling as an entertainment seems to have been more Vaudeville oriented (though one article about the California school states the following: "Comely young maidens with rosebud lips are not the only students. Nay--there is a railroad engineer, a postal clerk, a merchant, and a man totally blind among the group of men aspiring to be whistle artists.") In this spirit, note the amusingly wistful final statement in the article to the left, speculating on the biological determinism in the whistling craft.
So, like the other high-browed whistling matron of the era, Sibyl Fagan, Agnes wrote a detailed instruction manual of musical whistling, entitled, Whistling as an Art, adding to the wonderful history of whistling in a charming, yet thoroughly credible way. This book is available to read, if you follow the link below. How helpful it will be for a modern career in whistle-ism is questionable, but as a fun read for lovers of history and fun artifacts. Agnes seems to have been quite a woman, and very typical of the go-get-em Edwardian-era gal; her story creates a lovely wave of nostalgia in my heart. This sort of non-ironic two-hands grasping of such a colourful skill is right in my wheelhouse, and makes me wish that such things were still possible. Believe me, on a Sunday afternoon, after a band concert in the park, nothing would please me more than a grand whistling concert by Agnes and her lovely ladies.
To a great extent, as a higher expression, whistling was the purview of women, it seems. Male whistling as an entertainment seems to have been more Vaudeville oriented (though one article about the California school states the following: "Comely young maidens with rosebud lips are not the only students. Nay--there is a railroad engineer, a postal clerk, a merchant, and a man totally blind among the group of men aspiring to be whistle artists.") In this spirit, note the amusingly wistful final statement in the article to the left, speculating on the biological determinism in the whistling craft.
So, like the other high-browed whistling matron of the era, Sibyl Fagan, Agnes wrote a detailed instruction manual of musical whistling, entitled, Whistling as an Art, adding to the wonderful history of whistling in a charming, yet thoroughly credible way. This book is available to read, if you follow the link below. How helpful it will be for a modern career in whistle-ism is questionable, but as a fun read for lovers of history and fun artifacts. Agnes seems to have been quite a woman, and very typical of the go-get-em Edwardian-era gal; her story creates a lovely wave of nostalgia in my heart. This sort of non-ironic two-hands grasping of such a colourful skill is right in my wheelhouse, and makes me wish that such things were still possible. Believe me, on a Sunday afternoon, after a band concert in the park, nothing would please me more than a grand whistling concert by Agnes and her lovely ladies.
Here is an Internet Archive LINK to her book, WHISTLING AS AN ART
Gallery of clippings and images, many from The Lyceum Magazine, 1916-17
Click on images to enlarge
Click on images to enlarge
For those interested in Artistic whistling, I'd like to recommend the Masters of Whistling organisation. You can view their website HERE. There are links to instruction, Artists, and histories much more informed and detailed that what I've written here.
Also, here are a few videos which I think most closely resemble the old school whistling concert. A wonderful mix of classical and popular that these Lyceum concerts would have had. It makes me happy to see whistling presented in a relatively serious way in a public environment. Notice that people seem to be enchanted by the performances, in a way normally reserved for singers. I think Agnes' school would have a major presence today!
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And, for you whistling geeks (like me), here's an excerpt from the September 21st, 1939 episode of the Major Bowes Amateur Hour, featuring the overtone counterpoint whistler of a visiting Brit fellow. Enjoy!
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