• Sign In
  • ACDA.org
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
ChoralNet

ChoralNet

The professional networking site for the global online choral community.

  • Home
  • Blog
  • ACDA News
  • Events
  • Community
    • Announcements
    • Classifieds

women's history

Choral Music Composed by Women: A Brief History

April 8, 2019 by Amanda Bumgarner Leave a Comment

The May issue of Choral Journal is now available online! The cover article for this issue was written by Matthew Hoch and Linda Lister and titled “Choral Music Composed by Women: A Brief History.” Below is an excerpt of the article, and you can read it in its entirety in the May 2019 issue! Go to acda.org/choraljournal and click “Search Archives.”
Choose May 2019 from the dropdown menu.
________________________________

Although women composers are now a formidable force in the choral world, this has largely been a twentieth-century development. Ever since biblical times—and perhaps before that—men and women have sung together as a part of sacred worship.

Beginning with the development of Gregorian chant during the eighth century, this music began to be notated in preserved manuscripts. This means that vocal works are the oldest form of Western music, comprising most of the repertoire of the medieval and Renaissance eras. But because women assumed such a marginal role in the Catholic church, forbidden from entering the priesthood or leading any kind of liturgy (except within the all-female convents), virtually all of the polyphonic vocal repertoire composed before 1600 was written by men.

The story of female composers of choral music begins just before the dawn of the Baroque era, when a lone madrigalist and a handful of ambitious nuns began creating the first polyphonic secular and sacred music written by women.

Women Composers of Choral Music before 1800
Although there is evidence of compositional activity by women in the
genres of plainchant and monophonic secular song during the Medieval era, the earliest known female composer of polyphonic choral music was the sixteenth-century madrigalist Maddalena Casulana (ca. 1544–ca. 1590). Casulana, an Italian, was a lutenist and singer in addition to being a composer. She is best known for her three books of madrigals, all of which were published during her lifetime—in 1568, 1570, and 1583.

This publication record was an extraordinary feat for a Renaissance woman composer. “Morir non può il mio core”—a four-voice madrigal from Il primo libro di magrigali (the first collection)—is a work fi rmly rooted in the Italian madrigal style of the sixteenth century, and its counterpoint and text painting are representative of Casulana’s mature compositional style.

*An alternative version of this article appears as a chapter in the book So You Want to Sing Music by Women (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019).
__________________
Read the rest of this article (and more!) in the May issue of Choral Journal, available online at acda.org.

Filed Under: Choral Journal Tagged With: ACDA Membership Benefits, ACDA Publications, Choral Journal, Women's Chorus, women's history

May Choral Journal Preview

April 1, 2019 by Amanda Bumgarner Leave a Comment

The newest issue of Choral Journal is available online. No foolin’! Following is a list of the articles you will find in this issue.

ACDA members can log in with their username and password to view and download the newest edition. You can also read our electronic version. Below is a preview of the articles you will find in this issue. If you are not already a member of ACDA, join today to start receiving your monthly Choral Journal! Associate members can join for only $45 a year.
___________________________

Choral Music Composed by Women: A Brief History by Matthew Hoch and Linda Lister

William Levi Dawson: Reexamination of a Legacy by Vernon Huff

“Put Me In, Coach!”
Rethinking the Needs of the Vocal Athletes on Your Team
by Noël Archambeault and Blake Smith

Inspiring a Growth Mind-Set in the Choral Classroom by Matthew Potterton

A Conversation with Emma Lou Diemer
by Amanda Bumgarner with Hilary Apfelstadt

Gunnar Reynir Sveinsson: Jazz-Inflfluenced Choral Music
by Sarin Williams

Sacred Music Publication in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century
by Tim Sharp

Recorded Sound Reviews

Sacred Music Choral Reviews

Filed Under: Choral Journal Tagged With: ACDA Membership Benefits, ACDA Publications, Choral Journal, Choral Journal Preview, women's history

One from the Folder: Weekly Repertoire Thoughts for Women’s/Treble Choirs

June 15, 2018 by Shelbie L. Wahl-Fouts Leave a Comment

Week 13: Friday, June 15, 2018

“The Striped Ones” – Mvt. 9 from Holocaust Cantata: Songs from the Camps
Folk tune, arranged by Donald McCullough
Polish text by Zofia Karpinska; English lyrics by Denny Clark
SSAA, a cappella

Note: By nature, I focus this blog on repertoire for the women’s/treble ensemble. Today is no exception, as the movement in question is set for SSAA. However, if you have a strong mixed ensemble with solid musical and emotional capacity (or SA and TB ensembles which can be combined), and a performance on which to present a full-length work, I highly encourage you to look at the larger cantata as well.

The Holocaust Cantata: Songs from the Camps is a 13-movement, 40-minute work for mixed chorus, SAB soloists, narrator(s), piano, and cello. Full orchestration is also available to rent. The ninth movement of the cantata is set for SSAA a cappella, and is entirely functional as a stand-alone selection. [For details on how to license just this movement, please see details below.]

From the publisher’s website (paraphrased from more complete notes on the composer’s site):

Based on original materials from the Holocaust memorial museum in Washington, D.C., this is an emotional musical journey through one of the bleakest episodes in human history. Working from translations of the original Polish and often starting with a single line of melody, McCullough has fashioned a haunting choral tribute to all whose lives were destroyed by the horrors of the Holocaust. What emerges is a sense of music’s life-affirming powers.

For a detailed description of the creative process (searching for melodies and texts, acquiring translations, creating singable English lyrics, and much more), please visit the Donald McCullough’s website, which has a full description of the cantata and program notes from the CD liner. These detailed program notes are a wonderful source of historical context as well as an exceptional view into how this work evolved. The links are below, along with others which speak more directly to this specific movement.

Movement 9 of the Cantata is titled “The Striped Ones,” referencing prisoners in the concentration camps and the striped uniforms they were made to wear. The text, originally in Polish, is credited to poet Zofia Karpinska, herself a prisoner. According to the score, the melodic and poetic material was originally related to a female prison song from Warsaw, which then became the Women’s Anthem of Majdanek [Majdanek/Lublin concentration camp, circa 1943]. Denny Clark’s translation of Karpinska’s poetry is flowing and lyrical, and McCullough’s harmonization is haunting, capturing both the poignant sorrow of the situation and the hope that was kept against all odds.

The text is strophic, comprised of three verses. The first verse describes the people – their clothes and shoes, their familial relationships, and the pride that they hold close. The second verse speaks of the physical – the barbed wire and watchtowers, the separation – as well as the hope still present despite the circumstances. The third verse notes the different backgrounds and histories between prisoners which could divide them, but stresses the need for unity and solidarity in order to survive. “…let nothing divide us, let all here unite, for we are the women marked with stripes.”

McCullough’s musical setting begins with verse one in two-, three- and four-part homophonic texture, in minor, with some parallel motion, some contrary. There are skips and leaps within the key, but also a good deal of stepwise motion. Each voice part alone is not complicated, and my students were able to learn the first verse in student-led sectionals, then come back together to combine their efforts.

Next, the SSAA homophony of verse one gives way to the SA imitation of verse two. The sopranos have the same melodic material as S1 in verse one, while the altos are set a fourth lower and off by a measure. No matter your ensemble’s comfort level with independent voice lines, this is a quality chance for them to be successful, as the lines are rhythmically and harmonically clear, and easy to distinguish from one another in rehearsal.

Verse three returns to homophony – similar to verse one and yet slightly more expansive in range. For the final phrase, quoted above, the setting is first vertical harmony, then a cascade of motivic repetition through each voice part, returning again to homophony to close. The song as a whole is moving and evocative, but the final phrase in particular is overwhelmingly so, in its melancholy and beauty.

This is a selection that would work well for groups of varying size and level. It can be done by an intimate group – even a quartet of soloists – or a large ensemble. And because the difficulty level of ranges and rhythms are compatible with almost any level of ensemble, the main rehearsal focus can be connecting the music to the text, and the text to real people and their history. When my students performed this selection, it was done by an intermediate-level group of 11 students, as part of a concert titled “Mindfulness & Music.” Throughout that semester they journaled, researched, and discussed our pieces – taking specific time to connect, both individually and as a team, to the material we were presenting. Even over a year later, students still mention this piece, and the impact it had on them as students, as musicians, and as people.

General description of the full cantata
https://www.donaldmccullough.com/products/holocaust-cantata-songs-from-the-camps/#tabs-1

In-depth program notes for the full cantata, from the CD liner
https://www.donaldmccullough.com/products/holocaust-cantata-songs-from-the-camps/#tabs-3

Music & the Holocaust: Majdanek
http://holocaustmusic.ort.org/places/camps/death-camps/majdanek/

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Lublin/Majdanek Concentration Camp
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005190

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Zofia Karpinska data record
https://www.ushmm.org/online/hsv/person_view.php?PersonId=4417535

Title:The Striped Ones (Movement #9, from Holocaust Cantata)
Source:Folk tune
Arranger:arr. Donald McCullough
(https://www.donaldmccullough.com/)
Date of Arrangement:1998
Text Source/Author:Original Polish text by Zofia Karpinska (1908-1945);
English lyrics by Denny Clark
Date of Text:~1943
Subject(s), Genre:The Holocaust, history, women’s history, remembrance
Language:English
Listed Voicing:SSAA
Ranges:S1: C4-F5
S2: C4-F5
A1: G3-C5
A2: F3-C5
Accompaniment:a cappella
Duration:~2:30
Tempo:MM=62, Moderato
Publisher:Hinshaw Music HMB219 (full work)
For licensing of this individual movement, contact Hinshaw Music Customer Service:
Publisher’s site for the full work, including recording excerpts and purchasing:
http://media.hinshawmusic.com/details.php?details=HMB219&pdf=0&image=1

Recording excerpt for this particular movement: http://media.hinshawmusic.com/musicsample.php?folder=HMB219&file=05%20Excerpts%20from%20Holocaust%20Cantata%20-%20The%20Striped%20Ones.mp3

Until next week!
-Shelbie Wahl-Fouts


Dr. Shelbie Wahl-Fouts is associate professor of music, Director of Choral Activities, and music department chair at Hollins University, a women’s college in Roanoke, Virginia.

Email:
Bio:     https://www.hollins.edu/directory/shelbie-wahl-fouts/

For a listing of all current and past blog entries by this author, click here.
For a spreadsheet of all blog posts and their repertoire, click here.

Filed Under: One From the Folder, Others, Treble Choirs, Women's Choirs Tagged With: history, Holocaust, SSAA, women's history

One from the Folder: Weekly Repertoire Thoughts for Women’s/Treble Choirs

April 20, 2018 by Shelbie L. Wahl-Fouts Leave a Comment

Week 5: Friday, April 20, 2018

“Stepping Westward” by Libby Larsen
Text by Denise Levertov
SAA w div, oboe, handbells, marimba

“Stepping Westward,” composed in 1995, using text by author Denise Levertov from Poems 1960-1967, focuses on pioneer and frontierswomen from the Old West, sharing their tales of sacrifice, hardship, loss, joy, and independence. Larsen’s fascination with women’s views of the West continues from earlier works, such as “Settling Years,” “Songs from Letters,” and “Ghost of an Old Ceremony.” Each of these works studied various aspects of the physical and emotional conditions of women during the westward movement across the American frontier. Larsen once again brings women to the forefront of her composing, dedicating conscious time and effort into the creating of works honoring the women that paved the way in the new frontier of the West. The voices, along with marimba, oboe, and handbells, tell the story of strong West-bound women through their own perspectives, emphasizing the individuality and humanness of the women.

In this work, the opening text is set in the soprano voice, fairly subdued as well as limited in range, with the alto voices, marimba, and handbells providing an almost hypnotic, harmonic support. This changes at m26, when the ostinato ends and all three voices share the text “If woman is inconstant, good.” Larsen goes on to repeat the word “good” a second time and sets both as homophonic accented notes, as if to say Good…Great! The second “good” is also the first time we hear the sopranos move beyond their previously limited range. These compositional adjustments to range, texture, and dynamics positively support the notion of woman as a changing creature, able to adapt to her surroundings as she pleases, instead of keeping within the confines of a pre-established stereotype.

Larsen next supplants the perception of women through compositional changes in tonality. The work is generally in an A major space, though the diatonic triad in that key is rarely sung as a unit. Larsen’s first departure from the amorphous tonality is heard in m116-119, when F major makes a distinct, root position appearance. In this short section, Larsen emphasizes the difference between “glad to be…what?…woman” and “glad to be…who?…myself.” The former asks the question “what (am I)?,” putting the answer of woman on the same footing as an object, a thing. This answer is given as a hushed, subito piano. The latter question, the more personal of the two, “who (am I)?” is answered as myself, set as forte, complete with accents on both syllables in all voices. These changes in tonality and texture underscore the emphasis on women as a ‘who,’ as a person, rather than a ‘what,’ a possession or an object.

In terms of instrumental accompaniment, there is no piano line, though in rehearsal the accompanist could read handbells & marimba in the left hand, and oboe in the right. The oboe line is virtuosic – a strong player is needed. The handbell part works well with five ringers, and could be done by well-practiced students.

The vocal ranges for all parts are fairly concise. There are a brief few notes of soprano solo, and some divisi within the soprano melody line, but not much.

Rhythmically, there are two-against-three rhythms, but these are repetitive and easily grasped. No meter changes, but many tempo changes, based on the text. There are frequent close harmonies, but the motivic repetition of these harmonies eases learning. Some segments are imitative, which can be used in rehearsal to strengthen part independence among singers, without having an entire song which is imitative.

Title:Stepping Westward
Composer:Libby Larsen (www.libbylarsen.com)
Date of Composition:1995
Text Source/Author:Denise Levertov (1923-1997)
Date of Text:1960-1967
Subject(s):Women’s history, courage, perseverance, strength
Listed Voicing:SAA
Voicing Details:SAA, with occasional divisi in S
Ranges:S: D4-F#5
A1: A3-C#5
A2: A3-A4
Accompaniment:Oboe, handbells, marimba
Duration:~6:30
Tempo:120, with flexibility
Publisher:E.C. Schirmer
Further descriptions and details, including composer’s notes, audio, perusal score, and purchasing:

https://ecspublishing.com/choral/stepping-westward.html
https://libbylarsen.com/index.php?contentID=240&resourceID=1125 

Until next week!
-Shelbie Wahl-Fouts


Dr. Shelbie Wahl-Fouts is associate professor of music, Director of Choral Activities, and music department chair at Hollins University, a women’s college in Roanoke, Virginia.

Email: Bio:     https://www.hollins.edu/directory/shelbie-wahl-fouts/

For a listing of all current and past blog entries by this author, click here.
For a spreadsheet of all blog posts and their repertoire, click here.

Some source material for this week’s blog post was taken from my doctoral dissertation, “By Women, For Women: Choral Works for Women’s Voices Composed and Texted by Women.”  https://tinyurl.com/ydeyuyk8

Filed Under: One From the Folder, Treble Choirs, Women's Choirs Tagged With: Denise Levertov, Libby Larsen, SAA, SSA, treble choir, west, Women's Chorus, women's history

  • ACDA.org
  • The ChoralNet Daily Newsletter
Advertise on ChoralNet

On This Day
June 29

U. S. composer Ezra Laderman was born in New York City on this day in 1924.

Would you like to submit a blog post for consideration?

Are you interested in becoming a regular ChoralNet blogger? Please contact ACDA Director of Membership & Communications Sundra Flansburg at .

RSS JW Pepper

  • 5 Things to Consider When Buying Color Guard Equipment
  • PYO Music Institute Presents the 9th Annual Ovation Award in Partnership with J.W. Pepper, Jacobs Music, and WRTI 90.1 FM
  • 10 Easy-To-Learn Funky Tunes for the Stands
  • Zoom F3 Field Recorder Review: The Easiest Way to Get Pro Audio for Your Music Ensembles
  • J.W. Pepper Names Eric King as New Chief Financial Officer
  • The Music Teachers’ Guide to Recording an Ensemble: The Samson C02 Mics Review
  • The Zoom Q8n-4K Handy Video Recorder Review
  • Directors & Parents: Download Our New Contest & Festival Checklist
  • If You Love West Side Story, Listen to These!
  • The Music of Rita Moreno, a West Side Story Icon

RSS NAfME

  • Assessing the Standards: An Exploration of the Respond Model Cornerstone Assessment
  • Nearly Half of the 2023 GRAMMY Music Educator AwardTM Quarterfinalists Are NAfME Members
  • Reevaluating Professional Practice
  • The Importance of Knowledge Transfer in Music Education
  • Star-Songs and Constellations: Lessons from the Global Jukebox
  • NAfME Endorses the Reopen and Rebuild America’s Schools Act of 2021
  • 5 Things Teachers Can Do to Recharge over the Summer
  • 2022 Call for Applications: SRME Executive Committee
  • Yay Storytime! Musical Adventures with Children’s Picture Books, Part Sixteen
  • Yay Storytime! Musical Adventures with Children’s Picture Books, Part Fifteen

Footer

Connect with us!

  • Home
  • About
  • Help
  • Contact Us
  • ACDA.org

Recent Blogs

  • Midweek Meditation: The Inner Critic
  • K-12 Teaching: Repertoire Selections for School Choirs
  • Dropping the Covid Ball with Dr. Nikki Johnson
  • Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Pretension
  • The Schwa [ə] Flaw: Why We Rarely Sing [ə] and What We are Singing Instead

American Choral Directors Association

PO Box 1705
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
73101-1705

© 2022 American Choral Directors Association. All rights reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy