… names on my ever-growing list of women composers who have written for organ (or other keyboard instruments and whose pieces can be adapted to organs of almost any size and character).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In my own repertoire, I have music by more than 3 dozen women composers and I could easily fill two 90-minute-recitals with „ladies only“ works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So – a lack of material can’t really be the reason why we still see so many recitals and concerts that don’t feature a single piece by a woman. And it winds me up when I read about „varied“ concert programmes that consist of music written by white men only. No music by women, no music from Africa or Asia, no music by any marginalised group. What is so „varied“ about that? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you think quality is an issue, think again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this blog post, I’m going to talk about some great pieces that deserve to be played and heard much more often. I’ve played some of those pieces in my own recitals and can tell you that the audience appreciates them. Off we go \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Toccata<\/strong> op, 97 by Mel Bonis – you can play this on almost any instrument. It’s intended for three manuals but does work on two or even one manual. You need a full pedalboard, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Pr\u00e9lude pour grand orgue<\/strong> op. 78 by C\u00e9cile Chaminade. Two manuals are needed, and you can let the organ whisper and purr and go all the way for the fortissimo at the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Dialog<\/strong> („dialogue“) by Ester M\u00e4gi is great for showing different sounds – two manuals are necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re looking for a suite: the Exodus Suite<\/strong> by Sharon J. Willis and the Suite for organ<\/strong> by Pei-Lun Vicky Chang are interesting and fine pieces. And for variations, check out the Concert Variations on Greensleeves<\/strong> by Carlotta Ferrari – the audience loves this, because it’s a well-known tune in many places. Two manuals are a must.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You won’t necessarily need three manuals for the following pieces (two are enough, and if you feel adventurous, even one manual might be possible), but the number three plays an important role: Preludio<\/strong>, Allegro<\/strong> and Fantasia<\/strong> by Matilde Capuis make a nice triple, the Triptyque pour grand orgue<\/strong> by Germaine Labole has the number three in its name and so do the Trois Esquisses<\/strong> by Liv-Benedicte Bj\u00f8rneboe. And one of my personal favourites is the trilogy Englar \u00e1 sveimi<\/strong> by B\u00e1ra Gr\u00edmsd\u00f3ttir. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course you might want to do a „big one“, too. I love the organ symphonies<\/strong> by Elfrida Andr\u00e9e and Germaine Labole, both set in b minor and absolutely grand. Have a large organ available? Do it justice with one of those pieces!<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to have some pedalling fun, try the Maestoso<\/strong> by Elizabeth Stirling or go crazy with the Octaves<\/strong> by Jeanne Demessieux – only if you know what you’re doing \ud83d\ude09 <\/p>\n\n\n\n I could go on and on and on, musing about the chorale settings by Ethel Smyth, or the Fantasia<\/strong> by Tamsin Jones, or In Memoriam<\/strong> op. 57 by Hedwige Chr\u00e9tien for harmonium or manuals-only, or the harpsichord sonatas by Anna Bon di Venezia that work so well on smaller organs, or the many pieces by „anonymous“ that might have actually been written by women, or…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coming back to the beginning of this post: I don’t see why we don’t get to hear more of those pieces, and I’ll continue doing my part and offering varied<\/em> recital programmes that deserve that title. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" … names on my ever-growing list of women composers who have written for organ (or other keyboard instruments and whose pieces can be adapted to organs of almost any size and character). In my own repertoire, I have music by … Continue reading