Selected Women Composers
Hildegard von Bingen
(1098-1179) was the daughter of a Rhineland knight to the court of Count Spanheim. She took the vows of a Benedictine
nun in 1117 and became abess in 1136. She was trained in scripture, Latin and music, and is regarded as one of
the great musicologists, mystics, naturalists and writers of the Middles Ages.
The hymn Conditor Alme was written by Sor Gracia Baptista, a Spanish nun. Published in 1557,
it is the earliest known keyboard work by a woman composer
Sor Juan Ines de la Cruz was born Juana de Asbaje was the illegitimate daughter of
captain Manuel de Asbaje and Isabel Ramirez. At age ten she was sent to Mexico City
to live with relatives. Her gift for writing poetry attracted the attention of the
officials. Sor Juana became known as an intellectual scholar, poet and composer.
In 1667 she entered the convent of the Carmelites and took the name Sor Juanna
Ines de la Cruz. As a scholar,she accumulated a personal library of over several thousand
books. Her literary salons at the convent attended
by women from the Spanish colonial court became famous as a center for poetry, music and discussions
on scholarly subjects. Although better known as a poet and writer, Sor Juana was also known in
her time as a composer.
Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre (c. 1664-1729) was a child prodigy at the keyboard, and is credited by Couperin with helping to form the French harpsichord style. She was godmother and teacher to composer Louis-Claude Daquin.
Anna Bon (c. 1740-after 1767) was the daughter of musicians. She was another child keyboard prodigy who was admistted to the famous Ospedale del Pieta school of music in Venic at the age of four.
Later in life she beame court composer to the Frederick of Prusssia and the Duchess Wilhelmine of Musenhof.
Clara Wieck Schumann (1819-1896) composed
many songs, pieces for solo piano, and pieces for piano and orchestra. She toured extensively as a
concert pianist, and was known for her performances of music by Brahms and her husband, Robert Schumann.
Cecile Chaminade (1857-1944) studied privately with faculty members of the Paris Conservatoire. She composed chamber music, orchestral music, and even an opera, but is best known for her many piano works and songs.
Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel (1805-1847) was the elder sister of Felix Mendelssohn. A highly gifted musician, she nevertheless was forbidden by her father to pursue a public career.
She composed over 250 songs (some of which were published under her brother's name) and dozens of piano pieces. She also composed chamber and choral music.
Amy Marcy Cheney Beach, or Mrs. H.H.A. Beach (1867-1944), was the first well-known American woman
composer. She composed in many genres. These ranged from piano solo to orchestra. In addition to being a composer, Beach
was a virtuoso pianist as well.
Violeta Parra was one of the leaders in the Chilean folk song renewal or cancion nueva
movement of the 1950s-60s. Her songs, along with those of Victor Jara, played
a significant role in the popular movement which would bring Allende to power
before the military with its U.S. support crushed the democratically elected government.
Violeta Parra was not only a
composer and song writer, but an accomplished artist and weaver.
She was born on Octover 4,1917 the daughter of a school teacher and seamstress. Coming from an unusually talented family
which numbered several musicians, artists and poets, she began life singing at fairs and circuses until
she was discovered by the poet Pablo Neruda
in the late 1950s. Her compositions and their lyrics combine Andean elements. Her performances generally also
included the use of Andean intruments. Violeta Parra died in 1967. Her songs and compositions are included today in the repetoire
of singers and musicians from all over the world.
Music of Violeta Parra
Joan Baez was born in 1941 in New York. In the 1950's she lived in Baghdad, Irq where her father was on a job assignment. As a high school student she met Ira
Sandperl a follower of Ghandi who was to influence her choice of politics. Joan Baez's voice became the voice of the 60's and her firddt recording in 1960
launched her to international fame. Increasingly she became involved with t he civil rights movement and in the protests against the Vietnam war.
Her interpretations of folk songs brought about a huge revival of once forgotten folk songs, but as a songwriter, she music also became widely known standards of American music.
One of her best known songs was Diamonds and Rust
Holly Near is perhaps the leading contemporary voice for peace and humand rights. Her compositions, lyrics and music are closely
linked to tthe liberation politics that emerged in the 1960s and she has done numerous concerts with the musicians such as
Ronnie Gilbert, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Mercedes Sosa, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Inti-Illimani, Bonnie Raitt, Cris Williamson, and Linda Tillery.
As a lesbian, her collaborationswith Ronnie Gilbert became famous for their refusal to disengage the personal from the political. Her
artistic creed separate her from the commercialism of other contemporary song writers and performers
and encompassses a spirituality that is quintessentially the product of her times.
Online Music by Women Composers
Women Composers