BREAKING THE SILENCE ON FEMALE COMPOSERS

Hilton opera singer Emma Farquharson is excited about the launch of Herstory, an e-concert-documentary celebrating the works of female composers, past and present.

Funded by Concerts SA, Herstory, launched on January 8, features more than 15 female composers, as well as local and international musicians and artists.

Farquharson, passionate about championing the historically underperformed work of female composers in the Western Art Music tradition, said the aim of the concert-documentary was to have a concert that can also serve as a teaching resource for music teachers for schools and universities.

It was not through a lack of female composers that they are excluded, she said, but rather, due to centuries of continued under-representation and a lack of education on their works.

“My honours research showed me that one of the primary reasons for female composers’ music not being studied or performed in schools and included in the tertiary education syllabus is because teachers simply don’t know where to start.”

This led to her successful pitch to Concerts SA for a concert of female composers that also doubles as a documentary and educational resource providing a list and history of underperformed composers and their works.

Her collaborative concert-documentary showcases female composers ranging from ancient to contemporary to classical and avant garde. They include: Kassiani, Hildegard von Bingen, Comtessa Beatriz De Dia, Isabella Leonarda, Francesca Caccini, Barbara Stozzi, Rebecca Clarke, Dr Jeanne Zaidel-Rudolf, Dame Ethel Smythe, Fanny Mendelssohn, Carol Hall, Louise Farrenc and Dr Clare Loveday.

Others involved include local pianist Ilse Myburgh; Nigel Fish (cellist, KZN); Mareli Stolp (pianist, Pretoria); Dr Clare Loveday (composer); Dr Jeanne Zaidel-Rudolf (composer); Claire Rontsch (saxophonist); Kathleen Eggers (violinist); Benjamin Bell (cameraman); choreographer Bonwabise Mbontsi; Nadia Bartel (dancer) and Ellen Heydenrych (illustrator).

In September last year, Farquharson held her first virtual concert, Hear Her Now, featuring 10 female composers spanning 700 years and her first performance of acclaimed South African composer Professor Jeanne Zaidel-Rudolf’s art song, Boy on a swing, in collaboration with Ilse Myburgh.