Behind the Musik: Hearing Her Voice

Program Notes

By Charlotte Nediger

“I reverently consecrate this first work, which I, as a woman, all too ardently send forth into the light, to the august name of Your Highness, so that under your Oak of Gold it may rest secure from the lightning bolts of slander prepared for it.”

Barbara Strozzi to Vittoria deal Rovere, Duchess of Tuscany,
in the dedication to the publication of her Opus 1

This week we meet composers who are remarkable not only for their skill and artistry, but also for their passion, courage, and determination. All of the composers on this week’s program are women, defying societal norms to compose sonatas, cantatas, concertos, and operas—not just for their own “feminine diversion,” but to be shared with the world. As is recognized by Barbara Strozzi in the dedication of her first publication, quoted above, it was an act of daring, at times almost of rebellion. Although many of these women were honoured in their time, the standard recounting of music history has largely ignored their work. In recent years, musicians, researchers, and librarians have been gradually unearthing scores, opening our eyes and ears to an abundance of riches. These women had a lot to say, and we celebrate them this week, letting their voices be heard loud and clear.

Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre

Several (indeed, perhaps all) of the women on the program were raised in families that encouraged musical education and supported their ambitions. This is certainly true of Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, born to a family of working musicians and harpsichord makers. A prodigious harpsichordist, the young Élisabeth was welcomed at the court of Louis XIV, but left at age 19 to marry the organist Marin de la Guerre. She established a successful freelance career in Paris, teaching, composing, and performing, renowned in particular for her skill at improvising. Such a career was exceedingly rare for a woman, and gained her a position in Titon du Tillet’s Le Parnasse François, a listing of celebrated poets and musicians, who noted that “never has a person of her gender demonstrated as great a talent as her for composition.”

Jacquet de la Guerre was the first woman in France to have an opera (Céphale & Procis) produced at the Paris Opera, and we open our program with the opera’s Ouverture. We continue with the first movements of Semelé, one of several cantatas published by de la Guerre. Semele is the lover of Zeus, whose wife has tricked Semele into asking Zeus to reveal himself in his divine form. Zeus had pledged to grant her anything she wished, but begs her not to ask this, knowing that his thunderbolts will kill her.

Mlle Duval

We know little of Mlle Duval, but what we do know is extraordinary. She was but 18 years old when her opera-ballet Les Génies, ou les caractères de l’Amour (The Spirits, or the characters of Love) was produced at the Paris Opera, running for nine successful performances. Its popularity was noted by the Prince of Carignan of the House of Savoy, who sponsored the publication of the score of the full opera. Duval was an accomplished harpsichordist and dancer, and Les Génies is replete with a wonderful array of dance movements.

Barbara Strozzi

Barbara Strozzi was the adopted daughter of the Venetian poet Giulio Strozzi, growing up in a household frequented by great literary and musical minds. She was a gifted singer and a prolific composer of vocal music. Her bold determination is evident in the eight volumes of music that she published herself—more than anyone in her lifetime—all seemingly without patronage. Each volume was dedicated to a different noblewoman or nobleman, but seem not to have led to ongoing support. These publications, however, were well travelled, and led to her renown being widespread. We are performing a small but exquisite example of her writing, “Che si può fare.”

Mme Papavoine & Mlle Laurant

We return to France briefly, with two women of whom we know very little, but whose voices survive in their music. Mme Papavoine, née Pellecier, married violinist Louis-August Papavoine. The Mercure de France published a list of works of both M and Mme, the latter confined to vocal music, most of them “cantatilles” (little cantatas). Le Cabriolet is one such work, the only one that includes strings. The short depiction of a storm from Le Cabriolet leads to a serene Air from Le Concert by Mlle Laurant. The work is scored for 5 soloists with full choir and orchestra, and was dedicated to La Dauphine and presented in the “grandes Appartements de Versailles.” The score was copied by the royal librarian, Philidor l’ainé, in 1690. Although this score is all we know of Laurant, the royal connections suggest that she was present at court, and the scope of the work is impressive. It is evident that she must have written more, hopefully yet to be discovered.

Wilhelmine von Bayreuth

Now to the most privileged woman on the program, Wilhelmine, Margravine of Bayreuth. She was the oldest child of Frederick I of Prussia, three years older than her brother (and lifelong confidante), who was to become Frederick the Great. She was married off to Crown Prince Friedrich of Bayreuth at age 21 for the usual political reasons, but the marriage proved serendipitous, as Friedrich recognized her many talents. She oversaw the transformation of Bayreuth to a cultural capital of Germany, overseeing the design and construction of buildings and parks (often dubbed a “mini Versailles”), and cultivated a vibrant intellectual and artistic milieu. She has often been referred to as the most influential woman of the 18th century.

Wilhelmine was passionate about music, and studied lute with Frederick’s court lutenist, Sylvius Weiss. Only a handful of her compositions are extant, but are so accomplished that they suggest a lifetime of composing. Her two most substantial works are a Concerto for harpsichord in G Minor and the opera L’Argenore, for which she wrote not only the music, but also the libretto, based on a story by Pietro Metastasio. This tragic opera deals with themes of power, love, and family relationships. Allusions to the abusive childhoods of Wilhelmine and her brother, and of their overbearing father, are hard to ignore, suggesting a deeply personal expression on Wilhelmine’s part in the disguise of an epic tale.

**

Notes on nitatisipwētānān: We are leaving
By Karen Sunabacka & Joyce Clouston