Analytical Essays on Music by Women Composers: Secular & Sacred Music to 1900

Through musical analysis of compositions written between the mid-twelfth to late nineteenth centuries, this volume celebrates the achievements of eight composers, all women: Hildegard of Bingen, Maddalena Casulana, Barbara Strozzi, Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Marianne Martines, Josephine Lang, Fanny Hensel, Clara Schumann, and Amy Beach. Written by outstanding music theorists and musicologists, the essays provide fascinating in-depth critical-analytic explorations of representative compositions, often linking analytical observations with questions of meaning and sociohistorical context. Each essay is introduced by a brief biographical sketch of the composer by the editors.
The collection--Volume 1 in an unprecedented four-volume series of analytical studies on music by women composers--is designed to challenge and stimulate a wide range of readers. For academics, these thoughtful analytical essays can open new paths into unexplored research areas in the fields of music theory and musicology. Post-secondary instructors may be inspired by the insights offered in these essays to include new works in music theory and history courses at both graduate and upper-level undergraduate levels, or in courses on women and music. Finally, for soloists, ensembles, conductors, and music broadcasters, these detailed analyses can offer enriched understandings of this repertoire and suggest fresh, new programming possibilities to share with listeners.

Laurel Parsons has taught music theory and aural skills at the University of British Columbia, the University of Victoria, Queen's University, and the University of Oregon. Her research interests include aural skills pedagogy and learning differences, and the music of Elisabeth Lutyens. From 2012-15 she chaired the Society for Music Theory's Committee on the Status of Women. Brenda Ravenscroft is Professor of Music Theory and Dean of the Schulich School of Music at McGill University. Her research focuses on post-tonal American music, text and music, rhythmic organization, and pedagogy. She chaired the Society for Music Theory's Committee on the Status of Women from 2006 to 2009.

Acknowledgments About the Companion Website Chapter 1. Introduction: "Half of Humanity has Something to Say, Also" Laurel Parsons and Brenda Ravenscroft PART I: EARLY MUSIC FOR VOICE Chapter 2. Hildegard of Bingen, O ierusalem aurea civitas (ca. 1150-70) Varied Repetition in Hildegard's Sequence for St. Rupert: O ierusalem aurea civitas Jennifer Bain Chapter 3. Maddalena Casulana, "Per lei pos' in oblio" from Cinta di fior (1570) Finding the "Air" in Maddalena Casulana's Madrigals Peter Schubert Chapter 4. Barbara Strozzi, Appresso ai molli argenti (1659) Consolation Amid Barbarous Misfortune: Barbara Strozzi's Appresso ai molli argenti and the Mid-Seventeenth-Century Lament Richard Kolb and Barbara Swanson PART II: SEVENTEENTH- AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY KEYBOARD MUSIC Chapter 5. Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, Sarabandes from the Suites in A minor (1687) and D minor (1707) In the Realm of All the Senses: Two Sarabandes by Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre Susan McClary Chapter 6. Marianna Martines, Sonata in A major, I (1765) "Zierlichkeit und Genie": Grace and Genius in Marianna Martines's Sonata in A major L. Poundie Burstein PART III: NINETEENTH-CENTURY LIEDER AND PIANO MUSIC Chapter 7. Fanny Hensel, "Von dir, mein Lieb, ich scheiden muss" (1841) and "Ich kann wohl manchmal singen" (1846) Fanny Hensel's Schematic Fantasies; Or, The Art of Beginning Stephen Rodgers Chapter 8. Josephine Lang, "An einer Quelle" (1840/1853) and "Am Morgen" (1840) Josephine Lang's Multiple Settings of Poems by Christian Reinhold Köstlin Harald Krebs Chapter 9. Clara Schumann, "Liebst du um Schönheit" (1841) Multiply-Interrupted Structure in Clara Schumann's "Liebst du um Schönheit" Michael Baker Chapter 10. Amy Beach, "Phantoms," op. 15, no. 2 (1892) Gapped Lines and Ghostly Flowers in Amy Beach's "Phantoms," op. 15, no. 2 Edward D. Latham Glossary Bibliography Index