The Women in Music Anthology (original) (raw)
Related papers
2015
But few musicologists or historians have examined the part played by women in the musical culture of Britain during this time of 're-birth'. This dissertation explores the position of British women composers during the period 1880-1918 (commonly regarded as the core of the so-called 'Renaissance'), setting them in the general context of late Victorian and Edwardian society, with its changing and often complicated attitudes towards women's involvement with various musical worlds, and placing them in a tradition of women's musical work. The lives, careers and work of six composers will be explored in some detail: Frances
The Liberation of Women Composers: Overcoming a History Sexism in the Classical Music World
Few women composers from before the twentieth century are household names or remembered for any significant contribution to classical music. Exceptions include the first internationally acknowledged composer, Hildegard Von Bingen, and internationally recognized nineteenth century composer and pianist Clara Schumann. This paper begins by exploring the factors that prevented women from pursuing careers in composition before the twentieth century and by presenting many striking examples of women, such as Fanny Mendelssohn, who had similar musical educational backgrounds as their brothers but were barred from composing as soon as they married. Indeed, it was almost impossible for women to have careers in music or any other field once they married unless they had supportive husbands and families. Thus, I provide a historiographical approach to the history of music composition. The heart of the paper explores pioneering women composers of the twentieth century and their struggle to be heard and gain recognition in a predominately sexist field. This includes the numerous women involved in writing and creating film music that were often uncredited in the final product. Lastly, I explore the lives of prominent current classical music women composers, such as Joan Tower and Missy Mazzoli, and the unique contributions they make to the classical music world. I also explore the obstacles women composers studying in today’s classical conservatories and music departments still face. In recent years, enlightening articles and publications have helped erode private and public barriers to women in the classical composition world. Despite recent progress, there is much work still needed to achieve gender equality in the classical music composition field and beyond.
A Celebration of Women Composers - concert concluding WWIH symposium
To mark Women’s History Month 2018, Writing Women in History, an interdisciplinary AHRC-funded research group, organised a symposium on the theme “Reaching Through Time: Approaches to Women’s History Today” on Friday 16th March 2018 in the Gordon Cameron Lecture Theatre at Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge. The conference concluded with a public evening concert celebrating the work of female composers through the ages held in Fitzwilliam College Chapel. Performers from Cambridge University and the Royal Academy of Music brought to life musical gems by Sulpitia Cecis, Francesca Caccini, Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Marianna Martines, Pauline Viardot, Florence Price, Elizabeth Maconchy, and Ellen Zwilich. A sound and video recording of the entire concert is available on request, for study purposes only. Concert website: https://wwihsymposium2018.wordpress.com/concert/
CHORAL MUSIC COMPOSED BY WOMEN A Brief History
Choral Journal, 2019
Over the past several decades, professional organizations like the American Choral Directors Association and International Federation of Choral Music have had significant impact on promoting choral music in universities, colleges, and public schools. The explosion of professional choral ensembles and extensive discography of recordings that these elite groups produce has exponentially raised the bar of choral excellence. As a result, choral culture—in both the United States and abroad—is thriving in the twenty-first century. The rich catalog of works produced by the women composers introduced in this article deserve to be explored, programmed, sung, and celebrated on a regular basis. If we do not actively engage in this effort, think of the magnificent choral repertoire that we, and future generations, will never have the privilege of hearing or singing.
The Woman Composer Question: Four Case Studies from the Romantic Era
Ed. D, dissertation, University of Toronto, 1992
This dissertation traces the social myth of woman's innate creative inferiority in music through its many transformations: from its roots in Romantic philosophy, through the writings of turn-of-the-century critics, to past and present psychological theories of musical creativity. The case studies of four exceptionally gifted women composers from the Romantic era (Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Clara Schumann, Dame Ethel Smyth and Amy Beach), which form the central part of this investigation, make clear that the dearth of eminent women composers is due not to any innate deficiency in the female mind, but to ideological and institutional constraints directly linked to the social construction of gender. Such barriers include the role that women have been expected to play in society, the prejudices they have encountered in attempting to establish themselves in the male-dominated field of composition, the critical double standard, and psychological obstacles resulting from the internalization of negative societal attitudes toward women's creative potential.