Women unsungs

[Marcus]

Another woman composer who is probably little known : Helen Taylor (1915-1950) USA. She was the wife of pianist Grant Johannesen, and died in an auto accident. She was not a prolific composer, and a small USA label, Tantara, based in Utah has released two CDs of her works.
The major offering, and probably her major work was a symphony finished one month before her death. Her last work was a Sonata for Two Flutes unaccompanied., but she wrote a Piano Sonata, (dedicated to her husband), a Sonata for Violin & Piano, a Fugue for String Quartet, Six Preludes for Piano, and a few other chamber works.
The Symphony, completed in September 1950, one month before her death , was
a manuscript awaiting her proof-reading & corrections. The orchestral score differed in some ways from her twp piano score. Grant Johannesan, together with Dr Ralph Laycock, misician, teacher & conductor, produced a score which was recorded by the LA East Studio Orchestra, conducted by Ralph Laycock.
As might be expected, it is basically a student work , yet there are times when  Copland, Hindemith, and her idol Ruth Crawford ,come to mind. For me personally, this symphony has a definate English flavourin parts.
As Grant Johannesen said, " we can only wonder where a more prolonged life span may have taken her ".

[Peter1953]

Miriam Hyde. I received her CD with both PC's and a sort of Symphonic Poem called Village Fair. This evening I've listened twice to this CD. The recording of both concertos is from 1975 with the composer at the piano, and the Village Fair is from 1979.

Not unpleasant music, but not memorable at all (at least to my ears), and quite simple without any depth. There are certainly some nice passages, but these are scarce. Impossible to compare these works with Rachmaninov or Bortkiewicz, although they are written in their style. In summary, I'm a bit disappointed, but never mind, it's for me interesting enough to get to know three of her works.

And the booklet notes? Nothing more than a few non-informative sentences. What a difference if you compare it with, let's say, cpo.

[gintonic]

In agreement with the poster who mentioned Farrenc above.  CPO has done a praiseworthy job of rescuing her symphonic works from ill-deserved obscurity.  The c minor Symphony, in particular, is at least on par with any of Mendelssohn's, is (to this ear, at least) better than anything by Raff, Berlioz, and host of other "minor" masters.  It features memorable, driving motives, tight development, and restrained, but full and convincing, orchestration.  Farrenc is to be doubly praised for the respect she shows her forebears (i.e., Beethoven, Haydn) and the sense of taste she brought to an oeuvre that was starting to suffer from bloat and overprogrammatization, even at that early date (the 1830s). 

[Alan Howe]

Better than anything by Raff or Berlioz? Er, surely not. On a par with any symphony by Mendelssohn? Hmmm....

Farrenc was certainly an excellent composer - and one of some originality. However, I'm not sure whether her cause is advanced by unwarranted hyperbole. The C minor Symphony is a most interesting and exciting work, certainly repertoire-worthy, but no more so than the works of Berlioz or Raff.

[Ilja]

At least with regard to form, Farrenc stays firmly within the mold - and that is something you can't really say about Berlioz. Now, I don't want to start off a whole mine-is-better-than-yours discussion, but I think we need to acknowledge that Berlioz's was an exceptional talent and a unique personality. And while Farrenc may have shared the former (not to my ears, but that's another matter), the same doesn't hold true for the latter.

[Peter1953]

Well, gintonic, I think it's certain that Louise Farrenc had better looks than both Berlioz and Raff, but that doesn't make her Symphony in C Minor (although certainly a fine work!) better than anything by Berlioz and Raff... 

[edurban]

Hmm, we sometimes get carried away here.  Farrenc c minor is better than Les Troyens?  I must hear it.

And when did Berlioz become a minor composer?

David

[JSK]

I wouldn't say that Farrenc is "better" than composers like Berlioz or Raff, though to me she is undoubtedly in the top tier of composer unsungs.

[wunderkind]

Here's a very interesting CD at auction on eBay.  It is a compilation of works by female composers:

http://cgi.ebay.com/FEMALE-COMPOSERS-rare-stuff-KOCH-SEALED-CD-Symphonic_W0QQitemZ360220454930QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_CDs?hash=item53decff012

[Pengelli]

The only female composer you seemed to hear of when I was young,hundreds of years ago,was Thea Musgrave,who doesn't exacty fit here, but actually seemed to receive some recordings of her music, probably because it was seen as progressive (?)! (some of her music is okay,but I don't return to it much). So even less traditionally tonal women composers got 'shut out'. I notice a new cd of music on the Dutton label by Elinor Remick Warren,who has a website devoted to her, I think; but it is the sort of cd I am loathe to purchase without hearing samples first. Of course,she may be very good.

[Pengelli]

Whoops,the old return button again.By the way,thanks for the tip!

[jimmosk]

Pengelli here's the writeup I did of a different Warren CD a couple of years back when I auctioned it off:

An American woman writing in the '30s was a relative rarity, but Warren did not bow under the pressure to write 'dainty' music.  Her orchestral works have a bold, slightly gruff energy to them, somewhat like the music of Diamond mixed with Havergal Brian. In most works, anyway - the symphonic poem The Crystal Lake is much more sumptuous, and impressionist, in sound, close to Koechlin. Szymon Kawalla leads the Polish Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra in that work and her Symphony in One Movement, Suite for Orchestra, and Along the Western Shore, and is joined by the PRTVSO Chorus and narrator Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. for Good Morning, America!, which has nothing to do with a television program of the same name and everything to do with the Carl Sandburg poem which it depicts - very cinematically too, sort of like Bloch's America.
 

[Pengelli]

A mixture of Diamond & Brian,sounds interesting. So we're not talking about a female Rutland Boughton here!

[Josh]

I wouldn't say that Farrenc is "better" than composers like Berlioz.

I would!!!

I wouldn't say that Farrenc is "better" than composers like Raff.

Neither would I.


It's all opinion!
But I have to say, Farrenc's symphonies are pretty incredible in my opinion book. A book which is going on sale for 2 US cents this week.

[Peter1953]

I've just listened to a radio broadcast of the 2nd movement of Piano Quartet no. 1 in B Major op. 69, by the French Mélanie Bonis (1858-1937). Never heard anything of her before, but I must say that I'm impressed. See http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Melanie-Bonis-Klavierquartette-Nr-1-2/hnum/9124613
She has written a lot of music, but only very little is available on CD. I wonder how her orchestral output sounds...