Women Composer activity

[Martin Cooke]

Some interesting things going on...

The RCO and the Society of Women Organists have announced that this Sunday will be Woman Composers' Day and they are encouraging organists to play a piece by a female composer and flag it up on a website with a hashtag. I am playing three pieces before the service on Sunday by women: The Präludium in F major by Fanny Hensel (Mendelssohn), an Ethel Smyth chorale prelude that I have transcribed to avoid the alto clef, and the Maria von Paradis Sicilienne... though, actually, on reading up about it this I gather this may be by a man! 

Then, via her twitter feed, Anna Lapwood is playing a piece by a woman composer every day in March - just type "Anna Lapwood twitter" and follow your nose to the hashtag. So far we have had some Emma Louise Ashford, a delightful piece by Ghislane Reece-Trapp which will be included in a new Stainer and Bell volume of organ music by women that Anna Lapwood is working on, and, today, a slow movement from Florence Price's Organ Sonata. 

[S_L]

March 8th - Monday - is International Women's Day

LOL - my initial reaction was 'shame on you Martin' having to avoid the Alto Clef - then I looked at the score of the Ethel Smyth O schones Weltgebaude - and I would have too - but, if you look on IMSLP you will see it transcribed for you! (As an aside, my friend, Harold Truscott introduced me to Ethel Smyth's 'cello Sonata which I gave a number of performances of!)

There is some thought that Maria von Paradis was, indeed, a man although most sources name her as the daughter of Joseph von Paradis, the Court Counsellor to Maria Theresa after whom she was named! 

[Buxtehude]

It's a great shame that the recent Schott volume has so many misprints and errors. It's otherwise a really good book with a variety of styles and levels of difficulty.

https://en.schott-music.com/shop/frauen-komponieren-no175469.html

 

[Dee Surtees]

6 hours ago, Buxtehude said:

It's a great shame that the recent Schott volume has so many misprints and errors. It's otherwise a really good book with a variety of styles and levels of difficulty.

https://en.schott-music.com/shop/frauen-komponieren-no175469.html

 

Yes, a wonderful volume, but have wondered about misprints in it. I am learning the Presque Dansant by Erszebet Szönyi, and there is a passage where parallel octaves suddenly become 9ths for no apparent reason. It could be a misprint, but the style is such that 9ths don’t seem out of place either (it’s the fact that the passage starts in octaves that makes me question it). The fact that it is repeated later on in the piece identically suggests that it is intentional. 
The original collection it is from is still in print from Editio Musica Budapest, so I should get a copy of that for confirmation. I’ve a mind to anyway, on the strength of that one movement. 

[Martin Cooke]

14 hours ago, S_L said:

- but, if you look on IMSLP you will see it transcribed for you!

Yes, drat! Though actually, the IMSLP versions are dated 2019 and I did my transcription a while ago.