When one thinks of classical music, one thinks of Mozart, Beethoven and Vivaldi. But where are the women?
Today, collectives of artists and professionals are campaigning for the works of women composers to be recognised. For all those who want to feminise their musical baggage, there’s still time to learn! On the occasion of International Women’s Rights Day, let’s find out more about Présence Compositrices, EllesWomenComposer and Palazzetto Bru Zane, which are carrying out wide-ranging work to promote cultural matrimoine…
Présence Compositrices is the 360° resource and promotion centre for the works of women composers of all periods and nationalities. It is aimed at both professionals – providing programming assistance – and artists – offering partnerships and calls for projects. It is also accessible to the general public, making available musicological resources and educational tools on a wide range of media. Présence Compositrices has even developed its own intelligent search engine, “Demandez à Clara”, to access a large database devoted exclusively to women composers. Enough to arouse the curiosity of the most avid music lovers!
The association EllesWomenComposer is dedicated to bringing the musical works of women composers out of the shadows. The artists’ collective is carrying out an in-depth research project to showcase female classical repertoire by digging up manuscripts and scores, backed up by its record label “La Boîte à Pépites“. La Boîte à Pépites is also the name of their Youtube channel that explores history. It recounts the lives of these women artists through short videos relying on animated portraits. A feminist reinterpretation of classical music history to be discovered!
Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre for French Romantic Music
The Palazzetto Bru Zane organisation is a pioneer in the exhumation of women’s musical works. PBZ‘s aim is to raise awareness of forgotten female composers of the Romantic period in France. Its Mediabase is available online and contains a wealth of information on 19th-century French women composers! You can also listen to the “Bru Zane Classical Radio” web radio station, or Bru Zane Label recordings. In 2016, for one of the very first times, this same label released recordings of works composed by pianist Marie Jaëll, as well as the boxed set “Compositrices“, released in 2013. These are just some of the initiatives that invite us to rethink the classical repertoire and learn through music!
Portraits by illustrators © Cécile Bidault (Instagram account) and © Alice Chemama (website) for La Boîte à Pépites videos.
