It's apt.

"He was so little known at first that after a concert given by her in 1846, someone turned to him and asked, "Are you, too, musical?"

Yes, so moving. I think that Ethel, Cicely and Emmeline would all approve.

Novels/Fiction About Women Composers

I too loved that book!

On the subject of fiction that's about/features historical women composers, upon discovering that there were no collections focussed on that specifically, I created a database.

(There are a few newly discovered titles yet to be inputted.)

docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

March of the Women (Arr. for Violin and Orchestra by Esther Abrami) YouTube video by Esther Abrami - Topic

Esther Abrami's version is so moving!

youtu.be/zamyJwH7K3c?...

There's not even a biographical novel about her yet, unless you count the Dodo trilogy (1893, 1913, 1921) where she appears under the pseudonym Edith Staines. Here's hoping someone will write one!

Yup. I led a small highschool string ensemble for a few years. $35 to lead the class, $35 for prep: $70 a week. Unpaid travel: ferry+driving. I arranged all the music; spent HOURS every week on it. But the kids were amazing! We played their original music & did fun stuff like a Vivaldi-Zappa mashup.

Awesome!

No surprise, alas about the score on the female composers one – though 45% actually isn't that bad. Pretty much any other composers though (with the exception of Hildegard) and you probably would've seen even lower scores.

But it's things like your game that help foment positive change!

Fun game, but the female composers one was made to be as easy as possible! I wish there were a game with women composers quizzes every day...

I miss his fake muscles vest. 😥

Vier Lieder ohne Worte, Op. 8: III. Larghetto YouTube video by Pauline Chenais - Topic

youtu.be/TXX7cQaeS4c?...

It's still prevalent, at least that's my observation. "If music by historical women composers were good, we'd know about it by now" is a common trope. People like what they know. There's one comparatively recent recording of Mayer's 7th; hundreds (at least) of Beethoven's 7th; spanning decades(etc).

This is painful to read. With each passing year I grow more apoplectic at the underrepresentation of women composers. If the music weren't there, or if works by men were demonstrably better, there'd be some justification. But that's not true. Lots of music written by women is as good as music gets.

Premier Quatuor, Op. 25: III. Badinage YouTube video by Quatuor Hermès - Topic

🤟🔥❤️

youtu.be/XZ-YaMO_JiU

Here're mine:

Barraine
Beach
Bembo
Bonis
Canal
Dalberg
Jaëll
La Guerre
Leleu
Mayer
Smyth
Sohy
Soulage
Strohl
Von Bach
Von Schauroth

I've found with extensive listening, pieces can to a large extent "catch up" with the stuff I've been hearing for decades. Sometimes the process is quick; it's as if was always meant to be part of my personal "musical substrate" & only needed to be slotted in. Mayer's 7th & Barraine were like that.

Also, there are a number of works by historical women composers that are as good as music gets, they're just not very well known. Composers who've hit that mark (for me): Jaëll, Strohl, Beach, Chaminade, Bonis, Barraine, Dalberg, Hensel, Sohy, Leleu, von Schauroth, Bembo, de La Guerre, Mayer, Smyth.

There was so much more experimentation and interesting design happening with cellos in 17th and 18th centuries!

The side saddle thing was happening even into the 20th cent. I've wondered if the s-l-o-w adoption of the endpin was partly to keep women from playing cello. Every method book I've ever seen from the 19th century cites the endpinless knee hold as the "proper" way to play - which was very unladylike.

Yes.
Some faves of mine not listed in the article are the Sohy (1919)
Strohl's Forest symphony (1901)
Barraine's Nos. 1 & 2 (1931 & 1938)
Smyth's Serenade in D (not a symphony, but a fabulous symphonic work; Brahmsian, but with its own Smyth-y thing).
Bonis also has some great symphonic works.

The Marian Arkwright one ("A Retrospect") is intriguing. "Cello solo" in that era usually meant cello and piano. But Arkwright was known for unusual instrument combinations and may have taken the leap and written an unaccompanied work. 🤟🔥Fingers crossed the score is eventually discovered! 🤞🤞

One way historical male composers have an edge over their female counterparts is exposure via recordings. A piece by a woman may be as good, but there's only one recording of it from 2019, as opposed to dozens over a span of decades. Because we've heard it so many more times we assume it's "better."

Of course, any number of these composers could jump to the first list anytime (I'm already having second thoughts about some of them, like Chaminade and Beach). And there are more to add, plus some for whom I wouldn't DIE, but love their stuff, like
Eckhart-Grammate
Holst (Imogen)
Fromm-Michaels...

Beach
Bigot
Bon
Bosmans
Caccini (both)
Carreño
Casulana
Chaminade
Clarke
De Dia
De Montgeroult
Farrenc
Hensel
Le Beau
Leonarda
Mahler (Alma)
Mayer
Price
Rontgen-Maier
Smyth
Szymanowska
Tailleferre
Von Auenbrugger
Wieck

Barraine
Bembo
Bonis
Canal
Dalberg
Jaëll
La Guerre
Leleu
Sohy
Soulage
Strohl
Von Bach
Von Schauroth

There's also a sub group, which consists of composers who aren't totally in the can't live without category, but they've got a particular piece or pieces that I couldn't imagine life without:

A very interesting question. CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT.
There are a number of composers whose music I love, but if it disappeared from my life it wouldn't be DEVASTATING. Then there are those for whom the absence of their music WOULD be devastating.

Here's what I've come up with, in alphabetical order:

This is also my bow hold. And James Cervetto's (1748-1837).

By holding the stick with three fingers "against" the pinky & thumb, it's much easier to manage the bow. I couldn't imagine going back to the old way.

Thanks! I've been on your site before; fabulous resource. W/regard to my database, it's rare I find any 'new' composers who fit the criteria (it's at 265 composers right now) however every now and again I get pleasantly surprised!

(Yes, the playlist is on spotify. Sorry. Think of it as a rebel faction who eke out their hardscrabble existence below decks. They're dependant on the evil empire ship, but still manage to be subversive in their own arty ways.)

Lots of updates to my historical women composers cello database and playlist of same.

If you're a cellist, hit up the former, an aficionado, the latter.

www.wildcellist.ca/database

***

open.spotify.com/playlist/1ZH...