Musical Herstory 2.0
Motherhood. Quarantine. Saving one’s self from the guillotine with their piano skills. Composers of today have a surprising amount in common with composers of yesteryear!
In this second instalment of Musical Herstory, we will continue looking at the amazing lives and music of female composers from the past and the present. We’ll look at works created across the years in those typically “male dominated” genres, the dual roles of mother and composer, and music from composers whom we know very little about.
For this time around, I will be creating a little hub of information each week with references, links to playlists and other recordings, and power point notes for the week's class. That hub will be right here! (see below)
Classes are FREE and take place Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. CST from May 13 - June 17,2021. Visit the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra (here) to register!
You can register at any time throughout the class and still have access to all the previous classes. Pretty cool, right? And if you didn't think this could get ANY cooler - there aren't any tests!!
In this second instalment of Musical Herstory, we will continue looking at the amazing lives and music of female composers from the past and the present. We’ll look at works created across the years in those typically “male dominated” genres, the dual roles of mother and composer, and music from composers whom we know very little about.
For this time around, I will be creating a little hub of information each week with references, links to playlists and other recordings, and power point notes for the week's class. That hub will be right here! (see below)
Classes are FREE and take place Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. CST from May 13 - June 17,2021. Visit the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra (here) to register!
You can register at any time throughout the class and still have access to all the previous classes. Pretty cool, right? And if you didn't think this could get ANY cooler - there aren't any tests!!
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Week Six - Opera
For the final week of Herstory 2.0, we will be focusing on my great over-dramatic love - The Opera! This genre of large-scale works has been hailed as the grand rite of passage for any serious composer, and therefore, was denied to women. This week will look at one woman who wrote one of the first operas, and is considered the first woman to have composed an opera. Plus, we will look at what women are writing today!
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Composers we're looking at this week are:
Francesca Caccini (1587 - c. 1640) Nkeiru Okoye (L) L = Living Composer
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Class Resources
YouTube Playlist n.b. if you would like to hear Ardo Infelice (Francesca Caccini) it begins at 10:17 on the Duo Coordonné track Nothing but the Grave (Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed that Line to Freedom) - Nkeiru Okoye Playlist of Arias from Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed that Line to Freedom |
Sources
Francesca Caccini
"Women Composers of Classical Music: 369 Biographies from 1550 into the 20th Century." Mary F. McVicker
"Sounds and Sweet Airs." Anna Beer
"Women Making Music. The Western Art Tradition 1150 - 1950." Jane Bowers and Judith Tick
Nkeiru Okoye
Nkeiru's Official Website
"A Ride on the Underground Railroad" at Hofstra, Recalls Harriet Tubman | NY Times
SUNY New Paltz Professor's Opera Hails Historical Figure | Times Herald, Record
A pioneer's struggle inspires a sound | Boston Globe
Music of the Spheres | Rutger's Magazine
Is This How it was with Mozart? | Baltimore Sun
A Ride on the Underground Railroad | Hofstra University
Other Sources
Excluded, Penalized, Indebted, Harassed: A Study of Systemic Discrimination Against Women in Opera
Fatphobia, myths, and love: a story by Lauren Margison | Opera Canada
Women in Opera. A Documentary by Opera McGill
"The Story of Opera" James Parakilas
"Rough Guide to Opera." Rough Guides.
Francesca Caccini
"Women Composers of Classical Music: 369 Biographies from 1550 into the 20th Century." Mary F. McVicker
"Sounds and Sweet Airs." Anna Beer
"Women Making Music. The Western Art Tradition 1150 - 1950." Jane Bowers and Judith Tick
Nkeiru Okoye
Nkeiru's Official Website
"A Ride on the Underground Railroad" at Hofstra, Recalls Harriet Tubman | NY Times
SUNY New Paltz Professor's Opera Hails Historical Figure | Times Herald, Record
A pioneer's struggle inspires a sound | Boston Globe
Music of the Spheres | Rutger's Magazine
Is This How it was with Mozart? | Baltimore Sun
A Ride on the Underground Railroad | Hofstra University
Other Sources
Excluded, Penalized, Indebted, Harassed: A Study of Systemic Discrimination Against Women in Opera
Fatphobia, myths, and love: a story by Lauren Margison | Opera Canada
Women in Opera. A Documentary by Opera McGill
"The Story of Opera" James Parakilas
"Rough Guide to Opera." Rough Guides.
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Want to see what we covered in the first class back in Fall 2020? Click here to Musical Herstory - the first.
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Background photograph by Dale Harder
