So You Want to Sing Music by Women: A Guide for Performers

(Paperback)

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Description

So You Want to Sing Music by Women opens wide a vast repertoire of vocal music written by women to advocate for widespread inclusion of this too-often neglected work in performance repertoire. Hoch and Lister provide a historical and contemporary perspective, chronicling the Western art music canon while also addressing contemporary trends in music theater and CCM.



In addition to providing a historical overview and social context in which women created music, this volume explores the music of hundreds of historical and contemporary women composers, such as Hildegard von Bingen, Clara Schumann, Lili Boulanger, Cathy Berberian, Erykah Badu, and Sara Bareilles. In addition to discussions of art song, opera, choral music, and avant garde/experimental music, Erin Guinup and Amanda Wansa Morgan also contribute chapters devoted to music theater, CCM, and advocacy for women composers. Interviews with high-profile composers including Lori Laitman, Rosephanye Powell, Meredith Monk, Georgia Stitt provide accounts from the frontlines of todays composing world. Additional chapters by Scott McCoy and Wendy LeBorgne address vocal technique and health, and Matthew Edwards provides guidance for working with sound technology.



The So You Want to Sing seriesis produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing Music by Women features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.

Reviews

This book will surprise the reader with some of the stories told and it will certainly be of value for academic and large public libraries, and for anyone interested in women's studies, in academic or private voice study, or performance of challenging, inspiring repertoire in a multitude of genres. * Fontes Artis Musicae *
Hoch and Lister have provided an invaluable, and very timely resource for teachers, students, and professional singers who are taking the long-overdue steps to diversify their repertories and be more inclusive. The authors present a considerable amount of material in a way that holds the reader's attention without becoming overwhelming and have, for the most part, successfully provided the reader with an extensive overview of the contribution of women composers to vocal music as well as producing the useful and fully comprehensive resource to anyone taking the steps to actively educate themselves on the subject. * Voice and Speech Review *
Although it is not a textbook, it could certainly be used as the basis for a course on women in music. Instrumental musicians will also find this resource helpful and informative due to the diverse range of women composers covered, the resources included, and its advocacy for music by women. As it says in the final Final Thoughts section in chapter 13: So You Want to Sing Music by Women is an advocacy book: an effort to encourage and champion women composers and creators of music across all genres. With so much information on women composers and a broad spectrum of resources all in one place, the authors have accomplished their mission. May we go forth, armed to advocate for music by women. * Pan Pipes (Journal of Sigma Alpha Iota) *
If you believe that So You Think You Want to Sing Music by Women is another version of Women Composers for Dummies, you must seriously reconsider. Its intention is earnest and passionate; its writing is erudite and understandable; and its potential effects could change the way we think of educating and preparing the next generation of feminists, musicians, and human beings. The copy read by this reviewer is marred by underlined, starred passages, many question marks, and innumerable dog-eared pages. Exactly the way a book should be read--devoured! * IAWM Journal (International Alliance for Women in Music) *

Hoch and Lister highlight the fact that the last few decades have seen an increased interest in exploring the contributions of women to the canon of Western classical music, which they call a long-overdue appearance of women in music as an academic subject. So You Want to Sing Music by Women uniquely contributes to this appearance by focusing specifically on the vocal music of women composers and by including composers of multiple genres outside of the classical realm. While this inclusive approach precludes an exhaustive exploration of the subject matter, the book
nevertheless plays an essential role by giving a voice to composers who have been unjustly neglected.

* Classical Singer Magazine *
Hoch and Lister offer a panoramic view of the role of women in music. The vista is expansive, encompassing notable composers and performers from Western classical music, music theater, and commercial music. . . . Singers, and indeed anyone who wants to broaden their knowledge of women composers in a wide range of musical styles, will find this book informative, and a useful introduction to the topic. * Journal of Singing *
So You Want to Sing Music by Women is a great contribution to the advocacy effort for more inclusion of women composers in the performance canon. The book provides a great introduction and overview of women composers throughout history and inspires further exploration and action on the part of the reader. -- Julia Mortyakova, artistic director, Music by Women Festival at Mississippi University for Women
So You Want to Sing Music by Women is a much-needed, broad-ranging study. This book will be invaluable in encouraging singers to perform the works of women composers. -- Rhian Samuel, composer and professor emeritus, City University, London
I recommend this impressive volume to all singers who are interested in good music, especially the excellent music composed by women over the course of the past century. This is a golden age for women composers, and this invaluable book contains the latest information on a new generation of prizewinning composers for the enterprising singer. -- Jeremy Huw Williams, internationally acclaimed baritone and scholar
So You Want to Sing Music by Women is an essential, up-to-date, and easy-to-navigate resource for all musicians seeking to widen the scope of their programming. Passionate in their advocacy of the substantial contributions of woman composers, Hoch and Lister convincingly succeed in letting fresh air into the musical canon. -- Elizabeth Schulze, music director and conductor, Maryland Symphony Orchestra
The role and standing of women composers has been muted and diluted throughout the ages, and for many years it was assumed this would always be the case. Recent sea changes within and outside the musical community have made this muting untenable, and there is an ever-widening desire to incorporate the music of women composers into our modern repertoire. This strong and far-reaching book is a massively useful resource and should be seen as a required text for all that teach and conduct vocal music of any genre as well as those who wish to learn more about women composers and their music. -- Rob Deemer, founder and project director, Composer Diversity Database

Author Bio

Matthew Hoch is associate professor of voice at Auburn University. He is the author of A Dictionary for the Modern Singer,coauthor of Voice Secrets: 100 Performance Strategies for the Advanced Singer, and volume editor of So You Want to Sing Sacred Music and So You Want to Sing CCM. Hoch is the 2016 winner of the Van L. Lawrence Fellowship, awarded jointly by the Voice Foundation and the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). He also is affiliate faculty in womens studies at Auburn University, where he developed the institutions first-ever Women in Music course.

Linda Lister is associate professor of voice and director of opera at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is author of So You Want to Sing Light Opera and coauthor of Voice Secrets: 100 Performance Strategies for the Advanced Singer. As a soprano soloist, she appears on the albums The American Soloist, Midnight Tolls, and Moments of Arrival. Also a composer, she sings her own art songs on the Albany Records release Pleas to Famous Fairies.