A History of Women and Music by Sarah Dawson
Whilst thinking about our blog ‘female vocalists’, I began to think about the history behind it. Have women always been a prominent part of the music industry? Did the feminist movement have any influence of the music that was been produced at the time?
After reading some information from ‘Women & Music: A history’, I began to gain an understandng of the changing roles of women in music. http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=J1_CQ8MkYP0C&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=history+of+women+singers&ots=BJG7y-x0TK&sig=HVfKDJq_qyDBOPk3jrtVKdtgp30#PPR10,M1
Women have been involved in making music since the dawn of time, however their historical works can often be forgotten, and credit has only started to be given to these female musicians since the late 20th Century.
The feminist movement in the 1960s and 1970s showed the emergence of many studies and theories which focused on the position of women, their lives and contributions that certain women had made to society. It was during this period that scholars in music began to show a greater interest in the work of females. However, there was limited information on women’s musical activities. Music was one of the slowest fields in which music came to the fore, although some progress was made during this feminist movement and females were starting to get more acknowledgement on their contributions to the music industry.
In the mid 1990s, there were studies of nuns and their music from the years 1600-1725. These studies showed that there were some brilliant music pieces by North Italian Nuns that had previously been neglected in the music industry. At the time the women compiled the music, nobody was interested in it as it was created by Nuns. However, in the 1990s when this music was brought to the attention to the modern society, scholars Robert Kendrik and Craig Monson researched the traditional views about the place of nuns, convents and their music in Early Modern Europe, and their music became known.
In the past decade, another forgotten group of women has emerged from the shadows. These were composers, conductors, performers and performance outlets of classical music. In past times, these women were often ignored and treated condescendingly
Another intersting site regarding this issue was http://www.uwsp.edu/music/pholland/301/index.htm
This site discussed two historical women composers.
This is an image of Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179). Hildegard is most famously known as a mystic and has written many theological works, however in recent years more attention has been paid to her compositions. In the last few years, her recordings have become increasingly available.
Another famous historical musician is Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-18-47)
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel faced an ongoing struggle against convention and her own family throughout her life in order to publish music. Her brother was a famous composer (Felix Mendelssohn), and the two of them would often put on concerts together. Not long before her death, Hensel overcame her struggle and she published a number of works.
Today, in a modern society, women have equal opportunites and no longer have to fight oppression, however it is important not to forget the ongoing struggle that women did have in becoming a part of the music industry.
