We may never know how many works by female composers have been lost through the centuries. But Choral Arts of Chattanooga is drawing attention to some of the music that hasn’t been lost—or been lost and found. “Voice of Eve” features music by women composers, from medieval to contemporary, will be the focus of the CAC’s fall concert at Second Presbyterian Church on Pine St. in downtown Chattanooga. You’ll get a chance to hear both sacred and secular works, since the first half of the concert includes a medieval piece by Hildegard von Bingen, a Baroque motet by Chiara Margarita Cozzolani, a classical motet by Amalia Herzogin von Sachsen, a modern anthem by Emma Lou Diemer, and a Te Deum by Amy Beach, the first successful American woman composer.
The second half of the concert includes Italian madrigals by Vittoria Aleotti and Maddalena Casulana (the first woman composer in Western musical history to publish her works), three Romantic songs by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (older sister of Felix), a poem setting by Lili Boulanger, settings of several English folksongs by Cecilia McDowall, and “Now Touch the Air Softly,” a poem setting by local contemporary composer Susan LaBarr.
Make a date to discover a whole new group of composers and the beautiful music they created.
— Staff
“Voices of Eve: Music of Women Composers,” Choral Arts of Chattanooga. 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17. 2nd Presbyterian Church, 700 Pine St. (423) 877-7050, choralartsofchattanooga.org. $15/$5 students.