March is Women’s History Month, a month dedicated to celebrating women’s contributions to society, culture, technology, and more.
It’s a time to highlight those who have defined what it means to be a woman, having sacrificed and achieved beyond what was thought to be possible throughout the years. Regardless of race or culture, known or not, it’s a time to celebrate every woman, especially those making a breakthrough in male-dominated fields.
Like female composers, for example. Music has long been a vital part of history. From the Renaissance Era to the present day, music is the heart of society. And at the center of the music is a dedicated composer and musician.
Likely, when you think of music history, you think back to Beethoven, Bach, Vivaldi, or Josquin de Prez. But can you name a female composer from the same musical era?
Women’s History Month is the perfect time to highlight these underappreciated female composers.
Maddalena Casulana was an Italian composer, lutenist, and singer during the late Renaissance period. She marks history as the first female composer to have an entire book of her musical works both printed and published. Her first work was a collection of four madrigals titled “Il Desiderio,” but her first published work didn’t come until two years later, with a book of madrigals for four voices titled “Il primo libro di madrigali.”
Casulana was yet another woman who paved the way for the women who followed her, setting an example for the later female composers as proof that women can do anything a man can.
Francesca Caccini was an Italian musician and composer of the early Baroque era. She served as a composer, lutenist, singer, poet, and music teacher. But beyond that, she made history as the first female composer to write an opera. In 1618, she published a collection of solo works and soprano/bass duets titled “Il primo libro delle musiche.” While little of her music survives today, Caccini made history in a time filled with inequality, deservedly taking her place on the podium of composers to deserve to be remembered.
Now, moving into the Classical era meant that female composers were much more prolific than they were in the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was a German composer during the Classical period. While also a princess, the Duchess was a major patron of the arts, taking pride in bringing poets and musicians together. She also participated in composing herself. Some of her works include “Divertimento” for chamber music, sonatas for the harpsichord, and “Das Jahrmarktsfest zu Plundersweilern” for opera.
The Romantic era also featured a growing number of female composers, including Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Louise Farrenc, and Amy Beach. Another, and one of my personal favorites, was Cécile Chaminade.
Cécile Chaminade was a French pianist and composer during the Romantic Period. During her young life, she was assessed and recommended to study music at the Conservatoire, though her father forbade it, arguing that it was not proper for someone of her social class. That did not stop her, however, as she continued to study privately for many years. She began experimenting with composing as a young child, eventually growing into her talent and composing professionally. She was honored by Queen Victoria and Sultan Abdul Hamid II for her musical contributions, going down in history as one of the most prolific female composers of the era.
History shows just how underappreciated female composers have been throughout time, but these women have proven that, despite composition being a male dominated field, they broke through the barriers despite the odds.
As March continues, take some time to appreciate some women, both of the current day and throughout history. Appreciate the struggles they underwent so that we, as women of the 21st century, have the opportunities that we do.
